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Day 14
Cairns -> Laura <Map>
Distance 310kms Total 2782kms
The 'nothing happened' event turned out to be a minor matter of flooding under Sue's bed yesterday. We got it under control by manning the pumps, sending down skin-divers, turning off the mains water and then by a process of elimination, found it was coming from the hot water system (HWS). We had had a problem with the HWS at the end of the last trip and had our mobile caravan service man look at it. He replaced a couple of fittings but added that this could last 2 days or 2 years. It turned out to be more like 2 weeks (since we started using the van again).
Asking at the caravan park reception, we got the name of a local caravan repair person and went there on our way out of town.
He tested the HWS and we found that when mains pressure was applied, we were now getting a reasonable representation of the King's Cross El Alamein fountain under Sue's bed. When I asked him his professional opinion of the state of said HWS, I think he said something that sounded like 'it's tuft'. Obviously a technical term with which I'm unfamiliar, but the implication was that it had reached the end of its usefulness.
Needless to say, there are no Suburban gas HWS units north of Brisbane, so the camel train / bullock team is being readied and hopefully will set forth tomorrow bound for Cairns. Its ETA is said to be some time between Friday and next Monday, so we're getting on with our travels and will return next week in time to get it fitted. In the meantime, we'll survive with the stove/jug to boil water for a cuppa or the washing up. I suspect hot showers are not essential when it's 35+ outside? We're using our onboard water tanks + pump as that's not causing sufficient pressure to have Niagara Falls under Sue's bed if we turn off the pump after its use. We'll just refill the tanks as required.
After that little exercise, we ventured forth up the range to Kuranda and on through Mareeba to the Lakeland Downs turnoff and up the Peninsula Development Road to Laura. Oh that we were proceeding all the way to the tip of Cape York, but that isn't a really good idea at the start of The Wet.
Climbing up through the rain forest to Kuranda.
A lot of folk seem to think that all of this part of the world is tropical rain forest. Such is not really the case as this sort of rain forest is largely confined to the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range where it catches the moisture laden clouds coming in from the sea. Consequently, by the time we reached Mareeba, we were back into savannah country.
It's nice to know that the road is open. :-) Our destination (and furthest we'll be going north) is Laura.
Not a lot of rain forest here! The road from Lakeland Downs to Laura. Notice the lovely black stuff we're driving on. It hasn't been here very long.
When this massive bridge over the Laura River is finished in a few weeks time, it will mean a sealed road all the way from Cairns to Laura and hopefully fewer instances of the residents getting isolated during The Wet.
Outside the Quinkan Pub, Laura, neatly parked under the overhanging Mango trees. Marked angle parking is for lesser vehicles.
There is a campground at the back of the pub which was our intended resting spot for a couple of nights. Registration and payment is at the bar and the usual formalities of caravan parks were not really in evidence here.
"The power is on the right as you drive in. Park where you want. Will you be wantin' dinner 'cos the Asian Rice's off and we're out of Barra. Steak's OK, but."
We instantly knew we were in Far North Queensland with the use of the trailing conjunction. We expect to hear the other local constructs of "Ya know" and "Eh?" (preferably used in one sentence), shortly.
Camping area behind the pub, Laura.
As Sue had run out of brandy, we decided to absorb the local ambience by having a drink and then dinner on the pub's veranda (basically, the footpath). We realise there's a cost to the tyranny of distance in the remoter places of Australia, but $16 for a tin of premixed Rum & Cola plus a Brandy & Soda in a plastic cup filled mainly with ice seemed a bit over the top. Maybe we're out of touch with bar prices? I suspect that no one had ever asked for a Brandy & Soda here before, as the European backpacker behind the bar had to ask her boss if they had any brandy. A quick shuffle through a host of loose bottles at the back of the bar ensued and one labelled Brandy was triumphantly held aloft. From the look of the bottle, I suspect it had been there for a long time.
Anyway, it's all local colour and part of the reason we travel.
Day 15
Laura -> Quinkan Rock Art -> Laura <Map>
Distance 20kms Total 2782kms (Other vehicle)
One of the reasons we came to Laura is that it is the heart of Quinkan Country. Quinkans are Aboriginal supernatural spirits that, according to local tradition, live in the sandstone escarpments around Laura and are depicted in rock art. These are ranked by UNESCO as one of the top ten rock art areas in the world. There are a number of galleries in different places scattered through the area. Most are only accessible with a local guide. We had hoped to be able to visit the Quinkan Galleries, as these are acknowledged as the most highly regarded in the region. The 700 square kilometre reserve is home to around 1,000 rock art sites of ancient ochre paintings and petroglyphs, some estimated as much as 13,000 years old.
We had a local tribe elder, Thomas, as our guide and found him to very knowledgeable about all manner of things pertaining to the artwork. To preserve this particular art site, according to the brochure, "...this is our premium tour and has a strict limit of 150 people per year...". Once again, we were a tour group of two - just the way we like it. :-))
The two main human figures are the Lightning Brothers, normally associated with Northern Territory rock art. Not only is the brother on the right having an extreme Bad Hair Day, but his polka-dot suit isn't doing him too many favours either!
Thomas pointing out some Emus (2 pairs in white and 1 in dark brown). Also there are painted fish, crayfish and petroglyph (rock engraving) water holes. An overlying Rainbow Serpent winds its way off the picture to the right as the cave curves. The picture continues below.
The continuation of the Rainbow Serpent from the previous picture. Also seen here are spirits, a man with shield, a dingo (with tail erect), basket for gathering roots and a yam (root vegetable).
We were told that this area not only holds rock art from the four local ethnic groups, but it was also a meeting place for numerous tribes who travelled through the area from time to time. Consequently, there is a wide range of painting styles. Interestingly, because of the mix of different tribes' paintings here, Thomas described his tribe's role as one of guardians, not owners, of the sites. He told us of one painting that is identical to another site in Western Australia that he had seen on TV. It would be interesting to find out how much cross-continent migration has happened with various tribes in the past.
This gallery is what gives the name to this place. The Quinkans.
Another gallery featuring a large crocodile among a lot of smaller figures (and Sue).
The Flying Fox Gallery, with 13 of them hanging upside down. For those of you familiar with Flying Fox colonies, you'll be glad to know there was no noise and more importantly, no smell!
We spent ages there with Thomas explaining the meanings behind various galleries. Each gallery just seemed to be better than the last. This is without doubt a most magnificent site and, in our limited experience, the best preserved we've seen.
Laura -> Old Laura Homestead -> Laura <Map>
Distance 60kms Total 2842kms
After finishing a late lunch back at the van we decided that, as the temperature was hovering around the high 30s, we may as well take a drive to Old Laura Homestead as the air conditioning in the Cruiser is far better than the one in the van in these conditions.
On the road out to the Lakefield National Park and Old Laura, we were surprised to find both magnetic and bulbous termite mounds in the same area. We've never seen them together before.
The magnetic ones are very narrow and present their widest face to catch the warmth of the sun at early morning and late afternoon while minimising exposure at midday. The bulbous ones presumably just sweat it out.
The same mound from side on (left) and face on (right).
Old Laura Homestead was established about 1880 to provide meat for the Palmer River gold rush miners. By 1884 it had become a cattle station in its own right, with blacksmith, butcher shop, homestead, and quarters for the mainly Aboriginal stockmen. It was then running about 8000 head of cattle.
Two beautiful Frangipannis out the front and Mangoes out the back of the original homestead.
Butcher's shop, stockmen's quarters and blacksmith's workshop. I suspect the old Chev Blitz is a relic from WWII.
There was a lot of bird life around, the most raucous being a group of red-tailed black Cockatoos.
Not a great photo, but you can see how they got their name.
One of the other features of Old Laura Homestead that isn't normally found in the tourist brochures is that they provide a guard bull service for visitors' cars.
We waited a long time behind the fence next to the homestead, but the guard bull was very good at his job and wasn't going to let anyone near our vehicle. As these animals are semi-wild, I wasn't about to do my Crocodile Dundee impersonation, so crept around the far side and eventually reclaimed our vehicle. Despite such dutiful service, I refrained from leaving a tip.
Day 16
Laura -> Cooktown <Map>
Distance 145kms Total 2987kms
The one rock art gallery around Laura that can be visited without a guide is Split Rock. As it was on our way to Cooktown, we decided to look at it on our way out.
While these galleries were very interesting, they are far more exposed to weathering and consequently it's harder to distinguish individual figures.
From bottom left: Dingo, Woman, Dingo, Bad Spirit, Good Spirit (bottom right).
Our bird-spotting for the day was this Bustard by the side of the road. We suspect that it's either a juvenile male or a female as it was only about 75cm/2'6" tall. The Bustard is the largest flying land bird in the country and is not necessarily out of place in this scene as it inhabits open agricultural land in northern Australia.
About 25kms south of Cooktown is the Black Mountain National Park.
This is a strange place as due to a geological quirk, the whole mountain is comprised of loose granite boulders. It's as if some giant being had poured equally gigantic buckets of boulders in one place to form a mountain. Aboriginal and European tales tell of people and animals falling into the cracks and never being seen again.
After booking into a handy caravan park, we proceeded to Keating's Lagoon. While I suspect it wasn't named after the 'World's Greatest Treasurer', we have yet to track down the Keating it was named after.
Magpie Goose, late afternoon, Keatings Lagoon.
There is a bird hide here that is a delightful 700m walk through trees and scrub along the edge of the lagoon. It starts at the carpark right alongside the 'Beware of Crocodiles' sign. We saw Ibis, Magpie Geese, Black Ducks and a Jacana, but most were a bit far away for my lens.
Day 17
Cooktown
Distance 25kms Total 3012kms
Today we proceeded to do a Cook's Tour (as in Captain, not Thomas) of Cooktown.
Cooktown and the Endeavour River from Grassy Hill.
If you turn around from this vantage point, you see...
...the Cooktown Lighthouse.
After more than 100 years of use (1885-1987), the government planned to decommission (and presumably remove) the light. The Cooktown community believed that the lighthouse was "...of great local, national and international significance..." and campaigned for it to be saved. After significant media attention and support, the lighthouse and its precinct were 'sold' to the people of Cooktown for $100 in 1988.
Cooktown is of course named after Captain Cook who repaired the Endeavour here after running aground while navigating up what is now the coast of Queensland.
A 'Must See' for any visitor to Cooktown is the James Cook Museum, housed in an old Roman Catholic Girls' School. Its prized possession is the anchor from the Endeavour as well as one of the cannon that Capt Cook ordered thrown overboard after the ship hit Endeavour Reef on June 10th, 1770.
While the timber is obviously new, the anchor itself (and the cannon) lay underwater on the reef from 1770 until 1971.
The final port of call on our first day was the Botanic Gardens...
... where Sue met a local resident with a stony visage.
(Life-sized sculpture of an Amethystine Python - in the wild they can grow up to 8m / 26ft)
One of the precursors to the mutiny on the Bounty - Breadfruit in the Cooktown Botanic Gardens.
We ended the day at the waterfront.
I am still blown away by the abilities of the cameras in phones these days. This was taken by my Samsung Nexus shooting straight into the setting sun, yet it still produced a reasonable image. As is said in photography circles, the best camera is the one you have with you at the time.
Probably not surprisingly, down by the waterfront there is a statue of Captain James Cook, RN staring out towards the mouth of the Endeavour River.
Day 18
Cooktown -> Wujal Wujal -> Cooktown <Map>
Distance 145kms Total 3157kms
NB - The route on the map stops short of our actual destination of the Bloomfield Falls as Mr Google doesn't realise that there's a bridge between Ayton & Wujal Wujal, and keeps wanting to add 200+kms to approach it from the south.
Today's trip was a bit off the beaten track. It's the start of the Bloomfield Track; a route that was only opened in 1984 after a lot of environmental concerns and protests. It traverses pristine rainforest and spectacular scenery overlooking the Coral Sea. Due to its unsealed nature and steep sections, we weren't going to take the van across it, even though the track is currently in excellent condition. For much of the wet season it's slippery and treacherous and can close at very short notice due to flooding.
Modesty forbids... Note the environmentally friendly dirt/gravel road surface. I doubt we got anywhere near 80kph, much less reduced to it.
Tree Kangaroos live in the rain forest around here, but eluded us completely.
Comedian shop-keepers also live around here. We avoided them completely.
Lunch at Bloomfield Crossing, the start of the Bloomfield Track proper.
Bloomfield / Wujal Wujal Falls most definitely not in flood. According to some locals we talked to, during the Wet these falls completely fill the gap between the hills.
Bana Yirriji Art and Cultural Centre, Wujal Wujal. Some interesting Aboriginal paintings and jewellery in here.
Back to Cooktown and our little van for the evening, but we also had another wander along the foreshore before dinner and found this gem of a sign.
It would seem JFK in the 1960s, and the Afgans in the 1980s weren't the only ones worried about Russian invasion.
Reading the fine print, one can gather that in response to this threat, the powers-that-be in Brisbane sent one officer, a cannon that was already 82 years old, 3 cannonballs and 2 rifles to stop the Ruskies! At least they built a proper fort in Sydney Harbour against the Russians.
Day 19
Cooktown -> Wonga Beach <Map>
Distance 290kms Total 3447kms
On our way back from Cooktown, we struck a great assortment of cars, campervans and Police and Ambulance vehicles heading to the Eclipse 2012 Festival near the Palmer River Roadhouse. The organisers were expecting about 10,000 people at the festival. With the temperatures around 40°C, we wished them luck, and a cool place to sit.
The festival was organised to be held west of the ranges to avoid the potential problems of clouds that gather on the coast towards the onset of the wet season. It was still five days away and the inland looked moderately clear.
The coast wasn't looking too brilliant for eclipse viewing, though!
We settled into our spacious tropical van site at Wonga Beach with luxuriant greenery everywhere.
About 10 metres from our van were a pair of nesting Bush Stone-Curlews. They seemed totally oblivious to the goings-on of cars and caravans, but the female would flatten herself onto the ground if anyone walked passed.
If anyone approached the nest, the male, who was normally a couple of metres away, would go into a 'broken wing' routine to hopefully draw any predator away from the eggs.
Day 20
Wonga Beach -> Bloomfield River -> Wonga Beach <Map>
Distance 160kms Total 3607kms
Those of you who have been paying attention (there is a test at the end, you know), will remember that 2 days ago we drove from Cooktown to the northern end of the Bloomfield Track. Today, we're actually going to drive the track itself in both directions starting at the southern (Daintree) end. The track winds through the World Heritage listed Daintree / Cape Tribulation rain forest and you get glimpses out through the forest to the Coral Sea beyond. It's a really magical place and is advertised as "Where the rainforest meets the reef".
One first has to cross the unabridged, crocodile-laden Daintree River. At $23 per car return, I think the ferry operators probably hope it stays that way.
As we approach the end of the bitumen at Cape Tribulation, we were pleased to discover that our favourite graffitied road sign was still there.
Cassowaries are not the most intelligent of birds and large stretches of this road have warning signs and speed bumps to slow down traffic. This sign combines them with a bit of North Qld humour.
What more challenge could a person with a 4WD want? :-)
One of only three creek crossings that actually had any water in it.
At the Bloomfield river end of the track there are a number of dwellings. This person was obviously tired of lost travellers arriving in his front yard.
Very inviting. Creek crossing number 2.
A peek out through the Daintree rainforest canopy down to the coast.
The mouth of the Daintree River from the Alexandra Lookout.
We stopped off for a cup of coffee at a cafe on the way back, and found this sign. It's true (it's about 1300kms from here), and if you're reading it at Cape Tribulation, you're probably on the wrong road!
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