mortiz044

Our friend Katrina asked Philip and I months ago if we would join her in the ride from Cairns to Cooktown to raise money for the FNQ Hospital Foundation that supports the Cardiac Unit at the Cairns Base Hospital.  As Katrina's husband is one of the senior specialist's in the Cardiac unit we of course said yes immediately. DAY 1 - CAIRNS TO MT CARBINE - 126.9 km The 250 km cycle from Cairns to Cooktown takes three days and it was decided that I would drive the car with the camper on board to support Philip in this ride. The riders assembled at Tjapukai Cultural Centre at the bottom of the Kuranda Range at 5.30am on a beautiful Saturday morning.  After a couple of quick photos it didn't take long before the packs were called to commence the cycle.  Philip was in Pack 4 that consisted mostly of doctors from the Cairns Base so he felt like he was in good hands for the ride.  Packs are not formed until after the ride up the Kuranda Range so our friend Katrina, who is an ER speci

We took our poor neglected drone for an outing today.  I wanted to get some photos of the new landscaping from above and I'm pretty happy  ecstatic with the results.  I can't wait to get some more photos after the wet season.  It will look amazing.  I particularly like the way the chequerboard kitchen garden looks from above.  Shame we forgot to roll back the pool cover! Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think....

My friend Kate recently celebrated her 60th birthday party at their house at Kuranda.  We decided in advance to load the camper and stay the night so that we could both enjoy a drink or two without the worry of driving home.  Kate has the loveliest friends and family and her siblings were all there to help her celebrate this milestone birthday.  Kate has made a career of nursing and it was a bundle of laughs when her sisters and brothers all dressed up in their medical outfits to "take the piss" out of her.  God only knows where they managed to pick up the old fashioned nursing outfits!  They looked amazing.  One of Kate's sisters had written a poem about Kate's nursing life that was really moving... The Siblings..... It was a fantastic day that went well into the night with quite a few of us choosing to stay the night. The next morning (Kate's real birthday) we gathered around to once again sing happy birthday and cut another beautiful cake creation made by Kate&