Affectionately named "car-truck" by yours truely as a child (and a "pickup-pickup" by my dad when he was a kid), these odd vehicles were a rare sight growing up in the Pacific Northwest. I don't know if Americans have a real name for them, but in Australia, they are called utes (short for utility vehicle, I'm guessing).
They are EVERYWHERE.
And they look like this:
But Peter's is white, not this vomitous mucusy green-yellow atrociousness.
Anyway, we had made plans to venture to this bakery in Gordonville (a town on the other side of Cairns, about half an hour away) because Peter had discovered that I had never had an Australian meat pie. This was the best place to get them, according to him, and as he grew up in Queensland, I trust his judgment on local baked goods. So we arrived at Pie-fection Bakery on the main strip of this 4,500 person town and walked into meat pie heaven. There were SO MANY kinds to choose from. They had meats ranging from chicken to lamb, not to mention various kinds of beef (I don't know what all the different cuts mean, clearly I'm still a vegetarian in my head), paired with different vegetables (if desired)--potatoes, carrots, shallots, etc.-- and gravy. I ordered a chicken and shallot one, and got a carton of chocolate milk to go with it. We got our still-warm pies and chilly beverages and went to a table outside.
With a brief wish I had brought my camera as to document this momentous occasion, Peter and I said "cheers" and dug in.
MAGICAL DELICIOUSNESS. Oh my goodness, it was EXACTLY what I had imagined meat pies to taste like, and it was just what I wanted. So damn tasty. I wish this place was closer to where I live, but it is probably a good thing that it isn't, otherwise I'd have to buy two seats on the plane ride back to carry my giant pie-fattened girth back to the states. But I will be back to this pie place.
After thoroughly enjoying our pies, we headed back to the ute and back towards Smithfield. We made a pit stop at the Barron Gorge Hydro Plant. Driving in on a narrow road cut into the side of a very green and rocky mountain, I was amazed at how beautiful everything was, and cursed myself again for not bringing my camera (oh, it's raining, you won't be taking pictures and of COURSE the weather won't change into sunny gorgeousness or anything *grumble*). We got out and walked across the bridge over the frothy brown Barron River. Because of all the rain, the river was quite full and surging, and the "No diving, jumping, abseiling, or swimming" signs on the bridge seemed to make a lot of sense.
Everything here was beautiful.
The big green mountain was close enough to touch.
The sunshine was warm on my hair.
I saw a big Ulysses Butterfly, which look like this:
They are unique to the World Heritage Rainforests of Far North Queensland, and they are quite large and incredibly incandescent.
All the rain also greatly increased the flow of this waterfall, which apparently is quite small normally:
On our way back, we stopped at this very cheap (but legit) meat warehouse and Pete bought a bunch of steaks and mince (ground beef) for him and his roommates to eat this month. I entertained myself by looking at funny names of cuts of meat: bulk thick pork, fatback, rump, Boston butt, chuck arm. Good times. Then we voyaged back to the Student Lodge.
All in all, it was an excellent day :)
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Song of the Day: Toes by the Zac Brown Band
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