North Queensland 2018

One nice place to stay around Mareeba is just a few kilometers to the north. Birds on Barron is a former tobacco farm. All these farm licences to grow tobacco were bought up by a government buy back many years ago.

As you drive around though there are many farms that still have the tall 2 story drying sheds. Now these are repurposed and still look the same from the outside. This place is now a farmstay with some camping and basic amenities. The owners have also setup some motel style units.

Wildlife is quite plentiful along the river a few hundred meters away. During the day one might be visited by the pedestrian galah. Pretty Boy can't fly but wanders around wherever he likes, sometimes visiting a guest for a while. He has a lot of attitude and does bite if one annoys him too much.

An old Emu does the rounds sometimes. He can come and go wherever he likes and has lived here for years. Today he is wandering near our camp pecking out fresh shoots, seeds and unlucky grubs.

Frizzle the rooster is another character. Some fancy breed who just seems a bit odd here. He wanders around announcing himself with a high pitched soprano crowing effort.

There are several dogs. Pearl is a Smithfield cross and happy to meet and greet.

There are lots of doves about keeping a lookout on the power wires. A couple of bower birds makings many nests. They move the shells from one to another searching for the perfectly placed and most tastefully decorated bower. Soon a mate will select a nest and the courting will commence.

During the night one may hear a crunching sound and walking noise. This is only one or two friendly horses. They are happy for a hug and scratch around their ears. The short sweet grass in the orchard attracts them during the night.

The sounds of the bush mostly drown out the engines droning away at nearby farms working at preparing for another crop.

At the end of the day nature provides a sometimes spectacular sunset. Some days with no cloud, the sun disappears quite quickly. Other days the red light disappears slowly, fading from the glorious painted cloud formations. Other times a heavy horizon capping cloud will form massive red shafts of light searching upward for a cloud to light up.En savoir plus