We stirred ourselves enough to check out at the required
time before parking the car down at the marina to go and see the ‘Round the
World’ yacht racers that were moored up there.
We had seen one of the yachts sailing into port alongside us yesterday
but the sight of all of the teams alongside each other was something to behold:
Note the member of crew right at
the top of the mast on the 6th boat along in that photo.! We
wandered along the jetty where there were information boards telling us all
about the crews and the stages of the race.
The yachts were stationed here for a few weeks whilst they recovered
from the journey north from Hobart and prepared for the next leg – a three-week
race to Japan. They were also looking
for willing volunteers to sign up for future races – all training is provided
for this life-risking but life-affirming adventure, though it will set you back
£10,000 for partaking in one leg, or a round million to sail the entire globe! Unsurprisingly, many of the crew-members
aboard were listed as being ‘Retired Company Directors’ or anything comparable
that would mean having a hefty pot of money available. An amazing experience I’m sure, but people
lose their lives during the race every year.
In fact, we met a man from Liverpool who had been flown in to bolster
the numbers and mood of a team who had recently lost a crewmate.
We found a coffee shop with a view of the harbour and a
friendly canine to pet whilst we recovered from our sociable couple of
days. Then it was time to face the
reality that we had better get driving because we had less than a week to see
the rest of Australia!
It was a long drive to Mission beach, which we had been
recommended to visit. It was a stormy
day so we only stopped at a couple of viewpoints.
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| A swathe of rain forest around a river delta |
This included a stretch of
beach along the town of Cardwell. We had
clearly travelled far enough north to be back in Crocodile territory from the
warning signs displayed along the water’s edge.
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| If it wasn't for all the warning signs this would look appealing for a swim. |
We found a reasonably priced site meters from Mission beach, Bali
Hai campground, where we got to choose our spot for the night. Here we are,
conveniently close to the camp kitchen and showers!
It was nothing like
beach weather but we had access to electricity and internet for the first time
in days so we made the most of that.
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| A blustery afternoon on Mission Beach |
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| The worms here are very organised in the way they clear the sand from their burrows.... |
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