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.
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.
