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Yesterday when we were at Atherton we met Bruce again. He invited us to play and stay at Herberton for Saturday. It's a tiny, cute little clubhouse with a long bar. When we arrived we met Dennis who we'd met at Yungaburra when we met Bruce the first time. Dennis was with his lovely wife Joi. Dennis proudly declared " 58 years! " Apparently the bowls club is also daycare 😅. The club has history. It was created after WWII on the site of a doctor's surgery and three shops. There's a long poem about ' The Bowls Club in the Hills' on the wall which pleased Jean! It has a pleasant verandah by the green. We found a good spot for our caravan. Ken and Harry organised the draw. They have an old roller against the shed. There's one grass green. Bruce was mowing it when we arrived. He said it's pretty heavy. Bruce finished mowing and came inside. There were enough people for two games of Three-bowl Triples. It was Dennis, Jean and Harry. Against Cindy, Lloyd and Bruce. Harry is Bruce's older brother and Cindy is their niece. Norm, Mal and Kay played Ken, Steve and Jim. Mal seemed to have nailed Bruce's slow green. Mal had done two good bowls. Jean hadn't done any by end six - well none that stayed for a photo! They were 13-zip! Jean said " No way I'm doing a nudie run! " Finally - on the last end - she did it! We have another game though so there's a chance! We both lost then came in for Smoko. The boys put on the barbie for a sausage sizzle. That hit the spot! Second game we swapped opponents. There was good music in the background. Jean definitely played better. " All I needed was a sausage! " She cried. It wasn't fantastic but she did ok! Jean had finished taking photos of our bowls then Mal put in a beauty. Jean lost 8 to 12. Mal lost 7 to 16. We went back inside for celebrations and commiserations. We really loved the club, the people, the conversation and the game. Shame we got beaten. Herberton - we both got killed but loved it!

After our nice rollup yesterday at Mossman , we decided to come back to The Tablelands to finish the clubs we missed when we were here. First was Atherton. We were hoping for a game of Pairs. Alas, when we got there we found out that, because it's just a single green and it's Pairs, they have to close the game at fourteen teams. We had to settle for a rollup. We checked out the clubhouse. It's small and airy with a nice big bar. There are cool cartoons of the players on the wall. Out the front there's a limestone statue by Elaine Kruck called 'Jack High'. Bruce from Herberton who we met at Yungaburra was there. He invited us to come to Herberton for a game Saturday afternoon. We'll be there! Jean met 94 year old Barry. He entertained her with stories of his ten years in the Navy. He was posted at Albatross near Nowra and was interested in Mal's Bomaderry shirt. Barry has been bowling for forty years and has been a member of thirteen clubs! Two people arrived. (The computer deleted all the words Jean wrote so can't remember the names). It was a selector (perhaps his name was Ian) and the Ladies President Kay. It's a very nice black and green carpet under a fine cover. The cover has been up for 22 years. It's mighty impressive! Around the green are these little plaques for people who support the club. There's a nice view of the mountain range from the green. Jean got out there. She wasn't that happy with her bowls - given the fast green - but she got three. Mal threw a short end and Jean got stroppy again. (To save himself from a cranky wife) Mal moved the mat back for her. She liked that much better! It was Mal's turn. He did OK but it was difficult. Last end Jean put in a bowl she was happy with. After that she said to Mal " I'm going to throw your bowls back until you can do a bowl as close as mine ." After about eight bowls we gave up! After our rollup we met Beth. Jean asked her if we could park our caravan at the club. She wasn't sure so got on the phone to Julie who said we could park there over the weekend. We were grateful. It's nice staying so close to the green! We stayed for a while and watched the game. Mal was impressed with how good they were. Atherton, whatever you do, don't roll a short end!

We drove up to Mossman this morning after our nice game yesterday at Cooktown. We thought the ladies would still be playing but that we might be able to get a rollup. It was hard to see the clubhouse from the green due to the refurbishment. It will be finished in August. It's a nice little clubhouse. With an outdoor seating area to the side of the green. It's Ladies day. We did our best to get here for Jean to play but Cooktown is a long. We came out and met Pam who showed us the mats and Jacks. Trish and Joan were playing. They were interested in Jean's Weipa shirt. There is just one synthetic green under a big cover. It's that kind of black and green carpet. Mal stepped out. He did OK. Then it was Jean's turn. The green was very fast. About 18 seconds. We had trouble controlling our weight. Every now and then Jean put one or two in. Lots of times she went in the ditch. Mal took the opportunity. Last end Mal threw a short end. Jean walked off in a huff. " You bowl my bowls. I've had enough trouble doing long ends! " Mossman - whatever you do, don't roll a short end!

We got back to Lakeland yesterday after our eight-hour drive from Weipa . This morning we drove up to Cooktown. We had no idea if there was bowls on but it was a good bet being Wednesday. We came in and looked lost. Dave the Club Manager called out and we asked him about social bowls. He said " 1pm for a 1:30 start ." The clubhouse looks small from the outside but it's nice and roomy inside. There's no carpet. Dave told us they got flooded in the cyclone last year and await a replacement. It has a nice under cover outdoor area. The toilets are 'Jacks' and 'Kittys'. Some seats are commercially sponsored. It's a synthetic green under permanent cover. It's the Col Grant Memorial Green. From the green we could see the beautiful Mt Saunders. They told us Captain Cook named it after his Navigator. We played Fours. There were just two games. It was Mick, Errol, Jean and Ian. Against Rob, Glenn, Stephen and Mal. Jean was shocked to find out they made her Skip. Mal played second. It was end nine before we got any photos. Jean said " They're lucky they have a draw bowler as Skip! " Jean waited for Mal to do a photo-worthy bowl. Finally on end fifteen he did it. Mal was generally good at consolidating for his team. Last end Jean's team needed 13 to win. Nevertheless Jean put in a pearler for two! After the game Jean met organiser Carol who told her all about the cyclone flood damage. Apparently there was so much water the pipes burst and flooded the green. Mal and the boys looked at the two cards. The scores were both 23 to 12. Not only that but end ten Jean's game was ten all. On the other card it was end 11. We came in for drinks and chats. Mal's Team won the day for a drink voucher . We got phone numbers for Stephen and Glenn so we can contact them when we get to WA. Cooktown - wonder if Captain Cook played bowls!

We've been hearing about Weipa Bowls Club from all the clubs in Tropical Far North Queensland. Apparently the club supports all the other clubs. We're in Weipa for a week to visit Jean's sister Susan and will play bowls here on Sunday. We drove nearly eight hours to get here from Lakeland on the worst road ever! We were so happy to see Susan (who prefers Sue!). Thursday We came down from Sue's to put our names down. It's a nice clubhouse. With a good outdoor area which overlooks the greens. With fans to keep people cool. It's hot up here - even in the middle of winter! There are two pretty good grass greens. With really good permanent shades. The Nev Brown Green has a little damage. We're told it's a tropical fungus. They're thinking of getting a synthetic. The other green looks fine. It's the Jim Martin Green. SATURDAY We came for a rollup on Saturday and to teach Susan how to play bowls. We met President Dwayne (Tas) who knows Guy from Yungaburra. Tas found Jean an old Weipa badge for her hat. Apparently they no longer have them. Susan had a go. All the locals (who she knows) laughed when Jean called her Susan. SUNDAY When we arrived for bowls on Sunday we met Mick outside. Michelle from Harvey Bowls Club in WA, who we met on Thursday, also came for a game. It was Daylen, Jean and Mike Against Ron, Jonty and Will. Mal played with Lara. They played Scott, Michelle and Wayne. There were only 11 players so two games. Three two-bowl triples and Mal was a Pair. We have three games of eight ends then we get to eat lunch for our $15. Jean was playing better than she did in the rollup yesterday then Daylen consolidated. Mal was skipping and did very well. Jean was very happy with her bowls. We both won the first game. Jean was so happy we keep our teams. She loved hers. Second game Jean played Mal's opponents Scott, Michelle and Wayne. Mal played Jonty's team. He won, Jean lost. Third game we played each other. In the end Mal and Lara beat Jean's team by one point and won the prize (which we'll give to Susan). We came inside for our lunch. Yummy pasta! Jean asked the boys what she can say about Weipa Bowls Club. They said "We're legends!" Weipa - we bowled with the legends!

We've had a couple of days off while we contacted every caravan person around Malanda to get our leaking hot water system fixed. We found a great tradie and were on our way! We're headed up to Weipa on the Qld west coast. We stopped in Mareeba to check out the bowling club. Our mate Guy in Yungaburra told us that the council has recently moved the club. It's located with the Library and a community hub. The club was closed so we couldn't get in. We took photos through the window. It looks a little sterile. No doubt it's much nicer with people in it. There's a nice, big covered area out the back overlooking the greens. There are two greens. One is grass and the other a carpet synthetic. The carpet has a pull-over cover. There are also a couple of different permanent shades. There were some guys there working on the synthetic green it appeared they may have been stretching it. Jean looked a little closer. Some parts of the surface have come away from the edge. Other parts have wrinkles in them. Perhaps it's been flooded. We decided not to roll up. We guessed we could have rolled up on the grass but there was nobody there to ask permission. We saw a funny poem on the wall we liked. We were interested in their hot weather policy. Three degrees higher than Victoria! Mareeba - good luck getting the synthetic fixed!

On our way up to Weipa we've skipped Cairns and headed north-west to Yungaburra . Shane from South Johnstone gave us a phone number for Ashley at. Yungaburra. Mal's been chatting with Ashley about social bowls. We met Ashley when we arrived. It's a nice little clubhouse The bar is impressive. They have some cartoons on the wall. Mal met a bloke whose face was familiar. Mal asked " Have you ever been to Canberra? " JD replied " I come from Canberra! " Apparently they lived in Charnwood at the same time. Then we met Jodie and Guy. There'd been some discussion about where we could park our van. Guy offered for us to stay at his. Nearby is the sign for Cookie's Memorial Garden. There's a drawing of Cookie inside. Outside is a nice covered verandah. There are solid permanent shades. Out the front there are two plaques for the 50th and 75th celebrations. The green is synthetic. The Bob Pritchard Memorial Green. They were playing the 'Ken Kitson Cup' which is a Tablelands inter-club social event between Herberton (with other clubs Dimbulah, Ravenshoe, Atherton) and Yungaburra. The boys said " It'sYungaburra against the world! " Mal had also been talking to Dennis from Herberton this morning. He told us he'd be at Yungaburra today. He said " Just ask anybody there where's Dennis! " We did and found him. Guy asked Mal would he play if Guy sat out the second game. Jean walked up to the car to get his bowls. He couldn't say no! He even bought himself a shirt. Parramatta colours! After the first game they came in for Smoko and Sandwiches. Game 2 Mal played Second for Skip Ashley (Bert). It was Lorraine, Mal, Bert and Meryl. Their opponents were Norma, Harry, Alan and Bahl representing Herberton with players from Ravenshoe. Herberton suffers from few members so everyone helps out. Ravenshoe has two shirts. The green one has an endangered Possum on it. The purple 👕 shows what will happen if the Possum isn't protected. It took Mal a couple of ends to work it out Then he did it. A few ends later they were two down and Mal took out the opposition's shot for one. Last end Mal's team was one up on the scoreboard. They all put one in for four. They ended up with two for a win. Bruce from Herberton came and chatted with Jean. He said " Get a photo so I can be in the blog! " They tallied the scores and Herberton won by seven. A fun afternoon with nice people at Yungaburra.

We're slowly making our way to visit Jean's sister in Weipa (and play bowls). Tuesday we arrived at the tiny town of South Johnstone in the middle of a Sugar mill. ARRIVAL TUESDAY Someone down south gave Mal a number for Shane the President of South Johnstone Bowling Club. He came down to set us up in our caravan. He told us he's been President 30 to 40 years! We're parked next door to the club with power and water. And adjacent to a Sugar plantation! It's a pleasant little clubhouse. With a nice, wide, covered verandah. There's one synthetic green. The J. Hing Memorial Green with Sugar sprouting behind. It's named after Jimmy 'Boom boom' Hing who was the first President and Greenkeeper. The club has permanent shades. Some a little worse for wear. Later in the day some of the guys came to roll up. We came inside for beers. It was Stephen, Shane, Vera, Mal, Rooster and Kiwi. They told us they have practice on Friday so we said we'd stay for that. FRIDAY It's practice night at South Johnstone. We played Pairs together. Against Kiwi and Di. Jean put a good one in first end. We were down four then Jean put in a weighted shot to get us back to down one. However most of our bowls were on the bank! We lost. They were too good for us but we had a lot of fun. We came inside for drinks. Shane told us Bruno was a local bowler who played in the Commonwealth Games at Edmonton. The club only has five ladies now but in the old days it was very strong. Tomorrow South Johnstone plays at Babinda in Pennant. If they win they go into the grand final! South Johnstone - Mal said "Is there anyone here who can't play bowls?"

We've been in Tropical Far North Queensland for a couple of days now. It's Men's day on Thursday in Innisfail so Mal will play then. We popped in Tuesday to find out about social bowls. The Ladies Classic Fours was on. The club had its centenary last year. We came back on Thursday and Mal met Sam and Bob who organised the bowls. It's a light airy clubhouse. With a covered verandah. And a nice photo array of past Presidents. With some old trophies. There's one synthetic green. It has quite the view! Bowls help players off the green. While he waited to play Mal stood by himself. Today it was two games of Fours and one Triples. Mal played Triples with Mark and Billy. We met Mark when we went to The Albert. First game against Jamie, Bob and Dennis. Jean had to go to the chiropractor. By the time she got back Mal had gone down 14 to 8. They came in to sandwiches for Smoko. It wasn't that hot (28°) but 40% humidity. Jean melted from her walk to the chiro! One of the guys said to her " You should come here when it's 80%! " " I think not! " She replied. Mal's second game was three against four. The opponents were Richard, Peter Doug and Albert. The boys showed Jean the mural they had done for the club's centenary. They were doing better this game. Jean finally got a photo of Mal's shot bowl! Mal the Second did his part for the team! The guys didn't really talk a lot. Jean said " It's definitely the humidity makes them quiet! " Mal's team won their second game by five. They came inside and Bob spun the wheel. The jackpot went off. Innisfail - they don't say much but Mal enjoyed the game.

On our way north to Weipa we've arrived in Tropical Far North Queensland. Mal rang President Lee at Silkwood to find out about social bowls and to whether we can park our van there. We can. Bowls is on Wednesday so not sure if we'll make it. MONDAY Lee was waiting for us when we arrived. We saw inside the clubhouse - it's nice. There's a concrete area under shade. It's a carpet synthetic green that's been down since 2019. It's the Tonta's Memorial Green. Tonta was one of the original members who owned and donated the land. They had the inaugural meeting of the bowls club at the pub! WEDNESDAY We came back Wednesday for a game. We met a couple of guys. It's Rob, Mal and Rex. It had been sprinkling with rain for 24 hours so there was debate about whether we'd play. They decided to charge us for half a game and see what happens. There was a game of Triples and one Pairs. It was Rob and Mal Against Rex and Ron. Barry, Jean and Tony Played Lee, Delmo and Brian Jean struggled at first with grass. Tony told her they recently had to have the green stretched. After that they all had to re-learn the grass! She learnt though! Mal did fine! There are sugar cane flowers all over the green. At 3pm we came in for Smoko. Lee told us the local bakery donates its leftover cakes. His last end Mal was two shots down for the game. Then he did this then put another one in for the win! Jean said to Barry "If I only do one good bowl all game will that be ok?" She didn't, though she had two on the bank! Delmo explained to Jean that once sugar cane is cut it lasts 11 hours. There's a microbe which starts to consume the sugar after that. Jean's team was two down after end twenty. They thought they could come up and win but it started to rain so they all agreed to finish the game. Silkwood - the rain stopped a win for Jean!

We've entered Tropical North Queensland on our way to Weipa. We stopped in on our way to Silkwood to visit Tully Bowling Club. The boys at Noorla told us it's temporarily closed from damage so we're checking it out! The club has one plastic synthetic green. Like other clubs it has the pull-over shade. They are right about damage. It looks lifted by water, though it looks like rinks 1 to 5 are ok. The clubhouse was open. There seemed to be someone in there out the back but we didn't want to venture in. Out the front is a concrete under cover area. We were about to leave and Treasurer Robyn came out. She was doing some cleaning. We had a chat with her. She said they are waiting to find out how much money they'll get to fix the green after the floods. Robyn said we were welcome to roll up but the Silkwood President was waiting for us so off we drove. Tully - we hope the green recovers soon!

Yesterday when we stayed at Macknade our water pump blew. We had no water - in the middle of washing. So Mal rang President Gary at Noorla to ask if we could come there and hook up to water. Gary said yes and he and Greenkeeper Nygel really looked after us. We said we'd stay a few days and play on Sunday in their tournament. FRIDAY In the end we got a new pump from Ingham Irrigation and Plumbing but Gary and Nygel were so helpful. They hooked us up to power and water. Gary really likes it when bowlers come to visit and play with their caravans. The clubhouse is nice with a separate bar. There's an impressive trophy array. SATURDAY On Saturday there was a sponsored inter-club competition against Ingham. The boys we met at Ingham Friday turned up. Joe, Tomas and Michael chatted with Jean about Spanish and Italian languages. It's a mixed bag today. Fours, Triples, Pairs and Singles. They were one short so Tomas asked Mal to mark the Singles. The club has one synthetic green. Plastic. It's the Johnny Accornero Green. It has a pull-over shade like many others around here. SUNDAY Sunday finally came. It's two games of three-bowl triples. It was Craig, Jean and Peter First game was Nella, Albert and Tomas. Stuart, Mal and Pedro Played Dora, Susan and Gary. First end Craig took shot, Jean got second. Then Jean and Albert both had Touchers but Jean just had shot. Mal was way up the other end. Jean was worried she couldn't photograph his good bowls. She said "Lucky I took a photo of his rollup earlier in the day!" Mal lost. He said "If only they hadn't rung the bell! One more end we'd have won!" Jean's team won all but three ends. We came in for another fabulous Smoko. Sandwiches, Party pies and home-made cakes. Delicious! 2nd game Jean played Gina, Harley and Ed. Ed's from Windang near Jean's parent's house in Shellharbour. Mal played Alicia, Di and John. Mal drew and Jean's team won by five. Jean's team came second. The won $100 each donated by sponsors Carlo Delmo and Peter. Noorla - we thoroughly enjoyed our three days there!