About Kevin & Ruth Sheather

We are both parents, and grand parents, and will never see 70 again and recently cellebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Ruth has retired and Kevin has done so partially but with an arrangement that allows extensive periods of travel in out Coromal Magnum off road pop top caravan towed by a 2001 3 litre turbo diesel Holden Jackaroo. We love the outback with its rugged scenary and wide open spaces but are a bit constrained by the need for regular internet to meet work committments. But we love the coastal areas as well. The purpose of this blog site is to keep interested people informed of our travels. We report in as often as we reasonably are able with recent doings. So stand by. The next trip is never too far off.

Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island Part 3

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

We just love driving on a wide flat beach

Coffee rock at Poyungan Rocks between Eurong and Happy Valley

We retraced our track down the beach for about 36 km to Eurong and then inland to Central Station and Lake McKenzie. This was our first trip on inland tracks, so it called for some different driving techniques to those required on the beach. Speed limits on the beach are generally 80 kph with 40 kph near popular and residential areas, but on inland tracks the limit is 30 kph so speeds are mostly less than 20 kph average.

Eurong Village is quite near to the beach

We headed south, past a small crowd at The Pinnacles, past a larger crowd at the SS Maheno wreck and past an even larger crowd at Eli Creek. We were again forced onto the bypass track at Yidney Rocks where the waves were lapping at the coffee rock, making it impossible to drive by on the beach. Coffee rock is embedded in the sand and can be

Eurong Beach Resort

more or less exposed after a single tide. It frequently runs all the way back to the foot of the sand dunes.

There is not much to see at Eurong. The resort dominates the commercial area and is complimented by some shops. The town has a bakery, police station and fire station. Most of the residential area is hidden in the

The main shop at Eurong

trees. Queensland National Parks main office for Fraser Island is also located there.

Most tracks in the area where we travelled were one way. Lake McKenzie is probably the most popular feature on Fraser, with Central Station not far behind, so the area attracts a great deal of traffic including tourist buses and tag-along groups. The tracks are narrow and winding so to meet a large bus on a blind corner can be rather frightening. The tracks are sand so become badly damaged, particularly in dry weather. A good deluge of rain washes sand into the deep holes thus improving the track. At the moment an average of 20 kph is the best that you could hope for and for much of the journey it was less.

Ruth preparing lunch at Central Station

Central Station was the headquarters of the logging operation that werenpersued from the late 1800s to about 1950. Some historical artifacts are on display, including a logger’s cottage and a shed containing the artifacts, the walls of which are covered with pictures and text setting out the history of the early days, including Indigenous history.

A Strangler fig at Central Station

There are extensive picnic facilities with tables aplenty, both exposed and sheltered. This is a favorite lunch stop for the tourist buses.

Palms line the creek

And then there is Wanggoolba Creek. Central Station was built on its banks, probably for the water supply. It’s almost clear water runs slowly over a bed of pure white sand that is tinged in places with the green of the mineral content in the sand, hence the sand mining in times past. Ancient green palms grow in its waters and its banks are lined with tall straight

The creek photographed from the boardwalk

trunks of trees reaching for the sun and the natural debris that nature produces in this kind of environment. All this can conveniently be viewed from a board walk that is part of a loop track that starts and finishes at Central Station.

A section of the boardwalk beside the stream

Bathers at Lake McKenzie

It is a further 11 kilometres to Lake McKenzie. In busy periods the large car park there is often filled before lunch time as visitors seek out this unique spot. Dingo management has lead to the banning of food lake side, but a large fenced picnic area has been provided. Visitors love the clarity of the water and somehow the pure white sand that surrounds the lake seems to invite sunbathing.

Amenities and lake access at Lake McKenzie

By the time we had spent a few minutes at the lake, the day was advancing. One thing that you can never forget, if the trip that you are doing requires much beach travel, is the state of the tide. Our target was to be home by 4.00 pm and the distance back to the beach at Eurong from Lake McKenzie is about 18 kilometres, probably at about 15 kph for a fair part of the way. We made it to Eurong at a few minutes after 3.00 pm. We refueled here, as 91 octane petrol was $1.85 per litre instead of $2.20 per litre at Cathedrals.

A genuine Fraser Island dingo

The 39 km run back along the beach took about 45 minutes but was interrupted early when, soon after leaving Eurong, we spotted a dingo trotting along the beach, near the edge of the water. We were able to drive up quite close to the animal. We were totally ignored.

We parked Cathedrals on Fraser at just after 4.00 pm but we would have been OK travelling on the beach for another hour. High tide was at about 7.30 pm.

Five Days Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island 3 [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q6Ifg9D_Jo[/youtube]

Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island Part 2

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

Part of The Cathedrals

The sun rose over the dunes, but was sharing the sky with cloud patches. We found ourselves at the end of the family group queue when we wanted to wash the breakfast dishes. Two of the men were on duty for dish washing. It took them forever. But finally our dishes were done so we had another cup of coffee and then went exploring.

Part of The Cathedrals

Cathedrals on Fraser, where we were staying, is named for the coloured sand formations, known as “The Cathedrals”, because of their shape. They are formed from highly coloured, solid sand material and have weathered into their shape over eons. We made several stops for photos and for a short walk where a pathway has been provided at the area known as Red Canyon. There are many really remarkable formations in this area.

Part of The Cathedrals

The path at Red Canyon leads to the foot of solid sand cliffs that reach tens of metres up the side of the sand dunes. A viewing platform and information board is supplied.

Part of The Cathedrals

The Challenger at The Cathedrals

More of The Cathedrals

Indian Head

Our objective was Indian Head, the rocky promontory that is the northern end of the Seventy Five Mile Beach. It was named by Captain James Cook during his passage along the Australian coast in 1772. As he sailed past, he could see a number of Aborigines standing on top of the headland watching him watching them. Our arrival today was similar. The vehicles of a tag-along group were parked at the bottom of the access path and almost all of the occupants were standing along the summit. Indian Head looked like it had had a buzz cut.

Soft sand approaches to Indian Head bypass

There is a great deal to see beyond Indian Head, including Waddy Point, The Champagne Pools and Orchid Beach Resort, not to mention Sandy Cape and the lighthouse. But the beach stops at the headland and starts again on the other side. To get to the other side it is necessary to negotiate a bypass track that is well known for its covering of soft. loose sand. We watched as the tag-along group and several other vehicles made multiple attempts to get

The northern end of Seventy Five Mile Beach

through the loose sand. All of them finally disappeared around the first turn and presumably got through, but not without considerable effort and further reduced tyre pressures. We decided that being on our own this was not our day to push on. We returned the 26 km to camp for lunch.

The Pinnacles

After lunch we travelled back south to Eli Creek, passing the wreck of SS Maheno, with its mob of admirers, on the way. We also stopped to have a proper look at The Pinnacles. They are a similar formation to The Cathedrals but have a quite unique formation.

Aircraft parked near The Pinnacles

Eli Creek boardwalk

The top activity at Eli Creek is to walk along a board walk that parallels the creek for several hundred metres and then to enter the creek and wade, float or swim back to the beach. This must be fun because people, including some mature folks, repeat the performance over and over, despite quite low water temperatures. I remember swimming down the creek with the flow many years ago, but we gave it a miss this time.

Eli Creek is the largest fresh water stream on the east side of Fraser but seems to be now much smaller, with a reduced volume of water, that it was in years gone by. But the flow is reliable and much enjoyed by its admirers. Visiting family groups will often spend the day there,in the shelter of gazebos or roof rack awnings. Children love it as do parents. It provides an ever changing supply of safe clean water. But it often closes the beach to through traffic at high tide as the rising surf washes into the creek’s mouth.

RVs beside Eli Creek

Any further thought of examination of Eli Creek was quickly dismissed when the day’s promised shower descended on us without warning, so instead of going on to Happy Valley we returned to base.

The large group mentioned earlier in the story went to Lake McKenzie for the day and were having dinner at Happy Valley on the way back, before returning to camp after the 7.00 pm high tide. They came in quietly a little after 9.30 pm. But preparing the evening meal was a breeze without them there.

I guess they are typical of groups who visit Fraser Island. The four ladies all teach as the same Sunshine Coast school and their children attend there too. One couple are seasoned visitors to the Island and seemed to ast as leaders on group outings. All friendly people with well disciplined children who made lots of noise while playing but went quietly to bed. They were probably exhausted.

Five Days Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island 2 [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwLvmTYgg_8[/youtube]

Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island Part 1

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

It was an adventure just getting there!

Our track along Fraser Island. Note the tracking line along the coast

We woke before the alarm’s set time. Five am! Too early, but when the timetable depends on tides then it is smart to know who is boss. And it wasn’t us. “Time and tide wait for no man”, Geoffrey Chaucer once wrote.

But the early start allowed us to drive out of our gate by about 6.30 am. After a stop for fuel and a call at the ATM we were on the sparsely populated north bound lanes of the Bruce Highway, a little before 7.00 am. The south bound lanes were another story, but someone else’s story.

The vehicular ferry to the south end of Fraser leaves from Inskip Point, about 10 km north of Rainbow Beach. That’s about 225 km north of home. We arrived at Rainbow Beach at about 9.30 am, treated ourselves to coffee, topped up the fuel, bought a ferry ticket, went through the car wash booth for a protective spray to be applied under the car and headed for the ferry departure point for that all important deflation of tyres for sand driving.

The only just fitted us on

I had a great plan to video the ferry before we boarded, but as we approached it appeared to be fully load. But as we were about to stop the attendant waved us forward into the last remaining space. No sooner were we on board than the ramp was up behind us and the ferry was under way. The crossing only takes about 10 minutes ($6.00 per minute), and we were deposited onto the island. We paused to take the missed photos and by the time we were under way again all of our fellow passengers were out of sight.

Resting migratory birds near the edge of the ocean

If you are last off the ferry there is no one coming up behind you for a while so, all alone, we set off on the 80 kilometre drive along the beach. The beach first runs easy west but soon turns in a of north of north east direction. The beach is a series of small sandy bays but the dunes to your leafy stretch straight ahead as far as you can see. We did meet the occasional vehicle heading back towards the ferry.

There was a fair amount of cloud around, with the sun shining through most of the time and the sea that steely blue that often comes with those conditions. The sand was quite firm most of the time, except for when we were directed further up the beach at the places reserved for small passenger aircraft operation. The aircraft get the smooth flat parts and the motor

A fellow beach driver crossing a small fresh water stream

vehicle traffic is directed into the loose sand. But it was not too bad. Just a bit of slalom style driving for a few hundred metres as the tracks in the sand try to determine your direction.

Apart from aircraft and soft sand, the greatest hazard on Fraser is the frequent water courses that run across the beach into the sea. Rainfall is temporarily retained in the sand of the dunes but much of it makes its way to the edge of the beach and then through eroded sand banks to the sea. The sand embankments are most prominent and easy to see near the base of the dunes. From there they decline, depending on the height of the tides. So keeping one’s eyes open is mandatory. Crossing where the banks are too high can be quite disastrous.

The bones of SS Maheno lie broken in the sand

But there are other traps. I was driving with my window open, savoring the fresh sea air. We crossed at the seaward end of a stream. It was a bit deeper than I thought and I drove through just a tad too quickly. The spray from the front wheel was caught by a rather brisk south easterly which blew it through the window all over me. Some of the spray even found its way onto Ruth. You may wonder if the water remains fresh right to the edge of the ocean. It does.

Part of The Pinnacles just south of Cathedrals on Fraser. One of the charms of this drive is the coloured sands

As we came north, we passed in order, Dilli Village, once the base of Dillingham Mining during sand mining days, now an education facility operated by the University of Southern Queensland; Eurong, the largest settlement on the island, with its resort and residential areas; Happy Valley, probably the second largest community on the island, with a general store, bistro and residential area; Eli Creek, the largest of all the beach streams; the remains of the SS Maheno passenger liner, resident on Fraser since the mid 1930s; and finally, Cathedrals on Fraser, our home for the next four nights.

The shop and reception at Cathedrals

We are accommodated in a permanent tent that boasts a double bed, a towel rack and two plastic chairs as the total compliment of its furnishings. Our possessions are in bags arranged along the walls. We prepare and eat our meals in a camp kitchen that has plenty of refrigeration and freezer capacity but this is supplemented by the Waeco 12 volt fridge in the back if the car.

Our home for four nights

In our immediate area, besides us, there are four family tents which between them contain eight adults and about 10 kids, most of who are between the ages of four and ten. So until their bed time there is not much peace and quiet. Their biggest impact however, is in the camp kitchen at meal preparation time. It is hard to get a look in when half a dozen adults are preparing food for a group of almost twenty. Washing up is a similar story.

Our small canvas community

I had forgotten that, in warm weather, when sleeping in a tent, a balance has to be struck between privacy and comfort. The only method of cooling is the breeze. Fortunately, on this coast, the sea breezes are reliable, so we spent the night largely on display through the insect screens, but no one was watching. We were awoken next morning by the early light. The aspect of the camp and our tent, was towards the east.

Border Country

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

I have been a bit slack. This material is almost a month old. It has taken me this long to get motivated to produce this blog post.

Canungra Creek runs along the back of the camping area

Our travel plans for 2016 include a reasonably substantial trip, which we will do, subject to a couple of contingencies. We normally try to do a short run with the van to check that everything is working before setting out on the main event. We have already found an issue with our Waeco portable fridge. It won’t work properly on 12 volts. This means that it is not cooling while we travel. We need to have that fixed before we leave on the next trip.

Part of Canungra’s main street

We have just completed a long hot and humid February and not much has changed with forecasts for the early part of March. But a bit of elevation normally means cooler nights, even if the days are just as warm. So our first camp site is at Canungra, to test the theory.

In a grassy corner of Canungra Showgrounds

Canungra is not really in the hills but it is close. We have the heights of Mount Tamborine to the north east and a little further away, to the south, is that part of Lamington National Park that hosts the well known O’Reilly’s Rain Forest Retreat. They are both on our list of places to visit while we are here.

The caravan park at Canungra is

The camping area has a brand new camp kitchen

part of the local showground and is set within a bend in the Canungra Creek. Canungra is in the Canungra Valley.

Some sites are in the open, near the events area and exhibition sheds, but we have secured a site beside a clump of trees on a bank overlooking the creek. We are sharing the area with a tent and half a dozen vans of various sizes. It was quite warm as we set up, but as the sun’s passage took it behind the trees, the heat went with it, leaving us to enjoy an unexpected coolness as we sat outside of the van. We had been hiding inside with the air conditioning on before the change occurred.

Day 2 presented clear blue skies at sunrise. Then fog filled the valley and quickly became rain clouds. The Weather Chanel’s prediction of 40% chance of rain became 100%. Drizzle continued until just before we left for our drive, but then cleared away to reveal patches of blue among the grey.

The road to O”Reilly’s Rain Forest Retreat is narrow, winding and steep in parts

O’Reilly’s Rain Forest Retreat, at Green Mountain in the western part of Lamington National Park, is 36 kilometres from Canungra, firstly along the Canungra Valley and then up the range along a sealed road. There are many short single lane sections, so there seems to be almost as many “Give Way” signs as there are trees. The road was dry for most of the way but that changed. O’Reilly’s is near to 1,000 metres above sea level. Canungra is at a little over 100 metres, so the climb is constant and steep in some sections, often with totally different weather at the top.

Rain drops on the windscreen and a grey sky

As is often the case with mountain tops, the clouds are not far above. The drizzle had returned, to make things inconvenient, so we looked around for a while, to give the weather a chance to improve, but it wasn’t cooperating. It seems that a shower had moved through the area, as on the return journey the road was wet well down the mountain.

Back at the caravan, the sun was out and a pleasant breeze was keeping things comfortable. The creek seems to have a bit more water in it after the rain. On the far bank the farmer, mounted on his trail bike, has just rounded up his dairy herd. It will soon be time for happy hour. Not for the cows, though. Its milking time for them.

The foot bridge and shelters at the Tamborine Botanical Gardens

Day 3 had a much cooler start. It was great to sleep under a blanket, probably for the first time in about three months. There was a bit of rain overnight, then some early fog, cleared to a fine morning.

It’s only thirteen kilometres up the mountain to North Tamborine, which is the first bit of commercial activity you come to after reaching the top. Then it is just a short run to

The busy roadway of Gallery Walk

The Gallery Walk, at Eagle Heights, where the action is. The main street is lined with eateries, galleries and a host of other shops, intended to tempt the jaded palette of the Gold Coast tourist who goes up there to escape sun, salt and sunburn for a day. There are three cellar doors offering samples of the local vintage and at least two shops featuring fudge. And of course, massage operators and tarot card readers. And souvenir and gift shops.

Places to eat are plentiful at Eagle Heights

Our first stop was the Botanical Gardens, where we made our morning coffee in one corner of the picnic shelter, to the back ground sounds of a young child’s birthday party. It was one of those events where young mums turn up with children, pushers, minute bicycles and soccer balls. We walked some of the paths and then moved on to do the mandatory walk down one side of Gallery Walk and back up the other side.

Another eating place on Gallery Walk at Eagle Heights

From there, we returned to Tamborine North to drive out to The Knolls National Park to enjoy the views back over the town of Tamborine towards Brisbane.and over the ranges to the west and south. Rows of ranges reach into the distance. With sunshine and a pleasant breeze we decided that this was a great location for lunch so we drove back to Tamborine North for some food and returned to the park to eat. It was a very pleasant lunch spot. On completion we returned to the caravan for a nana nap.

In the early hours of Day 4, we pulled up the doona to supplement sheet and blanket. It was quite a pleasant experience after over three months of nothing more than a sheet. The day dawned sunny and had reached the point of warmth and humidity by the time we had packed to start the day’s journey. A very easy day had been planned, with less than 100 km to Woodenbong, a small town just across the border into NSW, just off the Summerland Way.

Early Saturday commerce in Rathdowney

After refueling at Beaudesert, we continued on, past the turn to the Kooralbyn Golf Resort to the small rural centre of Rathdowney, for the obligatory morning coffee. At the butchery/coffee shop (yes I know, a strange combination), motor cyclists and the occupants of SUVs were having breakfast or morning coffee while next door, at the general store, others were buying in essential supplies, for their trip into the hills. It was Saturday morning.

Over the road, a visiting team of lady bowlers had arrived for that day’s competition. We did BYO coffee at a table in the small park that separates the shops from Mount Lindsay Highway.

Mount Lindsay, from the highway that bares its name

We passed Mount Lindsay and 11.00 am in Queensland became 12 noon as we had crossed the border into NSW. Another 30 minutes saw us settled into the green and neat nomad community of the Woodenbong Caravan Park, in time for lunch and a quiet afternoon. A breeze tempered the sun’s warmth and abundant shade provided suitable reading and dozing locations.

Another doona night was promised with a low of 13C. That is too cold for me as a daytime temperature but good for sleeping at night.

Motor homes in the Urbenville municipal camping area

Mount Lindsay Highway wending its way through farmland

The road south runs through picturesque farm land

Day 5 dawned so quietly that we slept until 7.45 am. Not even a rooster in this small rural town, to wake us. As a result of our tardiness, there was a bit of a scurry to be out by the 10.00 am check out time, but we made it. We drove off into beautiful cool, crisp morning. The theory about coolness at higher altitudes has been proved.

We made for Urbenville, which was only a short distance into our day’s journey, but far enough to make it a coffee stop. We pulled in to look at the Urbenville camp ground, another council run facility similar to Woodenbong, but a bit less formal. It proved a suitable location for our coffee.

As we continued south, we first passed Old Bonalbo and then Bonalbo, which I assume is really New Bonalbo. I had not heard of either town before, but there they were, in the middle of nowhere. Old Bonalbo is a collection of houses up a side street with a couple of business, including the post office, on the main road. A few kilometres south, Bonalbo, also mainly built to the side of the main road, is larger, with a substantial commercial centre. Some businesses were open on this Sunday morning. Shops were also open in Woodenbong and Urbenville. Such weekend services are different to how it was in country towns when I lived in the bush.

The bridge over the Clarence River at Tabulam

The Bruxner Highway is a good road over its entire length and this includes the Tabulam to Tenterfield section that we travelled, commencing with the magnificent single lane timber bridge over the Clarence River. Altitude increases by about 700 metres as the road crosses a couple of mountain ranges. We stopped at the small town of Drake, which is in a valley between two of the ranges, for lunch, reaching Tenterfield at about 2.00 pm NSW time.

We stopped at Tenterfield to add to our stock of provisions. It is only about 30 km from Tenterfield to Girraween National Park, our location for the next two nights. We arrived at about 2.30 pm Queensland time and settled into our site. This is a rare National Park camp ground with flushing toilets and hot showers. It is about 2/3 full of caravans and camper trailers. Everyone seems relaxed and friendly including the kangaroos and bird life.

Grazing kangaroos at Girraween

When we arrived, a group of about 20 kangaroos were nibbling the green grass in a fenced area beside the amenities block. For some reason two of their number, a mother and partly grown Joey, judging by their size, separated from the main group, hopped through the area around which the caravans and camper trailers are parked and began feeding a few metres from our van. They were

These two were quite friendly, grazing right by the van

not the least bit disturbed by us moving around near them and were still there when we went to bed.

Another overcast morning for Day 5. A strong breeze was disturbing the upper foliage of the trees. It was good walking weather, so we did two morning walks.

The first was the Wyberba walk, a distance of about 400 metres that

Waterhole in the creek on the Wybera morning walk

starts at the main car park and runs along Castle Rock Creek, the main stream in this part of the park. Rock pools in this stream are used for swimming, but there were no swimmers about today. Perhaps some will appear later, if the sun comes out.

The first walk completed, we returned to the van for coffee, then drove towards the eastern end of the park to the commencement of

Dr. Roberts Waterhole

the Dr Roberts Waterhole walk. This is a 1.2 km return stroll along a well graded gravel path to one of the areas of the park used by early settlers. The large waterhole was a reliable swimming location, visited by groups travelling in carts and drays. It is named in honor of one of the main campaigners for the establishment of Girraween as a national park. It was well worth the walk.

A well placed seat has views along the waterhole

Feeding Rosellas

Back at camp, fathered wild life paid us visits during the afternoon. Rosellas were feeding in the grass, with two of them coming quite near to us. They totally ignored me as I photographed them. Then, quite suddenly, what we later identified as a Red Wattle Bird, landed in the guy rope of our awning and was content to remain there as we had a close look and

The Red Wattle Bird

took photos. The Red Wattle Bird is identified by small red dangling bits, not unlike ear rings, that hang just behind the eyes, on both sides of the head. We had neither heard of or seen a Red Wattle Bird before. Our bird guide tells us that there are Yellow Wattle Birds in the southern parts of Australia.

Day 6 was going home day. There is one of those days at the end of every trip and I never want to get to it.

This morning a second problem became apparent. The water pump was quieter than normal, a sure sign of a voltage drop in the electrical system. This was surprising as

The Pyramid is a prominent feature of Girraween National Park

the battery had tested at a satisfactory level last night. Then the lights on the refrigerator control panel went out. In a national park, with no power, the fridge was operating on gas. So we turned everything else off and the 12 volt control lights came back on but, the battery was showing about 9 volts. Way too low!

Hooked up, with the alternator in the car providing power, the problem was solved in the short term.

The next item on our itinerary was morning coffee with Ruth brother and sister-in-law, at Warwick. Said brother had a birthday in a day or so. We spent a jolly 90 minutes with them and were on again on our way.

Other prominent rocks near the Pyramid

All that was left was to drive home, which we did via the Clifton to Gatton Road, arriving at about 4.00 pm, after a lunch stop at the Heifer Creek rest area at the foot of the Great Dividing Range.

To hark back to the problem with the Waeco portable fridge, the reason for a flashing error light first appeared to be that the “house” battery in the back of the Challenger, that is there to run the Waeco, is past its use by date, so must be replaced. Subsequent testing indicates that the battery in the caravan has also reached the end of its useful life. So two batteries need to be replaced before we head off again.

But there is more. With the battery replaced, the error light on the Waeco was still flashing. So that piece of essential equipment is currently with the service agent for repair.

Better to have happened now than somewhere in the outback. But that’s why we try to do a small trip before we commence a big one.

You have read the book – now see the movie : Cape York 2015

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

After we return from each of our extended tours I go through our images and videos and combine them into a video, or in some cases into a series of videos. When we did the Big Lap in 2009 the material took up almost all of 4 DVDs.

Normally I have produced one long story for each trip which has not been easy to break into sections. But for the Cape York trip last year I complied twelve shorter videos, which when combined, ran for almost an hour.

I have put links to some small video clips in various blog posts covering the Cape York trip so I thought I may as well break the longer production into manageable portions and load them to You Tube, to make the material more easily accessible to my blog readers.

The end result is six videos, each of a bit less than.ten minutes duration. Here is a summary of the videos and the link to each.

Cape York Adventure 2015 – Part 1. Covers from home to Airlie Beach and a day cruise through the Whitsunday Passage to Whitehaven Beach.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/Gb-xM_mio00[/youtube]

Cape York Adventure 2015 – Part 2. This video tells of the section from Airlie Beach to Weipa and our explorations around Weipa

[youtube]https://youtu.be/s3l03Rt5bdc[/youtube]

Cape York Adventure 2015 – Part 3. You will see much of what we saw as we travelled from Weipa to Punsand Bay, our visit to The Tip and our trips around Bamaga and Seisia

[youtube]https://youtu.be/Q693fD5CiFo[/youtube]

Cape York Adventure 2015 – Part 4. This covers two separate day trips to Thursday and Horne Islands. The material is combined into one story.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/1G168MSeuik[/youtube]

Cape York Adventure 2015 – Part 5. Join us as we travel down the East Coast of Far North Queensland from Seisia to Cairns and then visit Cairns city and the rain forest areas of Daintree and Cape Tribulation

[youtube]https://youtu.be/LrKySa1q42w[/youtube]

Cape York Adventure 2016 – Part 6. This video wraps up our trip with our visits to Tully Gorge and the Central Queensland gem field towns of Rubyvale and Sapphire.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/q0-Aud4KUYU[/youtube]

We hope that you will enjoy seeing something of the scenery and points of interest that we encountered on this enjoyable and challenging journey.

Until next time,

Kevin

Days 34 to 37 – Cape York Adventure

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

We departed Kurrimine Beach on Saturday morning, needing to be home on the next Wednesday; with a little over 1,600 km to do via the coast and a bit more if we took the inland route. Inland won, as that gave us a chance to at least drive through the gem fields. We had intended to spend two or three days there.

Ready for a quiet night

We left the Bruce Highway at Townsville and took the Flinders Highway, heading for Charters Towers. The revised plan was to spend the Saturday night at Macrossan Park on the east bank of an almost dry Burdekin River. Macrossan Park is a popular overnight stop, with flushing toilets and cold showers for the Spartan.

Information shelter and toilets at Macrossan Park

The camping area is between the highway and the railway, which is carried over the river by an impressive iron bridge. With the van set up for a comfortable night I went for a walk, to have a closer look at the rail bridge. Imagine my surprise when I found two rail bridges. It seems that many years ago the original iron bridge was replaced by a new bridge of similar design. The old one probably became unsafe, so a new bridge was built, just a few meters to the south. Once you know that the second bridge is there you see it straight away. But if you are expecting only one bridge then chances are that is what you will see, the structures are so similar.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/vfoHUPAXhUg[/youtube]

Fertiliser train approaching the main bridge

Queensland National obliged by sending a long fertiliser train over the bridge before dark and an other one after dark. There was at least one more during the night. The sun slid quietly behind the low range of hills that constitute the horizon, with a tinge of colour in the distant clouds which were rather a dark shade of grey. But the cloud

Tinges of sunset on the edge of storm clouds

vanished westward with the sun and left us with a full moon rising into a clear sky.

A full moon commences its assent

There really are two bridges

On Sunday morning, a short run brought us to Charters Towers, where we refueled for the run south through Belyando Crossing and Clermont to our next overnight stop. Quite early in the trip we started to see signs of recent reasonably heavy rain. There looked to have been enough rain to put a smile on local farmers’ faces. When we crossed the first range from the coast the previous day, we could see how dry it was. That amount of rain would at least have brought some relief for beleaguered farmers. It certainly explained the grey clouds on the horizon the previous evening.

The Gregory Developmental Road passes through a mix of flat and undulating grazing country on its way through Emerald to Springsure, where it becomes the Dawson Highway, but we were not going that far. We refueled at the Belyando Crossing Roadhouse and continued on into the coal mining area of Clermont where we turned onto minor

Theresa Creek Dam

roads to reach the caravan park at Theresa Creek Dam, about 25 km to the south west of the town. We noticed that one long coal carrying conveyor that was working when we came through this area last year was now stationery, a victim of the slowdown in coal exports, probably.

Theresa Creek Dam has been there for many years with a recreation area for locals on its banks. But in recent years the local council has developed what was formerly an informal camping area into a comfortable caravan park. We lined up with other vans in the overnight area, but at a comfortable distance from our neighbor. But not for enough away not to hear our next door neighbor’s generator. Peace was restored when it was turned off an hour later but we had spent that time walking about the caravan paek, so were not really inconvenienced.

Rubyvale Post Office

After another peaceful night we moved on for our drive through the gem fields. It wasn’t very far, probably about 50 km and we were parked in Rubyvale. Gem mining towns tend to be a bit of a shambles, due, I think, to the kind of people who become gem miners and the limited means with which they initially ply their trade.

Rubyvale town centre

Rubyvale, however, has a very orderly centre with a general store, post office, caravan park and a new gem display and sales gallery that also houses a stylish coffee shop. There were not many gems in the gallery priced below $1,000 but the commodious coffee shop, probably built with the tourist coach trade in mind, had very affordable Devonshire Tea (or coffee). We also bought a small bag of washed gravel to put aside

Decorations on the coffee shop wall

for sieving with our granddaughters at some suitable time. Perhaps we are sitting on a fortune. And perhaps not! But we may find something worth cutting and mounting into a piece of jewelry.

Coffee and scones consumed, we continued on to Sapphire, another ragged town with a less orderly centre than Rubyvale, but it’s town centre is clearly older. After a look around we continued to the

Sapphire General Store

Capricorn Highway and then to a lunch stop at Emerald.

At Emerald we were back on the Gregory Developmental Road for the 56 km to Springsure. It was now a matter of how much further we went that day. We had in mind a river side camp where the Dawson Highway crosses the river from which it takes its name, but the caravans already there appeared to have been inserted by a sardine packing machine. We continued a further 20 km to the largely deserted caravan park in Moura. It is a large park, mostly of motel units and cabins for mine workers.

Hills near Springsure

Our site was adjacent to a very noisy Coca-Cola machine that seemed to be trying to freeze its contents. We didn’t check. It was more of a night for hot drinks in this Central Highland town, the sleeping part of which we spent under a doona.

Home was now not much more than 600 km away with two days in hand, so we had the option of spending another night on the road or go for home. I find that these kinds of decisions take care of themselves. As the day progressed it was resolved in favor of going for home. We took a mid morning break at Monto, lunch at Ban Ban Springs and as the afternoon wore on stopped at Kybong, south of Gympie, for a very large container of caffeinated coffee and a serve of crisp hot chips.

So that brought us to the end of 37 days of fascinating adventure. Before we left home I had read a comment on Facebook where someone had remarked that a trip to Cap York was more an adventure than a holiday. That is one reason that I called this series of posts our Cape York Adventure. It’s both, really. Whoever said that you can’t have an adventure while on holiday?

MV Trinity Bay berthed at Saisia wharf

The opportunity to return by ship was pure luck, but the experience added greatly to the memories. I don’t mind driving on rough roads as we have the equipment to handle them, but I don’t go looking for them. If there is a choice of a sealed road that doesn’t take me too far out of my way I will opt for it every time, but there are iconic remote dirt roads and I get a great sense of satisfaction successful driving them.

2015 travels. The blue line traces our path.

I have mentioned previously that we track our movements using a satellite tracking device. This provides a recorded track that can be superimposed on a map. I had a look at ours the other day, only to realise that we had literately travelled from one end of the country to the other during the last twelve months. In the dying days of 2014 we were at Wilson’s Promontory and less than a month ago were at the tip of Cape York. Here is how it looks on the map.

A windblown yours truly at the Tip

So, until next time, thanks for coming along with us to the Tip.

Days 29 to 33 – Cape York Adventure – Daintree & Tully Gorge

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

We had originally intended to spend a couple of days at Cape Tribulation on our return from Cape York, but returning south on MV Trinity Bay meant that we had landed further south so had to decide whether or not to take the van back north. We finally decided to reduce that part of the plan to a day trip, even though to do so meant that we would not have time to drive the Bloomfield Track as we had planned. When we visited Cooktown in 2010 we had driven the northern end of the track, south to the Bloomfield River. During the planned stay at Cape Tribulation we had intended to fill the gap on our “where we have been” map, between Cape Tribulation and the Bloomfield River. But you can’t do everything.

In the park by the waterfront

Water front high rise at Cairns

We had based ourselves at Lake Placid Tourist Park, which is the northern most caravan park in suburban Cairns. But to visit the Cairns area without paying a visit to the city itself was unthinkable, so we spent our second morning pounding the pavement and wandering the waterfront. There is always something going on in this ever expanding tourist Mecca. Tourist boats were coming and going, helicopters were fetching and taking passengers and people were moving around as they went about their business or leisure. There was a set for some kind of circus under construction on the grass near the large swimming pool.

Of course, most tourists were out doing tourist things. Cairns central would come alive at night as the restaurants and bars began to fill. The street that runs adjacent to the waterfront seems to be an endless succession of such establishments, punctuated by tour booking offices.

The coast south of Port Douglas

I have probably said in previous blog posts that the coast between Cairns and Port Douglas is one of the most attractive drives in Australia, particularly the section where the road hugs the coast. We had struck a fine sunny day, so the sea and most of the sky was blue and the traffic was not too heavy. A cruise liner was off the coast as we approached Port Douglas, but we drove on, with still some distance to go to reach our destination.

Cape Tribulation Beach

The picnic shelter where we had morning coffee at Mossman was shared with another couple just returned from Cape York. Returning Cape travelers are rather thick on the ground at this time of the year around Cairns.

We reached Cape Tribulation in good time and spent the remainder of the morning looking around. This included a walk to the beach, which

Rain forest on Cape Tribulation

can now be viewed from a vantage point accessible by a wheel chair friendly concrete path. As usual, the sand on the beach was firm, almost wheel chair friendly.

Following lunch at Mason’s Café, we headed back south, but as on a previous occasion, stopped in at the place where they make ice-cream from local native and

Myall Beach is immediately south of Cape Tribulation

introduced fruit. How fashionable is that? The main luncheon course at one establishment and desert at another?

Mason’s Cafe at Cape Tribulation

The Daintree Estuary

Before reaching the Daintree River ferry, we made the mandatory stop at the lookout that provides such superb views of the Daintree estuary and the coast south towards Port Douglas. Last time that we were here the area was enveloped in cloud so low that there was no view at all.

The Daintree Ferry

The Pacific Dawn at anchor off Port Douglas

As we approached Port Douglas, we noticed that the cruise liner that we had seen in the morning off the coast was actually at anchor. Passengers were obviously having a day ashore. So we drove in to take a look. The town was busy as usual with lots of people still on the beach at 4.00 pm. The harbor was busy too, with boats that normally take people out to the Great Barrier Reef running shuttle services transporting passengers back to

Ferrying passengers back to Pacific Dawn

the cruise liner from their day ashore. We believe that the cruise liner was the Pacific Dawn.

The following morning we left to spend a couple of nights at Kurrimine Beach. We had selected it as a base to explore the Tully Gorge. Not long after our arrival we received news of the passing of a colleague from transport industry days. Our association was at both a business and family level, so our spirits were rather dampened. We received information about funeral arrangements next morning, so were able to plan to be back in Brisbane for the funeral service.

Power substation in Tully Gorge

Timing still allowed us a day to visit Tully Gorge. This part of our plan was a legacy of our trip to the Atherton Tablelands in 2010. On that occasion we had driven in to the point where the Tully River tumbles over the edge of the Tableland and down a series of waterfalls, to the valley floor below. The initial fall is in a deep gorge and cannot be seen from the lookout, but after heavy rain it can certainly be heard. We decided then that we would like, one day, to see it from the bottom.

Tully River white water

Tully Gorge is known throughout the tourist industry as a popular white water rafting location. As we drove in we saw vehicles associated with rafting but did not see any rafting groups. Water levels are low in the river at the moment, making it more suitable for kayaks than for inflatable rafts.

The river end of a raft lalunching system

The drive in is about 50 km to the point where the road terminates at an electrical substation that we think takes power from a hydro plant at the dam on the river above the falls. This effective barrier prevents you from reaching the falls, but you can see the white water cascading down the side of the gorge further up but too far away for a good photo.

The first part of the drive is through cattle country with abundant grass reaching well up the sides of the grazing animals. Cattle properties are interspersed with the odd sugar plantation. Then comes the banana plantations. Reaching back into the foothills on both sides of the valley, they line about 15 km of roadside. Plantations are enclosed in new barbed wire fencing with locked gates and “Keep Out” signs. Employee vehicles are parked on the roadsides. Owners are serious about keeping the disease that is damaging banana crops in North Queensland, out of their plantations.

Tully Gorge National Park camping area

At the mouth of the gorge the road crosses to the south bank of the river and follows the stream quite closely, to the end of the road. Thick roadside vegetation hides the river for much of the drive but there are a number of vantage points and access roads used by the tour operators to reach the river. At a number of locations flying fox type structures make transporting the rafts to the water’s edge easier than it would otherwise be possible.

The retrieval pond at the NP camping area

The Tully Gorge lies within the Tully Gorge National Park. Park authorities have provided an extensive day use and camping area with toilets, showers and change facilities that doubles as a local base for tour operators and provides facilities for overnight or more extended accommodation.

The road is sealed over its entire length. The gorge is deep with towering escarpments, covered by lush rain forest that rises directly from the river banks.

Tully Gorge is a worthwhile drive for anyone wanting a break from the beach and humiditywhile holidaying in the Tully and Mission Beach area.

Cape York Adventure – Days 21 to 28 – Bamaga and the Voyage South

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

I had been wondering how I would handle reporting our return over the same roads in my blog when the problem was solved in an unexpected way.

We had travelled down from Punsand Bay to Seisia on Sunday, with the intention of doing the Seisia to Bramwell Junction section the following day. That meant again traversing the Bamaga Road and I wanted to be well rested for it. Driving on those roads requires intense concentration and is rather tiring.

I did not sleep well on the Sunday night, so we decided to take a rest day. Early on Monday morning I walked to the camping park office to pay for another night and was

MV Trinity Bay approaching Seisia

confronted by a sign that said, “Why drive back?” I really related to that question. And since it was on a sign for SeaSwift, the shipping company that services Torres Straight, I figured that they just might have vacancies on the ship back to Cairns.

So I went to their office, and yes, there was space for the car and van and yes, they had a cabin available. And just to clinch the deal, because departure was only four days away, stand by rates would apply. Done deal!

The crash site of a DC3 near Bamaga airport

We filled in the intervening days easily. One was spent on the trip back to Thursday Island and during one other I got as much of the red paste off the car and van as possible. The vehicles were to be shipped as deck cargo. I didn’t want to arrive in Cairns with salt encrusted red paste all over the car and van. As it turned out we had a very smooth passage, so there was not much spray. A heavy rain

The plaque commemorating the loss of a Bristol Beaufort Mark VIII with all crew near Bamaga Airport

shower as we approached Cairns took care of any salt that had settled on the vehicles.

We also took the opportunity of visiting some of the WWII history around Bamaga. The current Bamaga airport was an air force base during the war so logically there are crashed aircraft in the area. Two have been retained and partially protected for posterity. To reach the crash site near the airport it is necessary to drive through an area of bush. Lying in the undergrowth there are thousands of rusting fuel drums. Imagine the logistical task of moving those huge volumes of supplies to such a remote area over 70 years ago.

The Jacky Jacky memorial is placed in a corner of the car park at the airport.

There are two interesting memorials in the airport car park at Bamaga. One is to Aboriginal tracker and loyal companion to the ill fated explorer Edmond Kennedy, Jacky Jacky. There are a number of reminders of his bravery and loyalty in the northern area of the Cape. Indeed, I wonder if Loyalty Beach near Seisia is named in honour if his actions.

The wording on the Jacky Jacky memorial

At the front of the small airport terminal, a monument to the victims of that aircraft crash several years ago in the Iron Range National Park near Lockhart River, has been erected. The doomed aircraft departed Bamaga airport and was lost before it reached its first stop on its run back to Cairns. The shape of the memorial is similar to many of the headstones that we

The memorial for the Lockhart River aircraft crash

saw on graves at Thursday Island cemetery.

MV Trinity Bay berthed at Seisia wharf

We boarded MV Trinity Bay at about 11.00 am, settled into our cabin, lunched and then watched the container unloading and reloading process. The ship is fitted with a crane.The whole process of loading and unloading is handled by the ship’s crew, as there are no stevedore facilities at Seisia or Thursday Island.

Our car and van being positioned for lifting on board

Passenger vehicles are loaded last at Seisia so they can be unloaded first at Cairns, so it was dark and we had finished dinner by the time vehicles were loaded. Ours was second last. Car and van were loaded coupled for towing. They had been driven onto a freight base with the front wheels of the car at one extremity and the wheels of the van at the other. That portion of the van behind the wheels was hanging

Up, up and away!

in space. Our pride and joy swinging into the sky before being deposited cross ways at the very front of the ship is a sight that I will never forget.

We had gone to our cabin for the night before we left Seisia but when we started to move I went on deck to watch the lights if Seisia disappear astern. Normally Trinity Bay heads directly for Cairns from Seisia, but had to return to Horn Island to load more containers, before returning south. We slept through the first couple of hours of loading containers but were awake for the last hour and for the departure from Horn Island at about 3.00 am.

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Sunrise at sea

A typical coral cay with light tower

When we woke at about 6.00 am we had rounded Cape York and had commenced our passage south. Unless we were crossing a large Bay we were close to the coast and could see most of its features. There was an increase in the amount of cloud with further increased, including rain, by the time we reached Cairns. But it was pleasant weather and most passengers spent their time on the open deck at the stern where we could select sunshine or shade and were sheltered from the wind, which was coming from the direction of the bow, helped, of course, by the passage of the ship.

There is a routine to shipboard life. Breakfast was at 7.00 am, lunch at 12 noon and dinner at 6.00 pm. Standard procedure is for the passengers to stand back and allow the crew to serve themselves first. It is, after all, a working ship, not a passenger liner. A cake would appear, freshly baked from the galley at about 9.30 am and happy hour nibbles at around 5.00 pm. Coffee, tea and biscuits were available at any time, but self service, of course.

The control area on the bridge. The sailor in the chair is the duty officer.

Passengers on the open deck

On Sunday morning, the second morning on board, passengers were invited by the Captain to visit the bridge for a presentation on the operation of the vessel. We were given statistical information and details of the operation and navigation. Trinity Bay has two captains and two separate crew. They work in rotation, working for four weeks on duty and four weeks off. Automatic pilot was engaged so no passengers got to steer.

There was only one task for Trinity Bay to perform on the way south. On Saturday evening, just before dusk, the ship stopped in a sheltered bay near the Aboriginal settlement of Lockhart River, where we were met by a barge. Trinity Bay used its crane to load a refrigerated container and a fork lift onto the barge. The fork lift was used to transfer the contents of the container into permanent cold storage on the barge. The empty container and the fork lift were loaded back on board and we were on our way into the gathering darkness while the barge proceeded to Lockhart River with its frozen and chilled supplies.

Passed by a larger and faster ship

During the night we passed the broad expanse of Princess Charlotte Bay, the scene of probably the greatest maritime disaster in Australian waters. A pearling fleet of between 80 and 100 boats was totally destroyed when Cyclone Marino swept across the bay in 1899. About 100 Aborigines and 307 pearling crew lost their lives.

The silica loading jetty at Cape Flattery

By morning we had rounded Cape Melville and when I went on deck before breakfast, we were off Berwick Island with Cape Flattery soon to be passed as we approached Cooktown.

Cape Flattery is home to a silica mine, the loading Jetty for which was clearly visible as we passed, but no ships were loading. The pure white of the silica deposits stand out in sharp relief from the surrounding vegetation. Not surprising since the deposits are 98% pure silica.

The coast south of Cooktown

A little further south, and inland, is the Aboriginal community of Hope Vale that both supplies labour to the silica mine and is the home of well known Aboriginal leader, Noel Pearson.

We could clearly see the mouth of the Endeavor River but Cooktown is out of site behind Grassy Hill, the elevated area to which James Cook would climb to plot a route through the coral reefs as he planned his escape from the temporary sandbank dockyard where the Endeavor was under repair by its crew.

Cloud over Cape Tribulation

Most passengers were looking forward to seeing the mountains of the Bloomfield Ranges and their precipitous plunge into the sea, but Mother Nature had other ideas. A heavy rain storm came through and obliterated the view of the coast. Rain was still falling as night fell and we retired to the dining room for dinner.

Rain clouds hid Port Douglas as well but the weather had cleared

Ready for another load

as we started to pass the northern suburbs of Cairns. The resulting improvement to conditions on the upper deck attracted most passengers out of the dining room to line the rails as MV Trinity Bay made her way down the long channel and turned in the basin to sidle into her berth.

Ready to drive away

Passengers with hotel accommodation disembarked, but about half of us, who were going to caravan parks, stayed on board for a third night, to allow time for vehicles to be unloaded. When we came on deck next morning the containers were all on the wharf and our vehicles were parked on an adjacent roadway in readiness for our departure. With breakfast over we were soon disembarked and on our way to our caravan park.

Cape York Adventure – Days 20 & 24 – Thursday Island

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

The TI ferry approaching Seisia wharf

Travelers to the Cape York region normally have among their objectives to stand at the tip of the Cape, the most northern point on the mainland and to visit Thursday Island. We were no different. Having reached the Tip the next agenda item was Thursday Island or TI as it is known to locals. We visited TI twice.

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On the day following the experience of standing on the northern most point, we drove over that mostly atrocious road back to Bamaga and then the additional 5 km to the TI ferry terminal at Seisia wharf. And that meant negotiating it again on the way back to Punsand Bay. The extra distance to Seisia is sealed, as are all the roads linking Indigenous communities at the Cape.

Looking towards the town from the ferry terminal

Looking towards the town of TI from the ferry terminal

The ferry crossing takes a bit over an hour. For the first part of the journey the ferry is travelling in protected waters but then crosses Endeavor Straight where there is less protection, so it can be a but rough. The route then passes Possession Island, so named by Lt. James Cook in 1770 as it was on this island, after passing through Torrens Straight, that he planted the Union Jack in the soil of the island and claimed the entire East coast of New Holland for King George III. He named the claimed area New Wales.

Part of the main street of Thursday Island

The ferry route then passes to the east of Prince of Wales Island, the second largest island in Queensland, after Fraser Island, and finally through the channel between Prince of Wales Island and Horne Island into the protected harbor formed by those two islands and Thursday Island.

Thursday Island was named by Captain William Bligh as he made his way back to civilisation from the mutiny to which he was subjected and for which he is famous. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Islands were named for the day on which he passed them in a search for water. There are no Saturday, Sunday and Monday Islands, so it is left to speculation that Bligh found water and then took a long weekend.

A gun at Green Hill Fort

On our first visit, the bus for the TI tour was waiting for us, so we were straight into the program. The first and most interesting feature was Green Hill Fort. Built on a hill on the southern end of the island, it was one of many naval gun installations built around Australia in the 1890s when Australian officialdom thought that the Russians were coming.

One of the passages guarded by the fort

The guns, although no longer usable, remain in place, each one pointing directly at a gap between the islands through which a threat could have come. Some of the passage ways tunneled under the gun emplacements have been converted into a museum, with displays that tell the story of the settlement and the island people whose interests TI administers. The impact of WWII and the involvement of about 800 Islander volunteers is a major feature of the displays.

A profusion of flowers at the cemetery

Our next port of call was the cemetery. Traditionally, death is celebrated to a greater extent than that to which most of us are accustomed. Headstones are very ornate with a great deal of detailed information inscribed on them and flowers, both natural and artificial are used in great quantities and to great effect .

Thursday Island cemetery

As I understand common practice, there is a graveside ceremony upon internment. Then there is a waiting period while the headstone is obtained. Most are shipped in from the south, mainly from Brisbane. On arrival, there is another ceremony for the erecting of the headstone, which remains covered until an unveiling and dedication is held at a later time.

Looking over the town to Horn Island

In addition periodic ceremonies are conducted at the cemetery by various ethnic groups, so you can see that the cemetery is a centre of cultural activity. On the day that we were there, bunting had been hung by Japanese folk, probably in association with the graves of Japanese pearl divers buried there.

The tour then covered the other

Ruth checking the size of a diving suit in the Green Hill Fort museum

main features of the four mile square island. A multicultural community of about 3,500 resides in this confined space. This would be rather uncomfortable living if it were not for neighboring Horn Island which is much larger, relatively flat and provides the airport, water supply and services such as garbage disposal. The port at which supplies arrive from the south is

Trinity Bay unloading containers at Horn Island

also on Horn Island.

With our tour of TI at an end, we were transferred by local ferry to Horn Island.

Part of the display in the Horn Island Museum

An enterprising young lady named Vanessa came to TI a few years ago as a school teacher. Not necessarily in this order, she married a local and developed an interest in war relics on neighboring Horne Island. There was much military activity on Horne Island during WWII including a forward defense airfield which hosted both Australian and United States air, sea and ground operations. After Darwin, Horn Island was the most attack place in Australia. TI was not attacked at all because over 100 Japanese pearl divers are buried there.

The restored WWII anti aircraft command post on Horn Island

Vanessa and her husband have established a fine museum that tells in great detail the story of the war and the part that Torres Straight Islands played in it. There are also substantial amounts of material on local history and custom.

One section displays the pages of Brisbane’s Courier Mail that contain reports of events in the closing days of the Pacific War. We just happened to be there on the 70th anniversary of VP (Victory in the Pacific) Day. It was quite fascinating to read the reports, 70 years after they were written, on the actual 70th anniversary.

The Thursday Island War Memorial

The tour of the island included time in the museum followed by a tour of military installation sites and aircraft crash sites. Work is under way to preserve some of the better sites. The effort to preserve these relics for future generations is being driven by the enthusiasm of Vanessa and her husband.

Our second visit was a self guided tour. With time on our hands as we waited to board Trinity Bay a return trip to TI had much to recommend it. The senior’s concession fare made a second visit to TI a better financial proposition than an overnight stay, which is what a lot of people do to allow themselves adequate time on Thursday Island.

Sunset over Red Island that shelters Seisia harbour

Sunset over Red Island that shelters Seisia harbor

Our first objective was a cappuccino and as we had good reports of The Bakery, which is on the road to the town centre, that was where we headed, only to be met by a sign that said “Sorry. No coffee”. What? A coffee shop without coffee? Almost like a pub with no beer! But a short walk into the main street brought us to Uncle Frank’s Coffee Shop where we not only had our cappuccino but were introduced to deep fried banana cake. I hope I can find a coffee shop in Brisbane that sells it. I will become one of their most regular customers.

Barge activity in Thursday Island harbour

We spent the rest of the time available to us, until the 2.30 departure of the ferry, walking around town, shopping for a bag to take our gear onto the boat and buying souvenirs. The shops are mostly tourist orientated but some bargains were to be had. We lunched at Bobby’s Fish & Chips. We had fish & chips, of course. Bobby’s Fish & Chip shop is locally very well known.

Back early to catch the ferry, we sat in a shelter, looking along the channel between Horn and Prince of Wales Islands, at the distant outline of the Northern Tip of Australia, about 30 kilometres away to the south east. The ferry crossing back to Seisia was a repeat of the trip four days earlier. Our four crossings were smooth with very little movement in the ferry.

The army providing logistical support for a Prime Ministerial visit

Torres Strait is named after Louis Vaz de Torres, who sailed, as second officer through the passage in 1606. The strait was named after him by Scottish geographer Alexander Dalrymple who discovered the existence of the strait from papers captured in the Philippines in 1762. His publishing of the material caused great interest and was part of the reason for the voyage of the Endeavor. Dalrymple was an aspirant for leadership of the expedition but was apparently passed over in favor of James Cook.

Island ceremonial masks on display in the new cultural centre

In their turn Bligh and Flinders sailed and explored the area, each naming various islands. There are said to be 274 islands, made up of three different types. Those immediately north of Cape York are part of the Great Dividing Range. Others are volcanic in origin while the remainder are coral cays. Seventeen have permanent populations. A couple of the minor islands have resorts.

We found the entire area to be most interesting. It has a rich history and a scenic beauty. Any group of tropical islands surrounded by reefs under clear blue seas will always be easy on the eye.

During the 1860s a pearling industry commenced that quickly shifted its focus to the shells of mother of pearl that was used to make buttons. The industry collapsed around 1970 when clothing manufacturers shifted to plastic buttons. It was the mother of pearl recovery from the sea bed that brought divers from many countries of the world to TI, particularly Japanese divers.

A SeaSwift barge at Seisia wharf

The outlying Torres Strait Islands are supplied by two barges owned by the operators of Trinity Bay. The barges ship containers and other freight that has been brought to Horn Island by Trinity Bay on to the other island communities. One of the barges has accommodation for passengers who can join the “milk run” around the islands. Each voyage takes about 5 days with the route determined by the locations to which freight is to be delivered. A real misery tour!

Cape York Adventure – Day 19 – The Tip of the Cape

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Kevin & Ruth Sheather

The sun rising over Cape York

Punsand Bay is the most northerly caravan park in Australia. It is located on a stretch of north facing beach, within site of the tip of Cape York. Were it possible to drive along the Beach, but such a journey is prohibited by law, it would be a very short drive indeed.

The resort, of which the camping

Night view of Punsand Bay restaurant

park is part, is quite old, but under current management is in good condition. The camp sites are spread out along the beach with the front row of sites only a couple of paces from the sand. These are all unpowered sites, occupied by tents, both ground and roof top and camper trailers. We were in the second row in a powered site. We don’t surrender the luxuries of the microwave, electric jug and toaster, or the air-conditioning easily!

Punsand Beach looking west with camp sites to the left of the photo.

A Punsand Bay pizza

The resort is comprised of a range of cabins, huts, permanent tents and units and a restaurant, which doubles as a coffee shop. Dining prices are on the high side, but that is to be expected this far from civilisation. But the impact of high prices has been addressed by the installation of a wood fired pizza oven. We had adequate food supplies in the van but were drawn to the restaurant on two of our four nights there, by the attraction of pizza.

We spent the first day at Punsand Bayquietly. Some down time was required after the previous day’s distance of 260 km, with the last part as rough as it was. But on day two, after a leisurely morning, we set off for the Tip.

Map of the far north of Cape York

The Crock Tent has a large stock of surineers

The Crock Tent has a large stock of souvenirs

The map shows our route for the day. We started out at the caravan symbol. The blue line shows our track to the Croc Tent on the Bamaga to Cape York Road. The Purple line then shows the track to the cape. If you expand the picture to full screen you will see a yellow line that runs right to the most northerly point on the Cape. The tracking system that we use for navigation is on my Nexus 7 pad. I took the pad with me to get a photo for the daily blog, but did not turn the tracker off. So it tracked my progress to the waters edge.

A short cut was available, but notes handed out at registration at Punsand Bay warned against using it, so we did two sides of a triangle by returning to the main road and turning left and north. At this junction is an establishment known as the Croc Tent. It is not really a tent but has a temporary look about it. The Croc tent is a large souvenir shop. It is in a very isolated location and almost totally dependent on those who take the drive to the tip of Cape York for its clientele.

The road from this junction was narrower, more winding and therefore in better condition. Speed plays a major role in damaging unsealed roads and here is an example.

The start of the climb up Cape York headland

After a few more km of winding track, a few creek crossings and depressions and two attractive sections of rain forest, we arrived at the car park. We did not have the road to ourselves, having allowed several less patient vehicles to pass and having met several more who were returning. The car park was almost full but we found a space between a large rock and a large Toyota with its owners entire possessions stacked on top. Well, that’s how it looked.

Ruth reached this point

There are two walking tracks to the tip of the Cape. The easier of the two is to walk down to the beach to the wast of the headland and then on the sand until you reach a path around the rocks, just above sea level, to the point. It is an easy walk but was not available to us because the tide was too high.

That sought after sign

The alternative to paddling through crocodile infested seas is to climb over the headland. Ruth wanted to give it her best shot so we set off up the rocky path. The climb is quite steep in places and the South Easterly Trade winds were blowing a half gale so it was one hand for yourself and the other hand for your hat. We made it to the top to where there is a plaque on a plinth that shows directions and distances to points of interest and from where the views sweep over most of Torres Strait. Ruth decided that she had gone far enough.

A windblown yours truly at the Tip

I went on, wondering if there would be someone there to take a photo of me standing beside that famous sign. As I reached the final crest and looked down on the tip of the Cape I experienced a real sense of satisfaction. Not the sense of awe that I felt when I first gazed upon Uluru (Ayers Rock) but still a sense of achievement.

We had intended to detour to Somerset on the way home. The road to Somerset turns to the east on the way back to the junction at the Croc Tent but we were feeling a bit knocked out after our climb so we went straight back to camp.

Somerset was the administration centre for the Cape York area in the late nineteenth century until those activities were transferred to Thursday Island in the early twentieth century. Much history was made there and there are still relics to be seen. Pity to miss it, but there you go! You can see where it is from the map above.

Kevin & Ruth Sheather

The Mobilesheathers – exploring Australia

Author Archives: Kevin & Ruth Sheather

About Kevin & Ruth Sheather

Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island Part 3

Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island Part 2

Playing in the Sand – Fraser Island Part 1

Border Country

You have read the book – now see the movie : Cape York 2015

Days 34 to 37 – Cape York Adventure

Days 29 to 33 – Cape York Adventure – Daintree & Tully Gorge

Cape York Adventure – Days 21 to 28 – Bamaga and the Voyage South

Cape York Adventure – Days 20 & 24 – Thursday Island

Cape York Adventure – Day 19 – The Tip of the Cape