Day 27. Sad to say farewell to Ros and Alex. They go on their way to the sea and we head for the Gulf. The road is much better past Georgetown. The temperature reached 31 as we drove along and reached 32. Our site here at the Normanton Tourist Park is so tight, we had to reverse up the road to get in. However, it is a nice shady site near a really good pool! Lots of swimming this afternoon. Heard a story at the pool from another guest about leaving their washing ...

Day 26. We spent the day with Ros and Alex in Georgetown. A leisurely English breakfast was followed by a perambulation around the town. When walking Elle earlier, RM had met the local accountant and her partner. She lived in an interesting old cottage. We met them on our walk and were invited in for a cuppa. At least, Elle was invited in and we were allowed to join her. Dog people without a dog. We talked for ages until startled out of our skins by a loud bang ....

Day 25. A mixed day weather wise and countryside wise. Leaving Mareeba in fine weather, we drove into fog and misty rain as we drove south again. The countryside had remnant rainforest, and parts were reminiscent of the far south coast of NSW. The temperature dropped to 15 degrees at one point. The road was rough, narrow and wound through hills. It was windy and we saw our first Qland wind turbines. Beautiful countryside! Later, we turned west onto the Savannah W...

Day 24. We left Cooktown in the rain but drove quickly into sunshine and onto the Atherton Tableland. This is a pleasant agricultural area and the scenery is worthwhile. RM was unaware, despite his Barista status in Bywong, that Mareeba is the centre of about 70% of the production of Australian grown coffee. JM won some points on this. We stopped at Coffee Works for a coffee and to purchase coffee. It is a very interesting establishment for a town like Mareeba. ...

Day 23. I spent an hour on Chatty Kidz, talking to Olivia, Tristan and Georgina. It was lovely to catch up, listen to Tris reading and talk about rock art with Olivia, using our photos. George brought us up to date with Tom the cat's health. Then we spent the morning on the trails up Mt Cook. I did the scenic route and RM and Elle, did the dangerous climb to the summit!