We are here set up camping in a bush camp on the banks of the Cockatoo Creek which is on the old telegraph track. Some kind gentleman in the caravan park told the men to turn off the main road to this old Telegaph Track to enjoy some real 4WD experiences!! We are just north of Gunshot so didn't have to go through that ( people say it's madness to try!) The track is narrow, rough and in patches very sandy. I thought we might even need the max tracks!! The road would've been an 'every plate broken track' if Tops wasn't so smart - she's now got her few plates safely in a box in the back seat of the ute! The good old duct tape held the mirror on the Pajero and nothing moved at all in the beaut Ultimate!
Then we came to the creek - well I'd say it's a fast flowing river - fairly wide with very steep and rough entry and exit and in places quite deep. Despite the crocodile warning sign, some chap (once again we aren't pioneers and there would have been a dozen cars go through since we've been here) told us it's too fast flowing for crocs. So we were able to walk it to check it out to find the best path. By the time Darryl and Dennis had done their reconnaissance, 2 other chaps were also checking it out and people who had already crossed it were sitting on the banks watching. Tops and I elegantly walked across the slippery rocks carrying the cameras so we could record the epic crossings! Needless to say all went smoothly - or should I say roughly as the poor cars and campers went up and down a fair bit on the uneven rocks - and Dennis especially took a while to get his heart rate back to normal! The plan was to go back across and down the few kms to the Gunshot to watch the people silly enough to cross there but we've decided watching this crossing is good enough! Since I've been writing this about another 10 cars have been across so bang goes my theory that no one much would be doing this and we'd be pioneers!!
So now we are set up in the pretty little spot near the river and quite secluded - across the road are some more campers, a picnic shelter and a dreadful long drop toilet! Dennis has his tent set up again for the shower and we can get water from the creek so we are pretty happy. We have 22 kms of this old track to do before we get back on the main road then we will get to our destination of Loyalty Beach which is only 34kms from the very top.
Yesterday at Weipa, we spent the morning doing jobs and getting more supplies from the shopping centre across the road.
The local butcher saw $$ in his eyes like Scrooge McDuck when he saw Tops and I coming in asking about fish. We ordered 4 pieces of barramundi and when we went back later to pick them up we nearly died when he said that's $53.30!! But smart Tops & Marg, cut the huge pieces in half and will have 2 meals which isn't quite as bad! It was a lovely meal anyway!
Meanwhile the fishing rods have not come out of the camper yet - we saw heaps of people go out fishing and come back smiling - but not our Darryl & Dennis! Their theory is that fishing is optional.
In the afternoon they instead went on a mine tour but Tops and I decided to relax and read instead. The boys really enjoyed the tour - it's bauxite mining and quite different to other mines as it's open cut. They burn and clear the land, scrape off the top soil to get the bauxite, then replace the soil and revegetate the area. The mine evidently has 35% of the worlds bauxite supplies. It's very lucrative for the indigenous people as the mine pays royalties for use of the land.
Dennis has had some battery issues so yesterday bought a new one for his trailer but he's still not getting enough charge to run his fridge all night - even with solar power too. Lucky he can run his generator here.
We of course have no service here so this won't be published till we reach some sort of civilisation. We cross the Jardine River on the very expensive ferry ($145 return) then are really far north. The weather is good - days are hot - low 30's - but evenings and nights are beautiful and we've slept very well. It's a bit humid and the sweat and dust make us feel pretty grotty (plus camp fire smoke) so showers at night are most welcome! We are all really enjoying the experiences and can't wait to reach our goal.
Next blog will be from the top! We are excited xxxxxxxx
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