Day 6 – 15/07/09
Packed up and went in to Cooktown to get some coffee, fuel up and see if Brett's tyre had arrived. It hadn't arrived but was imminent, so Richard, Ross and I drove off to the Endeavour Falls caravan park to have a look at the falls and have a swim. However, there had been a croc sighting a few months previously so the appropriate signs and warnings were in place and we didn't get our swim.
We had some morning tea and then an early lunch before Brett finally caught up. Had a chat to couple who were riding to Cape York on a pair of old Postie bikes – looked like hard work.
We continued on to Old Laura via Battle Camp road, which was pretty rough in places, where we stopped for a few photos.
Then onto Laura where we checked out the options of getting to the Maytown ruins. Also, saw an old restored Austin in Laura.
The route into Maytown from the north was apparently pretty rough so we decided to go to the Palmer River Roadhouse for the evening and watch the State of Origin game. The camping here was very basic in the car park with the diesel generator going just behind us. 
Unfortunately Qld lost the football but the $10 dinner was pretty good.
Day 7 – 16/07/09
It got pretty bloody cold over night (7 deg C) and very dewy. The generator started up early but it was too cold to get out of bed. The boys had a cooked breakfast at the Roadhouse and we left at about 8:30 am for the drive into Maytown. The road was pretty good but got rough the closer we got to Maytown.
The ruins were very interesting and you can still see the old paving stones for the street.
The Palmer River crossing was interesting and Brett got some good photos of the Paj going through the very dry sand crossing.
Came back to the Palmer River Roadhouse for afternoon tea and then headed on toward Musgrave Roadhouse. The Hema book said there was nice camping spot at the Mary Valley property, however it seemed to be closed. We ended up stopping at a road side picnic spot next to the Morehead River and Richard and Ross set up their swags in the shelter shed, I put up my small travelling tent and Brett constructed a shelter for his swag that hung off the bullbar of his Cruiser. The toilet here was not the best and was pretty smelly. It was noisy next to the road but there wasn't much traffic so it worked out fine.
Day 8 – 17/07/09
We left Morehead River around 8ish and continued onto the Musgrave Roadhouse where we fuelled up and then continued onto Coen where we had morning tea. We should have waited to fuel up here as it was a bit cheaper. Weipa was the next stop and we got there around lunch time and checked into the caravan park, pretty expensive at $24 for an unpowered site, although it did have a good view and was right on the beach front. 
Did a bit of washing and went for a swim in the pool while it dried. Cooked dinner and had an early night to bed.
Day 9 – 18/07/09
After a bit of confusion we fuelled up and left Weipa about 9:30. We took the track across Batavia Downs to the Telegraph Road, where had a bit of morning tea. We carried onto Bramwell Junction where we had lunch and then headed out on the Old Telegraph Track (OTT).
The entrance to the first creek crossing (Palm Creek) was pretty steep and rough but the crossing itself was easy and not too deep.
We continued on and found the OTT was not particularly difficult and ended up camping on the north side of the Dulhunty River crossing. Keeping an eye out for crocs we had a quick swim in the river where the crossing is, just to cool off after setting up camp.
Day 10 - 19/07/09
Left the Dulhunty River about 8 am and headed north. The next two crossings were pretty easy, as there was not a lot of water. Gunshot Creek had a couple of very steep and nasty entry points but we all took the cautious approach and used the Chicken track which was still a bit steep in its own right. There was only a couple of inches of water in the creek.
The next creek was Cockatoo Creek after picking the right line it was really only about ½ wheel height deep.
We stopped at Sheldon Lagoon and had a quick look at the turtles there, then onto the Bamaga Road where we picked up a bit of firewood. 
The dozer driver at the road works offered to knock down a tree or two for us to get a bit more wood.
It was then onto the OTT northern section where we turned off for a look at Fruit Bat Falls, which is a beautiful spot, although it was overcast and not that good for taking photos.
We continued onto to Twin/Elliot Falls where we were lucky to get a camping spot big enough for our tents. After setting up camp we had a spot of lunch and went for swim. We had a relaxing afternoon around camp followed by a walk and another swim.
No comments:
Post a Comment