Here are some photos of our recent holiday.

We went to Far North Queensland (FNQ - yes, they really do write it like that).  This area is a tropical paradise.  It is also where I was born and spent the first part of my life.  I haven't been back to the area for about 30 years, so this was a sort of homecoming for me.

We were staying at Port Douglas, which is basically a resort town about a half hour north of Cairns and the closest point to the Great Barrier Reef.  It is a beautiful tropical town, with magnificent gardens and a wonderful, welcoming atmosphere.

Below is a view of the shoreline looking north to Mossman and beyond.

And another view looking across the bay.

The hotel where we stayed was out of the township itself, although not too far.  We usually walked back from town along the beach.  While I love surf beaches, these are the beaches I remember going to and loving as a child.  Of course, the fact the sun is setting makes them all that more beautiful.

This is the beach looking north (towards Port Douglas township):

And this is the beach looking south (towards where we stayed):

While we were there, we took a cable car up to a town called Kuranda.  The trip up was absolutely fantastic.  Here is a shot of the coast from the cable car.

The car also goes near the Barron Gorge, which leads up to the Barron Falls.  I used to live on a farm near the Falls.  When they flooded (usually during the monsoon season), we could hear the Falls from our place.  These days, most of the water is captured and used to generate electricity.  But there is still a token trickle, as the locals call it.

Here are a few shots of the Gorge and the Falls.

The cable car stops at a few different spots between Cairns and Kuranda.  This enables the visitor to walk through some magnificent rainforest areas.  The rich smell of the forest is something I'd forgotten.  And the way the light filters through the canopy above is nothing short of spectacular.  Here are a few shots of the rainforest and both Toni and I in amongst it all.

As the cable car comes into the final stop in Kuranda, it passes by my first school.  I was really amazed to find I could still remember it, even though there are more buildings there now.  But the original building is still there, even though the whole place is no longer used.  Developers want the land bad as it is right on the Barron River, but the township isn't having any of this.  I would like to see the school become a Heritage Centre for the local Aboriginal community or something similar, instead of it being turned into yet another resort.

Here is a photo of me standing out front of the school.

The visit to Kuranda brought back a lot of memories for me.  So much of who I am, how I think and look at the world around me was informed from then.  Going back has crystalised the idea that I want to return to this area and live here again.  There is so much family history in the area.  I would love to come back and add to it.

END OF PART 1