The Roaming 5: July 23 (Day 174) - Mossman to Mount Molloy

Our final morning in this lovely quiet spot!

Honestly, I will say again that this was the best wrong turn we have taken on this trip. We've stayed in some nice spots, but I reckon this one takes the cake! The only one which would compare would have been Inverleigh in Victoria
which was really nice too. This water is definitely clearer, there's more firewood; whereas Inverleigh was definitely quieter as there was no train line or road nearby.

We enjoyed a morning swim, and amazingly found for the first time that there was a log we could jump off into a deep-enough water hole! Here for a week and we only just found it!!

Morning swim

I (Greg) had to shoot a video for the release of a new product we've just brought to market in the USA, and this was a perfect spot to do it. Then Matt made up a sign for on the side of the van big enough to say goodbye to the train drivers and thank them for the many toots they gave us when going past.

Note the sign on the side of the van!

Us and one of our cane trains - this looks to be Douglas and Faughy, our favourite!

Once we'd done all this it was time to pack up and leave this little slice of paradise. We headed into town briefly to do a few errands and then onto Mount Molloy.

Not far along the road heading west out towards Mount Molloy, we found the depot where all the sugar cane trains had been going! With all the trains going past we had never really stopped to think where they were going. I think we just assumed they were going to cane farms to pick it up or something. However they have this big cane interchange, where all the cane growers in the area would bring their load in and drop them off, and the trains would then come along and haul the cane to the mill. It's a very good system! When we first saw the cane railway down in Bundaberg we assumed it was a bit of a gimmick, maybe a left-over vestige from previous generations. But the cane line is still very much used, and is obviously integral to the efficiency of this (not so little) economy!

Did you know:

Sugar is Australia's second largest export crop, after wheat, with a total annual revenue of almost $2 billion.
Around 95% of sugar produced in Australia is grown in QLD, with the remainder in northern NSW.
Australia exports 80%-85% of its raw sugar to buyers overseas, making it the second largest raw sugar exporter in the world.
The sugar industry generates more than 40,000 jobs, directly and indirectly.
The Australian domestic market for raw sugar is around one million tonnes.

Source: https://www.sugaraustralia.com.au/sugar-australia/about/industry-information/

The sugar cane interchange!

We then faced a fairly steep climb up into the hills surrounding the plain on which Mossman, Port Douglas and the whole Douglas Shire is situated. It was another steep, windy road, similar to going through Upper Sturt in the Adelaide Hills, which in turn was like the drive through Great Otway National Park down in Victoria! If you check out these photos and then look at the video on https://theroaming5.blogspot.com/2020/02/day-20-timboon-to-apollo-bay.html - apart from the weather, you'll probably see the similarity in style of these roads and foliage!

On the way we blazed past a sign advertising Barramundi, so based on our last delicious Barra experience near Mission Beach, we had to stop! It was nearly as good as the last one!

We got to the Rifle Creek rest area near Mount Molloy later in the afternoon. This is a pretty basic rest stop, but it has the distinct advantage of only costing $2 per vehicle, as well as having toilets and showers! Honestly for that price it's an absolute bargain, considering there's not a lot of low-cost camping around. By now we were out of Douglas Shire and into Mareeba Shire, who seem to see travellers as a good source of income for their shire, rather than Douglas' attitude which seems to be if you don't need a caravan park, don't come! Not that we should complain - we had a great spot and they were quite accommodating, it's just a pity that's their policy.