Wintery !

A lovely Sunday to all. Yes we are in the middle of winter and so far it has been quite good, neither too cold or warm with sunny days, blue skies and cool nights. The B&B guests definitely loved it all and all their activities  north of the Daintree River: kayaking, jungle surfing, snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, walking on the beaches , doing the walks and just reading or day dreaming on our hammock. Which, -- the hammock- has been replaced and is looking good. The 'old' one is now in our Garden House-yeah! Well best be gone to do a little more gardening until the new guests arrive today !

This is the flower of a great bush called Cat Tails !  

Mangosteen: a First in this B&B

Hi,
 before I leave it too late:
 Our one and only Mangosteen tree had some flowers this year and then made lots of fruit. This is nothing brand new but took 17 years for this tree. This year was a very good year for mangosteens here in the far north and I stopped counting after 60 fruits. I should have gone on though. I think in the end we had over 130 mangosteens to enjoy. They don't ripen all at once; so I checked the tree everyday. 10 fruits one day; 4 the next ;15 after that. This is nice in a way, as one does not get totally overwhelmed by it. They don't

 freeze too well, so I was busy eating lots, giving some away and sharing with visitors.They don't last that long and become rock-hard after 14 days or longer. But they taste absolutely divine. Yum..mmmmmmmmm
Our guests certainly liked to eat them and we just ate LOTS.
PS the pink grapefruit were also very good

driveway all done

Hi,
 yes, the driveway has been redone and smoothed out and redressed. Plus we have a larger pipe now from the road to the property, which makes it less easier to drive in. These jobs always take some time to coordinate and then the weather has to be suitable as well.

New website

Hi, yes it is done!
 Cow Bay Homestay B&B has a brand new website
www.cowbayhomestay.com
I am interested to read some comments.
The pictures are all brand new as well. And I should be able to make changes myself now, once I have the log in...
Meanwhile back in the B&B the shy young cassowary dad is getting around with his ever growing chick. They are making surprise visits for the latest family and a young couple later on in the week much to everyone's delight. Now they discovered the papayas, I have covered those or there is going to nothing left for us!
After a bit of windy and wet weather the sun is back out and it is a great time of the year.

 

Working hard

Hi and hello!
working hard on the new website, even this post is written on the new space.
I only do the little things like choosing photos , from all the new photos, which were taken recently, and correct text and all that. The web designer does all the hard work to make it a mobile friendly as well as do a

very 2015 style site.
Once it is ready I will post the new link here.
Watch out!

Online bookings

Hi to all the readers,

online booking is a very convenient way to book accommodation, no doubt.

For small B&B's like this one it is BEST to use our own website to make the booking.
The cost for this service is very good for us, nearly the same as processing credit cards ourselves- yes we pay for all this.
Also, we don't have to pay commission to big online booking machines, and they can add up!

The best thing is though that on our website's online, secure and life facility is a very good 4 night stay special, which guests can only book with us. Check it out:

http://outlets.bookconfirm.com/?preview=cowbayhomestay

 

http://outlets.bookconfirm.com/cow-bay-homestay-queen-room-(sleeps-2)-packageid-100

http://outlets.bookconfirm.com/cow-bay-homestay-queen-room-(sleeps-3)-packageid-101

Anyone can still phone us direct to make a booking and that is just perfect. We will ask for credit card details and charge the card and email the receipt.

Wishing you a great day from sunny Cow Bay!
and Cow Bay Homestay B&B
 

In the Wet

Hi,
 well it is the Wet now, we think.....
The forecast is for lots of rain over the week end. We have had some , up to 100mm on a day, but really it is just drizzly and then very heavy rain with big wind gusts. This makes it hard to do anything, as I have to be ready to run---yes run, very quickly-- and collect all the tools at the same time.
Sometimes also the kittens....
We have 2 boy cats , kittens: Ginger and Tabby, we picked up from Daintree Village on 3. Jan this year. They are truly delightful and now big enough to do some gardening with me. This really means that they run around a lot, run up any tree in the way and generally have lots of fun chasing each other. They keep close and/or come back after short excursions. After these outings, they are totally exhausted and have a big sleep! Great.
We have lots of fun with them and they even do some things we insist on: no sitting on tables!

I will post some more photos as they do grow quickly.
Well, in other news:
 the creek is running really well, the crocs may have left the beach now, and the stingers should be swept out to sea with all the fresh water in Cow Bay. Guided walks are good now with the animals very active in this wet and cooler weather.

2 Tree Kangaroos in back yard!!!

Hi,
 what is that? I am wondering walking between our houses this morning.
Very long bushy tail otherwise maybe a pademelon.
Noooo, IT IS a Tree Kangaroo. Which was a little surprised as well and considered climbing on a tree but then chose the bush.
Brian heard two of them before making rather wild noises in the between the trees; is this called mating maybe...
We have never before seen one of these guys here. Very excited. Then, maybe we are the honeymoon destination for them, so later on, they go home where they usually live.
You know...people do a similar thing....
I try to get a photo next time.
 

PM supports power!!!

This is on Daintreehour.com website Hoorraay!   6:29pm Nov 23 Energy and energy efficiency was firmly placed on the agenda at the G20 in Brisbane last week. Tony Abbott made the following statement: I was really pleased today that the climate discussion was in the context of a session devoted to energy efficiency because there are 1.3 billion people around our globe – one fifth of the world’s population that don’t have access to electricity. Now, how can these people lead a decent life? How can those people live the kind of life that people in Germany and Australia take for granted, without access to power? So, we do have to expand access to power and the only way to make power more available, to make electricity more available and at the same time address the emissions issue is if we tackle energy efficiency. I am not making this up, read it on the PM's website, last paragraph down the bottom; https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2014-11-17/joint-press-conference-chancellor-merkel

Support finally

Hi,
this is brand new NEWS

http://douglas.qld.gov.au/council-calls-action-daintree-electricity/

I will let you when we are connected.......on this property....
Marion

On a more cheerful note, Dad Cassowary marched through with his tiny, tiny chick yesterday afternoon. The chick is so small, that I had to zoom it in, by that stage Dad was already in the forest.
They were in a hurry....
Have a great day.
M

Air Conditioned? Yes !

Hi,
 just to let everyone know, we are the only B&B accommodation north of the Daintree River with air conditioners in the bed rooms!!!
These are brand new and efficient, and very quiet. Available from November to April/May.
We still are not on mains power---this is another story and out of our hands----,
so the old rule applies: if you don't use it or need it: lights, fans, air cons, please turn it off. The batteries can only supply so much.
And yes: we so have some vacancies; check availability here
www.cowbayhomestay.com
and book your visit.

New Destination Daintree Website

Hi,
 check it out
www.destinationdaintree.com
brand new website, all done with volunteer work by our cooperative: Daintree Marketing Cooperative and of course a specialist from Cairns.
Please comment!

Our Driveway- please enter!

Hi,
 recently guests became scared about our driveway.
When you arrive the first time, it is a little unusual already to have driven all the way from Cairns, to take the Daintree River Ferry and then to experience for the first time this magnificent part of FNQ = Far North Queensland.
Lush forest, enormous trees, vines everywhere.
From the turn off in Cow Bay, Buchanan Creek Road, it takes ca 5 km to Wattle Close on the right Drive into Wattle Close, 2 minutes, and our sign, " Cow Bay Homestay B&B " is on the left. You will see that you can go into the driveway behind the sign.
NOW:
First gear, take it easy, follow the path/driveway and over the bridge, yes!,  and then up the other side. Now that wasn't so bad, right !!! Most cars are front-wheel-drive, and this driveway is just what they are very good at.
Beep the car horn, please.
A lot of the new hire cars are so quiet, that I can't hear your arrival even just in the backyard,...I do use the waiting for a spot of gardening...
So, there.
Shall I make a cup of coffee or tea for you, or a glass of our fantastic water? Then I'll tell you a little what you can do while visiting us here in the Daintree rainforest.
Have a great day. Marion

Milestone at the Daintree River Ferry

Hi,
 from today you can use your credit/debit card at the ferry!!! Prior you had to have cash money, which in the year 2014 is not always in everyone's wallet.
Great change for this area.

Cassowary close ups

Good morning there,
 well, we have a number of Cassowaries doing the rounds on the garden of Cow Bay Homestay B&B and being pretty cheeky about it too. Yesterday I was given passionfruit by a neighbour, which then disappeared from a box I had put them on before taking them into the kitchen. Then early this morning a Cassowary was right next to this box, checking if more were placed there? We do have the feeling, this one is being fed by someone in the area, and I wish they wouldn't do this. Meanwhile I am trying to keep count of papayas and passionfruit on vines, but so far I am loosing out. One of the guest sprinted across the lawn this morning trying to take a photo of a Cassowary and just managed. They are a bit shy, which is good, but then also just 'pop' up out of nowhere.

 

Butterflies in photos and ATE 2014

Good morning,
 now I finally have some photos of the Ulysee, blue, and Cairns Birdwing Butterflies, green; this is a 'hard' job, as they move constantly.

After a lovely dry spell we now have a bit more rain. ATE -Australian Tourism Exchange in Cairns has finished and I had hoped the weather would improve for all the visitors, but... some delegates were here before ATE started and enjoyed the sun and wind. Thank you for your visit and hopefully sending us lovely visitors.

 

Ulysses and Cairns Birdwing Butterflies

Hi,
 well,....for the last 2 weeks we have had big numbers of Ulysee, the bright blue, butterflies and Cairns Birdwing, black and red for the girls, bright green for the boys, butterflies absolutely everywhere. It is an amazing sights seeing both buzzing around flowering bushes and plants. One even took a detour through the lounge area in the Garden House the other day. As a result, I suppose, we have now found their lava on a kaffir lime tree on the back deck of the B&B, both types, ..had to Google them to determine who is who....
A 'little' more rain and our guests are coping very well, as they say: " It is a rainforest! "
Yesterday a nearly dry day, with sun and wind. Today I hope we have the same, I have lots to do in the garden. Wishing everyone a great day.

Cyclone Ita

Hi,
 on Friday night, Cyclone Ita gave us all a big scare with category 5 and 300km/h winds on the forecast, but then it was not so bad at all. Some places had fallen trees and damage from that. Some roads and bridges are closed, all temporary and hopefully the Daintree Ferry will be back in action this morning. So, the North is ready for our Easter visitors !
But such a cyclone makes everyone tidy up and lock up the houses and we  fitted shutters  to our Garden House. The veranda has to be cleared: where to with all the plants, pots, BBQ, chairs, benches? We live more out- than indoors, so there is a lot to be moved. Then after the cyclone is gone, rearrange everything again. We are very happy though, how it all went and now we can go into the dry season!

 

New tours in the area

Hi,
 here are links to new tours, one Sky Rail from Cairns to Kuranda
http://www.skyrail.com.au/experience/canopy-glider
and this one for 'foodies' and only for adults
http://www.kurandatours.com.au/australia_outback_tasting_tour.htm
I hope this gives you more ideas of things to do up here in the North; is may mean you have to exstend your visit!!!
Enjoy.
 

Air Cons are in !!!

Hello,
 right-- after some delays the guest rooms are now air conditioned. YES.
This is a huge thing for us, as we run on solar and generator power and had to make some changes to our system. The government is promising us to 'look into' mains power to this area. It seems we are too small, too remote and even though we are the Tourism Icon: Daintree Rainforest somehow not in line. They also have no money.... We decided to set ourselves up for the future and when the mains power arrives here we can connect anyway, but waiting 18 years takes its toll.
So:::: guest can now choose to turn the air conditioners on in the wet season. The first guests who tried it out, loved it. It is very quiet and fast. They had promptly not had it on the next night, as it was quiet cool, 23 C and the fan was enough. The air con will be great though on those hot, humid, still days when one gets out of the shower, to dry off  and is wet immediately. Maybe go to sleep with is on for another hour and then have it turned off automatically. I am sure people get the idea.
Meanwhile we have had some rain!
There are 2 cyclones in FNQ right now. One off to our west, one off to our south and we seem to have a 'convergence', which had brought us non-stop heavy rain  last night. Result: 390 mm in Cow Bay. That is even called rain here. There is a bit more to come we are told, well we'll see...
But it is 29 C during the day, all very relaxed.
Check the website for vacant rooms and come to stay to see/feel/experience it all.