Punsand Bay, QLD – 211 km

Both Doug and Norma had an unusual experience in the dark last night. While returning from the bathroom there was a whoop, whoop, whoop noise over our heads from the huge wings of fruit bats we had stirred out of the trees. Don’t know who was more startled, us or the bats.

We woke to a foggy day with the ground and everything being very wet with condensation. Initially this did help a bit with the swirling red road dust. We thought the vehicle was dirty yesterday but with all the wet and dust it is now really dirty with the thick layer of red mud. Now we know why the rental company asks you to bring the vehicle back with some of it washed off.

Overnight two 10 inch high termite mounds appeared in the middle of the road. It is amazing how quickly these little workers can build.

Not knowing how long it will take to get places on these corrugated roads we made a fairly early start. We filled the vehicle up with diesel and Doug had a chat with the old fellow who owns the place. We  heard a few days ago how the Jardine Ferry was not running as someone had driven off the end. He just laughed and said it was the “Chinese whisperers” at work again and it was actually being serviced. He told Doug that if he cut his finger that by the time the story got back to him via the rumor mill it would be he had lost his arm to a croc.

 

While driving along Doug came to an abrupt stop as he had spotted something on the road. Into reverse we went and low and behold it was a beautiful mushroom growing in the red dirt at the side of the road. Can you tell how thrilled he is? See picture.

  

Our next stop was Fruit Bat Falls and where we had a nice walk in the rainforest. The falls are beautiful and a very popular swimming area as the water is warm and no crocs are present in this area. There were some interesting flowers including the pitcher plant which attracts flies and dissolves them with enzymes to provide food for the plant. See photo

Pitcher Plant

We had planned to also drive to Elliot Falls but the first creek crossing was very deep and long and after watching two vehicles go through we decided against it. One of the drivers came over to give us some tips – stay to the left where it isn’t as deep- but with the rental agreement in place (we were not actually supposed to be on that road) we don’t feel we need to take any chances as.

Fruit Bat Falls

The Jardine River Ferry was our next stop. For $99 we had a return trip ticket as well as free bush camping under permit from the aboriginals as this is their land. We may try one of these camps on our return trip south. The ferry runs on an as needed basis between 8 am and 5 pm and only holds a few cars at a time.

Ferry

We are nearly at “the top”. We had read about the need to stop at the “Croc Tent” which is literally a tent where they sell all sorts of Cape York souvenirs. It is virtually out in the middle of nowhere!

Punsand Bay

We are at a beautiful campground on the ocean at Punsand Bay. The water and beach looks very inviting but there is a reason they have a pool for the kids: the estuarine crocs are in the waters here and in fact one was sighted today.

The Canadian flag were are flying continues to draw campers over for chats. The last fellow was from Tasmania whose daughter lived in Vancouver for awhile thus his grandkids have dual citizenship.

 

Bramwell Junction Roadhouse – 198 km

Had a leisurely morning getting organized before leaving Weipa. The receptionist at the campground had given us directions to the public library where we were able to access free wireless internet so made a post for yesterday. No internet here tonight or anywhere around. The only power is by generator to provide lights for the washrooms so we are relying on the camper battery to hopefully keep the fridge running and provide a little light for later as it does get dark around 6:45. We are going to miss the air conditioner for sure.

We had followed the Peninsula Development Road all day yesterday but after leaving Weipa via a shortcut we joined the Telegraph Road. Part of this road is very extreme 4X4 (the “Old” Telegraph Road) and our rental agreement will not allow us to travel it but there is a bypass road we will be taking tomorrow. There were three couples camped near us last night that are here tonight as well. They have just unhooked their bush trailers and headed up the Old Telegraph Road with their SUVs. Wonder how long it will take them. We did talk to a young fellow yesterday who had completed it and was disappointed he didn’t even need to use his winch. I guess it depends on how wet it has been and how full some of the creeks are.

Our lunch stop today was at the Morton Telegraph Station. They had a pioneer oven on display there (see photo).

It got to 30 degrees today but it is a drier heat and there is a bit of a breeze so we have all the camper windows open and are hoping it won’t be too hot tonight. This is our first encounter with the notorious Aussie bush flies and wonder if it will be like this further north. We sort of doubt it as it is closer to the coast. You can see everyone doing the “Australian wave”. They sell fly swatters for $8 and we do have our bug nets if it gets too bothersome.

We decided to stop early here at the Bramwell Junction Roadhouse as there are no powered camping spots on the next leg until we get to the top. Actually it is nice to have an early stop. We have a covered area and have our chairs and table so we can sit out there and swat flies! We were greeted by a real cacophony of sound with all the birds in the trees around our spot. This is one of the things we have not encountered so far.

Bramwell Junction Roadhouse has a licence plate tree, a mini version of the Watson Lake sign forest in the Yukon. A cattle truck with a working dog pulled in after we got there. As we write this we are actually having a short shower – it is cooling things off. Would be nice to have a bit of this tomorrow to keep the ROAD DUST down.

 

 

Weipa, QLD - 513 km

Started our morning with a nice chat with a New South Wales, Australia, couple who were camped beside us. They too are making their way up to Cape York so we may run into them again during our travels. Again this morning Norma woke up with curly hair. Isn’t this humidity wonderful!

Not too far out of Laura we stopped at a termite tombstone display (see photo).

Termite tombstones

In all our research and readings at home we had been given the impression the roads were going to be very rough and require extra travel time. At the start out of Laura this morning we thought this was going to be true as we encountered very deep loose gravel making for pretty slow going. Oh, well, we had decided it is what it is, but low and behold after a few kms the road smoothed out and we didn’t see any more of that. We did experience washboard (corrugations as they call them here) , deep soft red dirt, hard pack, dust holes, dust clouds from passing vehicles, crests and dips (some of which went through creek beds with water and some dry) and some bitumen (Australian for pavement) sections. These weren’t too long and usually in front of homesteads, roadhouses and where it looked like the road would wash away in the wet season. After all Doug did drive 516 km today on these supposedly challenging roads. He tells me he is fine and not even too tired!!!

The road is covered in the very fine red dust which as you can imagine gets into everything. The outside of the camper is pretty dirty and we are glad the door fits fairly snugly but having said that we are still finding the red dust on things in the cupboards and on the counter, etc. Anything we have in the outside storage compartments is solid red!

Red dust everywhere!

There is quite a bit of road kill and after seeing many dead kangaroos, wild pigs and even a cow we were losing hope of seeing anything alive but there came a kangaroo hopping across the road in front of us. We saw a few more as well as a dingo (wild dog) and lots of free range cows as we were travelling past “stations” – Australian for outback ranch.

We had initially thought we would stop in Coen for the night but were already there just after lunch so decided to press on. Our lunch stop was beside the Coen creek, a very pleasant cool stop in the shade. It got up to 32 degrees again today.

We also stopped at two roadhouses, Musgrave and Archer River, where we got a fuel top up of diesel for $2.25 a litre! Everything has to be transported in to this isolated area so the closer we get to Cape York the higher the prices seem to be. Another example – a Gatorade for $6.50.

We arrived in Weipa in time for a short walk before dinner and dark. It gets dark by 6:30 so we find we need to plan well or Doug would be cooking with artificial light attracting the bugs. Our cook stove is an exterior pullout.

Norma's trawler prawns

Weipa is a bauxite mining town. They ship this aluminum ore to smelters from the harbour here. There are several areas where you can see the haul roads for the ore trucks and even an ore truck crossing controlled by a “train” stop light. The other main industry is fishing and apparently is very popular with the sports fishermen. We did see many vehicles pulling boats, a bit dodgy on these road conditions I would think.

After our wonderful shrimp dinner (from the trawler at Cooktown) we walked over to the shore (our campground is right on the ocean – Gulf of Carpenteria) and watched the sun set. It is a bit cloudy but it was very pretty with the sun being veiled by the clouds. Attached is Doug’s camera’s artistic rendition.

Weipa sunset

 

Laura, QLD 186 km

We are getting used to the idiosyncrasies of the vehicle and are finding it pretty comfortable to drive/ride and sleep in. The air conditioner (yes, it is air conditioned – we are wimps, I know) has been vital and we are going to miss it once we get further north where we are sure we won’t be finding as many powered sites.

After a leisurely morning we headed into Cooktown, did some laundry and shopped for a few more “luxury” items like a face cloth, floor mat and travel mug. We found some of these items in a bargain store where they wanted $160 for a mediocre quilt! We are really finding things very expensive and do realize this may be partially due to the fact we are further north, but that was also the case in Cairns. A little example is a case of 24 coke regular price is $27. Oh, well. We are on vacation and will just have what we want.

The laundromat was situated on the wharf and behold there was a fishing vessel called the Guiding Star in port selling fresh caught prawns. We just couldn’t resist – or should I say Norma couldn’t resist so we bought half a kilo after doing some negotiating with the captain. They are huge and will be tomorrow’s dinner. Can’t hardly wait! There was a lady fishing on the wharf as well. She had pulled in two nice size fish and was pretty excited with her catch. Bet that is supper tonight unless she is selling to the tourists.

The owner of the campground last evening told us we needed to go to the “lookout” so up we went and it was truly a great view. You could see in all directions.

Cooktown Lookout

By the time we did all this and went to the bank and fueled up it was almost 11 am. We decided to use the Battle Camp Road to Laura versus going back on the highway. After all, we do have the 4 X 4 so want to use it. There were several rivers to cross again today. This is starting to be old hat to us now. Our lunch stop was at one of these crossings where Isabella Falls come down right from the edge of the “road”. It was very pretty but could be treacherous too if the water was much higher.

 

Isabella Falls

We also saw lots of termite mounds looking like head stones in a grave yard. Some of them were right on the road! We figure they must build them really fast to have them pop up on the road.

As we got closer to Laura we came across Old Laura Station, which used to be a cattle station. They are trying to preserve it but time and weather are doing their part to destroy it.

Old Laura Station

Our aim today was to check into the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival and camp on the fairgrounds for the next few days. They did offer seniors rates but would not give it to us without some special Aussie pensioners pass so we decided it was not worth it to camp in a field, using pretty rustic porta-potties and spending $300 for the privilege! Down the road we went and are at a powered site (nice with the temperature being 34) in Laura.

Cooktown, QLD - 174 km

Our first night in our campervan went well, except for both of us being awake at 4 a.m. to the sound of rain and debris falling on the roof. When we got up the rain had pretty well stopped but it was pretty socked in. Luckily this passed and turned out to be a glorious day with temperatures reaching 27 degrees. We are finally starting to feel turned around from the time change and jet lag.

We went into Mossman this morning to try and find internet and pick up a few things and surprise, surprise, there was free internet at Woolworths (a grocery store here) so we were able to sit in the camper and add the previous blog entry.

The morning's trip north was over very winding paved roads and across the Daintree Ferry ($13.50 to cross one way - a five minute trip).

Because of the rain we weren’t sure we would be able to travel the Bloomfield Track, the 4 X 4 drive from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown, but after stopping at Mason’s Store in Cape Tribulation we were assured that people had been making it through although it was a bit muddy in a few places. As soon as we got on the track we saw a demolished car – not a good sign.

Not a good start for someone. . .

But it was a great adventure and reminded us of our 4 X 4 drives to pick berries, except that it was through the spectacular rain forest. We traversed several rivers and climbed some very steep pitches.  They warn you not to walk across some of the rivers to test the depth before crossing because you could end up as a croc meal. We stopped for a picnic lunch beside the Emmagen Creek and watched several other vehicles, including a small 4 X 4 car pass through. We weren’t too worried with our vehicle as we have an intake snorkel but the little car didn’t and the water was up and well over the tires! Hope they didn’t have issues later on. One other area was all bedrock and pretty dodgy but we made it through.

 

 

In an effort to keep this road passable they have recently paved the steep hills and build a few one lane bridges. As you can see from the picture the water level still can rise above the bridge so water level gauges are present so people can decide if they want to attempt the crossing or not. The major crossing at the Bloomfield River has a brand new bridge. Check the photo for the old and the new way to cross!

Old and new river crossing.

Today in some places we were travelling through a tunnel of green, with the foliage and vines hanging down to the road. At our lunch stop Doug was attacked by this nasty spiny plant that seemed to be growing everywhere along the way. And we think our Devil's club is bad! We saw many signs warning to watch for the cassowaries (a very large flightless bird) and did manage to see (but not photograph) one in the bush.

Ouch!

At the start of the drive we paralleled the ocean and saw people enjoying the white sandy beaches. We were surprised at the amount of traffic and how busy the camp grounds are but realize this is the only time of year people can travel up this way and many Australians from the south make their way here for their holidays as the temperatures are more pleasant and it is getting cold down south. All in all an enjoyable day.

We have found ourselves in Cooktown for the night and this time with internet in our camper (purchased for $2 donation to the Flying Doctors).

Mossman, QLD 88 km

After an early night (although we sat out on our little veranda at the hotel and ate pizza to try and stay awake we finally succumbed) and had fairly decent sleep. Today we are starting to feel turned around from the jet lag.

We picked up our 4X4 campervan this morning at 10 am. We were given an emergency locator (see photo) to activate if we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere with a severe problem. It is apparently Australian law that people have this device heading up to Cape York and other 4 X 4 areas. If we pull the switch the helicopter will come to our rescue.

 

We then headed to the nearest mall to stock up on groceries, etc.  It must have been a very upscale mall because they sell gold/diamond encrusted diapers (see attached photo).

 



 

Our shakedown cruise from Cairns to Mossman today was through sugar cane fields and some very curvy coastal roads with beautiful white sand beaches. We even saw some tandem hang gliders getting ready to leap off the rocks over the ocean. Watching for cane trains (they have very narrow gauge rail cars to haul the cane out of the fields) and kangaroos (the only ones we saw were on our dinner plates tonight – roo burgers!) we first made our way to touristy Port Douglas where they wanted way too much for a cramped campsite, units sitting cheek to jowl with NO room between. We settled in Mossman for the night, nestled in the rainforest next to a river (see photos). The tree beside the camper even has some bromeliads (air plants) on its trunk. Yes it did rain – apparently they are having a very wet start to their dry season.

 

 

We think we have things sorted out in the camper. There is quite a bit of storage space but it is all down low. We now have another shopping list of items we know we will need/use in the next four weeks. We were surprised there wasn’t even a book of matches to light the stove but the young girl in reception helped us out.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day as we are going to attempt the vaunted Bloomfield Track from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown. 4X4 only because of the river crossings and steepness. It may not be open because of the wet weather they have been having – we shall see.

Cairns, QLD

Anyone have any suggestions on how to move Australia closer to North America? After a total of almost 20 hours of flying from Calgary we landed in Cairns about 12:30 pm today (Monday), losing Sunday in the process. The Calgary-LA leg was smooth, whereas the LA-Brisbane and Brisbane-Cairns legs had some bumps. We were hit by the humidity as soon as we got off the plane! We both managed to sleep a little so our aim now is to stay awake until it is bedtime in Australia. Oh, well, only 5 more hours to go!

We checked into our hotel and went for a walk to try to buy a portable BBQ for the campervan we are picking up tomorrow. The 1 hour walk (successful by the way as we got a portable grill top for the propane stove) in the tropical QLD humidity has us soaking wet! Cairns is also not that walker friendly as there are few continuous sidewalks. It appears that people only put in a sidewalk in front of their own property so if their neighbours choose not to participate the sidewalk ends. Also many puddles and muddy areas - in the supposed dry season (it was bucketing in Brisbane when we landed, too).

Swimming pool at the hotel.