Cape York Adventure - Days 8 - 10

Day 8

Today we went for a drive to "The Croc Tent" which is a basically a souvenir shop in a tent in the middle of the bush on the way to the tip. I had heard and seen so many recommendations to go here we just had to. Glad we did to as Lea is really helpful and a wealth of information. As we left the tent with souvenirs in hand we headed left for Punsand Bay. This is where we originally thought we would stay but glad we picked Loyalty Beach as the road in was pretty rugged and you would have to keep travelling it every time you waned to go anywhere. Plus Loyalty was cheaper. The resort at Punsand looked nice, has a good restaurant where we had lunch. They are in the process of completing their pool so it would be hard siting there with a pool full of refreshing water and not being able to get in. 

Day 9

We woke bright and early today for our day trip out to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait Islands. First up was a bus transfer to the wharf, then the Peddells Ferry took us on our 1 hour 10 min trip through all the islands to Thursday Island. Once on the island we were met by our tour guide, a local native named Dirk. Dirk is a Torres Strait native being born and breed on the islands, but went to boarding school for 5 years on the mainland. He is married with children and lives on a glorious little secluded inlet on Prince Edward Island. Each day he sails his little boat over the TI for work. We visited a crayfish factory, one of a few on Thursday Island and the other islands. Next was Green Hill Lookout which was originally built as a lookout for what they thought would be invading Russians. The complex is now a war and maritime museum. The views from the hil are absolutely amazing - looking out over the aqua blue water to the many many islands in the region. The Torres Strait Islands have a population of around 700 with Thursday Island have around 300 of that. The population is made up of about 70% natives and 30% non-natives. As the island was first settled due the abundance of pearls a lot of the population were Japanese. Hence the historic cemetery has around 700 of the 900 Japanese pearl divers who died. The scenery on our return ferry was just as beautiful as the day itself. Even though we were very very tired it was a wonderful day. 

Day 10

We decided to have a bit of a quiet day, which was just as well as it is a Sunday and most things are closed - even the Pub. We had to go for a bit of a drive to charge our phones so we decided to go out for a drive to Jackie Jacki Creek and a couple of plane crashes from WW11. The first of the sites was of a Beaufort Bomber that was a little difficult to find but after a drive through the bush we found it. Along the way there were heaps of old rusted 44 gallon drums left by the USA Airforce during WW11. The next wreck was a DC3 Bomber which was a lot easier to find. It was sad to think of the men and woman who lost their lives in these crashes. 

Cape York - Days 6 - 7

Day 6 

From Weipa we headed along the shortcut to Batavia Downs. As we turned onto the road we didn't know what the road was going to be like. But as it turned out we were pleasantly surprised. It was a pretty good road with a few little creek crossings and some road upgrades in process. We decided to spend the night at Bramwell Station and as it turned out it was a great night. The State of Origan rugby was on TV, there's was a guy singing and we could get dinner. Dinner was pretty good but I'm not sure if it was worth the $35 per person. We met four blokes who were on their way back from the cape so I had fun picking their brains for lots of useful information. 

Day 7

After another humid night we set off from Bramwell Station at around 9.30am for our journey further up the pointy bit. First stop was at Bramwell Roadhouse. Luckily we didn't need very much petrol as it was $2.10 per litre and the price below the stubbie holders was $40 and $50 for a shirt!!! Needless to say we didn't buy any - but I thought that would have to be wrong. The road was a bit dodgy most of the way today. Then it was onto the Jardine River where you have to get a ferry across the river at a return cost of $99 for a single car. The Jardine river as narrower than I thought it would be, although it was pretty fast flowing. The road to Bamaga was pretty good with a couple more sealed bits. We then had a beer in the Bamaga Pub before heading to Loyalty Beach where we will spend the next 5 or 6 night. 

Catch up on our Cape York Adventure... Days 3 - 5

We've had a few days without internet reception and power so I haven't been able to any blog updates. But I have both for the moment so I will try and get in as much in as I can. At Laura we locked up Myrtle (camper) safe and sound and started on the 700+km dirt Peninsula Development road. We really had no idea as what to expect as there had been lots of recent rains. We had also been told there were some patches sealed but we had no idea how much or where. Some people said let air out of your tyres and some said don't! There was so much conflicting information we decided to just take it as it comes and see how we go. We also decided to let the tyres down to about 28psi for a smoother ride.

Day 3

First stop was at Hann Roadhouse for Shane to have something for breakie. Then it was my turn to drive and wouldn't you know it, it was the worst surface we drove on all day, there were bumps, potholes all over the place. There were a few sections that were sealed which made the rough bits easier to deal with.  We also crossed lots of creek/river crossing with about eight still having water flowing across the road. Next stop was Musgrove Telegraph Station, where we were going to spend the night. But as it was only 12.30pm we decided to head on further. So we filled up with petrol and headed off. Of course the road was great now because Shane was driving! We reached Coen at about 2.30pm and pitched our tent at the back of the Coen Exchange Hotel for $10 for the night. After cooking ourselves ribs we had an very early night. 

Day 4

We headed off early from Coen, packing up on a very dewy morning. Today our destination where we will lay our head will be the mining town of Weipa on the western side of the cape. The road was pretty good with a few sealed sections but even the unsealed sections were pretty smooth. After crossing the quarantine station we drove onto Archer River Roadhouse. We stopped here to get fuel and even though it was only 10.00am decided to have an early lunch. Before the Weipa turnoff we struck a very long stretch of roadworks where the road became very slippery and slidey. Yes, guess who was driving again - me!! The road to Weipa started out pretty good but became very bumpy and had a lot of potholes. We arrived in Weipa at around 2.00pm and set up our tent in a nice shady spot in the Weipa Caravan Park. We had a lovely spot overlooking the ocean, but no swimming here due to those big things with sharp teeth - crocs!!

Day 5 

Today was a bit of a lazy day, the only thing we did was have a look around. Weipa is the largest town on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast of the Cape York Peninsula with a population of around 3000. The present town was constructed mainly by Comalco ( Rio Tinto Alcan) and is now one of the worlds largest producers of bauxite which is used in the making of aluminium. We went and had a look at some fishing spot but were told by the guy in the fishing tackle shop we needed much bigger gear than what we had! We then drove out to Lake Patricia which was a pretty lake with a lovely picnic area - but no going in the water - CROCS!!! 

Cape York adventure starts

After a couple of nights in Cairns we set of on our Cape York adventure about 10.00am.

Cairns beautiful waterfront

After heading north past Port Douglas we tacked the mountain range to Mt Molloy. It was a hard pull on the car and Myrtle but we took our time and did it easy. First stop was at Mt Carbine Pub for what was to be a snack, but ended up being 2 beers for Shane and a lemon squash for me! 

The remote Mt Carbine Pub

Shane enjoys an early morning beer

It was now my turn to drive onto Lakeland. There is not much in Lakeland but I have been here before as my son Shane worked up here for a while. We stopped at the roadhouse for a  bite to eat and then we headed of for Laura. The Quinkan Pub in Laura has camping out back for $24 (powered) and we will also be leaving Myrtle her and tent it the rest of the way up the cape - should be interesting! The setting up of Myrtle in 30c plus was pretty exhausting. Dinner at the pub for me was disappointing, Shane liked his but mine was crap. But we had a good night listening to the Townsville Army Band, who were very very giod and chatting with our neighbours Lorna and Ian from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. 

Townsville Army Band entertaining us

Early the next morning we went for a drive out to view some Aboriginal rock art. Quinkan rock art refers to a large body of locally, nationally and internationally significant Australian Aboriginal rock art. This particular art is a unique characterization of "Quinkans" an Aboriginal mythical being, found among the sandstone escarpments around Laura. 

It was quite warm and the walk consisted of lots of rough rocky steps. It took us a while but we did it and it was worth the walk. 

The area where we are staying also has a number of interesting castle shaped ant hills. These beauties are around Myrtle. 

Kurrimine Beach, Queensland

Well we have had a very wet and windy time in Far North Queensland (FNQ) so far. This time of the year is normally dry but the area has had an unseasonably hit of wet season. A few of the roads up in the cape have been closed due to flooding. But according to the authorities and locals after a few days of no rain the roads should all be ok again. So tomorrow we head into Cairns to get ourselves ready for our Cape York adventure. For any of my international readers if you look at a map of Australia, Cape York is the pointy bit on the right hand side. But for now we are in Kurrimine Beach just over an hour south of Cairns. I have been here before as my son Shane, and his partner, now wife Stacey lived here for a while. Kurrimine Beach is really a holiday location with a permanent population of around about 700. The two major towns either side of Kurrimine are Innisfail and Tully where we went for a bit of an explore today.

Innisfail was originally known as Geraldton until 1910. It is the major township on this Cassowary Coast Region and is well known for its sugar and banana industries although I did see a few farms growing avocados. Being an old town that was once very prosperous it has some beautiful preserved buildings. 

This spectacular church towered above the street

Tully is also a sugar and banana growing area. But with an average annual raining exceeding 4,000 millimetres (160 inches), and the highest ever rainfall in a populated area of Australia (7,900 millimetres / 310 inches) in 1950, Tully has the name as being the wettest town in Australia. Although a rivalry exists between Tully and nearby town of Babinda for the title. In 2003 this giant gumboot (the Golden Gumboot) was erected as a monument to the towns climate.

The Golden Gumboot

Charters Towers, Queensland

Tomorrow we leave Charters Towers after two nights here. Even though it is a big country town with a population of around 9000 and built on Gold and Cattle it has started giving me a bit of a tropical feel as it is only 90 minutes from the east coast of Australia. Back in 1871 from a chance discovery of gold by a young Aboriginal horse boy Jupiter Mosman and the proclamation of a goldfield in 1872 Charters Towers was born. Back in the bustling golden days this town was the second largest in Queensland, consisting of 11 crushing mills, 65 hotels and one of the first regional towns to have the Stock Exchange in Australia.

There are some stunning Queenslanders in town. 

Dotted around the towers Hill lookout are lots of air raid shelters

As in the other mining towns we have visited such as Kalgoorlie/Boulder, it is evident of the past wealth in the town by the stunning buildings.