Relaxing Before the Weekend

I saw this morning that the price of gold reached a record high, apparently due to geo-political uncertainty with the situation in the Middle East, the American election, the prospect of interest rate cuts, and to some extent the UK budget. Of course all these things are cyclical; what goes around comes around. We’ve been here before and will be again, but it does show the value of having a diversified spread of savings and investments. What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.

It's also a reminder to me to take the gold pan when we go away at the weekend, as it would be an ideal time to find a few big nuggets. Cape York is a mineral-rich region that has been popular among prospectors since 19th-century gold rushes within the area. Just in case we get lucky I’ve got a fossickers licence from the Queensland Department of Resources, so I’ll just need to get a strong suitcase and pay the excess baggage on the way home!

After using the pastry up by making four more pasties for the freezer I took a ride up to Wonga, where the rainforest meets the reef. The stretch of road just before you get there is sandwiched between the rainforest and the sea. We rode it just after I arrived in Australia, and I said I’d go back and get some footage. There are now two short videos at

https://youtu.be/dkZES9Odm58 and https://youtu.be/X3vHjdmZjNs as well as some photos below, just to give you an idea.

On the way back I called at Mowbray bridge, but the water level was too high to see crocs on the bank. I saw one in the water, but too far away for a decent photo.

Back home and I sat in the pool with a cold beer to cool off. Afterwards sat at my laptop I noticed a huntsman spider had come to say hello. It wasn’t a big one and once its curiosity was satisfied it wandered off. Shortly afterwards I saw another one on the triple, but fortunately its legs were far too short to ride it! Pictures below of them both.

On our beach walk this evening we saw a couple of lads with a bike pulling a small trailer, collecting  coconuts they’d picked up from the beach and under the fringe of palm trees. These fall and if not taken will just rot, so it makes sense that someone gets the benefit. There are some van dwellers that park up by the shower and toilet block just off the beach, so maybe they do the same. I wouldn’t know which are good and which are bad so I’m not about to join in. I find a Bounty bar far easier.

Our tea tonight was different for each of us as we’d been batch cooking – in my case more by accident than design – and the freezer was full. We each chose a dish last night, so tonight we ate with little preparation or washing up. Result!

Another documentary about an unsolved murder in Australia, ‘Last Stop Larrimah’, an episode of Derry Girls, and time for a sleep before starting my final seven days in Australia.

Friday morning up early, washing doing its thing in the noisy cupboard, and I’m sat outside with breakfast and a brew at seven thirty. I am going to miss this!

Today’s the last day I can revisit the wildlife sanctuary on my pass (where’s this week gone?), and I’d like to see some more presentations such as the crocodile feeding.

So off I went, and had three enjoyable hours there. I listened to the reptile talk, which was followed by the saltwater crocodiles being fed. That was the bit I’d mainly gone for, and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s some pictures below, but what they don’t catch is the sound of the croc’s mouth closing!

I also managed to get a photo of the joey peering out of its mother’s pouch, as well as a koala awake and eating , and various birds. I’ll put the pictures below and let them speak for themselves. I’d happily visit here again as it’s such an experience to be so close to these animals that I’ve previously only seen in books or on the tv, or maybe at a distance in a zoo.

For tea tonight we met Robyn, Andrew and James at the golf club. There were a couple of people chasing balls around with bent sticks, but most were, like us, using it for its intended purpose of good, cheap tex-mex food and beer.

It wasn’t a late evening, as we had to pack ready for an early start tomorrow. We’ll be away camping until Monday so the next update will be done slightly later than usual.

The pictures below show a kangaroo chilling out, some shots of the road to and from Wonga, small huntsman spiders on my laptop and the bike seat, Fossickers licence, coconuts lying on the beach, me walking back from the beach, two saltwater crocs, Goliath the saltwater croc jumping out of the water for fish, female kangaroo with a joey in her pouch, group of kangaroos feeding, curious kangaroos, koala, freshwater crocs blending into the background, various birds including one with a fish, Kerry and I at the golf club, the ute all loaded ready for the morning.

Also don't forget the two short videos at https://youtu.be/dkZES9Odm58 and https://youtu.be/X3vHjdmZjNs