Well it was time to point the Dmax and Landcruiser south, our Cape adventure was almost over but before we returned to Cooktown we still had a few things to finish off.
We departed the good folk at Loyalty Beach campground on the 16 August, a quick look at some WWII aircraft crash sites and airfield debris, we then reconnected with the Old Telegraph Track (OTT) on the northern side of the Jardine River. We managed to complete about 6km of the track on the northern side to the old Jardine River Crossing. After crossing the Jardine using the ferry, we drove back onto the OTT and completed the last 5km to the southern bank of the Jardine River. At this point you might say we completed the OTT end to end.
Maybe because it was getting late in the day, or maybe for some nostalgic reason I’m not sure but we agreed to camp the first night on our southbound trip on the bank of Nolan’s Creek the location of the Nolan’s Creek Incident. We all had a restful night’s sleep knowing we did not need to cross the creek again, the next morning we used the connecting track that took us back out to the Bamaga Development Road.
Following another quick dip at Fruit Bat Falls and a hamburger lunch at Bramwell Roadhouse we head on into the mining town of Weipa for a few days of relaxation, fishing, mine tours. Our final night on the Cape Trip was spent at The Bend campsite, Coen where we had the pleasure to met another Geoff with his dog called Sam.
While Joanne and I intend to do so much more on this Australia wide trip we will most certainly look back on the Cape Trip as one of our highlights. It was fantastic adventure which came with new challenges, excitement, culture and historical education. We have met so many new amasing fascinating people in this segment of our journey including:
- Eddie, Ivan and Frank our hosts at Elim Beach
- Kaye, Jim and Elodie from Perth, WA we met at Elim Beach
- Rodger and his group we met at Wenlock River Crossing
- Bob, and the wonderful staff at Loyalty Beach
- Peter and Deb and their family from Gladstone we met on OTT
- Mark at Top End Motors, Seisia
- Torres Straits Police Commander
- Liberty and Vanessa from Torres Strait Heritage
- Geoff and his dog Sam from Warrnambool
Most importantly, Joanne and I would especially like to thank and pay tribute to our two courageous travelling companions Richard and Geoff who stuck with us through the good, bad and the dam right ugly moments of the Tip Trip. We really enjoyed their companionship and support especially when we needed it.