It was great not to have to pack up and drive anywhere today and we probably do need to try and do less driving each week so we can have longer stay stints. Hopefully it will also help with the car passenger dramas we’ve been experiencing! Scarly was so excited to have a playground a few sites down from us.
Our keen fishermen and women headed to the boat ramp to try their luck, but it was slow going. So instead we drove out to the Barramundi centre in town to have a look. We didn’t realise it is only open a half day on Sunday so we couldn’t join the tour to see the giant live barramundi in the tank, but the interactive displays were fascinating. The kids big and small also got to pretend to catch a big barra…
It still amazes me how Barramundi starts life out as a male species and then changes sex to become a female later on. Nature is truly incredible!
Next we grabbed some local fresh prawns and Sophie & Oscar cooked up a feast of crumbed fish. Given we didn’t have to drive anywhere else and it was Sunday we decided it would be rude not to have a drink.
The older kids (now self-identifying as Wild Girls) had a blast at the pool. It does amaze me though just how cold all the pools are, lucky it was a really hot day so it didn’t feel as icy as normal.
We decided to head back to the Sunset Tavern for a few afternoon drinks and dinner. The sunset wasn’t quite as spectacular as yesterday, but it would be rude not to share a photo!
This morning the whole girl gang went for a walk through the area to explore a bit more and to most importantly hunt for coffee!
The road out of Cobbold Gorge was very dusty and rather rough, so it took a long time to get back on the Savannah way. We decided to stop in Georgetown to grab a bit of food and to refuel. At the moment we are doing so many kms that we are having to refuel every couple of days…
There was also a gem collection at the information centre, with 8 rooms of precious stones of all categories. The big girls loved seeing them, meanwhile Scarly just wanted to play with a doll and other toys at the information centre and kept running out of the exhibition 😂
We then hit the road for another 3 hours travelling through Croydon and Normanton. The roads varied in quality, from single lane bitumen (even though you are travelling against head on traffic and sometimes road trains) to gravel and dirt. Needless to say, the need to concentrate and be 100% vigilant on the road for Chris is constant and it’s exhausting.
We also experienced all emotional states in the car, from sleepy and calm to fighting to having a good time. I don’t know when we will nail the travel part but I hope it’s soon!
The only thing that kept us going was that there was a fun evening ahead with our new friends and a sunset bar. When we pulled into Karumba we were racing against time to set up before the sunset and all the girls chipped in. I’ve literally never seen the whole family work so well together and a set up so quick.
We walked up to the Sunset Tavern and enjoyed some drinks and dinner. It’s great to be back in seafood haven! The girls had their own table playing games and catching up, while the adults also enjoyed a relaxing evening.
The sunset was gorgeous and the evening sky just kept bringing the goods with changing colours and beautiful patterns in the clouds.
Meanwhile the girls found a tree to climb in the pub and loved being active after so long in the car. It turns out there was even a young Tawny Frog Mouth watching them from the branches above, curious.
The girls were up early to squeeze maximum playtime with their friends in before we had to drive to the next destination today.
It was noticeably cooler also away from the coast and some 1,000 south of the Cape. So all the jumpers and longs came out – finally, as we have been lugging them around for too long.
We hit the road a bit later than planned and set off towards Cobbold Gorge as we had an afternoon tour booked. The last 80kms of road were pretty bad – dusty, corrugated and very unpleasant so made for slow travel, especially with some incompetent drivers ahead of us. It meant that we arrived in the car park to Cobbold Gorge at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm tour. Needless to say I was frazzled trying to check us in, get everyone into their runners and throw a bag of supplies together. We simply had to dump the van on the side and deal with setting up layer…
Once we were on the tour, all was forgotten though and after learning a bit more about the family and local history, we were off on a little boat through the gorge. To say it was breathtaking would be an understatement! So yes, there are a lot of photos to follow, apologies in advance.
At first it’s a wide area and as we pass there is a fresh-water crocodile sunning itself on the banks. Apparently there are about 20 around the forge, with some males getting as big as 3m and the largest female being 2.5m.
Then the gorge got a lot narrower and windier and the views got better!
It was interesting to hear that the gorge was only discovered in 1992 despite the land being farmed for cattle for centuries. However given what cattle need and the barren landscape around the gorge, it is probably unsurprising.
We saw archer fish in the water, that can shoot streams of water up to 2m high in the air to hunt for insects. The spider webs that we passed had an unusual design on them and Ethan our guide explained that the spiders had evolved to camouflage their web from the archer fish with their doily design patterns so that it didn’t appear as such a target from under the water.
As we made our way through almost 1km of the gorge we also saw a black darter bird drying its wings. Apparently it has been seeing trying to attack some of the freshwater crocodiles that inhabit the gorge. Now that’s confidence!
The sandstone absorbs so much water during the wet season that it provides enough to feed the gorge all year long and certain patches of the gorge walls were truly soaking wet still. There are also some incredible patches of moss and carnivorous plants growing on the sandstone in places.
We hopped off the boat and went for a guided walk exploring the many native trees and bushes. We tried some Leichhardt breadfruit tree berries, which did taste like bread and also learnt about a number of plants such as the gidgee gidgee, which when crushed poisons fish enough to kill them yet not to affect their flesh so makes for a great fishing assistant.
As we climbed higher we got to the recently built glass bridge, which takes you across the gorge. Everyone had to wear protective shoe covers so as to not scratch the glass (Scarly loved hers and wanted to keep them 😂). It was a really amazing view from the top and also a touch scary looking 19m below you.
We also saw live termite tunnels and more amazing geological formations such as rock pancaking and bread topping (someone must have been hungry when naming these).
As we finished our tour we let the girls jump in the infinity pool back at the resort. It looked very tempting but was absolutely freezing. Chris and I enjoyed a drink poolside instead and then it was time to set up the van and make a fire before it got too dark
The girls managed to find some lovely rocks and with a bit of strength Jazzy cracked one to find her first bit of “gold” specks inside. It was another lovely spot to spend a night and with no neighbours behind us, we enjoyed a fire and a full sky for night gazing.
Izzy and Scarly both seemed sniffly this morning, so we made sure to rug up and hopefully this cold weather doesn’t claim too many victims! It’s been nice having a break from the usual school & daycare-related sniffles and germs.
Jazzy desperately wanted to check out the park next to the lake so we headed there at 6.30am, as you do 😅🤪 needless to say we had it all to ourselves and the girls had a great time!
Chris treated us to some bacon & eggs and we made our way out of the Atherton Tablelands once again to hit the road. It’s such a beautiful part of the world and the farms around here are so lush, pictures really don’t do it any justice.
We went to Gallo Dairy, where they make cheese and chocolates onsite and obviously stocked up on both. The girls were also really happy to see some farm animals whilst Chris and I appreciated the naming conventions for the animals including Vincent van Goat.
Chris really wanted to wash the car & van and on our way out we also had to stop at a tyre shop as Chris had discovered a nail in the car tyres.
Then it was back to the road and the promise of seeing their friends Bella and Addie tonight at camp made the trip a bit more bearable for the girls. I think we are all getting over the long drives, but unfortunately until we get a bit further it’s likely to stay a firm reality.
We made a quick stop at Millstream Falls, which was beautiful and didn’t require a long walk either, which was a bonus! If we had more time I would have loved to have gone to explore Misty Mountains, because it looked mysterious and nice.
When we got to Undara caravan park the girls loved playing with Bella and Addie. It was a really cool place and would have been nice to explore more with some of the walks they had. The stars were also phenomenal!
It was a beautiful sunrise this morning and Scarly and I enjoyed the views and even a little rainbow cluster in the sky.
The temperatures felt arctic this morning so everyone was rugged up as we had breakfast and packed up. Setting up and packing down for 1 night stays is rather draining, I won’t lie. How I look forward to another 2 night stay somewhere soon…
Whilst Chris identified and was working on a van tyre valve issue the girls and I explored the surroundings of the Roadhouse a bit more. We found a wishing well and an old car, that the girls were fascinated by.
The trip today was a bit smoother as we are mostly out of corrugated sections now and mostly on bitumen. Some of the views as we climbed higher up into the mountains again were beautiful!
The girls also had a lot of fun with using a Darwin Plum (a curios salty sweet snack) as lipstick. So whilst the snack didn’t pass the test from an eating perspective it sure made for a great time killer as everyone had orange lips to pucker up 😂 Whatever gets us through the long drives, I say!
We got to Lake Tinaroo and whilst I had a few meetings Chris took the girls to the splash park (even though the water was freezing). They also set up and Scarly is getting so good at winding the stabiliser legs! Go girl.
Our dirty van and car stood out and attracted a lot of questions on whether we had been to the tip and what the best places to do/stay would be.
It’s such a great spot to base yourself for the area and the park had lots of fun stuff for the kids, including the bouncy pillow that they had all to themselves.
We did a massive food shop to keep us going for a while longer and to replenish the limited supplies we had after the Cape and then lucky for Chris there was a big TV in the kitchen area to watch the State of Origin game.
We packed up early before the rain set in too much and headed off for another long day on the road.
Scarlett started the day with another screaming special and by 9am we were all exhausted to be honest. For all the educators or anyone with experience of driving 2 year olds for long distances, please send all the tips! We need help, or else we will all go mad…
The roads along this section of the road had just been graded and were a delight! However the weather wasn’t the greatest today so it was hard to stop along the way consistently. It also meant that instead of washing the red dust off the car and van like you’d think, it turned it into red muddy sludge stuck to both. Oops.
We got a few smiles from the girls eventually as the sun came out too. But when we got to Palmer River Roadhouse for the night it was obvious that we had moved even further south and that it would be freezing at nighttime! I’m definitely missing the warm weather already…
The girls discovered that a katydid (or bush cricket) had made its way into the car fridge and was therefore a bit more docile than normal and willing to be picked up. Even Scarly had a go, whereas our nature lover Jazzy has been doing it for ages, even with the free spirited creatures that jump from place to place.
We enjoyed watching the sky change colours as we got ready for dinner and finished off bits of homework (when are school holidays already?!).
Palmer River Roadhouse was a really fascinating place to visit and learn about the earlier history of the area. The owners have done an amazing job bringing it back to life and creating a little history museum. The building itself was cool and Chris was pleased to see there was a pool table for a game of pool after dinner.
The stars were great and even though it was bitterly cold, it was a lovely evening.
There was a severe weather event heading up towards the tip, so we decided to try and get out from Cape York Peninsula sooner rather than later. This also meant we had to skip the Eastern coast sites like Chilli beach and Lockhart River as winds blowing on that side make for a very unpleasant stay / experience. Hopefully we will get to come back another time and explore that area another time in the future!
We quickly stopped at Bamaga to grab some snacks from the bakery and to grab some bread & milk for the next few days. A loaf of bread cost $8! The cost of living in some of these remote areas is out of control, I can’t imagine feeding a family of 5 here permanently.
So instead we braced for some big driving days instead. The roads were relatively good and we were incredibly pleased to see NO line up for the ferry. I think it took 1 minute instead of 6 hours like last time – phew!
We made it to Bramwell Station and had lunch and stretched our legs. It’s funny seeing some of the cars coming up looking pristinely clean still (especially the white car & van combos) and probably ignorant to just how much dust will get in everywhere… 🤭
It seemed the masses still had a bit more driving time in them, so we kept going to Archer River Roadhouse. However I swear 10 minutes after committing to the drive to the next stop Scarly completely lost it and spent so long screaming uncontrollably. She has been a very challenging passenger in the last couple of weeks when she doesn’t get what she wants immediately. It’s so hard to please everyone and still make progress with the drive. Sigh.
With slightly broken spirits, we arrived and set up. To thank the kids for (mostly) being so patient on our long driving day we grabbed out some ice creams that they all enjoyed. After while Chris and I set up, the girls cracked on with a bit of homework and then roamed around the campsite exploring some of the cool rock formations around the site.
They even managed to make some new friends also, which is nice as we surprisingly haven’t met that many families with similar aged kids.
There were a few dusty heads around this morning as the guys recovered from celebrating Oscar’s birthday a bit too hard…
We finally had a day to chill and relax and we did just that! Eventually we decided to go for a drive to Somerset beach from where you can get a boat across to Albany island.
We decided to take the 4WD track there for something different, but after a while we got to a section that had really deep muddy crossings and the only way out without it had two trees either side that we didn’t fit through, so we had to go back on ourselves and take the “main” road. Still, all part of the adventure and definitely not worth getting stuck somewhere with no reception or fellow cars to get us out…
Somerset beach looked a bit windy, but as we had heard great things about Albany island we made our way over. You literally call a boat and they come and pick you up to take you across – so fun. The girls loved the ride over and as we got there it had the best island vibe – relaxed, cosy and beautiful!
We grabbed a spot by the beach, had some drinks and the most delicious fish & chips and seared tuna. I wasn’t sure whether the girls would like it, but they wanted another round! So we stayed some more and the local boy Jai, whose family live on the island and run the transfers and some charters entertained us with stories and games for the girls. They also shared notes on homeschooling and how much they all disliked it compared to going to school with friends….
Before heading back, Jai took us for a look around the island. We climbed up to the lookout (steeper and more intense than I had imagined) and also showed us some Aboriginal rock art that’s well preserved on the island. What a place to call home.
Then it was time to head back across the water and drive back to Punsand. Lucky for the girls we still had the tuna that Oscar & Sophie shared with us last night and Chris was instructed to cook it as seated tuna to match the menu at Albany island.
We saw that the weather was starting to turn over the next couple of days, so we packed as much as we could in the evening and were aiming to leave early for a big driving day tomorrow…
There were no horses roaming in our camp last night and we weren’t in a particular hurry either. It’s always easier when you have extra time to pack up camp and everyone is relaxed and therefore happy.
Once we were on the road it was an enjoyable trip with some beautiful scenery along the way. The red clay of the dirt against the lush green looks so good and pictures probably don’t do it justice.
We made the compulsory stop at the Croc Tent (a tourist destination for all the Cape York/ Tip Top merch). Once everyone had bought their gear and souvenirs we decided to drop the van at our campsite for the next few nights before we headed to the Tip. Punsand Bay had a real resort vibe about it and the girls were already asking about the pool and when they would see their friends Bella and Addie again. So after unhitching and setting up a bit, as well as grabbing an icy cold coffee it was time to do what Chris has been dreaming to do for month (or I’d go as far as saying years!). We headed to Pajinka, otherwise known as the Northernmost point of the Australian Continent.
We were lucky it was later (although also hotter) in the day and there weren’t many cars around. We got a parking spot in the shade – winning! And headed out around the mangroves as it was still too high tide to walk along the beach. The sun was HOT 🥵
Before we knew it we were at the Northernmost point of the Australian continent and with noone else around we took all the photos! Although getting family photo was definitely better than a selfie when others arrived. It’s so cool to think we made it after all this planning! It was a really windy day but otherwise stunning – the views of the islands around, the water, the beach and all of nature. Definitely a moment for the memory bank from this trip! We cracked the compulsory beer at the sign and took all the photos….
We walked back for the car a different way and it didn’t disappoint – it had all the views and the girls enjoyed adding our “family of rocks” to the existing collection.
Scarly missed her daytime nap and was all sorts of exhausted when we hopped back in the car, but I was going to deal with that at a later stage…
As we got back to camp our friends pulled up with their fishing haul for the day and we were so lucky to be given a massive bag of fresh tuna – yum!
All the girls wanted to do was play in the pool with the others so that’s all us adults supervised from around the pool with a drink. We decided to get food locally and Bella, Addie and Sophie had prepared some glow sticks and sparklers for Oscar’s birthday.
It was a fun night and the big girls got to stay up very late as it was their last night with Bella and Addie (at least for a while until we bump into each other again).
It was hard to wake up this morning A) because we had an early start and B) because a wild horse that loves roaming around Loyalty Beach campground had gotten under our awning during the night and had woken me with its noisy banging. We had to yell out to shoo it away, but I couldn’t really sleep after that thinking it would come back. This morning we were heading to Thursday Island (albeit on a Friday).
The ferry was a big, comfy catamaran and the girls were lucky enough to get a spot in the front row outside. The waters around all the islands looked magical! It’s just such a shame that you can’t swim anywhere…
The ferry took just over an hour to get across, but it was great to coast past so many other ones on our way. I didn’t realise how big some of them are!
Out of the 157 islands in the Torres Strait, only 18 are inhabited, with Thursday island being the most populated and built up.
When we jumped off everyone was starving, so we had to feed the hungry masses and that was also a good time to get our bearings.
It was getting really warm so we jumped in a taxi to go up to Green Hill Fort. Our taxi driver Bangi, was a local Thursday Island gentleman who came from generations of locals born and bred on the island.
Bandi shared a number of interesting stories and facts with us, including:
– TI has a population of 3,900 with 10,000 in total across all islands but overall around 100,000 Torres Strait Islanders living in other parts of Australia and the world – over 300 lost their lives fighting across multiple wars in the Battalion, including Bangi’s dad – over 700 Japanese pearl farmers buried on the island after losing their lives in diving accidents – there is a primary and secondary school, a TAFE and a university on the island – until 1967 the island was segregated, now it’s a thriving multicultural community
Green Hill Fort was built in the late 19th century while the island was under British Rule and in anticipation of a Russian invasion. The only shot ever fired was from one of the guns as a warning shot for a vessel to identify itself, which it did. During the world wars it was used as a signals station.
The view from the top was absolutely phenomenal!
After that we drove around the island a bit more checking out some more sights and the cultural centre with some beautiful artwork. I was really hoping we would be able to watch some traditional dancing, but they didn’t have enough numbers to warrant a performance today.
Then it was off to Australia’s most northern pub for a beer and some lunch. On the way back to the ferry the girls also enjoyed playing at the playground and finding some more sculptures.
I don’t think this morning’s view could have been much better, what a stunning place!
It felt like we were waking up in paradise… the girls loved running out onto the beach and finding lots of beautiful shells and coral in the sand. Then we enjoyed breakfast with a view and our neighbours (the same kind gentlemen that were camping behind us at Weipa) even shared some pancakes with the girls.
Unfortunately in our evening set up we didn’t realise the camp rules of no caravans at the beach front, so we had to move our van this morning. We found a beautiful new spot, but unfortunately two attempts to set up in this new spot saw the van roll off the ramp because the ground below was just too soft. What a scary experience and we looked for higher and harder ground instead.
I had a fair bit of work and some important meetings on today, so Chris and the girls did some homework, some sorting and then at lunchtime we went for a drive just to get Scarly to nap. She basically doesn’t nap during the day in the van so we have to go on drives. We went for a beach drive and then onto Injinoo lookout and made wraps and sandwiches out of the car fridge to enjoy with a view.
Then it was back to camp for a bit more chilling, the girls got to enjoy the hammock and learnt to cook damper with Chris. It all got demolished in one sitting!
For dinner we went down to the campsite restaurant and tried to watch the sunset, but the clouds weren’t playing along today. Instead the girls made lots of friends and had a great time running around the lawns playing tip.
Everyone had a surprisingly good and long sleep on the side of the road. We got the van packed up and jumped in the car to check out Elliot and Twin falls. The road was very washed out in parts and I’m so happy we didn’t take the van down there…
We got to the falls and walked down for a look before picking our favourite swimming spot. Even at 8am it was already super hot, so everyone was looking forward to jumping in!
We explored Twin falls first and it was gorgeous, the crystal clear water, the sun and lush greenery and best of all – not a single other person in sight!
Elliot falls was beautiful in a whole different way and it’s really hard to pick a favourite… the girls loved being able to say that they had stood on top of a waterfall.
In the end we jumped in at Twin falls and the girls (and big kids) loved it! Such a lovely, refreshing way to start the day… sadly we had to leave eventually as we still had to pick up the van and drive to Jardine River for the ferry river crossing.
When we got to the ferry at 11am the line was looking a bit long and before we knew it we heard the dreaded news that it was non-operational AGAIN! There was talk of parts being flown up from Cairns in the afternoon and not being open again until tomorrow whilst others were saying some parts couldn’t even be sourced. So it was all a big mystery as to how long we would be stranded here on the side of the road!
Now this thing is plagued with issues – from mechanical, to maintenance to who knows what else. It had been down for a month for repairs since April and ever since it came back into operation it has been an almost daily drama with it. Given it goes about 100m and charges a small fortune it seems to rally up a lot of visitors going to the Tip. But it is what it is…
I tried to do some work, which was a challenge with not being plugged into power and having minimal reception. The girls did a bit of homework and I even surveyed some random people for Izzy’s data project because she was too embarrassed to do it. She was probably more embarrassed about me doing it, but she needed data for her survey. So a mama has to do what a mama has to do…
It was hot, it was sweaty and it was really dusty. Luckily we had easy ingredients on hand to make wraps and sandwiches. Then it was more waiting around and trying to pass the time. The kids actually did extremely well!
About 4pm news started travelling that the ferry would be operational again soon and that there might be a chance to get across today. Now there were still at least 12 vans in front of us in the line, multiple buses and trucks that had pulled into other queues and many a single car, so I was not so confident but oh so hopeful!
We were finally at the front of the queue some 6 hours after arriving at the ferry and then we were off again, racing against the clock to make it to camp before the sun set.
We made it! Loyalty Beach was a great spot and so relaxing! We quickly set up camp, cracked open a drink and cooked the kids dinner so that everyone could finally go to sleep (poor Scarly couldn’t have her usual daytime nap). It took a while to get them all settled, but eventually Chris and I got to sit on the beach with a drink in hand and enjoy peace on earth whilst celebrating that we finally made it across to the other side!
It was a rushed start to the day as we needed to be on the road early and get as much driving done as we could. The girls got one last play to stretch their legs though, always keen for a playground play. With full fridges, water tanks and batteries we are ready to make our way up to the tippy top!
The corrugation was intense in parts and the clouds of red dust behind the car and van were a telltale sign for what was to come when we opened everything up later 🤪
We saw our first dingo of the trip crossing the road, but I was too slow for a photo…
We pulled over for a while and whilst I did my meeting from the van Chris cooked hotdogs for the girls and we all stretched our legs a bit. This was also the crossroads that leads to the final leg of the road to Pajinka via Bramwell Station.
Just to give you an idea, those 108kms took us over 2 hours, you really have to drive to conditions and be watching the road so closely at all times. Whilst there are pockets of bitumen, they can sometimes be in worse condition than the gravel roads. There is corrugation, potholes, tight corners and river crossings. In short, Chris is doing an incredible job driving the car and van through these parts of the world and keeping us all safe! Thanks to my handsome hubs.
Bramwell was a welcome stop and whilst we didn’t stay too long, it was cool to see the giant termite mounds that are getting bigger. We giggled at the number plate trees all around the roadhouse and of course filled up some more. Whilst this isn’t the most expensive diesel we have bought ($3.03 p/l at Archer River Roadhouse!) it gives you an idea. After 5 weeks on the road, our diesel bill is sitting at just shy of $2,400. Yikes!
We headed further and saw the turnoffs for the Old Telegraph Track or OTT as it’s more commonly known. This stuff is for the hardcore 4WDers and whilst I have no doubt Chris would be experienced enough to do it, it’s not so something we are going to try on this trip with the van. Or even with just one car rather than travelling in a convoy. Instead we headed along the bypass towards the falls. I swear the dirt got even redder!
We finally made it to Fruit Bat Falls and it was just what we needed. The water was cool but really pleasant as it was still 31C outside and we found a safe way to walk across to the falls with the big girls. I’m pretty sure they would have stayed there all afternoon if it wasn’t getting late, but it was a great time to visit as there was only one other family around. We all thought it was the absolute best!
Scarly was happy to be held and dunked in the water near the edge and pretend that she was swimming. She is getting so big our littlest beauty!
Camp was simply on the side of the road for the night so that we could check out Elliot Falls in the morning without taking the van, as some people had said the road to Elliot Falls campground was still a bit washed out this season.
Jazzy finally got to try her coconut as well that we have been lugging for days. It tasted like a coconut, but she was really happy!
The morning brought more fighting, tantrums and feelings of desperation for adults and kids alike. It really can be so hard when you are constantly in each other’s space and there are limited options for time away from each other and space to breathe. Definitely something to work on for all of us!
We tried to reset and went for a drive to explore the surrounding area – the many beaches and lakes we saw in the guides look picture perfect!
The girls loved finding some new playgrounds and just generally burning energy after a few big driving days…. A strong coffee also helped the adults!
We headed over the bridge to find Red beach. Along the way we saw one of the mine trains coming across carrying a small load of raw materials. There were fishermen at every crevice of the bay trying their luck. Even though there is no public holiday in QLD, I was told that Weipa had designated its own many years ago to coincide with the fishing competition – ha ha, I love that someone just created this self proclaimed Weipa day.
We found some “scarred trees” at Prunung, which is not something I had ever heard about. They were used for a multitude of things by Aboriginal communities in the area including bark for making shelter, the wood for making canoes and spears and the hollowed out tree for sugarbag (honey). How cool!
At the beach there were loads of shells and also large clam shells near a fire, so looked like someone had recently enjoyed a big local seafood feast.
Then we headed back to the caravan park and Chris went off to enjoy a fish and some time to recharge while I grabbed the girls and we went to cool off in the pool. It has been seriously hot and sweaty! The pool was also a good place to catch up on all the travel gossip from those that had been to the tip already and knew all about road conditions and best places to stay and visit. Love a good insider tip!
We had booked a sunset cruise for the evening and enjoyed sailing around the river systems with a drink and some nibbles. Scarly also enjoyed a nice nap as she had battled the daytime sleep for hours before…
We heard a bit more about the mining operations and all the fishing news from the weekend. It seems that most of the Weipa lifestyle is based around both unless you are one of the original traditional owners of the lands.
We didn’t see any crocodiles in the water ways, but some of the mangrove inlets would definitely make for prime territory.
It was a lovely evening on the water and the girls loved their first sunset cruise and having ALL the snacks. Making beautiful memories like this makes all the hard times much easier to forget and makes us appreciate what this trip is all about – quality time together exploring the many wonderful places around Australia. To many more sunsets over the water soon, they really are beautiful!!
We weren’t in too much of a rush today, as we knew we just had a huge day of driving ahead of us with not much to see or do along the way.
The girls loved having friends to play with again and it was a nice sunny day – almost too hot actually!
As we were driving we had a change of itinerary to stock up and recharge (both human and van batteries). We have been off grid for 5 days now and our water and power was getting a bit low, so we decided to head to Weipa for 2 nights on the way up, instead of on the way down.
We stopped for lunch at Archer River Roadhouse and caught up with our friends again. I must say though that I am getting over the lunch options at all the road houses, especially for the kids!
There was a yellow snake in the tree above, but it was a bit too far and too small to try and work out what it was.
Then we had a couple more hours of driving ahead of us. The road was probably the roughest corrugation we have had so far and add to that a few stir crazy kids, an overtired toddler who always misses her dummy at sleeptime, it felt like a long drive… but we made it alive and Weipa looked lovely!
Weipa is a huge mining town for Rio Tinto for bauxite, which makes alumina which in turn makes aluminium. I’ve learnt that you need 8 tonne of bauxite to make 1 tonne of aluminium.
It turns out the Weipa fishing competition was just finishing in town and there were a lot of extra people at the park. There was also a pool and a playground, which were a welcome change for the girls.
Being so high up along the Cape York Peninsula, there is actually no mainland mass to the west of Weipa, which means you get the same gorgeous sunsets over the water as you do in WA. It did not disappoint!
Bedtime tonight was probably one of the worst nights we’ve had so far on the road and I would not be surprised if the whole campground heard the screams and meltdowns. Somehow it seems even worse dealing with it on the road – maybe knowing that everyone around you can hear it?! Or the fact that you don’t even have anywhere to escape once it’s all done and everyone is asleep. Everyone was looking forward to a reset tomorrow.
Thierings on Tour 