Seeing green

Millstream Falls

Fields of tea at Nerada

Hypipamee Crater (say that 3 times fast)

Statue in Millaa Millaa

Devonshire tea at Nerada

Rolling green hills and wind turbines at Ravenshoe

We’ve had a very relaxed holiday day today. Last night another family pulled up next to us at the free camp outside Ravenshoe with three boys around the age of ours which the kids were very excited about. They got the football out and then the lego and just really enjoyed the company, as we enjoyed the company of their parents Paul and Alexa. Alexa is from Perth and moved to South Africa a while ago, met Paul and stayed there. They have taken a year off this year and are going around Australia (a much more realistic timeframe!) although the opposite direction to us. It was really nice to have some company for an evening anyway, there were marshmallows to be enjoyed and just generally swapping tips since they’re going where we’ve been and vice versa. This morning we got to have a bit of a lie in and got up and packed slowly, more chatting, then drove to the Atherton Tablelands, first to Millstream Falls, which is apparently the widest single drop waterfall in Australia. It was very picturesque but there was no thought of swimming – it’s freezing up here! Well, compared to the weather that we’ve had so far anyway. But we had a fire last night which was much appreciated, and have had jumpers on and off today.

It’s also like landing in another country in terms of terrain, and is amazing how much it can change in just a few hours drive – we’re now in green rolling hills, with dairy cows in the fields, hoping for a sighting of the elusive cassowary (no luck unfortunately). It’s beautiful country around here, winding roads and mountains in every direction. After Millstream Falls we had lunch at Millaa Millaa Falls while we watched a crazy mum and daughter actually get in the water (apparently you can get a polar bear certificate) and then straight to the Nerada Tea Plantation for Devonshire tea which really suited the weather. After that a brief look at the Hypipamee Crater – amazingly deep and green, so much so that I could hardly look over the edge, and we’re now driving north hoping to stay at Tolga for the night – shock horror, we’ve even had a few rain spits on our windscreen! It’s been just over 3 months since we had rain, 6^th June to be exact, so we just don’t know what to do in it anymore. Not that I’m missing it, it can rain all it likes when we get back to Canberra but if we just avoid it until then I’d be happy.