More Parties

 06/11/2011
  Having taken most of the day to recover from last nights shenanigans we now find we have to do it all over again this evening. It’s happy hour on the beach with drinks and nibbles, probably 10 or a dozen of us. We did manage to walk to Palm Cove and back, which we now know is nearly 8K in total, so not too bad a days exercise.
  The shiny thing has resurrected itself after a days rest and the threat of a tap with a mallet!  It may need new valves.
  Julie and Jane and another couple of friends were up fairly early as it was Julies turn to feed and clean the turtles at the rescue centre. She goes for a morning once a fortnight. There were about 8 turtles, some endangered Hawkshead turtles, one had been attacked by a croc. All of them will be released back to the reef at some stage.

  07/11/2011
  Matilda, (that’s what they call happy hour on the beach here,) last evening, was a bit of a wash out as we had to retreat indoors due to a rain storm. Some people went home leaving us locals to take shelter in our apartment. It’s similar to having gatherings in the Gin Palace but warmer.
  We had a wander around Cairns city looking at the marina and quay where the ferries leave for different islands out on the reef. We are thinking of doing a couple, Fitzroy and Green Island are the 2 we fancy. Fitzroy is an overnight in the resort and green Island a day trip.
  Tonight we had a seafood BBQ with Phil, Julie and 2 friends of theirs from Sydney, David and Marilyn. We have already got to know them quite well as they are staying in 1 of the units. It was really nice, lobster, prawns and coral trout and some other fish fillets, followed by a fresh fruit bowl, all of it local. The trout and lobster had been caught the day before by the Dunns friend Kevin who is an Australian spear fishing champion.
  The shiny thing has given up again.

  08/11/2011
  Found a nice cold croc free river to swim in today called the Crystal Cascades, not too far from here. There are designated swimming holes, which are fairly easy to get into but there are also no go areas, where the river passes through narrow ravines. This is obviously a challenge to some as we watched a group of youths tomb-stoning off the ravine walls, jumping from 20 feet up. It was very dodgy but they were still at it when we left.
  We are having to give up our unit for a few days as there has been a sudden rush of late bookings, it’s usually very quiet this time of the year. We were going up to Cape Tribulation anyway this Thursday for a couple of days, but now we have to stay away for about a week until the new guests have come and gone. No problem, we need to see Cape Trib before the wet sets in properly as it can get cut off by flash floods.  It rains most days now, or nights, never for very long but usually torrential. We have  bought a new golf brolly that we have not christened yet.

  09/11/2011
  Glyn has been trying to repair our shiny thing and has had some success. It now works after a fashion. When we finally got into our emails there was the fantastic news that our good friend Barry is coming out to join us for Christmas.  Also had a phonecall from Guy who was having a beer on Bondi Beach with Chaz as he had just arrived in Sydney. He will be coming up for a few days visit. It’s all very exciting. Anybody else in Newbold fancy a trip?
  David and Marilyn from Sydney have  had a night on Fitzroy Island, Phil and Julie have been out on the reef releasing a turtle. We took Phils ute down to the marina to pick Dave and Marilyn up from the ferry, and as we had some time to wait, we went for a swim in the magnificent Cairns lagoon. A huge open air swimming pool on the foreshore. I may have mentioned it before as it is full of tanned, beautiful backpackers! Later we all went to Glyn and Alanas where we had a wonderful dinner. We ate on the veranda of their old Queenslander house overlooking the garden and pool. Twelve of us sat at the table. They are super hosts, the wine just kept flowing!