Almost at the Top End

After a brief one-nighter at Musgrave Roadhouse we travelled north passing through several bush

 

Bush fire aftermath

 fires, through the small town of Coen, then decided rather than going straight for the Top, to detour to have a look at the coastal mining town of Weipa where Sandra had heard there were spectacular sunsets – a pretty good reason for a 300k side trip. With the only real camping option being the local caravan park we managed to bag ourself a seafront site – provided it was only for the one night – that suited us fine. We pitched our tent between a middle aged couple whose vehicle we had to have moved as it was on our small but well marked out site, and a dysfunctional family, the father of which was having control problems and the mother of which disappeared for the hours around bedtime, apparently to go to work but I suspect to seek refuge in the pub. One night only definitely suited us.

Weipa - a glass of wine at sunset, croc warning sign behind

Mind you the site location was very good – right on the beach and Sandra was right, the sunset was spectacular as witnessed by dozens of people queuing up to photograph it. As usual in this part of the world entering the water was a big no-no, unless you wanted to meet one of the reptilian residents.

Weipa Sunset

After our one night it was back onto the Old Telegraph Road (but not the bad bit – honest!) with a picnic lunch on the banks of the Wenlock River at Moreton Telegraph Station – where we spotted an interesting sign. High in the trees, many metres above the river below, was a notice stating that someone had been at that level in a boat during the floods of 2003 – now that was impressive.

The river was this high in 2003

Ever northwards and bypassing the spectacular Fruit Bat and Eliot/Twin Falls – we'll get them on our return journey – we made for the Jardine River and the ferry. In times gone by, when travellers were a hardier race and couldn't afford the extortionate ferry toll, real men (and women) would cross the river in their 4WDs braving crocs and flooded engines. At least so I am told by Sandra's sister Gill who made that journey a quarter of a century ago. We of course would have done the same however, mindful of the Honda's limited off-road capabilities, we wimped out and paid $129 for the ferry.

The road north so far had been pretty good – a bit rough and corrugated at times but no worse than I experienced coming across the Gulf and with a lot less creek and river crossings. However, once over the ferry, the roads deteriorated significantly with bigger, longer corrugations and hidden potholes and dust traps. Apparently a couple of cars a day have to be rescued and camper trailers are particularly vulnerable, we saw one being loaded onto a tow truck as we passed a notorious pothole. However, with my careful driving and Sandra reminding me constantly to slow down, we made it with no mishaps. The only issue now was where to camp?

There are quite a few camp-sites in the Cape area, both commercial and free, bush camping, with all of them having mixed reviews – where we could find a review that was. Our final choice was pure serendipity and we are camping on Alau Beach just down from the Aboriginal settlement of Umagico. Our tent is literally just a few feet from a lovely beach with spectacular sea views across to the islands in the Torres Strait. One of my first jobs after pitching the tent was to give myself a wash as I had changed colour! I was covered in red dust and my face and hair had a peculiar red tinge that is not quite captured in the photograph.

Redder than it looks

 

The beach is glorious however the usual precautions apply. One of our fellow campers left out a crab pot overnight near the rocks just in front of our tent. The following morning the crab pot was found mangled and ripped to shreds with the bait removed – a bit close for comfort we thought. However it may have not been a crocodile as both bull sharks and tiger sharks are apparently very common in the area. Consequently, although we walk along the beach, we tend to avoid putting our toes in the water.

View from tent



"Is it or isn't it?"

It's a hard life

Alone on the beach

Footsteps

Yesterday we were planning a trip to the very northernmost tip of mainland Australia, however that well know meteorological phenomenon, the Douglas Effect - came into play. It started to rain – and this is the dry season. We decided to wait a few days before setting out for the Tip – mind you we may have to wait a while as the heavens opened last night and everything is a bit soggy at the moment. Whilst I would be disappointed not to get to the Tip, I will be even more disappointed to hear that the roads south are impassable as we are about 1000k north of Cairns – and most of those are on dirt roads.

Tomorrow we are giving driving a miss and are taking a boat over to Thursday Island and Horn Island for a look around.