Travelled 229 kms @ 90 kph. Troy drank 16.9 litres/100kms.
We’ve driven many kilometres across Australia, North America, as well as over 40,000 kms across Europe, and have never experienced such a dramatic change in landscape as we did today with the drive from Undara to the Atherton Tablelands. In the space of an hour, we shifted from a straight road through the relatively flat, dry, grassy savannah countryside to a winding road through mountainous, wet, lush green farmland dispersed with tropical, dense rainforest. Amazing!
The Atherton Tablelands is the northern part of Australia’s Great Dividing Range and is a great area to visit. We passed through Atherton, a very pretty town, and set up Dora at the free camp at Rocky Creek War Memorial in Tolga, near Mareeba. The Memorial was actually the site of the largest hospital in the southern hemisphere during World War II, and the remains of the different buildings are clearly marked today. The local community has delivered a great homage to those who lost their lives in war, as well as the many who helped the war effort.
The next day we visited the local Peanut shop and met Geoff, who is passionate about anything to do with Australia or peanuts. He set up the store a few years ago and has created his own peanut recipes, including yummy chocolate peanut paste. He bemoaned the challenges facing small business today, including the difficulties in breaking into the shelves of the Coles-Woolworths duopoly. Despite this, he is slowly making inroads, and we were more than happy to help out by purchasing a range of his tasty peanut products. All were well priced and generally good for you, though not if you’re anaphylactic (… sorry, poor taste). We also went to the Mareeba markets and fell in love with ‘Bones’, a delightful wire sculptured barramundi fish that local artist Amanda created after a memorable meal in the Northern Territory. Once we heard from Amanda that the rodeo was in town, we grasped the opportunity to be part of a truly unique Aussie bush experience. Unbeknown to us, the Mareeba Rodeo is actually the second largest rodeo in Australia (not sure which town holds the first mantle?).
The Mareeba Rodeo: lots of cowboys and cowgirls, with their hats, boots, rhinestones and checked shirts. Great sights, food, entertainment and fun! Displaying strength, skill, flexibility and sheer guts, it was quite incredible to see those cowboys and cowgirls hold on to the bucking horses and bulls. How their bodies and backs were able to withstand the massive jolts of those fierce, bucking beasts defies logic!
Travel Australia 