Wednesday, November 21 Dingle Cove to Bilyana Rest area

     Wednesday was a fairly lazy day. We took advantage of cell phone reception and did some blogging and emailing.

Kevin 'working'

Diana 'working'

    There is a Wooly's, i.e. Woolworth's, nearby and we did a little shopping. Then we went on a hike to Lacey Creek where we took a short dip to cool off. No crocs there, I don't know why, but if they're calling it a swimming hole we're assuming it's safe to swim there. We still keep an eye out for snakes and leaches, you know, everyday jungle precautions, but in the humid Queensland conditions, you take advantage of opportunities to cool off.

     We drove a short distance, seeing a Cassowary trying to cross a road, then went to another hike in the rainforest featuring a large grove of fan palms. First we had silverside sandwiches. 'Silverside' is a kind of corned beef, and with a little lettuce and horseradish sauce on a fresh baguette it made for a fine lunch. Diana had bought several exotic tropical fruit at the information center and we tried one then. [Diana: It's taste was kind of interesting, but the consistency was disconcerting, even for me.]

Silverside sandwich and tropical fruit

     The hike took us through an area devastated by a cyclone in 2006. The plants and trees there have begun to recover, and the informative signage along the way really helped us understand the dynamics of rainforest growth.

Fan Palm leaf

Fan palms

I see you hiding up there

     Afterwards we stopped at a banana plantation and Diana picked up some bananas for a reasonable price. Not as good as chiquitas, and absolutely not even in the same universe of flavor as the bananas we bought roadside in central America, but not too bad. [Diana: I think they taste just like the bananas we buy at home. I also bought a few bananas at the Wetlands Info Center that are quite different. For one thing, they are a dark red, almost burgundy. And they are a lot fatter than the regular yellow bananas. They taste really good, better than a traditional yellow banana.]

Banana grove

Bunches of bananas heading into washing station

     We spent the night free camping at a roadside rest north of Ingram that compared favorably to some we've spent real money at. Had our own picnic table, nice level grass to set up a tent, and good company with a Kiwi fellow about our age bicycling up the coast from Brisbane. [Diana: He was a WWOOFer – Willing Worker on Organic Farms] Spaghetti with prime Aussie minced beef and grated Tasty followed by Tim Tams was the special on the menu, and we ate it with gusto. If it hadn't been for the railroad 50 meters away, the road 75 meters away, or worst of all, the feral rooster that for some reason called the place home and started crowing from a tree just above our tent at 4 am, the place would have been perfect.