Monday dawned with us decided to stay another night at Weipa, instead of us packing up and heading out the peninsula, a decision that we’d later regret. By mid-morning we headed towards Mapoon to an Aboriginal community located on the Gulf of Carpentaria. After charging out the sights of the town we explored a few offshoots before driving to the beach oasis of the Pennefather River. We immediately regretted our decision to stay another night in Weipa, the beach setting where we enjoyed lunch was a beautiful spot and worthy of an overnight stay. We witnessed some turtle nests on the beach and an enjoyable swim in the shallows of the gulf. Pushing on, we wanted to see some old plane wrecks so we started trekking down the beach but with most of us pushing hard along the sand we opted pull the pin as some of our cars were overheating. Back in Weipa we enjoyed the last few hours of daylight with an extended happy-hour.
Tuesday was moving day, but not before we all got some last-minute supplies from Woolworths. Leaving the civilisation of Weipa we were quickly back on the dusty dirt roads, we managed a detour past the Botavia Downs cattle station before joining back on to the Development Road northbound. The main north/south road soon showed its true colours as parts of the road were heavily corrugated. We flew past a landmarks commenting that we’d seen them again on our return southwards. Just after lunch we arrived at Bramwell Station which was to be our overnight campsite. This working cattle station of over 300,000 acres opens its doors for travellers as a convenient rest stop offering dinner and showers. After setting up camp we headed to the beginning of the Old Telegraph track where we spent a few hours exploring the next days, options. Once back at camp we spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing around the cattle station. As night fell some of our group enjoyed a cattle station meal and entertainment while others mingled around our camp.
Reflecting on Wednesday, to date it’s been the best day of our adventure so far. The Old Telegraph track offered so much, it had a bit of everything for everyone. Starting at Bramwell Roadhouse we trekked along the single lane dusty track till we’d come across creek crossing. Dry or wet everyone of them was an adrenalin rush. Palm Creek had one of the steepest exits of the day and when 2 of the smallest cars in the group were able to climb the steep wall we had bragging rights over those bigger cars that struggled. After a few more dry crossings we e upon Delhunty River where we spent some time cooling off in the cool waters. Pushing further north there were numerous other crossings that challenged us all before we arrived at the infamous Gunshot. Those in the know have all heard of this place and the reputation it has amongst those who tackle the OTT. For 2 of our group the sheer rock face drop into the creek was in their sights. The near vertical wall requires an element of nerve because for much of the drop you have no control over the speed of entry but our 2 cars made it down successfully while the rest of us negotiated the challenging deeper water crossing. Pushing on there were more challenging creek crossings before we made it to Fruit Bat Falls. This spectacular low level falls spans a 50m wide river with plenty of opportunity for us to cool off in the water below the falls or directly under the thumping water. With more OTT to cover before days end we reluctantly pushed on. The Scrubby creek crossing offered one last highlight before we arrived at Elliot falls campground for our 2-night stay. After setting up in our respective campsites we enjoyed the atmosphere and dinner cooked on the open fire.
Thursday dawned early as I headed back the kilometres to Fruit Bat falls to capture the first light on the falls, unfortunately the light wasn’t spectacular but the early morning swim under the falls was beautiful. Returning to camp it wasn’t surprising to see the rest of my family were still in bed enjoying a lazy sleep-in. After a hearty breakfast we headed to the nearby waterfalls of Elliot and Twin falls where we jumped from the adjoining rock walls that dotted the waterfalls, we rumbled in the white-water before enjoying our float downstream on our pool noodles. The hectic pace and energy of the morning was too much for some us as a few of us needed a nana nap before returning later in the day for some more fun in the waterfalls. Our day ended with the whole group floating the creeks again, basking in what had been a beautiful day playing natures best natural features. As night fell we sat around the campfire toasting marshmallows, sipping port and reminiscing on how fun the past few days had been.
Friday was all about finishing the second half of the OTT, with most of the track done we only had 40km to go, but as the day unfolded it would be one of high impact. The last half dozen creek crossings were the most challenging and deepest of the whole Telegraph track. Steep drop-offs into the creeks, wombat holes that had us grabbing big air at times and water lapping at the bonnet were all too common. As the track neared its an end we had Logans and Nolans crossing to complete. Logans crossing depth was deep enough that we were waist deep in water as we inspected the right line to take, thankfully we all managed to negotiating creek successfully. Our last crossing was the treacherous Nolans Crossing. Rumour had that people count the number of times a car is drowned in the deep long crossing. Sure, enough as we arrived on the southern bank a plethora of people looked on from the northern bank, it felt like lambs to the slaughter. There were multiple lines to take across the creek, all with their own perils. Plenty of onlookers had an opinion of what line to take, of course they had the presence of hindsight as they sat and waited for our fate to unfold. Eventually we all picked our preferred line, we aired down our tyres and pre-prepared our cars with extra snatch straps in the event of a recovery. Our 2 biggest vehicles made it across easily, our 3rd vehicle wasn’t so lucky and had to be recovered. For us we chose a line that was deep but short and were lucky to drive out the other side without taking any water onboard. Thankfully the rest of our group also made it to the other side without taking on any water. However, the news wasn’t all good, our 3rd vehicle that had to be recovered had taken in a big gulp of water into the engine. We spent the following couple of hours pulling engine parts off trying to clear water from critical parts. Eventually with us not having a lot of success out in the bush we opted to tow the car 30km into Seisia where we were able to borrow some tools from a local mechanic and perfect the repairs needed. With daylight fading to hear the purr of a diesel start-up was music to our ears. Our evening culminated with an easy dinner and some NRL via the iphone.
Our last day of week 3 (Saturday) started very early for all of us, we were off to Thursday Island (TI) on the 7:45 ferry. Waiting at the dock we were enthralled by the locals as they fished from the high pier, some by regular fishing rods while a few used 6m hand spears very successfully. Our ferry weaved its way through the countless islands that litter the cape coastline and 80min later we were docked at Thursday Island. We’d arranged a local tour guide to show us around the small island which is steeped in war history. By lunch time we’d seen pretty much all of the island and were sitting Australia’s most northern pub for a counter lunch. Following lunch, we spent our last few hours on TI looking around the cultural centre and sheltering in the shade as the high temps and high humidity was getting a bit too much. Returning to the mainland many of the passengers grabbed 40 winks as the ferry rocked n rolled in the wind swell chop. By late afternoon we’d grabbed a few groceries to tie us over till our next major town. It was then time to relax as happy-hour and a spectacular sunset concluded a beautiful week in Cape York.
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