It was a morning that we could partake of some exercise. Prue did a walk into town. I did a great ride around the Atherton district. It was relatively flat but so scenic. A very rural ride with various crops growing beside the road such as wheat, potatoes, corn. The reddish soil is apparently very rich. There is an amazing amount of lateral move irrigation. There are almost no channels as the water is delivered by large pipes. The irrigators move along dragging a large hose with them. I have never seen so many of these irrigators in a concentrated area. The water comes from Lake Tinaroo that has blocked the Barron River although there is still a big flow as we saw in Mareeba.
After a shower, I met Prue in town for a cappuccino and toast at Gallery 5 Cafe. Gallery 5 is just at the end of Herberton Road on the left hand side by Tourist Information with healthy and not so healthy treats. It als stocks a variety of local art work and interesting nic nacs. It is a very popular location not only for locals but also people like us.
Then we set off on our tour for the day. We headed in the direction of Ravenshoe opting to get there by the highest major road in Queensland. The roads are pretty good. We drove slowly through the town and I pointed out the Bakery favoured by our friends, Trev and Di. We will return to this town again before we leave so did not stop there today.
Our next stop was on the edge of Windy Hill Wind Farm. The link is the best technical way to explain it as are the photos there. When one stops near the towers all you can hear is a whoosh-whoosh type sound. I guess if one lived nearby this would be so constant and become very hard to live with. These wind turbines certainly adorn the skyline in that area. It makes the area very industrialised looking and certainly detracts from the surrounding beauty. Before too long we will see many more beautiful areas polluted by these towers.
From there we paused at a lookout that gave a great view across the Millaa Millaa area. We did not enter the village at this time but went onto to the waterfall circuit.
Our first was the Millaa Millaa Falls. They are very pretty with a lot of people visiting. The surrounds are nicely looked after. The next falls were the Zillie Falls. A nice easy walk to view these small falls. The final ones to view were the Ellinjaa Falls. It was a good descending walk to view them. They have a great pattern of water running over them with a resulting fabulous spray pattern.
It was now close to lunch time so we drove onto the short distance to the Mungalli Creek Dairy Boutique Cheesery and Teahouse. We had a lovely lunch but quite ordinary cappuccinos. The food was superb. It has a lovely relaxed feel there and is blessed with a lovely view across to the Bellenden Ker Ranges, closer to Cairns. Prue purchased some yoghurt and cheese.
Next we drove back and did a drive through the village of Millaa Millaa. Not a lot of activity other than people having lunch and walking around.
Shortly after Millaa Millaa, we arrived at Tarzali Lakes Aquaculture Centre. A character of a fellow that owns it. He is very informative. We ended in buying some smoked goods to take back to the Karavan. The owner gave me some really hot crocodile jerky(biltong). It is quite hot but very nice, nonetheless.
Our final stop was the Malanda Dairy Heritage Centre. A good spot to have an ice cream and a wander through the past in the dairy industry.
A few moments after we left, we stopped to view the Malanda Falls. A lovely recreation area and safe for swimming.
From there it was back to the Big 4 Tourist Park.
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