We have done a 'U' turn and no longer are we heading west! Not ready for home yet! We left Mount Surprise on Sunday morning and travelled back out to the Kennedy Highway. We've also left the 'Developmental' roads behind. Our destination on Sunday was Mareeba, approximately 260kms further north. We will now be heading up the 'rabbits ear', as Peter says!Morning tea stop was 'Mount Garnet', where we had another of those lovely toasted sandwiches from the roadhouse. Well it was Sunday! We decided it was another treat day! The next stop was the hot springs in Innot. Just a little town on the highway with a caravan park alongside the hot springs. My goodness the water was hot! It was flowing through some rocks into the creek. Not very much water in the creek where the water flow was, but there was steam coming off the water that was there, and it was far too hot to put your foot into! Obviously further down the creek to the west, where there was more water, it was quite pleasant. The town dogs had come down for their morning bath and they were enjoying themselves. Peter found a spot where he thought it was nice, but it was still too hot for me!  From there we travelled onto Ravenshoe, which is the highest town in Queensland at 930 metres above sea level. We couldn't believe how quickly the countryside changed and we were suddenly in beautiful lush farmland. There were plenty of dairy cows and there was a small wind farm just north of Ravenshoe. Then we had some mountainous country to tackle again. Probably only about 20kms, but Peter made the comment to himself...."I'm back in those damn mountains again Sambo"!Once through that section of the 'Great Dividing Range' we were into the agriculture of the 'Atherton Tablelands'. Atherton is the smaller of the two major towns on the Tableland. Atherton has a popolation of about 6,000 and Mareeba 9,600. We planned to stay at Mareeba. The caravan park we chose, certainly won't rate as number one in 'Travelling Oz', but it is in the centre of town and the cost is only $25.00 per night. It fulfils our requirements and the 'Barron River' runs along the back of the park. The view up the river was very pretty. Only about 10 bays for travellers like us and the rest of the park seemed to be full of people running from something or collecting their allowance every fortnight. I need say no more! Peter reckoned one area looked like a refugee tent city. The 'Special' was stay for 7 pay for 6.  So $150.000 a week.  Cheap rent with no overheads!  We think it was a Shire park as they were patching the driveway this morning when we left.  There is a big roomy caravan park between Atherton and Mareeba at a tiny settlement called 'Walkamin'. Also a free camp halfway between the two towns, where there were lots of vans parked. Mareeba has over 300 sunny days per year and it is only 1 hour from Cairns and Port Douglas. It is known as 'The Gateway to Cape York'. It is also the epicentre for a rich and diverse agricultural area and is considered the food bowl to the tropical coast. Sugar cane, avocados, coffee, pineapples, mangoes, lychees, bananas and an extensive list of exotic tropical fruits and vegetables are grown in the region. The Tableland is perfect for 'Hot Air Ballooning' and we had that experience on Monday morning. It was fantastic! The entry signs to the town have 'Hot Air Balloons' on them. So it is definitely big in this town! We were lucky enough to get on Monday mornings flight and it helped that we could meet them at the Information Centre. We were also able to do an hours flight, which at the end was definitely an extra experience!  It didn't cost us double either, so it was good value. When you experience the staff necessary to get these balloons in the air and down again, you can appreciate the cost being what it is! We were up at 4.00am to be at the Information Centre by 4.45am. We were there by 4.30am. Pete always makes sure you are early! We were the only two that went out with the workers, so into the back of the troupe carrier we hopped. It was quite misty on the way out and a little fresh! Nothing like it would have been at Alice Springs though!The company we flew with were 'Raging Thunders Hot Air Balloon Adventures' and we had a gorgeous big koala on the balloon. This company has been flying hot air balloons at Mareeba for 20 years. The other company that also put two balloons in the air from the same field, has been operating for 14 years. So we stood in the paddock and watched the workforce go about their tasks, before the Asians arrived and wanted to be in the thick of it all. Mind you without them, they wouldn't have a very profitable business. The balloons can take up to 20 passengers and the basket is divided into four sections. I managed to get up over the side of the basket with these arthritic knees of mine, with Peter giving me a yank in! The only thing was, when we got back to the van I was missing my Fitbit! I think it must have come off in the very elegant entry into the basket! No more counting of steps for the rest of the trip now!  Neil was our pilot or balloon flyer, whatever they are called, maybe 'Captain' will do for blog purposes. He used to fly helicopters, so we felt pretty confident and he has been with the company for the whole time they have been operating. Wally came for a fly as well! It was so peacful up there, looking out over the tablelands.  Flying high at times and then coming down for a closer look at kangaroos jumping around. The mist added to the spectacle for the first half hour flight, together with the sunrise. We landed in a field and those only doing a half hour flight, were replaced with the next lot of passengers.  Empty bottles of gas were exchanged for full ones too and up we went again!  We flew close to the town in the second half hour and by then the mist had lifted. We could see sugar cane being harvested, beautiful homes alongside mango plantations, and the old sheds from the times when tobacco growing was huge in the region.The really interesting bit was when we landed for the second time and everything had to then be packed up, we became part of the team and workforce. Once we were on the ground, we had to get down low in the basket, and then with us all laying back to one side, the basket was tipped over.  This put the balloon over and onto the ground. Once we had scrambled out, we were asked to get either side of the balloon and help get the air out and fold it up. That was after the photo shoot inside the balloon.  The balloon holds 400,000 cubic metres of air. The gas is propane and we used six bottles for the hour flight. The flight actually became an hour and a half, because of where the wind took us, and our 'Captain' finding the right paddock to land in. Most farmers are happy for them to land on their properties and in return they give them a free flight from time to time. The photos will tell the story! The full flight certainly added another dimension to the experience!  We came back and cooked ourselves bacon and egg for breakfast, come morning tea and had a rest. We decided it was better to attack the rest of the day that way.Following an early lunch we headed for the Information Centre where we picked up a few Cooktown brochures and went through the 'Heritage Centre' which is located there. It was excellent how they have displayed and recorded the history of the area. We picked up some ideas for back home and Peter rated it the 'Number One Museum' of our travels. And we have seen a few!  The display on the 'Tobacco Industry' has been assessed as 'Nationally Significant'.  The display at the 'Heritage Centre' is the only collection in Australia which is able to demonstrate all phases of production and its evolution and development over the lifetime of the 'Tobacco Growing Industry'.  Of the $90 million per annum to the Australian economy, by the industry during it peak years, $50 million was produced in Mareeba and Dimbulah district.  Most who worked in the industry were immigrants and there were many of their comments displayed.  These comments gave one an insight into just how hard they did work.  Many dollars were easily lost in every stage of the growing, picking and drying of the tobacco.  The last bales were sold from the area in 2004.  From there we went to 'Coffee Works'. You need to put this one on your 'Bucket List' Val, if you didn't visit Mareeba whilst in Cairns. It has the most impressive 'Coffee Museum' and it is the largest in the world. The number of coffee percolators in the museum was unbelievable.  2,000 coffee and tea making treasures from the past until today.  The story and origins of these treasures, span 6 continents and date back as far as the early 1700's.  Unbelievable in the sense of someone spending so much money collecting them from all over the world.  Most of the collection originally belonged to a man by the name of Ian Bersten, who had a lifelong passion for coffee.  The owners of 'Coffee Works' purchased the collection from him, to add to their collection in 2005.  'Coffee Works' was established in 2007.  The largest coffee plantation is between Mareeba and Atherton and 90% of Australia's coffee beans are grown in the Mareeba area.  Entry to the museum also allowed you to taste a huge selection of coffees and gluten free chocolates. I certainly had my chocie fix for the week! And we have a little bag of 'Lemon Myrtle' speciality chocs to enjoy!  They are delicous but I think we need to pace ourselves!We had seen sugar cane being cut while hot air ballooning in the morning, so we decided to drive out a little on the highway north and see if they were still working.   The machines had finished for the day, but where we decided to take our photos of sugar cane at various heights, the farmer saw us and came over for a chat.  We had a great time quizzing him and came away thinking "They're not making much money in this industry either"!  He was about 70 and one of four brothers farming 1,000 acres of sugar cane.  He has an older brother still working, as we came across him later spreading fertiliser on this years new planting.  The cane is harvested every year and they can normally harvest the planting for 6 years, then it is time to replant that paddock.  They have water to irrigate the crops and years ago, they only paid full price for the irrigation water allowance that they used, and half price for what they did not use.  Nowadays they have to pay for the full allowance whether they use it or not.  It costs them $180,000 a year.  So $180 an acre for water.   The Chinese have just purchased the Sugar Mill in Mareeba and it looks like there will be a legal battle over prices being paid to the farmers. They will not provide definite contracts and intend to ship all that is processed to China. Many farmers have decided to send their cane to Mosman for processing, which is 70kms away.  This is slowing down the harvesting waiting for trucks to return, as well as the extra freight costs.  Between us we haven't remembered all the figures he gave us, but he said "They lose money at 10 cents".  They make a little money at 15 cents and there was a time where they made plenty of money when it was 30 cents.  But that was only for a few years.  He was referring to the weight of the cane in lbs.    The mill takes approximately one third of the sugar content and the farmer get around two thirds.  This was government controlled, but nowadays the farmer has to take out contracts with the mill.  Hence the problems with the foreign ownership of the Mareeba Mill and the brewing legal battle.  80% of the sugar produced in Australia is exported and 95% of Australian sugar is grown in Queensland.By this time we had well and truly filled up another day and I was texting Fiona to say we would talk with her an hour later than we had planned.  It was her 'Special Day' of the year yesterday and we had planned a 'Facetime' together.  But we still haven't got the technology sorted in their household.  Great to have a long chat though.

What started out as a fun day, finished with more history.  30 photos