Cape York
The big trip to the tip.

It's a long way to the tip of Cape York, almost 4000kms from Sydney. As my wife Lynne says, "it's a long way to go to the beach" and when you get there, you can't swim because of the crocs! But still, it's one of those things you just have to do.

We decided to go north via Charleville, Longreach and Hughenden, then relax for a bit in the Atherton Tablelands to get our breath back and do some supply shopping for the final trip to the tip. On our last day on the Tablelands I noticed a steady drip of coolant from the water pump. A leaking gasket? We were only an hour from Cairns so it was easy to get the part and have the problem fixed. The idea of nervously watching the coolant level over 1000kms of corrugations wasn't appealing. rev sllub hartingdale com au -->

It's a good dirt road all the way to Musgrave Station, depending on the weather of course. We'd elected to do the trip in August which is the driest month and also the most popular-there are heaps of people up there at this time. Just outside of Laura is the Split Rock Aboriginal art site (above right). This is one of the more famous sites on the Cape and is a must see.

Wenlock

Croc Spotting

When we arrived at the Wenlock River the next day, there was a "recent croc sighting" sign just by the crossing. Lynne decided not to walk the river! Fortunately it was reasonably low, just below wheel arch height. North of the Wenlock you have the choice of the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL) or the bypass road. Palm Creek, which is supposed to be one of the more difficult crossings is the first creek you come across.

We like to travel on our own because it gives us the freedom to do our own thing. But the downside is you have no one to help you if you need it. Call me chicken if you like, but getting stuck on our first difficult creek crossing at Palm Creek (right) looked like a real possibility. I wouldn't have hesitated had we been with a club or with someone whose experience we trusted. We weren't and we didn't want to wait for someone to turn up so we backtracked to the bypass road. This is another reason to consider a tag-a-long I guess, but I just hate the idea of sharing my holiday with a crowd.

Later on we ran into a 9 vehicle tag-a-long and we were glad we weren't along. They were beginning to look a bit fed up with each other. I spoke to one guy in the group driving a Mercedes M-Class who really needed some help. The Merc with lots of weight on board was almost scraping along the ground. The average family car would have had as much ramp-over. He wasn't very impressed.

The bypass roads are the fastest way to travel, but they're very corrugated and full of soft sand in places. However the main thing about them is that they miss most of the creek crossings, which is a bit of a shame really as some of these creeks are very beautiful.	Creek Crossing
	Above: Elliot Falls Left: Scrubby Creek.

Scrubby Creek just before Elliot Falls looked deep to us at first, so I walked it, less than knee height, firm bottom. No worries. The camp site at Elliot Falls was packed and we were lucky to find a spot. But what a spot! Just the place to wash the dust off in the warm clear water. We met two South Australian couples who were very friendly and were happy to help us across the next section of the OTL. Just up the road are Canal and Sam Creek. The water in these creeks is absolutely beautifully clear and the bottoms are nice firm rock. Sam Creek was a bit tricky as you have to cross a very narrow section with deep holes either side. Graham-1 and Graham-2 as we called them were very helpful and guided us across. We could have come to grief without their help.

It was only a few hours drive to the top after we got back on the Northern Bypass Road. We filled up with diesel in Bamaga, then on to Punsand Bay to camp for 4 nights. We had a spectacular view of the tip from our campsite on the beach. The sunrises were truly magic and the beach faced north. We booked a boat out to Thursday Island from Punsand Bay. It takes about 45 minutes in good weather to get to the Island. When Captain Bligh rowed through Torres Strait after he and his loyal men were thrown off the Bounty in 1789, he named the islands after the days of the week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Islands. But no weekend!! It must been tough working with Captain Bligh! We had a beer in Australia's top pub, the "Torres", the northernmost pub in Australia. We walked around the town and had a great view of Torres Strait from Green Hill. On nearby Horn Island you can still see the remains of some the B-17 bombers that came to grief on the short runway. On the way back to the mainland the boat went close by Possession Island to give us a look at the Captain Cook Monument, where he claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain.

4wd.sofcom.com/4WD.html Above: Thursday Island Right: The Tip

The track from Punsand Bay to the tip is only 7kms to the main road, then another 7 or so to the carpark at Pajinka. The first 7kms from Punsand Bay took almost an hour to do. It's not too difficult, just slow, but entertaining too. This is the sort of driving I enjoy, driving slowly enough to enjoy the landscape, but enough lumps and bumps to keep it interesting.

A walk on a boardwalk through the rainforest brings you out at Frangipani Beach, Australia's most northern mainland beach. It's beautiful, complete with coconut palms, white sand and the islands of Torres Strait on the horizon. Past the beach we scrambled up a rocky slope following the sign to the tip. The south east trade winds were blowing briskly as we left the shelter of the rock. We could see the famous little sign in the distance -"You are standing at the northernmost point of the Australian continent." It's just a sign and it's just a rocky outcrop on a peninsula, but it feels like an achievement. We took our photogaph on a tripod and posed triumphantly.

We had a celebratory beer by the pool at Pajinka Lodge, then drove slowly back through the rainforest to Roma Flats, where we walked among the jungle trees. Using a guide book from the Injinoo kit we were given when we caught the Jardine ferry, we were able to identify most of the trees and plants. There was evidence of feral pigs digging and damaging the forest. I bought a bone dagger at a tiny stall in Lockerbie Scrub, which was originally from New Guinea and used in trade with the Torres Strait Islanders. We wondered if it was a human bone as it looked big enough to be one.

The next day we moved down to Seisia not far from Bamaga on the west side of the Cape. We did some emergency shopping at the little supermarket and some washing. Swaying coconut palms, the wharf and great sunsets over Torres Strait. On our way back south we travelled down the OTL as far as Gunshot Creek. On the way we crossed Cockatoo Creek (right) which had swiftly flowing water and lots of big holes in the rocky bottom. After walking the creek several times and discussing at great length with a couple of Englishmen who turned up behind us, we saw someone drive through from the opposite direction in a completely different way to the one we had figured out. Lucky because it was the way to go.

The scene at Gunshot Creek was quite a tourist attraction. A 4WD tour had turned up and was watching a young Japanese girl who had stopped half way down one side of the steep entrance on her motorcycle. She couldn't put her feet down and was being supported by a couple of tourists. Finally she took off with a roar and much steam from the exhaust pipe. The crowd cheered it's approval. But wait! The show's not over yet. A couple of young Victorians in a SWB Nissan MQ are about to do the easternmost of these steep slippery dips. After some last minute advice on tarp deployment over the grille, they're off, sliding, sliding, bang, hit the mud at the bottom, much revving and wheel spin, then off down the creek bed then up past the cheering and clapping crowd. Amazing!

Above: Morton Station Right: Weipa

Another night at Morton Station under the mango trees before heading to Weipa via the Batavia Downs Road. The camping at Weipa right on the Gulf of Carpentaria is legendary, worth the detour and a good spot for us to top up our supplies, buy a new CB aerial as ours had just snapped off and generally have a repair and recreation day.

After Weipa we crossed over to the east side of the Cape driving all day to Lakefield National Park and camped that night at Hahn Crossing. After sunset, when the wind had died down a bit and we started a fire to cook on, we were invaded by bats. Lynne thought they might carry the Lissa virus and locked herself in the car just in case!

Lakefield is probably best seen at the end of the wet season in May. When we were there a lot of the water had dried up in some of the smaller ponds. Still. there was a lot of birdlife and beautiful water lilies and lotus flowers.

Old Laura Station is just off the road on the way to Cooktown and is now a museum. Unfortunately the bottom floor is wired off to keep vandals out, so you can't see much of the interior. During the wet season the station was cut off from the outside world for months at a time.

Above: Old Laura Right: Cooktown

Cooktown! It seemed like the big smoke after being further up the Cape for two weeks. Luxury! We stay at the Sovereign Hotel again where we stayed 3 years ago. That's when we saw people coming back from the tip and that's when we decided to acquire all the camping gear and prepare the car for the big trip to the tip. Sitting on the verandah, sipping a cool drink and watching the sun setting behind the palms, lighting up the Endeavour River. It was a sense of achievement after years of planning to have made it to the top and back without too many dramas.

Chris and Lynne Bull © 10/1999

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