Day 34. Friday 27th July. Seisia (Making it to the tip)

Left camp at 10am and headed for Pajinka which is the furtherest most point to drive to enable the walk to "the tip" as it is referred to by tourists. After parking the car we walked along the beach  about 500 m then up onto rock face about 100 metres to the very famous sign. After many photographs we climbed back along inland track to car. We then had a celebratory drink with our lunch on a grassy spot. We drove into Bamaga to find bottle shop still closed, locals told us it was because they had no security so were unable to open it. We then had a well deserved swim at Bamaga pool before heading home via the bottle shop again ( just in case it was open) & to Jason's delight it was open, so we qued up for 15 mins to buy our supply (slab 30 VB cans $ 68!!!)  We now have a whole new appreciation for alcohol supplies !!!!!

The road to the tip, was partly through rain forest.

The success of reaching the Northern Most Point of the Australian Continent!

 Looking East

Looking West

Some views from the hill just prior to the tip. 

Day 33. Thursday 26th July. Seisia

Woke this am to hear it was already 24 deg! Did some washing, and remembered how bad the red dirt sticks to clothes.....! We then drove into Bamaga  for some lunch at the one & only bakery, checked out the supermarket and pool location of what is a very remote Aboriginal town. Decided a swim was high on our list of priorities as very hot (35 deg now) Barge comes in twice a week with supplies, told today no fresh milk till Monday!!!! Jason and Keith then decided it was time they put their well travelled fishing rods to use, while Margie and Leanne took the girls to the Bamaga local swimming pool where we had the whole pool to ourselves!!! Jason ran out of beer so went to Bamaga bottle shop to find it was all shut up after being open since 10 am this am, Seisia does not sell alcohol at all. Have been warned of local regulations re alcohol possession. There  are some beaches and public areas in the Cape where it is illegal to drink alcohol  and it is prohibited to carry more than 2 litres of alcohol per person at any one time or more than a slab of beer! Our hunter gatherer men went out again after dinner to fish as no luck earlier.

Day 32 Wednesday 25th July. Eliot Falls - Seisia

Left Eliot Falls after a walk down to Twin Falls and a quick swim there at 10am. First creek crossing of the day was Canal Creek which was a bit tricky to negotiate but managed well. 

Sam creek was next which was very steep on entry but actual water part was shallow and clear. After this we headed back to the Bamaga Bypass Road till we arrived at 12.15pm at the Jardine River Ferry to find the operators at lunch from 12 to 1pm, hence a quite a que to wait in !!!!! Finally got on ferry at 1.30 pm then took Bamaga road to our next stop at Seisia. Nice park on the beach, our site near water but not too close!!!

Packing up ready for the trip to Seisia

 Quick swim before we leave at Eliot Falls

 The red dirt and dust as well as the corrugations

The Jardine River Ferry

Day 31 Tuesday 24 th July. Moreton Telegraph Station - Eliot Falls

Left Moreton Telegraph Station 9.30am, morning tea at Bramwell Junction which is the start of the Old Telegraph Track ( OTT) we turned onto this track which was one car wide and rocky in places. Our first creek crossing was Palm Creek which was very steep on entry, we decided we did not have the right gear to tackle this crossing so headed back onto the Bamaga Bypass Road until the Gunshot Bypass Road which we took back onto the OTT and decided to check out Gunshot Creek from the safety of the Northern side, as we had heard this was a particularly deep and difficult crossing! It turned out to be not too bad so after a watching a couple of cars cross successfully we headed North on the OTT.  Next crossing was Cockatoo Creek which was quite a fast flowing creek, after Jason & Keith waded through and checked depth we tackled it successfully. Next stop was the beautiful Fruit Bat Falls where all the Deans had a swim in the emerald green pool. Very refreshing! We drove out of the falls track on our way to Eliot Falls and came upon Eliot Creek which was not marked on the map! This proved a deep and difficult crossing so we put our "car bra" ( tarp over bull bar to prevent water entering motor) on, and negotiated it successfully .We arrived at our campsite at Eliot Falls at 5 pm and after set up we had our "shower" for the day in the falls, as no shower facilities. 

Bramwell Junction

The start of the old Telegraph Track at Bramwell Junction

 Gun Shot Crossing, we did not complete this crossing, we entered the Telegraph Track after this crossing, and came back to view the difficulty of it.

The was the alternative route near vertical.

This is a famous crossing!!

 This was the creek, not that difficult!

 Fruit Bat Falls

  Fruit Bat Falls

 Elliot Falls

 Elliot Falls

 Elliot Falls

Day 30 Monday 23rd July. Laura - Moreton Telegraph Station

Left Laura 9.30  and back on The Peninsula Development Road  which turned into corregated  red dirt from this point on! Lucy commented that the road was "just like driving on Augusta Street!". Morning tea break at Musgrave Station ,then lunch at Coen,unfortunately first tyre blowout for Keith & Margie on this section of road. Afternoon tea at Archer River Roadhouse.Arrived Moreton Telegraph Station  at 5pm. lovely grassy  sites  and hot showers! We finished the night with a coffee around our campfire.

The Start of the dirt Roads!!

 The condition of the roads were very poor! This two way Arial as an example did not last the distance.

 Coen Historical Centre

Coen Historical Centre 

Lunch at Coen

Setup of camp at Moreton Telegraph Station.

  

Day 28. Saturday 21st July. Cairns

Easy morning then spent most of the day packing car for our off road experience in Cape York.

Girls chilling at the pools at Treasure Island prior to some tougher conditions in the next two weeks within Cape York.

Day 27 Friday 20th July. Carins

Today we made a day trip to Kuranda, which is a picturesque town in the mountains  25kms North West of Cairns. We strolled around the famous Kuranda markets and walked down to the station where the Historic Scenic Railway Line and Skyrail   Cable Car drop off and pick up passengers. The rainforest was just magic and everything and more that we had heard. After lunch at the park we finished our day off with a walk down to the Barron Falls viewing platform where we watched the train make its way through the rainforest. Beautiful…

Lookout on the way to Kuranda

Kuranda - Girls debating 

Kuranda Railway

Kuranda Railway

Rainforest where Kuranda is located

Waterfalls at Kuranda where the train tracks around