5th May 2017 - Blue Water marina - Earl Hill

Friday 5^th May 2017

Earl Hill flowers

Blue Water marina

Cairns Qld

2XS has been quite happy securely tied up on F pontoon in the marina.

2XS and friends

But today we have moved her out of her comfort zone…

Waiting for the tide to go out

We are backed up to the little beach near the Blue Water Bar & Grill – this will give the customers something to stare at over their lattes.

We are waiting for the tide to go out and we will be high and dry.  This was initially so the welder could come and weld but…strangely, he doesn’t want to, not without a bit more preparation time. 

Pete is undaunted.  He has found a suitable little beach for 2XS; 2XS is going up!

The plan is…we will clean the hulls.  I am not wildly enthusiastic about this task.  We have a small green scouring pad each and…the hulls (TWO of them!) are very big.  But I will slosh and scrub to the best of my ability and will try to avoid being bitten to distraction by the midgies which live in the foliage on the edge of the beach.  Pete, on the other hand, is glowing with joy – messing about with boats is what men like to do!

Yesterday I went for a beautiful walk, through the suburbs

Some of the houses have fabulous stone retaining walls

and along to Earl Hill.  This is a steep hill with a very VERY popular walking track.  It really is beautiful, shady and leafy. 

And at the top a fabulous view of Yorkey’s Knob.  (I sent a photo of Yorkey’s Knob to James; he found the name inordinately funny when he was with us.)

On the other side an equally fabulous view over Trinity Beach and Double Island.

I went up very slowly and was passed by dozens of joggers, speedy walkers, dogs.  I didn’t care; I just wanted to get up there without breaking an ankle.  I was a bit in awe of the joggers who hurtled back down the track without worrying about their ankles at all! 

I love the paperbarks

Last night we invited our neighbour Ken for a beer at beertime (5-ish.)  He ended up staying for dinner because he revealed that in fact he had completely forgotten to buy any food at all when he went to town earlier in the day.  When I offered pasta with Bolognese sauce enhanced with many vegetables he was thrilled to bits – his alternative was a small packet of cocopops with no milk…

More Earl Hill flowers

3rd May 2017 - Blue water marina (still) - Earl's Hill walk

Wednesday 3^rd May 2017

Blue Water marina

Cairns Queensland

Beautiful tropical foliage

We didn’t venture far today.  I spent most of the morning reading my book and gently scratching around my midgie bites and trying not to complain too much.  (Pete’s bites are more plentiful and much worse-looking and he doesn’t complain anywhere near as much as I do…).  These are such amazing little creatures; they a re invisible to the naked eye but they make huge mound-like bites which itch like crazy.  Thank God for antihistamines!

Green ants nest cunningly camouflaged in the leaves

In the afternoon we went for a gentle stroll down to the nearest beach and then round the back of Earl’s Hill.  (It had to be a gentle stroll; it is much too hot to attempt a faster pace.)

It was all very pleasant.  Lots of big new houses being built on the edge of the forest.

Some very big intricate spider webs

A large white egret in a muddy waterway

Egret barely visible...

Pete in our closest waterway, working out how we can get 2XS beached in the next few days at low tide so the welder can weld up the holes in the hulls.

And in a very different part of Australia…Nicky doing the Bondi-Bronte walk with her beloved aunt Karen early in the morning before a conference.

2nd May 2017 - Blue waters - Cairns - social times - boat jobs

Tuesday 2nd May 2017

Blue Water marina

Cairns Qld

We have been having a very nice Cairns interlude.

Love the pods on this big tree

Social engagements, for a start.

Last night we caught the bus to Kewarra Beach, a few suburbs up from Blue Waters.  It was such a good service - better than a taxi, really.  The driver asked us which number we wanted in the long street and dropped us off at the door.  For $2.40! 

Rosemary John Clive Pete Diana

We had a delicious dinner with old friends – ex-Tasmanians Diana and Rosemary, and their non-Tasmanian husbands John and Clive, in a beautiful house full of beautiful things.

And today we caught up with Pete and Maddie from Mission Beach, in town because they needed three things fixed/replaced; their car, Pete’s computer, and Pete’s health – he has a touch of pneumonia and is feeling very crook.  

A nice blurry photo of Maddie and me

The only thing which can be replaced is the computer; the other two will have to be fixed by experts.

Pete H and Pete S

We looked at the bus timetable but it was misleading and we had to wait wait wait for about half an hour.  It was VERY hot.  Pete stood in a shady patch on the grass and endured midgie bites; I sat for as long as I could bear it on a shadeless bench, covered in zinc cream (me not the bench.) 

The bites are extremely unpleasant.  Not as bad as in Darwin, where I thought I was going totally insane, but they are bad enough to wake us up at night.  I bought a 30-pack of antihistamines because I was horrified to see I only had one left.  NOT enough!!

As for 2XS…Pete has McGuivered the door handle, which was not locking at all.  This was very difficult.  He couldn’t just buy a new one because they don’t make them for this size/width/depth of door apparently.  But he did it.

And we pumped out the bilge in the port forward cabin – this had never been done before.  Apparently… There was a whole lot of salty sludgy water to be pumped and then sponged out.  It was a bit of a Sorcerer’s Apprentice task, neverending, and left us both looking like Mr Tomatohead.

And this afternoon Pete is negotiating with a nice young welder called Lee of Lethal Welding to see if he can fix the bits of 2XS which were damaged by Cyclone Debbie.  It’s all go!

Best news – James and Bron saw a cassowary in the Daintree!!