Weird Stuff #2 - Bowen, QLD

After a wet and windy flying flit from Cairns, we arrived in Bowen intending to set off early the next morning.  Why the rush?  We'd foolishly dallied in Cairns for too long, so had limited time to meet pre-arranged commitments in Ballina.

As it was 12 years since our last visit, we shook off the travel-weariness of the 600-odd km drive, and headed for the Flagstaff Hill lookout.  The rain that dogged our drive down the coast had thankfully cleared - but the haze in the heavy air merged the sea and sky to give the scene an ethereal aura, as if the islands were floating in limbo.  The guaranteed-photo-shop-free photo above shows what we saw!

Later that night, a killer storm broke, the thunder, lightning and strong winds interspersed with torrents of rain.  I called it the 'Bowen Curse' in a previous post - and still do!  

BUT ... every cloud has a silver lining.  Feeling a bit fragile after the rough night, we stayed an extra day, indulging at the FAAAABULOUS Jochheim's bakery (also beloved of the cast and crew of the movie 'Australia') AND sampling the Horseshoe Bay cafe's magnificent mango cheesecake!  Well ... you can't visit the mango capital of Australia and NOT eat mango products, can you? 

After eating ourselves into a stupor, we returned to Flagstaff Hill lookout to check out the view again. 

AND ... completely hidden the previous day, the islands in the background were now visible, changing the seascape considerably!  The guaranteed-photo-shop-free photo below shows what we saw!

Is the mystery of the disappearing island yet another facet to the extraordinary powers of the Bowen curse? Sadly no. The moisture haze obscuring the islands - more like a thick fog - was blown away by the storm. Once the air was clear, the islands were again visible! Logical?  Yes, but pretty dull!!

So I think I'll stick with the powers of the Bowen Curse!