In my excitement to record the Old Farts' latest adventures on our Epic Road Trip, I completely forgot to give two towns en-route to Undara much deserved Honourable Mentions. The first was Ravenshoe (pronounced Ravens Hoe, not Ravens Shoe) a quaint little town that is the highest in Queensland. Ravenshoe receives a mean annual rainfall of 2,710 millilitres (or over 165 inches). That is a rather more than a few showers...
Anyway, my eyes were caught by a shop called Ravens Sew on the main drag. I love plays on words . so I had to stop and photograph the sign. A delightful gift shop, I spent about half an hour perusing the wares and ended up purchasing another two pairs of fluffy socks. Ravenshoe was an exceedingly pretty village, the day was benign and I thoroughly enjoyed our minor stop there.
Moving onto Mt Garnet, on the western edge of the Atherton Tablelands, I was fixated by yet another engaging enterprise. The House of Garnet, which operates a hairdressers, a gift shop and a clothing emporium was another gem to be explored.. I spied a turquoise padded vest on the Bargains rack and spent the huge amount of five dollars to wear it out of the establishment.
I was immediately thankful for my latest acquisition on our first night at Undara. We were not expecting such relatively cold minimums and on our second evening we ended up in thermals, complete with woolly hats!
So, when in Ravenshoe and Mt Garnet, do drop in to these two utterly unexpected delights. The ingenuity of those living in small country towns never ceases to amaze me!
We drove three hundred kilometres from Undara to Croydon as there was no accommodation in either Georgetown or Forsayth. Our first break was in Mt Surprise, which completely exceeded our expectations. A very neat little town, with a renowned caravan park named Bedrock Village, whose many facilities include pet minding if taking a tour to Undara only half an hour away.
What really caught our beady eyes was Callaghan's Camp on the eastern side of town. Lindsay Callaghan, a remarkable chap who had worked thirty-five years in the railways, had collected a vast array of rusty metal. He was a very softly spoken storyteller and we were thoroughly enchanted by both him and his multitude of goodies. Lindsay reminded me of B2; he was preparing to have a snack and a nap after we departed!
We moved onto Georgetown for lunch and the remains of the Cumberland Chimney just west of the town. Then I took over the driving for the second stretch to Croydon. We arrived mid-afternoon in the tidy and shady grounds of the Croydon Caravan Park. Manager Anne and her husband had just taken over as managers of the council - run park and we were mightily impressed with the facilities. We retired to the 1887 Club Hotel for dinner and then an early night, ready for exploration of this heritage town which seemingly had survived boom and bust in the middle of nowhere...
Avoiding other road uses.
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