Before we left Cairns we had armed ourselves with information about Cape York from friends, strangers, guide books, blogs and internet sites. On hindsight it was the best thing we did. One can never go to Cape York unprepared....from a tough 4 wd with sturdy tyres, tools and recovery gear - to water, old clothes, long life food, a fridge and a good tent.....and most of all LOTS of resilience. Travelling to Cape York with a few side trips along the way is not for the faint hearted!! As the Cape York atlas and guide says about driving north up the Peninsula Development Road, "Numerous hazards await the unwary or inexperienced outback motorist......Dust is arguably the worst, followed by dips, corrugations, loose corners, wandering cattle and excessive speed"......
Places to camp are rough, sandy, gritty, often wind exposed and can only be accessed by bumping along rough 4 wd tracks. Because July is the busiest month some of the more accessible, popular places can be taken up by Cape York campers.... Mad Max style!! We had a few of these experiences ....as well as some heavy snorers in nearby tents!!....but also some lovely people...just like us...ha, ha.
Oh well.....it is an AMAZING experience getting to see what goes on as one heads up north to the tip!
The only way to tell the story would be the photos.
Day 1.
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| We stored our van at Lakelands. A fantastic park. |
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| First night spent at Laura. |
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| Inside the store. |
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| The campsite was behind this Quinkan pub. |
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| The petrol station in Laura. |
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| Masses of pink and grey galahs. |
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| Another choice of accommodation if you weren't camping. |
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| Inside the shed of the owner of the hotel....just in case you need a spare part. |
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| The outside of the campground. |
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| Such a kind husband. A happy camper.....for now!!! |
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| Mrs Happy Camper....relaxing with a cup of coffee! |
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| All looks pretty clean.....at this stage. |
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| Packed up ready to go off on day 2. Neat and clean, for now!!! |
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Our camping neighbours all full of the joys for the coming days ahead.
Only problem was that he was a snorer!! We were just discovering the snoring
brigade in campgrounds. |
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What a lovely clean car leaving the campground after a fairly
good night....despite the snoring. |
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| In the Laura store. Outback humour. |
Day 2
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| Our adventure begins on the gravel! |
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We made a side trip through Lakefield National Park. It is
absolutely beautiful. The road was well graded with
pleasant driving conditions. |
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| Changing colour slowly. |
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| Amazing anthills everywhere. |
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| A good way to go exploring. |
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We met and chatted with this bike rider from Russia who was
visiting Australia for 2 weeks and riding to the tip. |
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| The Russian flag on his bike. |
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Ah, the waterholes and billabongs. I LOVED them. A pity about the crocs
that could be lurking at the water's edge. |
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| Dust.... |
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| ....and more dust. |
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Oh the birds at the billabongs. I loved them too.
I even saw the brolgas.
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The lily ponds that so sadly for me weren't in bloom
at this time of the year. |
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| Spot the frogs. |
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| The ranger station. |
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Kalpower Crossing, a QNP campground, was lovely. We had to sort out our
site with the ranger as we had made a booking at Kalpower State Forest - nowhere
near here! The rangers were fantastic and gave us a special place all to ourselves- far away from snorers. |
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| Oh no. Is this what our car will eventually look like? |
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| A short walk from our campsite. |
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The crossing to Cape Melville, a place we weren't visiting because of
the very rough roads. The crossing wasn't yet open. |
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| The river that ran along the campsites at Kalpower Crossing. |
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| The dawn. Such a magic time in the bush. |
Day 3 and 4
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| A French backpacker working at the garage at Musgrave Roadhouse. |
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| On our way to Coen then Archer River to camp. |
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| Some colour outside a café (closed) in Coen. |
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| On the road again. |
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| Mist in the morning at Archer River. |
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Our neighbour who travels on his own and gave me 2 black bream
he had caught to cook for dinner. Absolutely delicious. I paid him back with a
salad which he really enjoyed! |
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| The view from our campsite. |
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| Sunset at Archer River. |
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| Archer River campground. |
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On the road through the Iron Range to Chili Beach. We were going
to spend the night but decided to stay put at Archer River and go for
a day drive. It was a long day...... but Archer River had the best showers! |
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| So exciting when we hit a small stretch of bitumen....a few kms only. |
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| The Iron Range. |
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| Outside the Lockhart community art workshop. |
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| The supermarket wall in Lockhart. |
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| From Lockhart to Chili Beach. |
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| Beautiful Chili Beach on the east coast but oh so windy. |
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This was the site that had been booked for us. It looked protected
from the wind but we didn't stay.
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| Our car now! |
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| Leaving Archer River. The petrol stations attendant's dog. |
