Week 4 started with purpose, in fact it was the whole purpose of our trip, to make it to the most northern tip of mainland Australia. We left the van park by 9am and made our way northwards the some 40km towards the tip. Our first stop was the Croc Tent, this top-end souvenir oasis has everything relating to the cape and we stocked up. Heading further north the notable change was the landscape, the last few days had been bushland, but now it was very tropical. Soon enough we were in the tip carpark where we had some 400m walk ahead of us. After the short rocky walk, we’d made it to the tip of Australia. We’d achieved another item on our bucket list. We sat and rejoiced in the moment for a while, took a heap of photos, watched a huge turtle float by before heading back to our cars. From the tip we headed around to Somerset and the 5 beaches 4WD trek. It was at this point a few of our group opted to stay in the area for the night while the rest of us continued exploring the coast. For us, we headed back towards Bamaga where we found a number of WWII plane wrecks scattered in the bushland. With our day culminated, we explored a few local aboriginal communities before returning to the van park. By night fall we had dinner in the park restaurant basking in the nights’ special of ‘fish-n-chips’ on the beach.
Monday was moving day, but not before we experienced our heaviest rain of the trip, leaving us to pack up in the rain. We grabbed a few last-minute supplies and fuel in town, met up with the rest of our group before pushing south to the Jardine River ferry. This 6-car ferry traverses the narrow river crossing regularly and we were soon on the southern side. Continuing southward the corrugations on the Peninsula Development Road (PDR) were true to form, the car was literally shaking itself to pieces as we made our way the some 120km to the next destination of Captain Billys Landing. Arriving at our campsite sadly the southeast winds made the area less than attractive, but we made it work for us settling up the cars to form a nice wind-break. One of our members decided to head to Weipa to seek medical aid for an infected took foot. For the rest of us our day we relaxed by the beach, strolled along the foreshore, explored the many caves which become accessible at low tide, drove along the sand. For those keen fishermen amongst the group they were pleased to finally catch some fish while the kids took delight in building little homes for the numerous hermit crabs they’d found. As darkness came the wind persisted stopping us from having a campfire but we still took the opportunity to celebrate a group members birthday with cake.
Tuesday saw us moving again. Retracing our steps back to the PDR we continued further south over countless corrugations and dust to the Bramwell Roadhouse, returning to this place felt like we’d completed a big loop as we’d been here a week or so earlier. The need to refuel at $2.05/ltr hurt but was necessary if we wanted to continue seeing this amazing area. Pressing on we’d soon arrived at the Old Morten Telegraph Station which in its day was an integral link in communications heading north/south using Morse Code. We enjoyed the homestead hospitality while checking out the history and photos of recent floods that devastated the area. A short distance down the track we turned off for our next adventure, the "Frenchman’s Track" which in itself is an adventure but in reality, is a shortcut to Chilli Beach. The track, at times was very rough with us soon dropping down the steep descent into the Wenlock River where we took advantage of the perfect river conditions to swim and play for the next hour. Back on the track we encountered a couple more waterholes and steep climbs before reaching the Pascoe River. It was here the recent wet season had caused significant track damage resulting in the track being close up until recently. The entry and exit to the river were steep and rough with the water level in the river being up towards the bonnet level again. We were soon across safely and, on our way. Too our surprise our injured member was waiting for a few kilometres down the road, having had a 2cm palm spike removed from his foot. With time getting away from us after what was a big day we eventually arrived at Chilli Beach. Sadly the winds had persisted along the coast but camping in a little more protected area we were able to enjoy the spoils of a campfire in the night.
Wednesday was all about chilling at Chilli beach, we had a bit of sleep-in before having morning coffee on the beach. Most of us spent the morning either doing minor maintenance jobs, relaxing by the camp or on the beach. The kids had taken a few shovels down to the beach and started digging out a beach fire pit for us, while a few adults tried our luck getting coconuts from the countless palm trees that littered the beach, we even attempted to scale the trees Fijian style. After lunch and with the tide running out we took the kids for a bit of beach driving before going out to explore the surrounding area. We found a local selling cooked prawns so we grabbed some before returning to camp. Regrettably the wind had not abated but that didn’t stop us from spending a couple of hours around our beach firepit devouring prawns and bourbon on the beach. After dinner we enjoyed another campfire, telling tales, sipping port and reminiscing at what had been a lovely day at Chilli Beach.
Thursday saw us on the road again heading back towards the PDR, but not before we detoured via the aboriginal community of Lockhart River, this was certainly an interesting excursion highlighting the multicultural lifestyle of others. The road heading back to the PDR was good and we made good time and speed along the dirt road, however as we re-grouped at the PDR road junction car troubles struck the group. One car simply wouldn’t re-start again, after a bit of diagnosing we decided to push-start it and head into the Archer River Roadhouse for further investigation. We opted to have lunch at the roadhouse and while sitting at lunch we got to witness farm life at its rawest, sadly a lame bull had to be put down in eye-shot of the roadhouse. With a band-aid fix done on the car and a swim in the nearby river we kept motoring south towards Coen. Once in Coen we grabbed some fuel and basic supplies before having a drink at the local. We’d spied a good campsite as we drove into town so after enjoying refreshments we headed out to camp by the river. Once setup the kids swam, the guys threw a line in the river before we enjoyed jaffles in the campfire.
Friday dawned with beautiful sunny views over the river. After packing up we were on the road again. It was some 250km to Laura but who would have known that shortish distance would take us most of the day. The PDR was as rough as we’d experienced. Once again, the corrugations generated noises in the car which had us 2nd guessing whether the car was self-destructing. For some of the group car issues were a reality, at Musgrave we pulled an alternator out of one car while another car continued to have starter motor issues. Our roadside mechanical repairs took us up till lunchtime. After lunch we were back on the road heading south, the PDR was still an adventure, the bull dust coupled with corrugations and oncoming road-trains had us at reduced speeds much of the time. Just when we thought it’d be an easy run into Laura car problems presented themselves again. The car with starter motor issues yesterday simply conked out mid-road. Further investigations and a short tow to the nearest roadhouse saw us doing more repairs. By late afternoon we’d finally arrived in Laura having done that 250km, sadly another car had succumbed to car troubles, the PDR had claimed another casualty with a car battery rattled itself to pieces and dropped a cell. With it late in the day we wanted to press on, starting our next offroad adventure along the Old Coach Rd towards the Palmer Goldfields. With dusk nearing we got a couple of hours down this renowned rough track before finding a suitable spot to camp for the night. As we setup camp we reflected on how fun the track had been so-far. The terrain was challenging, technical in spots and at various times there were great views across the ranges. After a long day in the saddle it was so good to sit and relax by the fire, watching the stars and the serenity of being in the bush.
Saturday had us excited about what the Old Coach Rd had install for us, as the morning unfolded the track didn’t disappoint. There were steep rocky climbs, creek washouts, wombat holes that had us on 2 wheels at times, off chamber sections that had us flipping ‘n’ flopping through weird angles plus more of the great scenery. The closer we got to Maytown the remnants of yesteryears gold lifestyle were unveiled. We found old stampers, boilers and abandon mineshafts scattered across the countryside. Coupled with the old, was the new, we found a handful of operating mines where people were hard at it trying to make their riches from the minerals which lie beneath. Once in the historic township of Maytown the size of "what once was" hit home. Only the cobbled gutters and a few house piers remained but once where a building stood now a plaque identified the numerous shops and multiple pubs that stood on site back in the 1880’s when over 18000 people lived in Maytown. We had lunch at the nearby Palmer River before heading towards our next campsite. The road out of Maytown weaved its way over the ranges and at times felt like we were riding a rollercoaster as it twisted and turned. The day wasn’t without more car issues but nothing that couldn’t be fixed beside the dirt road. By mid-afternoon we’d reached a main bitumen road, the sensation of driving on a smooth black road felt strange after so many kilometres on dirt. Late in the day we arrived back in Bloomfield, a familiar campground for us as we’d stayed here on our way to the tip. Week 4 had concluded with some amazing highs, a few car problems for us to deal with once we were back in Cairns and a whole lot of dust and corrugations behind us.
No comments:
Post a Comment