Day 7 17/8/17
Awake with the birds again , the park occupants had thinned out a lot yesterday , and it was reasonably quiet . Whilst packing up , I spotted a Palm Cockatoo - a brilliant looking bird - it was cracking seeds that had fallen on the ground - those beaks would inflict a lot of damage !! I approached slowly , but it wasn’t worried about me at all - then someone nearly ran it over - fortunately it moved .
Making our way to Bamaga was easy , stopping at the supermarket for a few things , we headed toward the Jardine River Ferry , and hopefully the last of the bad roads - maybe just kidding ourselves there haha . We passed the worst section , then cruised at 95 klm / hr on the good gravel road , staying about 400m behind the ute in front of us to allow the dust to be blown away . Arriving at the ferry , we were surprised to see it on our side , and only the 2 vehicles on board , we crossed over the river and headed south . There’s another really corrugated section that rattled us about a bit , then smoothed out again .
Before we knew it we ‘d arrived at the turnoff for Fruit Bat Falls - only took us 1.5hrs to get here . Down to the falls carpark , we parked , got changed into the swimmers , and headed down to the water for a much anticipated swim . The water was about 25 degrees and made our day !!
We floated around , went under the waterfall , swam against the current , and generally had a ball . Unfortunately it’s very popular , and there were many people stopped for a swim . A tour bus also came & went while we were in there . The waterproof camera got a run today , here’s the results - or some of them anyway .
There are some carnivorous plants here as well - I think they’re called pitcher plants - they have a tube that insects crawl into but cant get out , and the rest is history !!
Once you know what they look like , you can see lot’s of them .
We left Fruit Bat Falls and made our way down The Old Telegraph Track toward Eliot Falls . Not too far down we found a creek crossing - about 40m of it - the water was very murky . We looked down the side to the right and found what’s called the chicken track , Let me tell you there wasn’t so much chicken about it , there is a 45 degree slope with ruts dropping down into the creek - we watched a few go through the long one , and 2 go through the chicken track , and decided it was the one for us . As you approach , you lose sight of the track and don’t get it back untill you’re most of the way down - it dropped 5m in 5m !! We made it without drama - the longer crossing was nearly a metre deep in places !!
Arriving at Eliot campground , we found our tent site and proceeded to set up camp , then lunch , then it was down to Eliot Creek to what’s known as “ The Saucepan “ . It’s a small drop in height in the river bed rock that forms a groove that the water rushes down into another wider groove and then into the creek proper . The resulting pool is more than 5m deep and about 10m wide and is a beautiful green colour - perfect for swimming in . We sat on some of the rock under the water as small fish swam around us .
After our swim we headed further down stream to Eliot Falls . This is a drop of about 3m , and the water falls down a crevice in the river bed - magnificent !!! A bit difficult to get to the water below , unless you’re a 20 to 30 something year old and you just jump straight down into it and climb back out again .
Off we go again to Cable Creek , it flows into Eliot Creek and it has Twin Falls - that’s why it’s called Twin Falls . It’s very popular with day visitors and little children - shallow pools !!
After chatting to Justin - from Kiama - not our son ! for a while we headed back to The Saucepan for another swim - this would be our shower for the day !
We spotted several different butterflies here , a large black one with white markings , and a Ulysses , I managed to get a photo , but I have zoomed right in on the photo to enlarge it enough !
That’s our day , here’s a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=10fNobPrHPwr6yX7UM_N1R-DTsLo&usp=sharing
Day 8 18/8/17
Today started early , mainly due to the early night last night - probably in bed by 8pm . Breakfast done , washed up , then packed up , we were ready to hit the track again . After a chat to the neighbours from Narooma we made our way back to the water crossing , still not sure which way to go back up the chicken track , or through the water . After seeing the chicken track from the side , the decision was made . Light’s off , vents shut , in low range 2nd gear ,we started through the water . When it got deep , it stayed deep - we are talking over my waist deep - the water was coming over the bonnet , but we kept going - no time to stop and reassess . Traction wasn’t a problem , we reached half way and we’re thinking don’t stop now , continuing on we started to climb back out of the water , phew , we could breathe again , now to get up the wheel ruts and out of this creek bed . Problem , we got into the whell ruts and up a bit , only to have the wheels spinning . Reverse back and engage the front & rear diff locks , take some air out of the lazy axle air bags and try again - out of the water , up into the tracks again , bit different this time - just walked straight out ——EASY .
Off to Fruit Bat Falls again for another swim to wash any remaining dust off - the ute had already had it’s swim !!
Chatted to some more young families , before heading off again southbound . The road was the usual mix of good , bad & indifferent , Lyn handled it well . Before long we’d reached Bramwell Roadhouse for some lunch . Here are some views of the road & dust . The termite mounds are opposite the roadhouse , The palms under the gum trees are coming back after being back burnt some time ago .
We arrived at Moreton Telegraph Station and checked in , set up on Green Grass under a mango tree . That was a bit tricky , find somewhere where the mangoes weren’t above you - there were many on the ground already , and more were falling . Mick & Sue joined us again later in the afternoon .
That’s it for today , here’s a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aENiamxjatFFFqeFm2-URd2kvI8&usp=sharing
Day 9 19/8/17
Today was travel day , we had some kilometres to do , so away we went after a wet pack up - there was a lot of condensation , we even had a bit of fog this morning .
There seemed to be more traffic as well , some in a desperate hurry to get somewhere .
We stopped at Archer River for a loo break , Mick & Sue had coffee , and then next stop was beside the Coen River for lunch . Some local kids were having a swim in the river , and having a great time . Into Coen for some fuel - $1.60 / litre , then another 70 klms down the road , we stopped again at Musgrave Roadhouse for the night - it was good getting in earlier , you got the pick of camp sites .
Here’s a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1amrpW8FbsB4QbHYgFvjlhIj96Yc&usp=sharing
Day 10 20/8/17
After a night of generator noise and several trucks / road trains coming through , we were awake with the birds again - someone beside us was coughing most of the night - she apologised this morning as she had another cigarette !!
Being up with the birds meant we had time to pack most things up , have breakfast , pack the tent & load up , in between talking with Mick & Sue . We are splitting up again today , they are heading down the Peninsular Rd and we were heading toward Lakefeild National Park , then Laura . Our track was all gravel till Laura - another 140 klms of fun & dust .
After negotiating quite a stretch of corrugations , a river crossing or 2 , we arrived at Nifold Plains - a section of flat land extending off into the distance . Many termite mounds dotted the horizon and there were the odd tree here & there .
Then we came to The Hann River , a nice stretch of water flowing over very hard volcanic rock , there was plenty of birdlife around as well - ibis , snake neck heron , finches and lots of other birds we hadn’t seen before .
Next stop was at Breeza Station ruins - they had planted mango trees over 100 years ago , and the trunks were about 2m across !!! There was a tin shed in various states of rusting , and also a large lagoon . Down the end of the lagoon were hundreds of Magpie Geese , more Herons and many others .
We went past the Ranger Station at Lakefield and took the turn to Kalpowar Crossing , where the road to Cape Melville crosses the Kennedy River . There were crocodile signs down beside the river - looks perfect for a swim too - not today !!
After another 70klms we had made it back to bitumen , somewhat of a relief after all the gravel roads we’ve been on lately !! So far we’ve done over 2200 klms !!
Lunch done we headed back onto the main road south to Split Rock - an aboriginal rock art gallery - and climbed half way up the hill to check it out . Here’s a photo of the rock art and the overhang where it is .
The resident gatekeeper came to greet us as well .
We then made an executive decision and headed to Cooktown for a few days - down the highway , enough gravel for today !! Near Cooktown is Black Mountain National Park - a section of mountain that is quite literally a mountain of black rocks !!
Arriving in Cooktown , we went to the first park and got a site for a couple of days , before the seafood man came around - we bought some Coral Trout from him , and wasn’t that the best piece of fish we’ve had for a long time , melted in your mouth !!
It’s hard not to get anything but orange & dusty , everytime you go to the ute - it still looks white , with a touch of orange thrown in , then there’s the mud from the roadworks , etc , etc , etc . That’s our day done .
Here’s a map link : - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wpMFIaWllLu5fYyDAOmk9ZMunkk&usp=sharing
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