Today, we decide to go further inland and head for the different wineries in the region. We pass some big ass termite hills along the way – these things were about 6ft high and of course, the lads had to get out and take a picture of them…..weirdoes…..
Our first stop is a Mango Winery….interesting….we turn up and it just looks like a massive warehouse….hmmmm….we ring a bell and follow the signs to the shop entrance….and it’s the tiniest shop in the world – haha! Doubt we’ll be getting loads of wine tasting here then. The woman is doing her spiel to a group of older peeps and then lets us have a taste (for $5!). Aaron makes sure he tries ALL of the different wines and liquors – not impressed with the teeny measures like but whatevs! We try the sweet, medium and dry mango wines and all I can say is ‘don’t think this will be taking off in the UK somehow’. It tastes ok I suppose, but bit on the sickly side. Plus it’s around about £15-£20 a bottle?! WHAT!! The woman does her best to sell us a bottle but it aint happening luv!
Next stop is the Skybury Coffee Plantation. It’s set in some magnificent grounds and has views to die for. We chat to the girl behind the counter and find out she’s from the Isle of Skye – how very random!! We book in for the tour and we get a free coffee in exchange – nice one! We all opt for the most expensive one – Iced Coffee – and it doesn’t disappoint. DISHLICIOUS! While we’re waiting for the tour to start, we have a yummy lunch looking out over the hills and watch a thunderstorm miles away – pretty damn cool.
The tour kicks off at 2.15pm. The group comprises us 3 and this Canadian family…..this is one weird looking family…..well, the mum and the daughter look normal, but then you get to the dad and the 2 young lads….wait for this…..they all have MATCHING RATS TAILS!?!?!?! It’s the weirdest thing EVER!!! I’m a little perturbed by this…..and try to concentrate on the coffee tour.
The coffee guide is called Lee and he knows his stuff about coffee! We get a tour around the grounds, get shown the different processes from picking the beans to then roasting them and then we get taken into the tasting room. This type of ozzie coffee is actually sold in Sainsburys haha! Bet it costs loads! We get to taste cold and hot coffee, he shows us how to roast the beans correctly and not to ‘overdo’ them and then we watch a funky wee film about the plantation itself. All very interesting and I really enjoyed it! A highlight was when some crazy old lady decided to gatecrash the tasting room and started asking all these questions – which had already been answered at the start of the tour – DOZY BINT!!!! However, made me chuckle. Oh and learnt that if you have a really hyperactive child on your hands, feed them coffee as this will help calm them down – random hey!?! Don’t know how that works!!
Just as we’re about to leave…..it CHUCKS it down….I’m not liking all this blimming rain. They reckon it happens the same time everyday – sod that for a lark! After making a mad dash for the car, we decide to go to this tea plantation / fruit distillery place. We drive through all these banana trees and notice that they’re all covered up in plastic bags….on the trees!! Looks well weird – apparently it’s to stop the birds from getting them.
We go to the free tasting bit of the plantation and get presented with another teeny measure of banana liquor – bleurgh –no thanks!! However, the guy that is serving is really chatty and starts to try and do a Scottish accent, as we tell him we live in Edinburgh. He’s good craic and keeps us entertained for a while! After that, we deserve a good cup of tea over the road. I decide to be adventurous and go for a Rosey Lea – silly mistake!! Just spent £3 on a big teapot of….PANTS TEA!! Yup, it’s all fragrant and perfumey = PANTS tea. Ach well, at least I tried it….Dave has a spicy Chai – oooer missus – and Aaron opts for boring black coffee but with a double shot – oh no, hyper Aaron – or maybe it will shut him up if the whole hyper kiddie thing works! Haha.
We take the scenic route back to Cairns, which takes us on a major windy road up through more rainforest. OMG – these roads are crazy and Aaron starts to feel a little queasy. He then sits in the front and we stop off at Edmonton to get some supplies at the supermarket. Crikey o’reilly – this place is HICKSVILLE……some well dodgy looking inbred characters in that place. We get out of there sharpish and head back to the hostel for some good ol Spanish omelette!
Funny story whilst cooking tea – these young girls are sitting at the breakfast bar eating jam on crackers…..for their DINNER!!! They are looking, in amazement, at Dave cooking and say ‘wow….that’s proper food. The only thing we’ve cooked is pasta and sauce. How do you do it?’ Bless their cotton socks –these kiddies don’t know how to cook an omelette – what on earth!!? Anyways, they get a cooking lesson off Dave and they look down at their crackers in despair and promise that they’ll give it a go tomorrow night. Man alive, kids these days! Aaron aint feeling too good, so he heads to bed straight after dinner.
Our first stop is a Mango Winery….interesting….we turn up and it just looks like a massive warehouse….hmmmm….we ring a bell and follow the signs to the shop entrance….and it’s the tiniest shop in the world – haha! Doubt we’ll be getting loads of wine tasting here then. The woman is doing her spiel to a group of older peeps and then lets us have a taste (for $5!). Aaron makes sure he tries ALL of the different wines and liquors – not impressed with the teeny measures like but whatevs! We try the sweet, medium and dry mango wines and all I can say is ‘don’t think this will be taking off in the UK somehow’. It tastes ok I suppose, but bit on the sickly side. Plus it’s around about £15-£20 a bottle?! WHAT!! The woman does her best to sell us a bottle but it aint happening luv!
Next stop is the Skybury Coffee Plantation. It’s set in some magnificent grounds and has views to die for. We chat to the girl behind the counter and find out she’s from the Isle of Skye – how very random!! We book in for the tour and we get a free coffee in exchange – nice one! We all opt for the most expensive one – Iced Coffee – and it doesn’t disappoint. DISHLICIOUS! While we’re waiting for the tour to start, we have a yummy lunch looking out over the hills and watch a thunderstorm miles away – pretty damn cool.
The tour kicks off at 2.15pm. The group comprises us 3 and this Canadian family…..this is one weird looking family…..well, the mum and the daughter look normal, but then you get to the dad and the 2 young lads….wait for this…..they all have MATCHING RATS TAILS!?!?!?! It’s the weirdest thing EVER!!! I’m a little perturbed by this…..and try to concentrate on the coffee tour.
The coffee guide is called Lee and he knows his stuff about coffee! We get a tour around the grounds, get shown the different processes from picking the beans to then roasting them and then we get taken into the tasting room. This type of ozzie coffee is actually sold in Sainsburys haha! Bet it costs loads! We get to taste cold and hot coffee, he shows us how to roast the beans correctly and not to ‘overdo’ them and then we watch a funky wee film about the plantation itself. All very interesting and I really enjoyed it! A highlight was when some crazy old lady decided to gatecrash the tasting room and started asking all these questions – which had already been answered at the start of the tour – DOZY BINT!!!! However, made me chuckle. Oh and learnt that if you have a really hyperactive child on your hands, feed them coffee as this will help calm them down – random hey!?! Don’t know how that works!!
Just as we’re about to leave…..it CHUCKS it down….I’m not liking all this blimming rain. They reckon it happens the same time everyday – sod that for a lark! After making a mad dash for the car, we decide to go to this tea plantation / fruit distillery place. We drive through all these banana trees and notice that they’re all covered up in plastic bags….on the trees!! Looks well weird – apparently it’s to stop the birds from getting them.
We go to the free tasting bit of the plantation and get presented with another teeny measure of banana liquor – bleurgh –no thanks!! However, the guy that is serving is really chatty and starts to try and do a Scottish accent, as we tell him we live in Edinburgh. He’s good craic and keeps us entertained for a while! After that, we deserve a good cup of tea over the road. I decide to be adventurous and go for a Rosey Lea – silly mistake!! Just spent £3 on a big teapot of….PANTS TEA!! Yup, it’s all fragrant and perfumey = PANTS tea. Ach well, at least I tried it….Dave has a spicy Chai – oooer missus – and Aaron opts for boring black coffee but with a double shot – oh no, hyper Aaron – or maybe it will shut him up if the whole hyper kiddie thing works! Haha.
We take the scenic route back to Cairns, which takes us on a major windy road up through more rainforest. OMG – these roads are crazy and Aaron starts to feel a little queasy. He then sits in the front and we stop off at Edmonton to get some supplies at the supermarket. Crikey o’reilly – this place is HICKSVILLE……some well dodgy looking inbred characters in that place. We get out of there sharpish and head back to the hostel for some good ol Spanish omelette!
Funny story whilst cooking tea – these young girls are sitting at the breakfast bar eating jam on crackers…..for their DINNER!!! They are looking, in amazement, at Dave cooking and say ‘wow….that’s proper food. The only thing we’ve cooked is pasta and sauce. How do you do it?’ Bless their cotton socks –these kiddies don’t know how to cook an omelette – what on earth!!? Anyways, they get a cooking lesson off Dave and they look down at their crackers in despair and promise that they’ll give it a go tomorrow night. Man alive, kids these days! Aaron aint feeling too good, so he heads to bed straight after dinner.
Hayley
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