The Far North

Saturday 2 August

We surprised ourselves by getting away by 7:30am. We headed north through Mareeba. At Mt Malloy we stopped for a pit stop and found their Saturday markets could provide us with fresh local passionfruit (@ 5 for $1) and delicious home made biscuits which Kathy can eat with her soy allergy. Kathy also bought a pendant and has worn it all day.

On then to Lakeland where we filled with fuel and bought some local lady finger bananas then found the coffee shop and sat for a while sipping our latte.

About 20 km east of Lakeland we passed a small pond full of small white waterlilies. It looked just like Surrey's photo of Nymphaea ellenii. We'll have to stop for a photo on the way back.

Black Mountain was an amazing sight and well worth the pull-off.

Slowly across the Annan River bridge allowed me to take a photo of the rapids and falls.

On then into Cooktown where we soon became very familiar with the layout trying to find somewhere shady for lunch. Eventually we enjoyed a shady tree down by the harbour where I had some fun playing on the musical ship, what a fantastic quality of sound.

We then drove around the caravan parks ending up at the Big4 in a motel style unit with kitchen. We did not fancy tenting so close to the mangroves and the real possibility of saltwater crocodiles.

After settling in we drove the few blocks to the Botanic Gardens. It had obviously been quite damaged in their recent cyclone. There were signs of trees that had been stripped but a lot of recent work is bringing the gardens back to life. It has quite a wide variety of tropical species.

We then drove up to the lighthouse where there were stunning views in all directions.

Back to our unit to settle down, cool off, rehydrate then get dinner – steak and salad then fruit salad made with the local fruits we had bought.

Saturday night TV then bed.

Sunday 3 August

Thank goodness we did not tent last night! Apart from worries about crocs the wind was gusty and noisy. My sleep was OK but Kathy was kept awake by the noise.

After packing the car we drove out to Keatings Lagoon and braved the walk along the lagoon (no crocs seen) to a great bird hide set out over the lagoon. On the way in we saw a huge spider and some new plants. We only saw one pair of Green Pygmy Geese and some Magpie Geese but stayed for nearly an hour marvelling at the waterlilies, the lagoon was just covered with them.

Back into town for the James Cook Museum where we also spent nearly an hour.They have the actual anchor and canon from when it went aground.

We left Cooktown at about 10:15am and turned off south to the Lion's Den Pub on the Bloomfield Track. There we found delicious homemade cakes and real coffee so we decided morning tea was in order. The pub was fascinating and I spent a while looking at some of the thousands of signatures on the walls. Surrey's was not there although I'm sure he'll have been there.

Back out onto the main road stopping at the roadside lily pond I'd seen on the way through. Lots of photos there.

It is amazing that I am actually doing the driving in an area where I know Surrey spent a lot of time and I thought I'd never get to; let alone drive it. I can feel him just around the corner.

We turned north at Lakeland, had a short hold up behind a huge farm machine for a while and finally turned into the Split Rock Galleries, an aboriginal art site. There was a hot, steep walk up to the galleries but once there it was level and cool with viewing platforms and seats in the shade.

On into Laura where we booked a tour of the Quinkan Galleries for Tuesday, booked a campsite at the Quinkan Hotel and enjoyed a barra burger for our late-lunch – early-dinner. We then took our time pitching our camp. I think dinner tonight might just be biscuits and water.

We spent the evening watching all sorts of birds in a huge bare tree near camp. A flock of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos came in circling and dancing in the sky, showing off their red tail flashes. It was a bit like bird TV. Once it was too dark for birds we turned our chairs around and watched sunset TV.

Monday 4 August

A reasonable night's sleep was broken in the early hours by an incredible noise “running past our tent”. I said it sounded like a camel (but there are none around). Kathy wondered if it was a large bird taking off. Or maybe it was a friendly Quinkan spirit just checking us out. We both went back to sleep quite easily. At first light both Laughing Kookaburras and Blue-winged Kookaburras (with an incredible choking racket) woke us both.

We left our tent up and went back to the Quinkan Cultural Centre to see if there was going to be an earlier tour than Tuesday. When we arrived the morning tour had not left because they could not find a guide. Gradually the others waiting left and we were so excited that eventually one of the rangers, Brian, arrived and we had our own private guided tour of the Quinkan Galleries to the south east of Laura.

We had a long drive on a sandy four wheel drive track with some really rough stony step ups and wash aways.

When we reached the area there was no sign of the galleries until we walked a little way down into the gorge. Then one by one we were led to a series of rock overhangs with some really interesting rock art; a jumble of animals, people and foot and hand prints all overlaying even older paintings. The mosquitos were quite persistent so I eventually resorted to repellant.

Two hours later we drove back into town and Brian took us on a very quick tour of the very small town. We went back to the camp site to pack away our bedding and dismantle the tent. We had a quick picnic lunch as barra burgers were not available.

We left Laura at about 1:15pm. A Lakeland we filled with fuel and had a latte then drove straight through to Mt Malloy with a brief lookout stop.

At Mt Malloy there did not seem to be any suitable accommodation so we decided to try Julatten. When we got there the town centre was not obvious. We intended going onto Mossman when we were tailed by a huge truck at high speed. Kathy found the first safe pulloff and the truck carreered past.

When we got our wits together we realised we were at the entrance to the long shady drive way of a place called Kingfisher Park – a birdwatchers lodge. We decided to take a look as it was nearly 5pm.

They had a self-contained unit which is fabulous. We walked down to the creek just before dark and joined the other guests who were bird watching. We even saw a platypus feeding in the creek.

Back to our unit where we cooked dinner, downloaded photos and charged cameras. A long but wonderful day of things that just fell into place in our favour. We just can't believe how great it has been.