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Part 3 Weipa, Chilli Beach & broken donuts.

Alas, it was time to move on. We had pre-booked a campsite at Cairns anticipating our return date to be May 29th…we had to push that ahead to June 3rd. 

So, leaving Seisia, with no problems getting over the Jardine River. Magic stop for a swim at Fruit Bat Falls, not far from Eliot Falls which we’d stayed at earlier. A bus load of tourists stopped by at the same time, most carried their striped fold up chairs down to watch the Falls…what a pity for them. Refreshed, we ground on through hundreds of kilometres of the red dust, stopped briefly at Bramwell Junction for lunch, then continued to Weipa on the west coast. The caravan park was quite full but we managed to get in. It was the first time I’d felt that the annual nomad mob had arrived at the Top End. 

We asked about a mine tour but alas, it was not happening on the sunday. Disappointment. But wait…a lovely young lady, named Megan, wandered in to our campsite asking if anyone wanted to do a mine tour tomorrow, she had 5 places left. What luck, right place right time. We said yes of course. George was happy to do his own thing for the morning.

Weipa Mine & Town Tour was very interesting, not only did we drive through the bauxite mine in full operation, but we also had a tour around the town, along the coast to learn about the birds and fish, into a pristine piece of bush to learn something about bush tucker, and of course a lot about the settlement history, the fact that Rio Tinto manages the town along with an indigenous representative and that there’s no Council. Rio builds everything the town needs in order to keep workers happily living here. It seems to work.

The sunsets over Weipa are awesome. After the sun disappears, there’s about half an hour of the sky turning a deeper and deeper red, extending it’s magnificence far longer than expected.

Time to move south, actually from Weipa, as the bird flies, we were in a straight line east by the end of the day. But it took us 300km of dust, river crossings, potholes, and corrugations before we reached Chilli Beach. The country was beautiful with grass trees dotted through the bush, small mountain peaks, rocky outcrops, and termite mounds. I’m intrigued by these, they’re like sentinels standing in the bush, often in red ochre colours, among spindly black and white trunks of hundreds of gums. The more I looked the more I saw human forms, like statues of Mary with robes spreading down to the earth. Some very large mounds looked like Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which I would imagine was inspired by nature. They also reminded me of free-form honeycomb. What else can a passenger do but imagine things when travelling all day? Having months ahead of passing more termite mounds than I can fathom, who knows what I’ll see in them next!

Anyway, Chilli beach is remote, always windy. In 2019, cyclone Trevor pounded the coast, the devastation is still obvious. Massive trees were uprooted, palm roots were undermined leaving groups of them precariously hanging on to the shore. We had a campsite well protected from the never stopping winds. Bush Turkeys proved great assets for games of bullseye. The boys climbed palms to get coconuts and Marilyn made scones for morning tea. Dinner on the second of our 3 nights was roast pork…under the stars. 

We did a quick trip to Portland Roads, a lovely little fishing village that had been a military base during the war…no evidence of that now, even the jetty had been dismantled. But sadly the Cafe wasn’t opening for another week or so.

Lockhart River. This town is an Aboriginal settlement with all the services anyone needs. Fuel was $2.85! By now we were accustomed to paying $7 for 2 litres of milk, so how the locals manage such high costs, I do not know. We found the art gallery where we could peruse the original artworks easily but found it difficult to find someone to serve us. The standard was not great – the best we’ve seen in a gallery so far were at Port Douglas. I could easily have purchased any of the paintings there, if I had a rich benefactor. The other claim to fame for Lockhart River was it’s prominence in WW2. Americans were based in the military base there with the Aussies. There’s a very impressive airstrip, some good interpretive signs and a canon. Loved the outdoor waiting lounge for the current airport passengers. We had our picnic lunch by the sea where large lichen covered rocks lined the shoreline. The drive back to camp (40km) through thick rainforest and savannah grasslands was always interesting, although we saw very few animals. The kangas here are small pale grey, like little wallabies. Next morning we headed off south again.

Crunch time – literally. Driving the 185km of red gravel, potholes, river crossings can become tedious…we were cruising at the front of the group at about 60kmh when crunch, we hit the deepest culvert with the sharpest edge, hard. Smashed the side mirror but annihilated the back passenger side tyre. Roadside stop and quick swap over, but also filled the horrible hole with shrubbery, then found the yellow sign that should have warned us, chucked in the bush nearby. So replaced that in the hole also. But regarding our car, that’s just the beginning….Nick can write next.

Just after wrecking the tyre by putting a slash in the side wall, I noticed that the Tachometer had stopped working, it is driven electronically off the the back of the alternator, then I noticed that the battery light was on as well and the voltmeter was not the usual 13.5 volts. We continued on the minor road from Chilli beach and out to the Peninsula Development Road and headed south to Musgrave Station. By the time we got there the voltmeter was reading 8.5 volts with the car still running. My right hand man Andy and myself set about rigging up a solar panel to charge the battery, we isolated the primary battery from all of the ancillary stuff, cable tied the panel to the roof and hey presto we have charge to the main battery. A hybrid car. We drove about 800 km without the alternator working back to Cairns. Going up a steep hill north of Mareeba the rubber universal joint on the rear tail shaft destroyed itself and had to be replaced. Loosely referred to as the donut, this is the second one we’ve had to replace, so will carry plenty of spares for the next leg of the trip. Back to Jen.

It was at Laura that the boys rigged up the solar panels to our roof rack, but we needed a tow to jump start the car – hence the picture of George’s car with the tow rope. I had to sacrifice a visit to the Quinkan Cultural Centre and  gallery in Laura due to car issues, but I wasn’t going to miss the rock art at Split Rock. Walking up was hot, steep high steps, all to see these ancient paintings on the rocks in caves, but so so worthwhile. The Quinkans by the way are the spirit people. The interpretive signs were great, as we didn’t have time to go with a guide.

So off we headed, a long slow 139km to Musgrave without enough power to use the a/c, so open windows and dust was our lot. At 5.00pm we set up camp in a big paddock behind the old Musgrave telegraph station – it was actually good there. Almost full moon, clear starry sky, warm, quiet, showers & loo nearby. Stocked up on one bottle of wine and $7 bottle of milk. (Wine $30)

Mareeba next before going down to Cairns. Mareeba campsite was run by a German couple, who George seems to attract. In the morning she came over with cup cakes for his 79th birthday.

Sadly, farewelled our travelling buddies for the past month…might see them again in WA!

Cairns – a time to regroup for us, maintenance on the car, wash clothes and sheets and car and Swifty. Catch up on calls to family, get out this blog using the caravan park internet. The Rhodes are doing their own car maintenance in Atherton. Nights with tropical rain, days with humidity…gotta love Cairns!

Thanks for reading all 3 blogs, if you did! Who knows where we are going next…westwards anyway.

Love & cheers. Am loving your comments.
Jen & Nick

Cape York. Part 2 June 4th 2023

Pushing on, feeling like the Cape is coming to a point. We’d heard that the Jardine river ferry had broken down and people had waited 4 hours to cross over the fast flowing river. So we packed a thermos and snacks in preparation. The hardest part to crossing over was paying the huge toll..$192 return! Never mind, we were a captive audience and I was happy to pay the cheery local boys to run the ferry. Otherwise we would never make it to the tip.

Not many cars waiting, we crossed at 10.30am and were told it was being shutdown at 11.00am so the oil covered mechanic could take off the head of the Lister engine. It was only running on 2 of 3 cylinders. 

We stopped short of Seisia to do an alcohol check. The communities are fairly strict regarding alcohol although the tourists can carry a minimal amount.

We continued to Seisia camping ground, a delightfully tropical place on the far north-west coast. Our 3 sites were almost on the beach. With a G&T in hand sitting in our camp chairs on the fine white sand watching a spectacular sunset, what more could anyone want!

Dinner at Loyalty Beach was quite disappointing – tough prawns & rubber mackerel fish. The setting was great but the food wasn’t.

The BIG DAY dawned, the day we reach the Tip of Pajinka. The drive from Seisia was not direct, Nick and Andrew found the short cut over a pretty deep river crossing. We were seasoned rough trackers by now. Even the many potholes and deep water crossings didn’t phase us. 

We got to the Tip carpark and saw many vehicles…ohh.. We started the 800m walk along the beach flats, past mangroves, in slightly slippery mud until we began to climb the rocks, through the scrub, like a bunch of pioneers. Suddenly there it was, a sign on a pole with a couple of people taking photos. It was perhaps a little underwhelming. I was expecting vast oceans of nothingness beyond the tip, but there were islands everywhere, very close, a yacht sailing past. 

Nick broke out our rainbow Priscilla, and had a few strange looks from people – “was this man coming out?” After the mandatory photos, we took the inland walking track back to the carpark, climbing to the top of the rocky promontory where the views were 360 degrees, amazing. Three rock cairns signalled the path. The last cairns I’d seen were in Mongolia where their spiritual significance was powerful. Every Mongolian who encountered one would walk around it 3 times and give thanks to the gods. Not sure this was the case here, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the indigenous people didn’t assign power to a pile of rocks.

We pre-planned a special lunch to mark our arrival at the tip. A bottle of Prosecco to toast our achievement, followed by lunch – san chow bau – lettuce filled with tuna, egg and spices, followed by a welcome cuppa. This is the joy of travelling with friends, the way we throw a little feast together. Many travellers saw us with envy in their eyes – it was a long way to a shop of any kind. The Croc Tent was down the road – a crass okka bogan tourist trap with no food.

We wound down this wonderful day with fish fillets given to us by a local fisherman.

The local people around Seisia are very much a mix of Thursday Islanders, Papuans, Polynesians and Aust Aborigines, and all very friendly. 

A day trip to Thursday Island was something I had never even dreamed of doing. I love being on the sea, loved the hour long ferry trip through the Torres Strait islands, of which there are many. I had no idea Thursday Island was so small compared to others nearby, but it was chosen for it’s protected harbour. We joined a bus tour on Thurs island and learned about the WW2 effort, the influence of the Japanese both as pearlers and ultimately as invaders. Life was tough for TI people, especially the women during the war. Boats bringing food supplies were bombed, the land was too rocky to grow much, although mangoes were in abundance. 

We visited the Cultural Centre which was being set up for the bi-annual festival of dance, music and celebrations of reconciliation, but it was the following week, damn pity we missed it! The paintings in the gallery showed a combination of styles…the dots of the indigenous people and the bright splashes of colours from the TI artists. The weavings with natural fibres, and the use of marine flotsam to make 3D sculptures were quite clever. I came away with some earrings made by a local that look like white birds from Paradise – I guess that’s what they were!

We lunched at the northern most pub in Australia, and it was good. Cold beers and yummy burgers. Locals with their families, cute little kids, some amazing characters, as you can see in the photo of George, behind him.

Walking along the main street after lunch, we 3 girls were drawn into a very colourful dress shop…we each brought 2 frocks. Marilyn did an instant nip and tuck job on mine, she’s a whizz with cotton and thread. It’s nice having the breeze around the legs and other parts in a frock.

Blog 3 will soon be done.

Cheers

Jenny xx

The Daintree, Magnetic Island, Mission Beach

May 18th 2023

Travelling from Groper Creek we headed the fairly short distance to Townsville. 

I had requested we visit Magnetic Island. Way back in my younger days, probably 1978ish, I had travelled up the east coast with my ex and our 2 little girls, stopping off to visit communities of interest and random friends. We stayed with 2 hippie friends at their house at Horseshoe Bay. Both were marine biologists. My strongest memory is of the girls and I walking along the beach collecting hermit crabs. Our friends had a LARGE salt water tank in their primitive shack with a spectacular collection of fish, crabs, corals, and more. It opened my insular Melbourne-centric eyes to the wonders of the reef. I remember walking along a narrow track to the white sandy beach and crystal blue sea. It became an idyllic stopping point on our travels back then.

Anyway, suffice to say, what I saw there now was nothing like my memories, but it still had an undeniable laid-back, somewhat alternative feel despite the chic new shops and accommodation that line the street facing the sea. Expensive yachts and cabin cruisers were moored just off-shore. As I sat under the enormous fig tree, watching the sea, I overheard the group of salty bedraggled boaties, who were sitting at a table near me, discussing engines, mechanical stuff and using “start you bastard” with little effect. Ah, I thought, there’s still blokes just sitting and chatting about nothing.

We found an excellent cafe for lunch on Magnetic Island, a “modern” backpackers trendy hideout, mostly populated with Europeans, but all looking “cool” in their own way…with flared pants, chai almond milk lattes, dreadlocks, crocheted bikinis and birkenstocks. The lunch was delicious, we later found out the chef had recently worked at the Farm at Ewingsdale.

We had a very cheap day out at Magnetic Island. Being Seniors has its rewards. The ferry was $20 return and our bus tickets for the whole day anywhere around the island were $2.40 each. The landscape was rocky, lush with vegetation, vivid green and the charming houses were tucked into lush overgrown gardens. I liked the slow development it has made over the past 45 years. If only other places would change slowly.

We’d been told not to miss Wallaman Falls, the highest single drop waterfall in Australia, 268 meters. Located in a UNESCO World Heritage site in Girringun National Park. So after a delicious morning tea in Ingham, we unhitched our vans in the car park behind the Visitor Centre and headed up the steep winding climb. It was pretty spectacular. But the best thrill while driving back, was coming across a Cassowary sauntering across the road. Majestic big bird.

South Mission Beach caravan park was our next destination. I have very few pictures from here. We lived in a tropical rain event each night here, where getting up to go to the toilet at night meant wading ankle deep through water. Apart from restocking the fridge and getting coffee, we didn’t do much there. Tully was a short drive away. This is the wettest place in Qld and the home of the Big Boot. That boot is as high as the biggest flood, 7.9mtrs, in 1950. Tully has a working sugar mill which belched smoke over the area. Sadly the town had many empty shops and felt a bit depressed. Maybe when the sugar milling season gets into full swing the town will come to life. We often had visits from the resident Cassowary in the caravan park. One evening at drinkies, he came purposely up behind me, eyeing off the tub of olives. Whoa, he has big gnarly claws and needed to be stopped. Holding up a camp chair as a shield stopped a nasty disaster.

Cairns. I had started feeling a bit off, so tested for covid..positive. Damn. I suspect I got it on the bus in Magnetic island. You know how sometimes you have a premonition…I thought at the time, I should have a mask on. Anyway, the plan to stay 4 nights in Cairns proved a good chance for me, and then Nick too, to weather covid. No need to isolate anymore, so off we went to the Aquarium one day and the historic train to Kuranda the next day. 

Both the tourist train and the Aquarium were easy pleasant activities for old and infirmed people. We still feel we are ahead of the mob, there just are not a lot of tourists around. We also loved strolling through the Botanic Gardens which are beautifully laid out with amazing plants.

Our campsite in Cairns was particularly good, compared to the others at the park. We were located on a grassy bend in the local river, the spot where turtles can be fed and fishes of many varieties gather for a look at the humans, even eels and a large barra. We had a concrete pad ideal for evening drinks overlooking the river under some wonderful trees.

It was time to move on though, we decided to book a camp at Wonga Beach, then radiate out from there for a couple of days, mainly north to the Daintree. We managed to find a storage shed for the 3 kayaks and 3 bicycles, which will make travelling so much more convenient up north. Nick had always wanted to see a sugar train, he was in luck as we drove along the highway there was one chugging along, probably checking on the tracks before the season starts in June.

After a quick visit to trendy Palm Cove, we stopped in Port Douglas for lunch at the Marina, also pretty trendy. Wonga caravan park is nice and simple, on the beach front, under large trees many of which drop big nuts constantly, nuts like macadamias. The coconuts hanging high in the nearby trees look a bit threatening. The extreme humidity we felt a day or 2 ago has gone and now it is relatively cool, minimums of around 23.

It was mentioned that there was a good swimming hole at Mason’s store. So off we headed one day to do our Daintree Rainforest and Bloomfield track exploration. The ferry over the Daintree river took us to the World Heritage listed park. It was amazing. Towering palms, massive Melaleucas, figs, strangler vines, mangroves, an earthly garden that has taken centuries to grow, that is a wonder beyond description. My pictures can never do it justice. A stroll along Madja’s Botanical boardwalk was well worth it. Then I took a swim for the team at Mason’s Store. Soooo refreshing, crystal clear chilly water.

We took lunch at Cape Tribulation. I decided to get us a healthy lunch…vegan panini and a green boost juice. Not sure Nick was impressed. The challenge of the Bloomfield track has always been there for 4WD drivers, so off we headed to ford the rivers and climb the steep tracks, sometimes 30% gradient, which tested us and we couldn’t have towed Swifty that way. But we got to the Bloomfield river, wandered through the indigenous gallery then turned around for the 2 hour journey back to camp.

Today we did a very peaceful cruise on an electric boat up the Daintree to find crocodiles….we found quite a few. The commentary was very good, it was a tour well worth doing.

Tomorrow (friday 19th May) we head off to Cooktown. I have been reading up on the history but I am looking forward to visiting the museum and getting a sense of the place.

Cheers Everyone

Jenny & Nick