Cape York

After a nice week in our rental home with Kellie’s parents it was time to tackle Cape York the most northern point of mainland Australia, we arranged to store the caravan in a local park and packed the car with tents and camping gear.

We left Cairns heading towards Mossman and Daintree, the road here is nice winding along the coastline with rainforest on one side and brilliant blue ocean on the other. We joined the queue for the ferry over the Daintree and continued onto the dirt road of the Bloomfield Track, after many steep climbs and some as steep descents we made it to the Lions Den Hotel a welcome sight after the drive.

We pushed on to Cooktown and setup camp in one of the local parks, what surprised me was the high prices for unpowered camping, we paid $45 for one night, another place was going to charge $54/night which is crazy.

 

From here we continue on north through Lakefield National Park stopping for two nights at Hahn River, great National Park campground with cold showers which is good as there are crocs in the river so no chance for a swim.

From here it was a good drive out to Musgrave Roadhouse then northwards again through Coen and finally after a big day, our last stop before tackling the Overland Telegraph Track was Bramwell Roadhouse, this is the northern most cattle station in Australia and the kids enjoyed feeding the young calves.

The Overland Telegraph Track is just that, back in the day the telegraph lines cut through the middle of Cape York all the way to Bamaga on the northern tip, these days there is a well maintained road but you can still drive the original track which is not maintained and what some would consider a must do 4wd track. The only issue with the track is during the wet season the river crossings are flooded out and the next dry season means the entry and exits change from year to year, the challenge is some of the deeper crossings which add to the excitement.

We only had only had one minor drama crossing the deepest crossing at Nolan’s Brook, half way across and with the front wheels nearly out the water the car cut out, turning it off and restarting I was able to drive out.

Some highlights Elliot Falls, Fruit Bat Falls and Twin Falls.

Next stop Loyalty Beach campground for a few nights and a trip to the tip of mainland Australia,

One more place to tick off the list was Thursday Island, a 1.5hour boat trip takes you to the island where you can spend the day wandering around like we did and checking out the island. Lovely place with only a few thousand people and a rich history from during the war years to the local indigenous who are spread far and wide on the small Islands that make up the Torres Strait.

 

We then made our way south stopping at one of the roadhouses and taking the detour into Weipa to check out the bauxite mine that the town was built to service.

Our last 4wd track on hearing it had been reopened just recently was the CREB track, we hooked up with another guy for safety in numbers but it was really just a really good technical drive with some impressive scenery and interesting locals towards the end.

And so that was the end of our Cape York adventure, next it was back to Cairns where we hung out with our friends for a week before heading back to Darwin for work.

Darwin to Cairns.

Knowing we would be coming back to Darwin we decided to skip Kakadu National Park as we would have chance later on, and so we headed south back through Katherine and stayed in a roadside stop for the night. Next morning up early we made bitter springs for a swim in the thermal waters of the creek, once we were all done it was in the car and onwards.

Lunch was at Daly Waters which is a great outback pub with some fun history, if you have a spare shirt/bra/thong you can pin it on the wall with all the rest, from her it was on to Banka Banka Station where we stayed the night.

Next day we called into Tennant Creek for some supplies and top up with fuel for the long run into Queensland, we had to return shortly after when a coolant hose split 50km from town but we made it back and luckily the car shop had something I could use and we were back on the road. After another roadside stop we did a big day and arrived on the Gregory River just south of Gregory Downs, this gave us an easy run into Lawn Hill National Park the next day, it also allowed the kids to play about in the river which was nice.

 

 

 Lawn Hill National Park is somewhere people always talk about in the travel articles and it did not fail to impress, we only hired canoes and paddled up the gorge but it was enough to show of how pretty the area is in the flesh, we stayed at Adels Grove which is the private campground, this I was not so happy about at $45 for unpowered site but is the only option if the National Park campground is full.

 

 

We now had a quick run across to Cairns as Kellies parents where coming in for a surprise visit, we still managed to see Normanton on the Gulf coast and stayed a few days at Ravenshoe whilst Liam recovered from man flu.

Once in Cainrs we stayed at a van park for the first couple of nights we then surprised the kids by moving into a nice house with pool. That evening Kellie met her parents at the airport and we surprised the kids when they arrived home, the next week was just spent laying about the pool, a trip to the Great Barrier Reef and checking out some of Cairns other sights.
Our trip to the Great Barrier Reef was with Reef Magic Cruises, this was one of the best value tours and included a buffet lunch, with a one hour transfer out to the pontoon we took in the views of Green Island and Fitzroy Island, even seeing some whales. Once alongside the pontoon it was into our swimmers and fit up for snorkel and masks, being first in the water meant you saw more fish according to the guides so we were keen to get wet. One regular visitor at this pontoon is Wally the Giant Maori Wrasse, as soon as you get in the water he swims over to check you out, by the end of the day we were playing with him like a big puppy dog, great fun for all. Other activities to do included a glass bottom boat and a semi submersible which took you out over deeper water where sharks and barracuda could be seen, a great way to finish off a brilliant day out on the reef.

After our week in the house was over the inlaws returned home and we left the van at a local park, Cape York was our next destination and tents would be our accommodation for the next couple of weeks.