The Great Green Way is the coastal strip, the tropical islands off shore, the Great Barrier Reef, and the wet tropical rainforests, between Townsville and Cairns in North Queensland.

This is the area for eco tourism and green study with over 25 tropical islands, 12 mainland National Parks, and it is the closest mainland access in Queensland to the outer Barrier Reef.

Tonight we can hear the surf in the distance, it sounds almost like thunder and the waves are crashing 4 foot above the sea wall, a spectacular sight.  Next week it will be a peaceful serene beach for the angler, once more.

Drives along the coast are spectacular with mountains on one-side and ocean views across the Coral Sea on the other side. We plan to spend several months exploring the area of far north Queensland.

 

Everything grows better and bigger in Queensland including the tropical rain when it comes, even in the winter, it packs a punch when it sets in. 

Reg has stayed home for a couple of days and not gone fishing though I still went out in the car and for my walks and even a run and swim yesterday despite the rain, but today even women's rain boots could not get me exercising in the rain for long.  I did try, I headed out to the esplanade, walked beside the sea wall and took some photos just before the rain began.

Then the rain came down, stinging, hard.  At first, I thought it had to be fine hailstones then I realized it was too warm to be hail, it was simply the speed, it was coming down, totally unlike rain, in Victoria, where you might get wet, but it does not actually hit, so hard as to hurt.

The rain began a couple of days ago and it looks like raining through until the end of the week. We cannot complain, I am sure our family back home in Victoria experiencing the cold of midwinter would envy us our little taste, of Queensland's, tropical, downpour. This would be mild compared to the rain in the wet season. That is something I have never experienced.

 

Reg and I have been enjoying our side trips out from our midyear base here at Flying Fish Point. There are many inland, waterways to explore, lakes, rivers and waterfalls we will visit, over the next couple of months.

I especially love the pond plants I see in the top end waterways, the Australian native blue waterlillies in particular and the platypus inhabits the ponds in the mountains of Queensland as it does many of the waterways in the southern parts of Australia. 

There is a Platypus walk near Millia Millia, in the Atherton Tablelands. The best time to view platypus is at dawn and dusk. Just watch patiently near the water’s edge in places they are known, to inhabit and you will see them come out of the burrows at the edge of the river or pond bank, to feed.
 

Leaving the Kuranda Market in Northern Queensland I discovered ‘Geronimo’, in the vegetation on a side pat and this ‘made’, my visit to this town as was not I overly impresses by the well know tourist market considering it commercial and mostly Asian novelties, not something I would bother to go to see again.

This plane was quite the most remarkable sight to have found, laying there, semi overgrown, by the tropical rainforest.  For more information about the life of this plane view ->History of DC-3 c/n 6051, by Gil White

The Great Green Way is the coastal strip, the tropical islands off shore, the Great Barrier Reef, and the wet tropical rainforests, between Townsville and Cairns in North Queensland.

Wallaman Falls emerge from the gaps in the overhead rocks in a single stream  like Kohler kitchen faucets has been turned on at full force. Many of the waterfalls in this area are spectacular.

 

 I need a T Shirt that explains, “no emergency, the lady just loves life and thinks it’s worth making an effort to stay healthy”. Did you know you can get advertisers to supply you with free Gym Gear and T Shirts? I saw it promoted in Facebook off a running page. I have seen T Shirts in the gym with pronexin written on them. Handy to have lots of T shirts when you are working out and need to change clothes often. 

There is a beautiful swimming pool here in this caravan park, in north Queensland and I am the only one who uses it.

My husband caught 7 whiting this morning, and 8 tonight, and threw back some undersized perch, whiting and crabs, and he was the only angler on the shore.  With 15 fish caught my youngest grandson wants to come and fish with grand pop.

 Many people sitting around, reading books is popular and sadly it seems someone has been using the internet – mine. yes I have gone over 6 gigabits, something I have never done before.  My usage spiked last Monday, looks like someone might have been downloading movies or games using my wireless internet connection.

I need to learn a lot more about securing my wireless connection, looking at the graph it all happened last Monday, I actually saw a man sitting outside all day on his computer, they moved away on Tuesday and my internet usage returned to normal.

This scandalous old lady got laughed at again today for having swum 2000 meters in the pool so I laughed right back in the direction of the grey nomad knockers and said that  ” would be a strong senior when those who laugh were frail elderly”.....yes put me down as a scandalous old lady who gives cheek right back. lol, wish I had the benefit of learned quick wit when I was picked on as a child, it  is only the learned, one liners that give me the skill of quick retort these days :-).

Not quite as funny as the seniors being concerned that my husband had been taken by a crocodile,  because,  I was seen running along the street away from the beach after we had both been seen walking to the beach together.   

What the Super14 final 2010 meant for me...and my country

“How much?” I asked, pointing at the plastic blue horns. I wanted a pair to show my support of the Super14 Rugby team, the Blue Bulls. On the walk up to Orlando Stadium, the street is riddled with informal vendors selling supporter’s paraphernalia for both teams. They spread their goods on the ground, open one or two samples and call out loudly to anyone walking past that isn’t already sporting a flag, hat, shirt, face paint or the traditional horns of the Blue Bulls team. I’m not a Blue Bulls supporter under normal circumstances, so I was ill-prepared for the game.

“R30, mamma,” came the answer. Using the salutation “mamma” is a sign of respect in African culture, the vendor I was dealing with was acknowledging that I was not young, yet not old enough to be a grandmother. The closest English equivalent would be “ma’am”, yet even that doesn’t quite carry the same meaning.

“If I take 3?” As with most informal vendors, the world over, you need to bargain for the best price.

“For you, mamma, I’ll give them to you for R25 each. R75 total.”

“Make it R70 for me.”

“Oh mamma! You’re tough! Ok, R70”, he bent down to pick up my purchase, when a strong gust of wind grabbed his stick-on tattoos and blew them into the field behind him. “Ow!” he cried, torn between chasing his merchandise and staying to protect what was left. I bent down and put my hand on the remaining merchandise to stop them from blowing. “Oh, thank you mamma!” He ran into the field to chase his lost product, and came back after a minute or two, breathless but victorious. I waited while he placed a stone on the recovered merchandise, thanking me profusely all the time. It struck me just how profound this moment was – it didn’t occur to him that I might steal his product, and it didn’t occur to me to leave him to find a solution to his problem alone. The interaction that took place was just natural.

Here I was, in the heart of Soweto, a white woman accompanied only by my 70 year-old mother – I was in the proverbial lion’s den, the largest black settlement in the country, and I felt welcome. All around me are rugby supporters, largely white and Afrikaans, mingling with the local black residents with no sign of trouble whatsoever.

This is a big moment in our history, second only to the unity we all felt at winning the 1995 rugby World Cup. Rugby has historically been a white sport, and it’s been a slow transformation to become a multi-cultural sport. By circumstances and a twist of fate, the Blue Bulls were forced to host both the semi-final, and final Super14 matches at the Orlando stadium in Soweto. This is history in the making, and I was there to witness it.

Across the field, which is crammed with supporters with portable braais (barbeques), I can see the local shebeens (informal pubs), which are bursting at the seams with white supporters – some of these business owners have probably never had a white person in their establishment, and here they are in their thousands, sitting alongside the locals and eating traditional fare. The shebeen owners have painted their walls blue, and have hung up supporters paraphernalia – I daresay it’s the first time they’ve had cause to do this, but I sense that it won’t be coming down as soon as we leave either.

Beer is flowing freely, the smell of cooking meat hangs in the air, behind me is the blaring sounds of traditional Afrikaans music interspersed with the noise of vuvuzelas (a traditional African noisemaker used typically at soccer matches). This is the best example we can give the world of how we live in unity and how accommodating we are of each other.

For the locals that aren’t attending the game, I can see them walking the streets in large numbers, some of them have brought their own braais onto the street and are cooking while chatting to the passing supporters. Some of the supporters have had to walk a fair distance because of the heavy traffic, and all are arriving safely and in high spirits. Out here on the streets, the informal vendors are also selling beer, food, and anything else you could possibly want – no opportunity to make money has been overlooked.

At this moment, on the eve of the FIFA World Cup, with the world’s eye on us - I’m proud to be South African, proud that I choose to live here, proud that my fellow countrymen are also displaying the best attitude possible to carry my country into a positive future. I'm proud to be a part of such a defining moment in the country that I love.

by Carol Willis.

Carol I am proud to have been able to publish such a beautiful story of community spirit and pride. 

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