hannahsinthekingdom.blogspot.com: IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME BETWEEN BLOGS

I gave up blogging a few months ago, it's jolly well time I started again.... The delay is mostly because our data

modem has been chewing up more than it should, despite Telstra's assuring us that that is not the

case.... A Facebook friend of mine has a blog, she is an English teacher and Creative Writer, she's inspired

me to start again. Thank you Catherine Joy....

We really have had an amazingly good time touring around Queensland, driving firstly up the

inland just west of The Great Dividing Range, with the goal of Atherton Tableland. There on the AT we found

and renovated important family graves of Peter's grandparents, two Scottish emigrants, George

and Elizabeth Hannah, and Norah and Edward Ellson. We were there about a month.

On to Mossman, then to Cairns, where I succumbed to the Shingles, keeping me lying low for a few weeks. We

reconnected with Peter's cousin Ronda, her mum, and their aunt, all locals. The Daintree, Cape

Tribulation and the massive rain forests all around there, Mossman Gorge, a day in Port Douglas,

Palm Cove, Cairns Night Zoo, Kuranda on the train, the Skyway for the return trip, it was all

amazing.

We stayed in Innisfail for a few nights, Peter went and saw Paronella Park, an amazing Spanish

Castle built by hand by an emigrant Spaniard. I needed to rest that day.

Townsville again, where we saw to a little business with Telstra. We also went to meet a cousin of

Peter's, Doug Hannah, whom he'd never met. He is also studying the Hannah Family Tree. We

had difficulty finding him at home and found out he was in the hospital!

Airlie Beach was amazing, we hadn't seen it in 40 years, it was very different. We did a flight out to

the Barrier Reef on a seaplane, an old Canadian Beaver. It was truly amazing flying low over it,

the pilot did a quick touchdown on the water for a moment to give us that experience. Next day we

went out again, this time on a cruise launch, calling at Hamilton Island on the way. I snorkelled and

loved it, Peter did a scuba dive, a first for him. We were totally exhausted at the end of that big

day.

On going further south we had a stay at Rollingstone, then a free camp at Bushy Parker Creek.

We visited my cousin near Sarina, with the van hooked on. Misty stayed in the van while we went

inside the house for a cuppa. Linda had two boisterous dogs, excited to see their feline visitor. We

think Misty got quite distressed. When I went to show Linda the van, I picked up Misty as she

looked scared, the dogs came to the door, Misty freaked and grabbed onto my arm, cutting through

my tissue paper skin. Much blood was shed, we went to Sarina hospital and got some first aid.

Dramas!

Calliope River was a perfect place for a free camp, then we made our way to Yeppoon and stayed

at Kinka Beach for a few nights. Many beach areas there, I've always wanted to see it.

Next stand out was Agnes Water and the Town of 1770, a beautiful little place, we stayed a few

nights. Very pretty place, 1770 was where Captain Cook first came ashore in Queensland, in, you

guessed it, 1770!

Bundaberg next to stay with my cousin Les, for almost a week. We went down to Moore Park for a

drive, and around town to see the markers where the floods reached. Other than that, we just

spent family time together with Les and Jean. Misty fell head-over-paws for Les....

On to Hervey Bay, for several days in the Torquay Palms Caravan Park. We came home for an overnight

stop to celebrate Kirsty's birthday, then returned for the rest of our stay.

We returned home on 9th November to be ready for two weekends of weddings, then we left again on
25th November to trip around again. We've been to Kilcoy to check out the Somerset region, which has a
special interest for my father's family. Henry Plantaganet Somerset was an important

member of Queensland Parliament between 1904 and 1925, and he brought to the parliamentary floor that a dam

should be built out there, to prevent flooding. This (Somerset Dam) did not happen until after he

died, but he had the vision originally, they named it after him. He was an Englishman from royal lines in England.... He boarded

with my grandmother during Parliament sittings. Nana was a deserted mother with two kids, then a

third child appeared, more than likely fathered by Mr Somerset, as he paid for her confinement in a

Brisbane private hospital. All very interesting. We found his grave and the church that he had built

alongside his homestead called Caboonbah, near Esk. Caboonb
ah burnt down in 2009. As an

aside, my father and his younger sister were like peas in a pod.... Draw your own conclusions! But

obviously, he was a good man. He had a wife and ten children back home.

After Kilcoy we stayed at Esk for a few nights, then to Crows Nest. We've been to Toowoomba for church and took in
The Milne Bay Military Museum. My father was stationed there during WWII as an ambulance bearer.

We came to Kingaroy and saw the Bunya Mountains today, did a little shopping and will rest up and leave here Friday morning.
My niece Brittany is dancing in her annual concert this Saturday in Maryborough, I am looking forward to attending, then we will
be back home next week. We have a house-sitting to enjoy for a couple of weeks from mid-December.

What have I enjoyed the most? The frequent changes of location and seeing new places regularly are

fantastic, but I love the natural beauty of old forests and gorges, mountains, wildlife and pretty

beaches, stunning blue skies, relaxing in the late afternoons...... I could go on!