Palm Cove

 

Another morning below 5 degrees on the Atherton Tableland! Another morning jog to warm up!  The boys struggled to get out of bed, understandably, but once they were up it was troops to tasks for the packing up.  By 9:30 we were ready to go on the short drive to Palm Cove via Mareeba and Kuranda.

We cracked a fresh coconut to eat and Ron and Paula sent us on our way armed with home made bikkies, home grown produce and a great camp oven lid lifter!  It was terrific of them to host us for the last week and we were a bit sad to be leaving, except for the cold, but move on we must.

So, we bid them farewell with hugs and kisses and made our way down from the tablelands towards the coast and, hopefully, warmer weather.

It only took a couple of hours in the car but it was a good chance for Jack and Jarrah to catch up on some overdue homework, while we enjoyed the view.

Times tables, spelling and general knowledge questions about our travels were rewarded with biscuits that Paula's yummy Anzacs!

Fletcher didn't use his manners on one occasion and resorted to a screaming tantrum when he was refused a biscuit.  "I .......want....... my........ biscuiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!"  echoed throughout the valleys as we drove along, but we just turned the stereo up.  Eventually we won and he used his manners. 
Persistence and consistency is everything, for us that is.

We eventually made our way down the twisty hills to the Palm Cove Holiday Park which is nestled among some rather upper-echelon hotels and resorts directly on the beach.  We felt a bit like the Beverley Hillbillies as we waltzed along the foreshore drive with our little house in tow, before pulling into a lovely, well appointed caravan park in a most idyllic location.

The boys were rather excited at being back on the coast and, stepping out of the car, we could once again feel a temperature in the atmosphere on our faces that was above absolute zero.  It was very refreshing to feel alive again, and put a pair of shorts on.

Once set up, we went for a stroll along the foreshore to get our bearings and the boys had a bit of playtime on the local playground to burn off some of the energy pent up from being in the car.

Bruce went on a MBR and then cooked a great BBQ dinner.  Fletch crashed and burned while the rest of us snuggled down in front of TV for the second episode of A Fortunate Life, a show which has really captured Jack & Jarrah's imagination.

We drifted to sleep with the sound of gentle waves lapping on the sand, and a good night's sleep in the warm fresh beach air was had by all.