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(Lay day in Weipa – day’s events covered by Michelle Jacka)
It was suggested that whilst we were in Weipa we should take a tour of the area including the mine sites. Most of the group chose to do the tour and although the cost seemed high at $15 per head it was, in my opinion, worthwhile. Not only was the guide informative but he had quite a sense of humor. The tour guide was also the camping ground owner/operator and had been operating these tours for 11 years.
Although some of us were suffering hangovers we managed to tackle the domestic duties. Washing, shopping, visits to the local doctor, car washing, oil changes and general repairs were performed.
After shopping I was walking back to camp and stopped to pick up a fallen berry from a tree. As I was turning it over in my hand a man came up to me and said "it’s the Nonda fruit – but don’t eat it" and began to explain a little Cape history. Just as we parted company he told me he was Rodney Liddell, author of the controversional history book of Cape York called ‘The Savage Frontier". As we parted I thought to myself "I should talk to this guy some more.." and then Collyn Crowhurst appeared. I told him of my encounter and Collyn rushed off to entice him to talk to our group of TLCC members that night.
Rodney arrived just after dinner and we sat around the camp fire listening to his summary of the "true" history of Cape York as he believes it to be and as documented in his book ‘The Savage Frontier" after 10 years of research. We were able to purchase his book and have it autographed for $30 which is $5 cheaper than it is sold elsewhere. Since that night our group have been debating the book’s accuracy but none of us has yet finished reading it except Collyn who bought it last year. It seems there is much to learn about the Cape.
(Jan and Dave Marsh)
| We left the Weipa camping ground reasonably early at 8.30am bound for Pennefather. After a lengthy beach run along white sand and tropical aqua waters we came to a magnificent beach camp where we intended to stay. Collyn spoke to the Park Ranger and discovered that the fees charged by the locals were ridiculous and the consensus of the group was to move on to another camp. After a couple of diversions we found the road to Stones Crossing – after a roadside lunch stop at 2.30pm. Although it had been requested that the first priority today should be a decent happy hour, by the time we arrived we were all hot and dusty and the sight of running fresh water enticed us all in for a refreshing swim in the Wenlock River. Although this seemed a likely spot for crocodiles David Martin persisted with his fishing obsession and finally caught a nice size barra which, after numerous photos, was devoured by he and Michelle and leftovers offered to the whole camp. |
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Happy hour resumed again after dinner and although we kept to our new "curfew" of 10pm Dave Marsh still managed to show his white bum to Thelma. Thelma was also intrigued by Bill’s see-through cossie. The night ended at 9.35pm when Dave pulled down Bill’s pants to reveal all.
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Leaving Stones Crossing was quite exciting because the first
challenge of the day was actually crossing the Wenlock River. We had observed a number of vehicles cross the day before and we had walked it many times. There was a seriously big hole and so some vehicles applied a radiator blind. In the end most vehicles did the crossing a number of times – once to take across the passenger with a camera and then back to the other side to have the crossing recorded on video. Once all the testosterone was expired for the morning the boys agreed to move on to our next camp site. The drive was fairly fast yet corrugated and David Martin agreed to let his female passenger take the driver’s seat for the morning. He took control again after lunch after they lost a beer bottle to a bump, lost a spotlight completely and broke the CB aerial wire and lost all transmission ability! On arrival at our campsite the priority was again to freshen up in the running rapids and rockpools of the Dulhunty River. |
Gunshot Day
(Michelle & David)
The day started with light rain just as we lifted camp. We all knew today was "Gunshot Day" and there was some excitement brewing at the prospect of a wet mud slide down the Gunshot. The exit from our camp at Delhunty River was a choice of two extremely rutted and steep inclines. As if to test that the testosterone was in high gear, Tony (Na-na) attempted what we had all thought was impossible. With double diff locks he used his car as a bulldozer to gorge out the side walls of the clay to enable the other cars to get through. Collyn followed in his 80 series and made it look easy so Jeff followed, much to the disgust of Thelma. Bill took up his 80 series without problem but left it to Dave Marsh to make the first snatch of the day.
Throughout the day there were a number of creek crossings, all with decent amounts of water. But none were as impressive as crossing Gunshot. When we first arrived at Gunshot there were a few drivers we had met along the way milling around below the 2 main gunshot drops with looks of terror and trepidation. We all arranged our cars for photographic evidence just teetering over the edge of the worst of the two gunshots and then reversed back to terafirma before contemplating who would actually make an attempt. Na-na, who was willing to give the drop a try, came running from his position in the convoy and was the first to volunteer. It was decided that we lower the cars down the embankments with a winch and have a car at the bottom in the event of a nose-dive. Much to Thelma’s disgust, Jeff was the next to take the plunge. Finally, Bill was lowered down. The girls, who were in charge of the cameras, discussed the reasons why men are so attracted to such perilous adventures and agreed that it was complete insanity.
Once all the excitement had subsided we continued on towards Elliot Falls and set camp at 1.30pm. Again, the priority was to swim and enjoy our surroundings. With another lay day planned for tomorrow most camps set up additional tarps for shade, as it was quite dry and hot. The evening commenced with a decent camp fire and conversation began as to the insanity of us sitting around a hot fire in temperatures reaching high 30s. But there were no complaints when dinners of camp oven roast lamb and dampers were shared and stories were told that lasted well into the night.
Rest day at Eliot Falls – day’s events covered by Michelle
After a good night of entertainment around the campfire we had the day to ourselves to visit and swim the many rockpools and rapids around this area. Most of the group took an adventurous walk following Collyn to some falls a little further North called Savannah Falls. It was a worthwhile walk to find deep water and soothing waterfalls to massage our aching muscles. After the return to camp and a short lunch it was off in the vehicles to Fruit Bat Falls just 8km South of our camp. No camping is allowed at Fruit Bat but even so they are the most popular of the falls in the region probably because of their closeness to the car park. The Falls are located within the Heathlands National Park and come under the jurisdiction of the same ranger we had visited a few days earlier. There, we had learned that Eliot Falls is not the name of the waterfalls but only the camping ground – the Falls are named Twin Falls and Indian Head Falls. Fruit Bat Falls were named after the man who first found them – his nick name was Fruit Bat because of his similar liking for fruit as the fruit bat and has nothing to do with bats. Eliot Falls camping area has lots of fresh water for both swimming and drinking with plenty of taps with both large and small tap fittings. The toilets were good but there were no showers. This didn’t seem to bother any of us considering the amount of time we were in the water anyway.
(Bill & Neil)
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We departed Eliot Falls about 7.30am along the Northern end of the Telegraph Track, on of the better 4WD locations on the Cape. This road has interesting creek crossings and the ultimate challenge of crossing the Jardine. At Cannibal Creek two cars required recovery assistance and a log bridge crossing at Cyprus Creek required careful maneuvering and wheel placement to cross. Crossing Bridged Creek Bill did an "Alf Johnston" with a wave of water flowing over the bonnet, front windscreen and roof, filling the snorkel pre-filter with water. |
At last we arrived at the Jardine River road crossing but an inspection of the river bottom and water levels seemed to suggest a successful crossing would be very unlikely – the sand being very soft and spongy. So all proceeded to the Jardine Ferry crossing along badly corrugated road surfaces which successfully destroyed all beer supplies in Bill and Neil’s refrigerator – a disaster! Additionally, this same road caused Na-Na’s vehicle to have a broken front drive shaft. The road from the ferry to Bamaga was also badly corrugated and there was some relief when all finally reached bitumen at Bamaga.
Rest Day – day’s events covered by Michelle
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A rest day in Seisa can mean many things to many people. Our group covered just about all the possibilities available in the area. Bill’s wife Julie arrived by plane to Bamaga and in return for Julie, Bill traded Neil. They spent the day moving North to Punsund Bay Resort from which they later reported poor service and disappointing accommodation and facilities. Other members of our group took a ferry trip across to Thursday Island whilst others took a scenic plane trip over "The Tip". David and Michelle chartered a fishing boat for half the day and came back with enough fish to keep themselves fed for the rest of the Cape trip. Unfortunately their fridge had broken down and the repairman in Seisa could not rectify the problem. Michelle had caught the largest fish of the day – a 7kg cod. |
