The connection has been so bad and slow that so no updates. After Elim we drove very fast for us, to the top, two overnights at roadhouses on the way and stayed for 6 days in Seisia. What a fabulous place but the road is as bad as you have heard, one rocks and rolls all the way and it is around 900k! Parts are surprisingly good but mostly it is the corrugations and the very fast drivers that are so bad.
Seisa is around 40k from the tip and has a nice campground on the beach with a jetty behind which is the centre of the community. Lots of fishing as the small fish congregate around and under the jetty and there as so many they look like large dark patches in the water. The young aboriginal kids, 5-15, with perhaps one adult around but unsupervised, were the best fisherman, some had long bamboo hand spears and would spear fish to be used as bait for bigger fish. The kids were all so polite and friendly, I was very impressed with them.
We could see a crocodile on the beach on the island opposite, a few hundred metres away but in the afternoon around 30 kids would start running across the jetty and jumping in (3-4metres to water). They would all do it together and them sometimes the visiting white kids and dads jumped too. But I didn't! The Queensland kids went on hols during our stay.
As soon as the croc left the beach opposite, instantly all the kids got out of the water.
We spent one day going to Thursday Island and did a bus tour around the island. It is interesting and nice out there. The islanders are a mix of many different races. Do you know there islands nearby where one can stay. It would be a nice holiday destination.
We spent another fabulous day going to the tip, hence the plank, and that is a really terrific place. It is one of those places in the world that have a special vibration (or something) it is so very lovely. One drives though open eucalypt forest and rainforest to get there and with so many small islands around it is very picturesque. We had the best day, not much wind and sunny (I am quite a tan now) just perfect, the water was so beautiful.
On our way back now, in Weipa, at another campground on the banks of Mission River, a very large shallow inlet here. I do like flushing toilets and power, have decided that I am a soft offroader and I am so over those roads and the trade winds that we will not go to a lot of the places we could on the way back. The distances are so vast and the red dust is so intrusive that the backtop is looking very attractive.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Elim Beach, Cape Bedford, FNQ
Finally Christians important letter arrived in Cooktown; we spent 4 (nice) days waiting so he can fill in a form to prove that he is alive, he has to visit the police to sign it. It is a nice town, we wandered around looking at everything.
Yesterday we left for Endeavour Falls Tourist Park where we stayed the night. The falls are behind the park just a short walk down to the river. Unfortunately one can no longer swim as crocs have come to live there but we did walk out over the falls and I did not JUMP!
Today we came our to this lovely beach camp on a bay under Cape Bedford, facing north. The tide is out and the Coral Sea is around a kilometre from the shore. The trades are blowing again but we are quite sheltered here.
We will stay here a couple of days and unfortunately for Christian it is on aboriginal lands and there are alcohol restrictions (1 bottle wine) and he only had about 1/2 bottle in his cask so he has nearly run out.
Yesterday we left for Endeavour Falls Tourist Park where we stayed the night. The falls are behind the park just a short walk down to the river. Unfortunately one can no longer swim as crocs have come to live there but we did walk out over the falls and I did not JUMP!
Today we came our to this lovely beach camp on a bay under Cape Bedford, facing north. The tide is out and the Coral Sea is around a kilometre from the shore. The trades are blowing again but we are quite sheltered here.
We will stay here a couple of days and unfortunately for Christian it is on aboriginal lands and there are alcohol restrictions (1 bottle wine) and he only had about 1/2 bottle in his cask so he has nearly run out.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Cooktown - the locals say "come to Cooktown and get blown away".....you better believe it!
Oh, the trades are blowing, and blowing and blowing! But the bugs are also blown away and at least it is warm, not raining, with fluffy white clouds.
After leaving Wonga, we went on a croc spotting trip on the Daintree River. The river banks were either absolutely covered in thick rainforest or cleared land that resembles the Bega Valley. Saw a few crocs lazing in the sun.
After the boatrip we crossed the river on the car ferry and went to Cape Tribulation (I have named it Cape Dripulation) to spend a couple of nights at Noah Beach in a Queensland National Parks camp. Very nice place except everytime I go to Cape Trib oops, Cape Drip it drips. We must have had 50mms of rain in the two nights, even during the day it was misty and cloudy and of course, the trades were blowing. BUT it was still lovely to wander the beach. We met a lovely couple of ladies around our age, fishing up one end and they invited us for a cuppa the next day. Now have a new friends one is called Lyn, she has a grandpa friend in Canberra so we will catchup. Lovely lady and her sister Pam lives in Cairns.
We had a great drive up the Bloomfield Track. Spectacular views along the coast and as it is where the Great Divide meets the sea the mountains and valleys are quite steep. A couple of creek crossings but it was very easy with the Landcruiser, the locals have done lots of work on the track to make it easy and safer.
Came on the Cooktown and are staying in a camp in town waiting for mail from France. It is a great town, nice folks and lots of interesting things to see. Doing lots of walking, my ankle is good and strong and Christian knee op has helped but he still has some pain. Getting old can be a pain sometimes.
It is good to be on the road.... now we are out of the rain, I love wandering around these nice places. Cooktown is not in rainforest at all so no rain since we arrived, we are warm and happy outside. So different to our very cold Murrumbidgee Meander, we now have 12 hours of daylight Now it is 6.19pm I am sitting outside in a teeshirt updating this blog, how good is that!
After leaving Wonga, we went on a croc spotting trip on the Daintree River. The river banks were either absolutely covered in thick rainforest or cleared land that resembles the Bega Valley. Saw a few crocs lazing in the sun.
After the boatrip we crossed the river on the car ferry and went to Cape Tribulation (I have named it Cape Dripulation) to spend a couple of nights at Noah Beach in a Queensland National Parks camp. Very nice place except everytime I go to Cape Trib oops, Cape Drip it drips. We must have had 50mms of rain in the two nights, even during the day it was misty and cloudy and of course, the trades were blowing. BUT it was still lovely to wander the beach. We met a lovely couple of ladies around our age, fishing up one end and they invited us for a cuppa the next day. Now have a new friends one is called Lyn, she has a grandpa friend in Canberra so we will catchup. Lovely lady and her sister Pam lives in Cairns.
We had a great drive up the Bloomfield Track. Spectacular views along the coast and as it is where the Great Divide meets the sea the mountains and valleys are quite steep. A couple of creek crossings but it was very easy with the Landcruiser, the locals have done lots of work on the track to make it easy and safer.
Came on the Cooktown and are staying in a camp in town waiting for mail from France. It is a great town, nice folks and lots of interesting things to see. Doing lots of walking, my ankle is good and strong and Christian knee op has helped but he still has some pain. Getting old can be a pain sometimes.
It is good to be on the road.... now we are out of the rain, I love wandering around these nice places. Cooktown is not in rainforest at all so no rain since we arrived, we are warm and happy outside. So different to our very cold Murrumbidgee Meander, we now have 12 hours of daylight Now it is 6.19pm I am sitting outside in a teeshirt updating this blog, how good is that!
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