SATURDAY, 15th July 2011
Bloomfield Track
Today we left Cape Tribulation via the Bloomfield 4wd track headed for Cooktown. There turned out to be a few very steep hills, the first one Jace wished he had changed to low range before he started, but since we were already on it there was no chance to stop, only upward and onward.
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We stopped at the "must-see" Lions Den hotel, which turned out to be a pretty cool pub.
The place is covered in signatures from other travellers who have stopped in, and Jace was most disappointed that he didn't get to write his name on the wall, but it was only for those who camped there.
Past the Lions Den, we came across a change in the scenery with a large mountain on black granite rocks. Rumours are that it is home to the mysterious queensland marsupial lion.
After that we arrived in Cooktown only to be blown away by the winds. A local mentioned that Cooktown is either these gale force winds or rain, year round...sounds charming. We saw what little there is to see, including the lighthouse where we kept a tight grip on the kids so as not to lose them.
SUNDAY, 16th July 2011
One night in Cooktown was enough for us, so we started travelling with another family as we hit the corrugations and headed into Lakefield National Park - the bottom of Cape York.
30kms out from Cooktown we stopped in at Endeavour Falls, Ash insisted it was fresh enough to drink straight out of, and we didn't manage to lose anyone over the edge.
On our way we found a pleasant creek crossing which had a few kids swimming when we arrived, so we figured since they hadn't been eaten we'd let our kids go in too.
We checked out the old Laura homestead.
And then made for Kalpowar where we set up camp for the night after rather a lengthy water crossing.
Jace later went fishing down at the crossing, and claimed you could see big barra swimming right past you. He managed to catch one, but being undersized he threw it back (only since there were too many others down there watching him, I reckon).
It was a full moon which might have explained the mood the kids were in, but they had a ball playing with their friends and glowsticks, while the adults enjoyed a chinwag by the campfire.
MONDAY, 18th July 2011
More corrugations today as we made our way past Musgrave and Archer River roadhouses. And they started doing some damage to the cars....The caravan in front lost one of its shocks...Our battery system fried itself and resulted in us having no fridge....and then the suspension on the passenger side of the car started having the same issues as the other side that we had just gotten fixed in Cairns.
So bush mechanic Jace got to work by the torchlight.
Aside from that the day was lots of driving which the kids weren't overly pleased about. And lots of these ant mounds in the landscape.
TUESDAY, 19th July 2011
I managed to wake up in time for the sunset and sneak out without waking the kids (a miracle with all the tent zippers!) to catch a few shots of our roadside camp near Batavia Downs.
Jace managed to put a fix in for the suspension, and we found a new battery management system - he goes by the name of Jace and he has to run around and pop the bonnet every time we stop to changeover the battery leads so the fridge doesn't drain the starter battery - he's quite effective.
We headed to Bramwell where the Old Telegraph Track begins. There was quite a queue up by the time we got the 3kms in to the first water crossing at Palm Creek.
We hung around for a while watching this fella take his trailer through....
...and then opted to turn around and give it a miss and take the bypass track for the rest of the way to the Cape.
I can't say I was overly disappointed at the prospect of not having to worry about massive creek crossings, sketchy 4wd tracks and the like. But Jace and I both agreed that it would be much better suited to a man trip with a few mates so they can pull each other out the other side.
Meanwhile the bypass track meant lots more corrugations, and plenty of red dust.
We headed to twin falls to set up camp. But Jace still managed to get the car bogged when he took the kids for a spin through a nearby creek.
WEDNESDAY, 20th July 2011
Ella and I woke early and went to check out the closest falls called "The Saucepan".
Later on we came down for a swim....
And then followed the creek until we came around to Eliot Falls.
Jace couldn't resist a swim, but Ella was content sitting this one out.
Further around we came to Canon Creek and this would have to be a favourite. It was crystal clear, and shallow enough for the kids. And such a relief to get rid of some of the dust!
We later drove the couple of kms around to Fruit Bat Falls, and again had a great time. You can see why it is such beautiful part of the country.
On our way back, this butterfly took a peculiar fancy to Ash's bum!
THURSDAY, 21st July 2011
Ash showed us today just how much of a dummy addict he could be insisting on not one but two dummies in his mouth the whole day. Shocker.
But we tackled the final 100kms towards the tip. Taking the Jardine River ferry.
And visiting the croc tent.
We parked the car and started the walk around to the tip, but 100m around we decided to give it a miss because Ash was being such a ratbag. Such is life...there is always tomorrow.
We headed to nearby Cable Beach at Punsand Bay and had the kids in bed in time to watch the sun go down with a beer in hand.
FRIDAY, 22nd July 2011
Attempt 2 at making it to the Northernmost point of Australia. And this time we were successful.
Incredible views
Ash insisted on climbing his own way back up to the ridge.
Jace reflecting on the 2720kms it took to get here....but 1000kms of that is corrugations. Ugghh.
We proceeded to drivedown the east side of the cape through Somerset. And then after helping a guy out of a bog (twice), we tagged along as they followed some of the coastal tracks.
We made our way to an inland lake, but were cautious not to get bogged as you even though you couldn't see their eyes, you could feel the crocs staring you down.
Meanwhile the two square-eyes in the back relaxed.
SATURDAY, 23rd July 2011.
With the tip done, we started making our way back. We checked out some of the WW2 wrecks on our way through Bamaga.
And the took the ferry back over the Jardine.
We made our way to the much recommended Virilya, and we are happy we did, it was a gorgeous beach.
Of course Jace being Jace, he didn't let the tyres down till we got bogged, but that was his problem.
And me managed to set our selves up right on the sand near some rockpools so the kids could swim. No way we were swimming in the ocean after all the reports of crocs on the beaches.
Another enjoyable sunset.
SUNDAY, 24th July 2011
Jace decided to try his hand at beach fishing, and this time actually managed to provide lunch. Not that we knew what type of fish it was, but it tasted good!
We also found a way to keep Ash from wandering away, and a convoy of about 10 grey nomads found it most entertaining.
We drove up to North Virilya to check out the shipwreck.
And lazed by the beach for the rest of the day.
MONDAY, 25th July 2011
Off again, and we made it through to Moreton Telegraph Station. Ash decided to give everyone his own welcome.
And I got a bit worried as we noticed the glow of a bushfire in the night sky off to a distance. But it was apparently just a back burn, and not a risk...I wasn't reassured and nor were some fellow campers from Gippsland, but no drama unfolded.
TUESDAY, 26th July 2011
Made it over to Weipa, and found it has a beautiful beach, full of crocs, and not much else. We'll only stay the night, but our neighbours have been here for 10 days waiting on a new axle for their trailer, not jealous one bit!
We took in the sunset from a distance, happy to let others take the front row down at the waters edge and act as bait whilst they fished and tempted the crocs with
their dogs. No thanks!
WEDNESDAY, 27th July 2011
I think we are all over the driving, corrugations and dust now. We travelled for the most part of the day and made it through to Musgrave roadhouse, with plenty of "are we there yet?"s along the way.
But a hot shower got rid of some of the dust and some good company can quickly help you forget the rest, and we had some entertaining company this evening.
We also managed to load ourselves up with eggs from the generous owner of Pace Farm eggs. And fancy that, they come pre-scrambled from all the corrguations!
THURSDAY, 28th July 2011
Today we stopped at Split Rock to go and see the aboriginal rock drawings, and cultural centre at Laura.
In search of civilisation we drove on through to Mount Carbine caravan park hoping to find kids for Ella to celebrate her birthday with tomorrow. Only grey folk around here though. So we settled for baking a cake over the campfire and will try to find somewhere else tomorrow.
FRIDAY, 29th July 2011
A birthday on the road as our princess turns 4.
We decided to drive all the way through to Mission Beach, and were in luck as we found some kids her age playing in the park. We pulled out the cake and lollies and set up an impromptu party.
That managed to do the trick :-)
...
And so now we have made it to the tip and back, finishing what was our original motivation for the around oz trip. And it doesn't seem there will be any stopping us at the moment. Well, that is if you don't count the suspension, battery, etc and however long it is going to take me to get this red dust out of everything!
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