No Jourama

While we were in Byron Bay staying with Mick and Lynn, Jeff said that while Parkway Drive were on tour, he remembers jumping off high rock into the water at Jourama falls near Townsville. While we are awaiting the latest Cyclone to come and go we headed off to find it up the Bruce Highway towards Ingham. As we passed a sign towards the sea to a place called “Rollingstone” we couldn’t resist crossing the railway line to explore. The Bruce Highway runs about 4 to 20km from the coast but the railway line follows it on the beach side so every time you go to have a look at the sea you have to cross it. The crossings have no lights or barriers, you just have to stop and look both ways before proceeding. It’s funny; I have to look twice each way not really trusting one look only. We passed Rolling Stone and headed towards Balgal Beach but its been overcast for a day or so and we had a very heavy rainfall yesterday evening which only seemed to last about 2 minutes.

We rejoined the Bruce Highway and it wasn’t long before three cars overtook us much faster than normal and seemed almost to be racing. Ten or fifteen minutes later we passed all three by the side of the road; somehow they had all managed to hit each other without anyone else being involved. Other cars had stopped and they were out so we didn’t add to the congestion. By the time we had reached the Jourama turning we were both starving and decided to head into Ingham for lunch as it was only a little way further on. To our disappointment, Ingham was closed so we had to settle for a pie instead. Apparently there had been a bomb scare in the main Bank on the high street so the police had blocked off every entrance and exit. I don’t think they have too many police cars in Ingham as one exit was blocked of by an ambulance. So we didn’t even get to see Ingham this time so we turned around and headed back to Jourama falls. The turning is immediately after a creek where the trees look as if they have been draped with curtains. This must be the water that has come from the waterfall but I guess it will not be at its best as we have had so little rain. We turned towards the falls but after about 1km the road ended and was replaced by a corrugated dirt track. Geoff’s car is too nice to drive over those so again, we were disappointed and headed back towards Townsville. Not too successful a day so far but we had one more place to visit, Paluma, a village in the clouds.

There are several turnings for it but Claire directed me to the second turning from Ingham as that one goes past Little Crystal Creek. Its one of those long windy roads that Paul McCartney wrote about that winds its way up the steep mountain. The maximum speed limit is 40km per hour but the average far lower so it seemed to take a while to travel the 7km to the Creek. We parked up and wandered over towards the Creek which was very pretty with large rocks everywhere that kids were jumping off into the water. I wanted to have a go but Claire wouldn’t let me because she was frightened of having to drive the car back.

Its always a bit of a shock when you first get out the car, especially when its cloudy and grey, because going from the air conditioned car into the humidity always seems surprising somehow. Back to the car to wind up the other 11km of mountain roads towards Paluma. We parked at a place called McClendon’s lookout but couldn’t find anything that looked like a lookout, only tea rooms, a pottery place and some rainforest walks. I didn’t feel that we could head back without actually doing something or at least getting a couple of photo’s so suggested the rainforest walk to Witt’s lookout. Claire didn’t want to know as there seemed quite a lot of noises coming out from the trees and it looked quite dark ass the rainforest had thick cover. Anyway she agreed to let me walk the 1.5km through he forest so I could get a picture at the lookout while she had a look at the pottery. I set off with Claire water bottle thinking it would be a walk in the park but soon found otherwise. It was incredibly humid inside the forest, soft underfoot, wet everywhere and uphill all the way. It wasn’t long before I was drenched and my chest and throat hurt from breathing so hard. I don’t think many people travel this path as I kept catching thick spider’s webs with my forehead. It got wetter, darker, hotter and noisier the further I ventured but it was only 1.5km. Whoever measured that distance wants stringing up, I was starting to think that I had gone the wrong way, but there was no other choices just one track. I kept hoping to see other people so I could ask if I was on the right track but nobody was there. Eventually I came to a split in the road where it was 1.1km to a Creek and only 350m to the lookout. It’s the longest 350m I have ever walked but eventually I could see Witt’s lookout; it could have been more appropriately called “Witt’s End”.

All that driving up the windy road, all that sweat and toil up this forever ending rainforest track was all now worth it with the spectacular view which I was now to behold. Ordinarily I wouldn’t have put a photograph like that in but I had to show you my prize, a small gap between the trees where you could see, well mist, in the distance. I got my breath back and turned around and headed for home, but at least it would be downhill on the way back. No, it was uphill all the way back as well. Somehow, like an Escher painting it was up hill both ways and my throat and chest began to hurt again. When I eventually arrived at the other end, Claire was waiting anxiously for me wondering where on earth I had been for such a long time. When she saw me she thought that I had found a Creek and had been swimming because I was so wet. Never mind lets get that air conditioning on in the car and enjoy the road down hill to Townsville.

There was an interruption in the tv programs last night to say that a Cyclone was picking up strength as it headed inland towards Townsville so we should batten down the hatches and get ready for Sunday afternoon when it arrives. Better get battening, it’s Sunday morning so we need to get the car filled up, buy supplies and stock up with plenty of beer.