7. Cairns Q – Moree NSW

Australia is such an amazing country and we are blessed living here.  We encourage everyone to take the time (& make the effort) to check out the many treasures available free.  Here are some quick pix FYI:

PARONELLA PARK, MENA CREEK Q.

This place was a must re-visit on our itinerary and did not disappoint.  We stayed overnight here and did both Day & Night Tours once again.  The enthusiastic owners continue to present Hose Paronella’s dream castle, home and gardens in a fascinating way.  This pic is the tea house and fountain which overlooked tennis courts.

Paronella Park is also a popular spot for wedding photos.  Naturally, the bride looked beautiful & the groom scrubbed up OK as well.

The gravity-fed fountains were spectacular at night.  Hose’s hydro-electric generator has been upgraded and the park now runs on its own power as well as feeding electricity back into the grid.

TOWNSVILLE Q

The imposing Castle Hill can be seen from just about everywhere in Townsville, including from the Botanic Gardens where this pic was taken.

BOWEN Q

Horseshoe Bay is beautiful & we were glad we managed to squeeze into the last available spot in the crowded caravan park (most residents seemed to be Victorians migrating north for the winter).  Spen snorkeled with many fish here at Horseshoe Bay Beach.

Recognise this wharf?  It’s where the Far Away Downs cattle were loaded in the film Australia.  The film crew “took over” Bowen for 3 months or so for filming and trucked heaps of red dirt into a large cleared area near the wharf.  They trucked it all away once filming was done as well.

CAPELLA Q

This memorial to the Australia Light Horse Troops at Capella (just north of Charters Towers) was very well done

RUBYVALE Q

Rhonda enjoyed hunting for Sapphires and even managed to find a few specimens. This pic shows her hard at work operation in Rubyvale.

LONGREACH Q

We took a detour back to Longreach to share a few more delightful days with Scott & Belinda and help Scott with some car & house chores.  We also picked up Toby who was ‘doing it tough’ as you can see in this pic.

MORVEN Q

We came across this kerosene-tin house in Morven Q.  Apparently they were pretty common during the big depression and were made from flattened kero tins over saplings.   We are sure blessed to live at this time and in this country!

MITCHELL Q

How’s this for a tranquil scene.  It’s the Maranoa River at Mitchell Q.  We enjoyed a great night’s sleep at the caravan park beside this river.

Lord willing, we will head towards Coffs Harbour in the next few days and then ease our way down the coast towards home.  Still many people to see and places to go so, until the next update, be kind to yourselves and to others and God Bless.

Spencer & Rhonda