Week 437-438 - Mossman, Queensland

So much can happen in just a couple of weeks and we are victims of just that. In fact we were too busy to have time to sit down to write last week's blog, hence this bi-weekly version.

No need for a title

Another Happy Hour Happy hour at Xmas In July, Mareeba 

We arrived at Mareeba Bush Camp to ready us for the Xmas in July event in Mareeba. The Highway Wanderers were beginning to gather in numbers. Sadly one of ours, Britt, lost her fight with cancer down in Sydney, so Jo, the President of Highway Wanderers and also a great friend of Britt and Oke's decided to fly down to Sydney for the Celebration of Britt's life. This left me to fend for myself and hold the fort.

Horror and Rusti - Rusti wins her first official award 
for best trick - all she did was sing happy birthday

My arrival at Xmas in July was a lonely affair, just me and the dog, travelling down from the Bush Camp to the township of Mareeba. The Highway Wanderers set up camp in the overflow outside of the main arena. We had plenty of room to flex our wings and spread out.

Jo jetted back to hold the last happy hour of the event on Sunday. However, all was not normal. Jo had contracted bronchial asthma and became very ill herself.

Rainbow Bee-eater - 
Three of these birds graced us every day 

Brown Cuckoo-Dove - A rare sighting in 
the Daintree rainforest 

From Mareeba we headed up to Birds on Barron, just 10 kms North of Mareeba to rest and recuperate, which was definitely needed. For some foul reason, I went down with flu symptoms and a severe cough. We were both laid up for a couple of days. This is the first time either of us have been this ill during our travels of eight years on the road.

Bush Camp - Peace and quiet after the
hustle and bustle of Xmas in July.

Luckily we have been travelling with Bill and Lesley who are familiar with this part of the world and who knew of a MSO (Members Stop Over) at Mossman, which is at the edge of the Daintree Rainforest and Port Douglas

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We spent a day at Cape Tribulation, deep in the rainforest with constant drizzle and a continuous dripping from the rainforest. The scenery and the wildlife was awesome. And as we are feeling a lot better now, we intend to do some more excusions in this top end of the country.