• Bec Taylor
Ağu – Eyl 2022

Cape York 2022

Bec tarafından 45 günlük bir macera Okumaya devam et
  • Kuranda

    13 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Up early to get ready for the Kuranda Scenic railway today. We weren't able to get gold class, even booking a few days ago, but the seats were surprisingly comfortable considering. Lovely views at certain points along the way. We had a quick stop to see and take photos of Barron Falls, before getting into Kuranda. We headed straight for Frogs restaurant for lunch, regular burger for Ben, steak burger for me. We had a wander through Kuranda, lots of shops, gave me Nimbin vibes minus the drug deals in the middle of the street haha. Markets/that style of shop aren't really our jam (unless it's food markets), so we cruised through pretty quickly, decided against the koala house too as we'll see some later in the trip. We stopped off at Kuranda Hotel briefly then onto the Skyrail. I absolutely loved it! The views were unreal! We hopped off at both stops along the way to check out the lookouts, a much better viewpoint from here. I'm glad we did the railway, it's one of those bucket list things, but we both agreed that the skyrail is more our thing. We got in around 15:30 but our shuttle wasn't leaving until 16:15 so we just decided to uber back. Did a quick woolies shop for the next little while, we're expecting to eat at most roadhouses for dinner but there's a bunch of bush camping between them so needed to make sure we had plenty of supplies. We've just been for a wander down the promenade, it's absolutely chockers! There's a Japanese festival on and further down on the pier there's a food and wine festival. You can tell that it started early with the flocks of drunken and staggering people about, it's pretty amusing. We settled on Hemingways for dinner, will head back afterwards to get organised and packed. We're expecting to lose service/data from tomorrow, but will use the wifi if it's available along the way.Okumaya devam et

  • Cairns to the Lions Den

    14 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Up and moving this morning, fueled up the car and our tums, then off towards Daintree village. The road was absolutely stunning, again reminding us of Hawaii as we had rainforest on the left and the ocean on the right. Less than 2 hours and we got to the start of the CREB track, about an 80km 4wd track. We watched a Hema tag along group tackle the first river crossing, before we went across and overtook them. The track was surprisingly easy considering the stories we've heard, but no doubt even a bit of rain would make a real mess of it. We stopped after the 'hard' part of the track, roughly 2 hours, and made ham and cheese wraps, then back on the trail. It was easier again from there, gravel at points and much less slippery. The winch is so far, unused. Towards the back end, even I did a river crossing! It was good fun and such a pretty track as a whole. We headed for the Lions den pub where were staying for the night. It had a good feel to it. We had dinner, a few drinks and listened to the live music before heading to our campsite for a few downloaded episodes on netflix and bed.Okumaya devam et

  • Cooktown

    15 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    This morning we headed for Archer point lighthouse. It was absolutely beautiful, windy too! We waded through some croc infested waters which Ben assured me was fine, despite the many warning signs. He argued that the sandbar, crystal clear and shallow water meant that we'd be right. We were, but it didn't make me any less paranoid. Next we headed into Cooktown, stopping at the botanic gardens and doing a walk to Finch Bay, another lovely spot. We walked back via the granite quarry, then drove to the Grassy Hill lookout. We ventured down to the esplanade to see the captain cook statue before our bigger drive of the day.Okumaya devam et

  • Cooktown and onwards

    15 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    A few hours to Hann river roadhouse, our original plan for tonight, we had an ice cream and wandered around, but we weren't feeling it and it was only around 14:30. Ben remembered that Musgrave has a roadhouse and Google told us it was only another hour on the road, so off we went. Turned out to be a much better spot to spend the night I reckon. We did enjoy watching 2 children play with their version of a football (an inflated goon sack). We watched the freshwater crocodiles get a feed at 5pm then met Ellen and Peter, a couple from Forster that we're planning on convoying with tomorrow. Just ordered dinner and sitting in the bar with our limited wifi, we did look up optus coverage, and since Cooktown we won't have service again until we get back to Port douglas by the sounds of it, see how we go.Okumaya devam et

  • Musgrave to Bramwell

    16 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Psych! We have wifi at Bramwell ha!
    The usual packup to start the day, not a lot on, just aiming for Bramwell station tonight before we start the old telegraph 4wd track tomorrow morning and a few nights of bush camping. We headed off towards Coen with our convoy buddies for a toilet break and look through the general store. Back in the car and an hour on the road to Archer river roadhouse for a quick bite to eat and to suss out accommodation options for our return, it's likely we'll stay here on the way back. Another few hours to Bramwell on surprisingly a lot of bitumen, plenty of red dirt too, but definitely more sealed roads than we were expecting. Corrugations aren't too bad so far, that's a bonus, although I'm not sure that much could compete with the track to the glow worm caves out the back of Lithgow that we did on our minimoon, they actually do some road maintenance out here though. We got in at 2, and have had a weird amount of time to kill. Ben has checked over the car, tightened bits, I've relearned how to use the winch (which I'll no doubt forget tomorrow) and we're having our first cheese platter of the trip. 16 days later, I'm disappointed in myself. Happy hour is at 5:30 and we have a dinner booking at 6:30, not sure what it is, but we prepaid for it ages ago, so we'll see! Early start tomorrow to hit the OTT.Okumaya devam et

  • Starting the Tele track

    17 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We were awake at 7 and many people had already left or were in the process of doing so. Once organised, we stopped in at the Bramwell roadhouse for fuel, a stubby holder and a few photos before tackling the Telegraph track. We were behind a big group of motorbikes, 5 of which we encountered pretty early, heading the other direction as they'd decided against the first obstacle, which was fair, the main entrance was pretty ridiculous. Near vertical and verrry narrow at Palm Creek. Ourselves and Peter and Ellen found a nicer way in, it still had a bit of a drop off and we christened the winch to pull ourselves out. I was pretty nervous on the way out, Ben had 'parked' the ute on the exit as far up as it could drive, it was in gear, but kept rolling back ever so slightly every few minutes while he was setting up the winch. I felt like I was in a movie where you're teetering on the edge of a cliff. A bit dramatic, but you know me. We made it up, helped the others with their winch and we were on our way. Ducie creek was much nicer and didn't have a lot a lot of water through it, considering our hema book said it was a 'moderately deep' crossing. I found an easier way out than what Ben found, so I've done my job of the day. We cruised through the South Alice crossing, barely even noticed it, then onto North Alice which was also pretty easy. We noted that after every crossing, someone had put a sign up with 'towing' and a phone number, clever marketing if you have telstra. Dulhunty river was next and now I can say that that I've driven through a river crossing on the Telegraph track (it's a big deal, I promise). We went for a walk and took some photos of this one, the first 'pretty' crossing we've come across, the rest have been pretty muddy or dirty.Okumaya devam et

  • Gunshot to Cockatoo creek

    17 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Bertie creek was lovely too, a lot of deep holes, but a rocky bottom if you could avoid them. A fair few kms on and we reached the Gunshot bypass which we could opt for instead of attempting the crossing. We went on and figured worst case, we could turn back. The main Gunshot track is a vertical drop, with a deep waterhole just after. It's one of those difficult crossings well known in the 4wd world. We passed a number of vehicles going the other direction which didn't fill me with confidence. When we arrived, we quickly saw why. There were numerous options to take, all pretty awful and steep. We had already planned on sticking around and watching a few people attempt it if we could. We weren't sure if we'd see anyone though, as the track had been surprisingly quiet, barely seeing anyone along the way. We watched a few tackle the main Gunshot track, it was pretty full on! Ben was tempted and as long as I wasn't in the car, it didn't bother me either way. I was chatting to another older lady as we were watching, who mentioned a slightly easier track off the side which we hadn't come across. We sussed it out and definitely seemed less deadly. I joked that if we were towards the end of our trip and needed to go back to work soon that we should do Gunshot and if it went wrong 'oh no, our car broke and we can't come into work' ha! However, being only 2 and a bit weeks in of 6-7, it's too early to risk it. The 'easier' track, was, however one of the back toolboxes copped a knock and is a bit out of shape, it wouldn't matter except it holds the dual battery charger. On we went where we found a ute in quite a bog hole, they didn't do Gunshot so thought they'd try some of the harder tracks along the way and got stuck. They had mates though and assured us they'd be right. We made it to Cockatoo creek, our original goal for the night, a relatively easy crossing as well, just needed to avoid some deep holes in a few sections. Up to the campsite which surprisingly has an undercover picnic area and a toilet.. which has no steps however. It's at Ben's shoulder, so not exactly something I'd like to climb if I desperately had to go to the loo. We found a nice spot and set up. Ben bashed the toolbox hoping to get it back to its original shape and added a strap to keep it shut as we have some deeper crossings coming up over the next few days. The creek is anti crocodile (apparently) and we saw a bunch of people having a swim when we crossed, so we headed down ourselves. The water was lovely! Peter and Ellen joined us for a drink, then we stayed a bit longer until our drinks ran out and the sun started to disappear. We've just had dinner, steak and salad (yes Ben eats salad now.. mostly Caesar, but it's an improvement).Okumaya devam et

  • Cockatoo Creek to Fruitbat Falls

    18 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Took it slow this morning, with only roughly 38kms and 2 swimming holes between campsites. One unmarked water crossing would come close to the deepest we've been through so far, all good though with only a little bit of water in the busted toolbox. After about 17kms we had the first marked crossing and the main road not long later for about 7kms. We finally saw what people have been complaining about on the Facebook pages, the corrugations were bloody terrible. Back onto the 4wd track and we stopped in at Fruitbat Falls, what a great spot! We walked down first to have a look, then headed back to change and put on sunscreen, ready for a swim. Peter and Ellen headed off and we hope to catch them again in the morning for the last leg. We spent a while at Fruitbat Falls, there's a top section which is mostly a rock shelf and some big holes that are like your own personal jacuzzi, and the bottom under the falls. Such a great spot, honestly! We only headed off because we (me) were getting hungry. Ham and cheese wraps again then back on the road.Okumaya devam et

  • Eliot Falls

    18 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    A pretty cruisy few kms and we reached Eliot Falls, we found our campsite and went for a walk. Very close to the toilet (stairs on these ones) which is handy. We followed the signs to The Saucepan, bloody beautiful and very deep. We followed different paths and boardwalks, finding Eliot Falls, Eliot Creek and Twin Falls. Back up to set up the tent, resunscreen and head down for a swim at Saucepan first. We stuck around for a while then I swam around to Eliot Falls while Ben followed along on the bush path. We looped around to Twin Falls which has a nice, shallow and sunny spot to swim. We hung around there for a while. Ben climbed up to the top of the falls and spoke to a bloke who said he'd just had a snake swim between his legs and pointed it out to Ben as it slithered back off into the bush. It didn't put us off though, plenty of people around down the bottom where we were swimming. The sun was disappearing and we were getting hungry again so we headed back. Burritos for dinner, sat around until the sun went down and now just watched some netflix.Okumaya devam et

  • Big challenge day

    19 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Another early morning (for us), pack up and off to find Peter and Ellen. We assumed they'd be camping at Canal Creek and they were. Today started straight off with creek crossing after creek crossing. Sam creek was lovely and had a bit of depth, but nothing too tricky. Mistake creek tried to live upto it's name. Luckily 2 families were ahead of us, with an L and P plater driving so we got to watch/hassle them first. The L plater only got his licence 2 weeks ago (but often drives on the family property) and the P plater loses his licence as of the end of the month for speeding, so he was getting as much driving in as he could before then. It was a pretty decent drop off into this crossing, but all good in the end! Ben lead the group for Cannibal creek, another dicey looking one, but not bad. When he came down the hill from where he parked, he had a massive grin on his face, turns out the hill had a big hole/step up which meant that as he drove up, one of his front wheels was up in the air a fair bloody bit. The L plater's car behind couldn't quite get up the hill, so Ben snatched him up and over. Leading this crossing however, put Ben in front for Cypress, which was that God damn 'log Bridge' if you can even call it that, which I'm sure you've already seen by now. I wasn't planning on being in the car for this one, but it was pretty nervewracking just watching and directing Ben. He said it was hard not having any awareness of where you are on the bridge since he couldn't see anything. I'm even more glad I wasn't in there. He crossed and we helped guide the others across. The next crossing we came across wasn't named on the map, it just said 'ford' and it was a pretty tough one. Waist deep and quite long. They took a while getting ready for this one, so I hung out with the other family's staffy, she was so beautiful.Okumaya devam et

  • Nolan's to Punsand

    19 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Nolan's (bridge creek) is the last crossing and known to have a very soft, sandy bottom, which claims a lot of vehicles each year apparently, woo! We watched 2 fellas go down who we saw at the Lions Den a few nights ago, the first one had no dramas, good news because that was the line we were planning on taking. His mate though, took a different path and got stuck in the water. Ben ran out to attach the snatch strap while his mate dragged him out. There was a fair bit of water in his car but he seemed pretty good about it. The L and P platers and their families went next, all good. Ben afterwards, also no dramas despite the depth. Peter was much slower but again no issues. We pulled up for a celebratory drink and lunch while watching some other groups come through, a few we've seen along the way. The last car got stuck, same drill, Ben attached the strap and the driver dragged him out. It was a fun, but nervewracking day at times. Less than an hour to the ferry, it's very quick over the Jardine River, it's only about 50m. We said our farewells and headed for our campsite at Punsand Bay after topping up the fuel at Bamaga. We set up and wandered down to the beach bar, such a great spot! We had a seafood pizza and calamari for dinner. Unintentionally a late night, had much to catch up on on the wifi after a few days without. The shower was soooo good, it's been a while! The fresh water swims were great, don't get me wrong, but not comparable to a hot shower.Okumaya devam et

  • To the Tip!

    20 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Up and moving as usual. We popped into the Corrugation Bar at our campsite to see what their breakfast options were. Ben grabbed a Bacon and egg roll while I got the corn fritters and haloumi. Good start to the day. Our first stop today was The Tip! Pajinka! Maybe half an hour north and we arrived. A few older blokes were on their way back down with a stubby holder and empty beers, it was just before 10am, they said it's tradition, so we followed suit and grabbed a Canadian club each. It was about 700m up and over rocks to the most northern point, not too difficult a walk, just glad we weren't doing it in the middle of the day. We took a few photos then had a seat and people watched. There weren't a heap at first, but more were coming the later it got. One bloke jumped in the water, he said everyone gets their photo, but noone swims at the northern point, fair point but I'd rather not risk being eaten haha. It was lovely in the sun with the breeze coming through. We eventually decided to head back, getting more photos on the way. When we got back to the car, a tour group was being lead through the water to the point, less climbing this way, but it depends on the tide/crocodile factor.Okumaya devam et

  • 5 beaches drive

    20 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We headed to Somerset for the 5 beaches loop that stops off at a few historical sites along the way. The beaches were lovely and super windy, cant swim at any of them of course, but still a nice drive. Once we got back we attempted to do a load of washing, turns out, only 1 machine is working and there was a line up of piles of clothes. I decided on a nap, second of the trip, and ben reorganised the car and dried out the straps and bits that got wet over the last few days. It was our turn for washing, Ben put it on while I was waking up and we went through some photos. When the timer went off we headed for the laundry to hang out our load. The lady after Ben seemed to skip the line, he mentioned that there was a line up but she shrugged and said that the piles had been there all day. Well! Then began the laundry debacle. We were hanging ours out and there were a few loud, angry voices about whoevers load was in, skipped the line and they were not happy, understandably though. Down to the beach bar for a few drinks and dinner, tonight we had the fried cmembert bites, chicken pizza and pan fried mackerel, another great meal. Such a nice spot on the water, just relaxing. Finished dinner, threw our load in the dryer, grabbed a few drinks and watched the sunset on the beach. Shower time and the usual netflix before bed.Okumaya devam et

  • Roonga Point

    21 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We got a bit of rain overnight, not as much as at Emerald, but it definitely made things nice and damp. Slowly packed up and went for breakfast, 2 Bacon and egg rolls today and an iced latte. The next few days are pretty quiet so we sat around and used the wifi for a bit. Bought a few souvenirs from the Punsand shop and decided to make a move. We headed over to Roonga Point, a little 4wd track on the map, taking us to the western side. Quite a few people bush camping over this way. It was closer than we realised so we pulled into a nice spot and watched a few episodes on netflix as the rain was back. There was another track we were considering, but our notes said it can get quite boggy and with last nights rain, we decided against it.Okumaya devam et

  • Loyalty Beach

    21 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Headed south for Loyalty beach. There's a shortcut on our map so we took it, just to see something different. The puddles have made the car nice and red and it looks like we had a hard slog. We did come across a crossing that was pretty dodgy looking, we're right in crocodile territory now and we couldn't see in the red water. A dogde ram going the other way got halfway through and reversed out after seeing how deep it was. We had a chat with them for a bit from across the creek, to decide on our next move. The other bloke decided to wade through another part of the crossing, I sure as heck wasn't going to, and it was pretty shallow, once he went through, we did too, just in the other direction. Not much further and we hit Loyalty beach, no need for bookings here so we just checked in and found a nice spot on the water for the night. Then it flogged down again, fun fun! We have been very lucky with the weather so far so it's all good. The rain has been coming and going pretty fast, so hopefully it blows over soon. We hid out and watched some more netflix before heading to the bar, it's fish and chip night and clearly verrry popular! The line up was huge but they smashed through it. We waited a bit before ordering, didn't feel like a 5pm dinner. Really nice spot on the water and the weather cleared up nicely. Surprisingly we had a few bits of service at times too. We got a serve of fish and chips, and prawns to share, bloody good! We wandered back and just the usual shower, netflix and bed.Okumaya devam et

  • WW2 trail

    22 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We pushed our alarm back an hour today, but Ben was still stirring beforehand. Another cruisy day ahead. We went through our laundry from the day before last, the rain came through before we had a chance to go through it all and put it away properly. Slow packup and headed for Bamaga. We found the Bakery which a lot of people hype up, got ourselves a crocodile pie and a regular sausage roll to share. They were pretty good! We followed the hema to do the ww2 trek today. We found 2 plane wrecks and a fuel dump site which took us a bit to realise was a historic location and not people just dumping a heap of 44 gallon drums. We looped back and headed for Muttee Head. The track kept going to the Jardine River mouth where it flows into the Arafura Sea, so we followed it and found a nice spot to stop and cook up some noodles. Back on the soft, sandy track to Muttee Head and the WW2 radar. We had to put the maxtrax to use for their intended purpose instead of levelling the ute out at campsites. We went through a large, soft patch, I smacked my head on the handle and we got stuck. Ben got us sorted though and we were moving in no time. Good thing he attached the lanyards, he couldn't see the little ones at all. We found the ww2 radar, the only one standing on the mainland. A quick drive by Muttee Head, looks like a lovely camping spot. We headed back via Injinoo, just to have a look. They have construction going on near the beach to create a picnic area, otherwise its very much a local town.Okumaya devam et

  • Alau campground

    22 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    On to Alau campgrounds for the night, we bumped into Peter and Ellen earlier who are staying here tonight too. We set up not far from them. A very informal booking system? The lady was lovely though. The rain blew in and out all arvo, so we kept swapping from outside to in. Decided to have a few drinks with the others and some other campers. One couple are from Elermore Vale, small world. There are so many dogs around, none have been aggressive at all, but they just roam everywhere looking for scraps. Barely even acknowledging that you're even there. One of the couples said they'd heard that the campground staff don't actively shoo them away as their presence tends to deter any opportunistic thieves which can be quite common apparently. Then the usual evening plans, cooked up dinner, showers and bed.Okumaya devam et

  • To Seisia - 'say-see-ya'

    23 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We had a bit of a sleep in today, no massive plans so figured why not. Once organised and packed up, we headed to the supermarket for a few bits and pieces, laundry powder in particular as we didnt pack enough. The ibis supermarket was filled with a lot of woolies branded products so they must have an arrangement there. Next we went to Bamaga tavern, the most northern pub on mainland Australia. We had a drink and ordered schnitzels, they were so good! Seisia holiday park is where were staying for the next 2 nights, our tour tomorrow leaves from the wharf, only a very short walk away. This place is a bit more formal than the last few, I did organise a booking the other day though, whereas the last 2 campgrounds were just rock up and see if you can find a spot, not that we had a drama with that though. We set up and went for a walk down to the jetty, along the water past the non powered campsites, very glad we went with powered this time, those other spots were just a patch of dirt. After saying the dogs don't really acknowledge you, we made a friend and were adopted by such a sweet little girl. She came for a fair walk with us down to the oval, we sat near a community centre trying to use their free wifi and she sat at my feet. We headed back via the Seisia 'food store' where she waited outside. I didn't even pat her, it was so hard but the locals suggest you don't pat/feed them. Such a little sweetie, she came back with us to the campsite and had a nap then off she went. There is a Kiosk near the check in office and we'd scoped out the menu earlier, it looked great and it was verrry busy, a lot of locals in there eating lunch earlier. We decided on the Cray delight pizza and fish and chips to share. They did not skimp on the Cray! They were both so bloody good and our little dog friend found us and sat for a bit until she found another humans feet to sit on. We went for a wander down to the beach for sunset, lots of cloud though so not as pretty as some of the others. The showers here are really nice too, once it was dark we freshened up, then the usual netflix/Disney before bed.Okumaya devam et

  • 3 Island Tour - Horn Island

    24 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Up and moving early today, even before the damn alarm. A fun start to the day, I thought I'd quickly curl up a few bits of my hair, well, I melted green woolies bag onto one section of my hair after unknowingly resting the curling iron on a bag. So that was fun haha. I brushed some of it out, and Ben cut one small chunk out, no biggie, but luckily it was only a little bit. Once ready, we grabbed our backpack and walked down to the wharf where we met Bill and Carly, our skipper and first mate for the day. We were on the Luna Sea vessel, a bit smaller than we imagined, but happy with it because it meant there weren't many of us crammed onto the boat, 19 of us. It was about an hour to Horn island, our first stop. Bill stopped nearby and went though some local history of the Torres Strait Islands. It was so bizarre when he said that we were closer to Papua New Guinea than Bramwell Station and closer to Indonesia than Cairns. On our way into Horn, the boat stopped and we finally saw our first wild, salt water crocodile, just chilling on the sand. When he slid off into the water it was our time to move. At Horn island, Carly walked us to the Torres Strait Heritage museum where we watched a video and got to explore the artefacts, photos and read local stories. It was a nice amount of time, then we wandered back to the boat for our next destination.

    Somehow we had brief service amongst the islands, yet we lost service at Cooktown on the mainland.
    Okumaya devam et

  • 3 Island Tour - Thursday Island

    24 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    It was a quick trip to Thursday Island, we stopped at a Cafe for people to grab a coffee, juice or snack before our taxi tour, that we didn't know was included, bonus! Our driver was a funny bloke, cracking jokes along the way and very informative. He had jokes with Ben about the AFL and NRL, it was good. Also, he's a NSW supporter and everyone else on our bus were Queenslanders, he heckled them a bit too. We cruised past Border force and through the main street. We stopped at Green Hill Fort and got out for a wander. There were concerns about Russia invading in the 1890s? I think it was, so they were preparing just in case. It was a well maintained piece of history. We were taken past the school and many other community buildings. He did take us through the cemetery and told us about the Torres Strait culture of celebrating life and how they unveil headstones, sometimes years later to ensure the whole family can travel and celebrate. We were dropped at the bowling club which was opened specifically for our group, cheap drinks and lunch, Bill told us earlier that often the other pubs are packed and not as efficient. It's also the only waterfront spot to have a drink and lunch. We had burgers, plain and fish, they were great! We moved quickly, as we wanted to get to the Torres Hotel, the geographically most northern Australian pub. Love these records haha. Just a quick one before heading to the Gab Titui Cultural centre which has had a lot of government money poured into it, a lot of the island has actually. After a browse through we headed back to the wharf to keep moving.Okumaya devam et

  • 3 Island Tour - Roko Island

    24 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    About 45mins and a bit of a rough trip, we made it to Roko Island. The jetty itself was wooden, kept afloat by drums, it was very pretty, but wobbly. We met Nigel, a very relaxed fella who told us to grab a drink if we wanted one, then he'd take us for a walk. So we did just that. He showed us around their new facilities and glamping tents, then down to the old stone jetty. Telling us stories about how he often goes crabbing there, for years in fact and one time he went down to check his traps, it was dark and a 3-4m crocodile had made its way into the mangroves to take his bait, said it scared the shit out of him, understandably. He gave us some local history about the island being a former pearl farm and with how labour intensive it is, it just isn't worth it these days. The island itself is only about 900m by 300m at its widest points. We headed back to the bar to relax while Nigel took a second boat group for a walk. A very relaxing spot, but unless you're a keen fisherman, I think we'd get a bit bored just chilling, we like to be on the go on holidays. About 20 minutes on the boat and we were back to Seisia, a bit rough again, they did say that they've have to cancel the tours for the next 2 days due to rough seas. They also said the last few days it's been very windy and overcast, so we picked the right day. On the ride back we saw what we thought was rain in the distance, then it kept getting closer and we could smell smoke. They've been backburning again we assume and we arrived to a very smoky Seisia. Noone seems overly concerned though, so we just went about our business. Back to camp to relax a bit, then we wandered over for to the Kiosk for dinner again, we decided on a pizza and salad to share, which we still couldn't finish. Bloody good though, again very busy in there but they're quick! Showers and the usual before bed.Okumaya devam et

  • NPA to Archer River Roadhouse

    25 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Heading southbound today. We were up and moving pretty quickly, luckily we had just finished packing up when it started to sprinkle. Off to the Jardine ferry, it's only a minute or 2 per go so it didn't take long for our turn to cross. We saw 2 guys on bicycles going the opposite way, not electric bikes either. The ferry operator took a selfie with them and had a good laugh. A few hours down the worst road we've come across so far and we hit Bramwell Junction. We got out to stretch our legs, fuel up and to reattach the rear number plate which was hanging on for dear life. We stopped in at Moreton Telegraph Station which we saw on the way up. Didn't realise it had a Kiosk and campgrounds. Looks like a nice spot with lots of Barramundi fishing on the Wenlock River. We wandered through the small museum and ended up having a chat to a few people heading north. Gave them the heads up about the road and the rodeo on this weekend. Back on the road to Archer River Roadhouse where we're spending the night, nothing too exciting along the way. We got in around 2, checked in and set up, then headed for the bar, which is where we've been since. Ben had a burger for dinner and I had a schnitty. Heading to Rinyirru national park tomorrow for a night, croc infested there we're told. We'll let you know.. or not..Okumaya devam et

  • Rinyirru National Park

    26 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Headed to Rinyirru national park today, with Musgrave Roadhouse as our first stop and the turn off into the park. We grabbed a feed, fish burger for ben and salad roll for me. Onwards we go, looking at a few campsites along the way, then cruised through the Nifold plain. It was pretty cool but weird, I kept waiting for pride rock to show up. Usually the national parks we've been through are bushland not like African Plains which is how it felt. We hit the bush and had a quick photo stop at Breeza homestead. On our way into Red Lily lagoon we saw a dingo, it looked pretty different to the ones we've seen before and on Fraser, he was a bit stockier, a bit darker and ran differently too, not as beefy as Pup though haha. The lagoon was absolutely covered in lilies, we couldn't even see the water. There weren't many red lilies flowering though. Next was White Lily lagoon, nowhere near as dense and we're sure crocs would live there, we climbed up on the car to get a better view, still no stupid crocodiles. We went further south than our campground since it was still early and to save time in the morning. Had a look at the campsites at Kennedy bend, then into Catfish waterhole. We stayed there for a bit, on the lookout for scaly things, still no dice. On the way back to our campsite we decided to do the 6km drive into old faithful campsite. The first few sites were in the bush and the last was on the water, a massive river system. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw a croc! I spotted it too then it went underwater. We parked the car to see if we could spot any more. Far enough off the vertical embankment, so safely. We were about to jump back in the car when he popped back up. It was pretty cool! We were very excited. He would've been about 4m and just swam around for a while. We watched him until he started to disappear into the lilypads on the far side. Time to head to our campsite. A nice spot, not too many sites and very spread out. We set up and went for a walk down to the river and causeway that heads to Cape Melville. Then just the usual, except cold showers only here, so we showered before dinner. Finished Ms Marvel and Moonknight, so we'll have to download something else when we have wifi next.Okumaya devam et

  • To Cape Tribulation

    27 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    A big one planned today. Up and moving earlyish after a chat with a bloke who is also from Newcastle. Heaps of wallabies on the road out to Laura, they're so small and love darting around. Also a lot of what we think are Brolgas, they're huge! Never seen one before! Ben had to slow right down for a wild pig, the first alive one we've seen, a big boy who ran across the road into the bush. First stop was the Split Rock Gallery, where local Indigenous artwork is along the protected rock walls. It is one of the top 10 most significant rock art sites in the world. There were 3 art sites and it was just under 400m to the furtherst one, mostly up rock steps though. The Art was wonderfully preserved. We had a quick stop at Lions den, arriving at 11am, but they don't do lunch until midday, so we made ourselves wraps and continued on. The Bloomfield track was easy compared to the others we've done. It had some steep sections that had been concreted for traction and all of the creek crossings were dry as it's late in the season. A nice drive though, much better than the longer way on the highway. The weather is pretty overcast and cool in Cape tribulation. We did the Kulki and Dubuji boardwalks through the rainforest and onto the beaches. We were making good time so popped into PKs jungle village for a drink and to check out the menu for dinner options. We're staying at Cape Trib campgrounds tonight, a nice spot. Quick set up and charged our phones as we have service again. They have the Sand Bar on site who do pizzas, so that's dinner made easy. The rain came down while we were eating then stopped for a bit, the forecast isn't looking fab.Okumaya devam et

  • Cape Trib and Daintree

    28 Ağustos 2022, Avustralya ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    There was a lot of rain overnight and it's still going. Luckily it eased up to pack up the tent this morning. We headed to Turtle rock Cafe for breakfast and to work out the plan for the day. The rain had picked up again so we skipped a nearby boardwalk and headed for the Daintree discovery centre. It's mostly outside but they provide umbrellas and the rainforest was certainly living up to its name. We were given a map and an audio tour, so off we went. We cruised through pretty quickly and decided to loop back to the Daintree icecream co for a snack. I had the mango sorbet and Ben had the chocolate. Headed up to the Alexandra range lookout but the weather isn't playing nice so we couldn't see anything. The ferry wasn't far off and our croc tour not until 2:30pm, but we jumped on the ferry anyway. The bloke had a laugh about how dirty the car was and said they expected to see a heap more cars coming from the cape as the wet, stormy weather is meant to be heading north. We had some time to kill so ducked up to Daintree village, the Cafe and general store were shut so we went back to the croc tour car park and watched netflix until our tour started. The bloke driving our boat (we didn't catch his name) was very informative and said that there hasn't been a lot of movement today as it's surprisingly cool and it's warmer underwater for the crocs at the moment. We did see a few babies and one that was a '2020 model'. The oldies were right into the local birdlife too. It was a nice tour, only an hour, but we definitely saw bigger crocs on our own adventures. Just luck of the draw.Okumaya devam et