Pajinka Road, Queensland, AustraliaSaturday May 27 Cairns to Hahn
River
It was such a luxury staying with Gen.
A roof when it was raining, fabulous food and accommodation, we could do
the washing, completely empty the canopy into her garage clean and tidy
everything. We even get to leave all our warm gear and a few other things
behind and pick them up on the way back.
Also left in Gen’s charge was the gas stove we’d bought in
Atherton. She’ll take it back at some
stage and get us a refund!
After reloading the vehicle we left Gen’s about 9am and headed back up
to the tablelands, Kuranda, Mareeba then started the fairly remote
driving. We were pleasantly surprised by
the quality of the road. There was only
about 40km of dirt road, so we progressed further than anticipated.
We stopped at all the lookouts and soaked in the fabulous views of
rolling hills, banana farms, a few mountains…and there was hardly any
traffic.
We did a compulsory photo shoot
at the “Gateway to Cape York” sign and we impressed by the excellent sculpture
trail. It was great to see two
indigenous men honoured for their fire management techniques. We encountered some other travellers, one
going south, so he gave us an update on the state of the roads ahead. It sounds quite manageable, especially as he
had taken a conventional caravan the whole way!
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Just before Laura we visited an aboriginal art site at Split Rock. There were 3 separate galleries and each were
quite different from each other and from what we’d previously seen. We checked out the little village of Laura
and decided we could get to Hahn River comfortably, so continued on, arriving
about 3.30 and we had plenty of choice of campsites. As soon as we’d set up, cars and caravans
started rolling in, but it’s a huge campground, so no dramas really. We didn’t have mobile coverage, and the wifi
was very dodgy!
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As the sun was setting hundreds of squawking rainbow
lorikeets wheeled around above us. Sooo noisy!!
We played a few tunes before dinner and had a few neighbours
visit, clap etc. One enthusiastic couple returned after dinner, which in our
case was a chicken schnitzel at the roadhouse cafe! We know ..a bit
lazy!!!!
In the torchlight we saw tiny blue lights in the grass. On
closer inspection we found they were reflections from small spiders. There were
dozens of them.
The whole camp was silent by 8.30 so it was an early night
Sunday May 28. Hahn River to Moreton Telegraph station
The night was delightfully cool, so after a good sleep we
were we're on the road early...first out of the campground.
The road continued to be mostly dirt with some bitumen
sections. Up to the Weipa turnoff there were quite a few rough sections,
especially at creek crossings. The dust was dreadful as vehicles passed us and
the only other excitement was successfully dodging cattle, wallabies and one
very slow goanna.
Once we left all the Weipa traffic behind the dirt road was
delightfully smooth.
We stumbled upon a dam a little off the road for a
lunch spot. It would also make a fine overnight spot, so we've got it marked
and not sharing it with Wikicamps!!
We called it a day at Moreton Telegraph station mid
afternoon. The grassy expanse, fire rings and huge mango trees were just too
attractive!
Wendy was also delighted by the availability of an excellent
coffee and a few km of walking tracks. We
cooked dinner on a fire, very hard to get going, not sure why, but it was, of
course, beautiful and unnecessary a couple of hours later!!! Once again the blue light spiders were about.
Monday May 29. Moreton to Roonga Point via Pajinka
Excitement mounts... would we make it to Pajinka (Tip of Cape
York) today. We couldn't help ourselves, we were on the road by 7am and
had 2 hours of not seeing another vehicle. Delightful!! We were helped by the
fact the ferry over the Jardine river didn't start till 8.
We cruised along, the road was very good, we didn't have to
wait for the ferry, and after checking out a couple of campgrounds, buying a
few supplies and getting information at the "Croc Tent" we arrived at
the end of the road at lunchtime. Amazing.
The last part of the drive was a bit rough with a few water
crossings and through some really dense rainforest.
There was a 700m walk to Pajinka, rocky and challenging in
places, but we made it, enjoying great views as we climbed up and over a ridge.
After the compulsory photo shoot we returned
via an easier route mostly on sand, luckily it was low tide!
Rick's quotable comment..."So we can go home
now!!"
We debated at length as to where to camp tonight, rejecting
east coast spots because of strong prevailing winds and went west instead, to
Roonga Point. That was the most challenging track so far... Rocks, mud, creek
crossings...but we made it to the gulf coast where we've got a lovely site
overlooking Possession Island, an easy walk to the beach and we're the only
people here! The biggest surprise was that it's so remote but we have enough
mobile signal that we could send texts!!
Tuesday May 30
Roonga Point to Umagico
No, we’re not rushing south!
With a remote campsite to ourselves and no rush to go anywhere we had a
very relaxing start to the day. With no
good fishing opportunities we decided to move on. We stopped after a while for Rick to test out
some beach fishing and Wendy went off for a walk in the bush, returning on the
beach to find Rick ready to leave. No
fish!
Before returning to Bamaga we visited a famed “resort”
Punsand Bay. It did really feel like
being in a resort, so “Un Cape York”.
The coffee was good, as was the view and the powerpoint we used to
charge up the laptop! Not so pleasing
was the noise of the helicopter as it took off on tours to Pajinka!
We decided our campground of choice was at Umagico. Lots of shade, lovely beach and definitely
down market, but all we need. Rick
continued to be frustrated by the lack of fish, while Wendy went for a bike
ride that all went well for about 4km when she was almost at her destination,
but was confronted by a pack of dogs running loose. Fortunately they didn’t see her as she turned
tail and headed back to camp. Almost
there, a dog came from nowhere and snarled at her ankle… that did it. No more bike riding around here!
Rick went to Seisia
to fish off the jetty…no luck again.
Driving back he drove through a coastal squall…significant drizzle. Back at camp it had been very light drizzle. Tent windows remained open!
The evening was spent in utter frustration trying to upload
the blog and do other communications. It
was like the old times with dial-up, watching the signal drop in and out. Plenty of bars of connection but…everyone is
on the internet at night it seems. Now
at 8 in the morning it’s delightfully fast.
We won’t be trying to use it at night again!!
Maree
2023-05-31
Yaay- congratulations on reaching the northern tip. Looks fabulous, very interesting, warm and quiet. Keep enjoying!!😁🤸
Janie and Liz
2023-06-01
Congratulations!! Well done you two. See ya on your return (whenever that might be 😄) and will look forward to hearing all about it up close, in real time. We’re raising a glass to you to celebrate your amazing adventure.
Merran
2023-06-03
Once again your photos take us to another world! The art work is just beautiful and the blue light spider’s intriguing!! I may not get there myself but it is like experiencing it with the stories and pictures!!!
Lyn and Ken
2023-06-04
I have a good teaching friend with whom I worked in Canberra. She's currently moved up to Weipa with her family and teaching there.
Maureen Hickling
2023-06-06
Great work getting to the top. Lovely photos along the way too.