The Tourist Bit - The Tip and Back
Wednesday, 22 July 2015 6:52 pm
The ultimate drive to the Tip.
We caught up with Russ a competition mate from the Outback Challenge and other winch comp events.
Russ’s idea of driving to the tip is not complete without a pic of the truck at the sign.
For us it’s just that tourist pic.
John, Elizabeth, Lyn and Self.
2 days driving south to Weipa, refuelled and noticed the trailer wheel wobble as I drove out of the fuel station.
Jacked it up, and the wheel fell off !
Bearing stuffed and also the shackles. With parts available locally all was good after a couple of hours repair.
A couple of days at Pennyfather.
Fishing useless, but great beach and relaxing.
South into what was Rokeby Downs National Park.
Now CYPAL - Oyala Thumotang.
CapeYork Peninsula Aboriginal Land.
So much of the Cape is being closed, we were told that within 10 years only the Development road will be accessible.
Nixon and Shelburne Bay -CLOSED
Temple Bay - CLOSED
Vrilya point - CLOSED
Archer Bend - CLOSED
Kendall River & West- CLOSED
...Not happy !
Built in 1891 they supported an impressive railway bridge over the Laura River.
The railway went from Cooktown to Laura and was to continue to the Palmer River gold fields however the gold rush was over before completion. Only one test train ever crossed the bridge.
Old Laura homestead
Well that was a fizzer!
30 seconds later and we were walking back to the truck.
Lunch was by the old causeway over the Endeavour River as we head north to Hopevale.
3pm Friday, Hopevale the aboriginal community, called into the:
Tourist info - CLOSED
Community centre displaying local crafts - CLOSED
Tourist shop - CLOSED !
A detour on the way to Ellem beach leads us to another deserted beach.
A couple of old shacks and a pumice track leads us to a sheltered point and an old coconut plantation and camp.
Ellem beach is a bit like Frazer Island.
A long curved drivable beach that stretched about 20kms into the northern distance.
Tide timing is critical as high water laps the sand cliffs.
Drove about 7kms until the first river crossing but with an incoming tide elected to return.
I think a future quad trip here is necessary !
A couple of days later camped at Archer Point south of Cooktown.
‘Spartacus’ is the name of this 4 metre+ Crock that cruises the Bloomfield River.
West of Ravenshoe Australia's widest and longest drop waterfall,
according to Wikipedia.
Millstream Falls.
Copperfield Gorge at Einasleigh.
We have become good at crock spotting -
A Freshwater Crock in the gorge.
The old shearing shed steam boiler at the Cambridge Homestead Ruins outside Richmond.
Camp south of Hughenden on the way to Muttaburra, overlooking the 110 million Eromanga Seabed.
The west is experiencing a severe drought and this grazier is taking his cattle down the lone paddock - the road.
Home now and time to clean all the Red Bull Dust off the truck !
Total Kms; 8500 kms, 6500 on dirt roads, farm and bush tracks.
Next travel plans.......South Africa