To the top!

After the conference we made our way back to Port Douglas for a housekeeping day. We had no idea of the availability of food, so a big shop was in order, meat, cryovaced and frozen, stock up on fruit and veg and a few tins too.

We intend to be away for at least ten days, so all the washing must be clean before we go.

After an early start on Tuesday, we took off north towards Laura, about 300k away. After that the road becomes sand and gravel, so we thought we would not get more than 150k further. As it turned out, we managed well over 200k as the road was so good.

We are able to do 80-90kph comfortably most of the time, and there is little traffic coming towards us, and we only pass one other vehicle going our way, although most will be traveling the same speed as we are. Although the road is good, it is necessary to drive at that speed to negate the corrugations, which in places are quite rough.

The one thing that does slow us down is the dust. As we pass oncoming vehicles we are totally enveloped, and it takes at least two hundred metres to settle. Most vehicles slow for us, as we do for them, but some don’t and pass us at a rate of knots leaving us completely blind.

Then there are the bulldust holes- holes full of soft dust-  you don’t see them until you are almost on top of them and then it’s a quick swerve if you can- if not they rattle your teeth. Fortunately they are few and far between,

From time to time we come to a creek crossing, some are concreted in the bottom so are easy to cross, but others are washouts- big holes or stones etc. Some of the names we can perhaps understand, like Dead Horse Creek, Green Ant Creek, maybe even Capsize Creek, (although there is so little water in it I can’t imagine how), but how should we explain Short Spoon Creek or Nookie Creek??

We are back in the land of the giant anthills, as we go along we are amazed by the size of them- some three metres high. They must be well founded or the cyclones would have them down.

The terrain here is fairly flat, and the roads are mainly straight, but then there the unexpected dips, again we can’t see them until we are on top of them, although sometimes there is a sign to warn us. If there is a creek in the bottom it is hard braking!

It so happens that there are plenty of roadhouses on the way, so we can get coffee easily, and petrol. We took the precaution of filling our spare can before we left, but we are only using half a tank before we refill.

First night out we stayed in a little village called Coen, a gold rush town from the 1890s, just 800 people there now, mostly aboriginal. Campsite was primitive, but is OK for one night. However she locked the gate at 6pm, no chance of escaping til morning then!

Wednesday, as soon as the gate was opened, we were on our way, and we had not gone 100k up the road before a group of idiots coming towards us at 120kph shot up a stone and broke our windscreen. As it happened it was right at the bottom of the screen below the driver’s wiper. Quite a shock, and it’s tentacles spread some 8 inches up the screen.

We marked it to see if it spread any more, and it did a bit over the next few miles. Don’t know what to do about it- I doubt I will get a new screen up here, and we don’t want it to spoil our trip so we will have to put up with it till we get back to civilisation.

As we travel north and past the turnoff to Weipa, the main town on the peninsula, the road is not as good, becoming quite twisty in places, and sometimes quite narrow. It slows us somewhat, and is not as comfortable, particularly when we have oncoming traffic. Occasionally rivers are bridged, no safety rail, just one car wide, so we don’t go near the edge. Every creek and river here has warnings about crocodiles, so we don’t want to get stranded in the middle of one!

At the Jardine River  there is a roadhouse just before, and we have to pay $88  (£60)for the ferry across. It is only 100mtrs, but they have you by the b******s so that’s it! But it also covers fishing and bush camping rights too, so I suppose it is worth it to some.

All this land is owned by an Aborigine cooperative, and there are few whites up here other than tourists, almost 90% are indigenous. They also own most of the businesses up here too.

So we are here, almost at the tip in a place called Seisha, on a good camp site with excellent facilities. We have made the trip up in two days, and we had allowed three, so it gives us more time to look around before we make our way back.