Fraser Island - Cape York 2008
07 July 2008
We made our way from Mount Gambier, through Mildura, Pooncarrie and at our bush camp outside of Wilcania, Leon and Fiona gave us a demo of the cha cha and some rock and roll moves. It wasn’t long before we had our own country dance happening around the camp fire.
Next day it was on to Bourke and Tilpa where Deb and Leighton had a shower while the rest of us played eight-ball, took photos and had a drink at the Tilpa Pub. Tilpa Pub on the Darling River is 100 years old, made from corrugated iron and timber and the inner walls are covered with autographs, dry wit, and messages from the hundreds of people who stop there each year. It was the young lad behind the bar’s first day and I threw him when I asked him for an ouzo and coke. He had no idea so I had to find the bottle, pour it myself and then look the price up in the book behind the bar to let him know how much to charge me. He did however have a good sense of humour. Russell struck up a conversation with him and asked him what people did for excitement in Tilpa. The lad replied, “I’m doing it”.
We tried to make it to Lightening Ridge but ended up camping between Louth and Lightening Ridge. Russell and Fiona got a little desperate when some Glayva spilled on to the table so they both proceeded to lick it up rather than waste it.
Finally we made it to Lightening Ridge where most of the crew took advantage of the free artesian pool before we headed on for a visit to the Hebel Pub. At this stage the trip was starting to feel like a pub crawl but these outback pubs have a lot of character and the Hebel Pub was no exception. Note the slope on the bar where Caroline is standing.
From Hebel, Paul Jenner took us to his old stomping ground in St George where we checked out a winery and were given a personalised group tasting. As well as some wine purchases there were some bottles labelled “F.....ing Good Port” which took our eye and quickly ended up in the back of a couple of cars. After the winery we took a gander at the weir before setting up camp alongside a creek just outside of St George.
It was my turn to lead the next day and apparently my threats to crack the whip were taken seriously because nobody cooked breakfast, it was cereal all round and we were on the road by 8-30am. I never knew I was that scary! Of course it all fell apart when we stopped for a wee break at Moonie and I had to round up “Brown’s cows” to get them back in the cars and back on the road.
At Kingoonya we said our goodbyes to Murray and Fay who were heading to Maroochydore to visit the rellies and the rest of us made our way to Gympie for a one nighter before boarding the ferry to Fraser Island.
Before boarding the ferry at Rainbow Beach Leighton bought himself a fishing reel (brought the rod from home but forgot the reel) and we invested in five bags of firewood to take on to the island (more about the wood later!).
We boarded the ferry at Rainbow Beach and who should get bogged immediately after getting off the ferry?
None other than the “Griswalds” alias Paul and Caroline Jenner. These guys are such great value on a trip you can’t help but luv ‘em. We camped at Central Station in the middle of the rainforest. Unfortunately it was also one of the areas on the island where you couldn’t have a fire so our bags of wood went unused and we froze at night because the rainforest allowed very little sunlight through.
After so many days of driving we had a lay-day and while some of the crew went fishing the rest of us went for a walk. Unfortunately a wrong turn took us 3kms out of our way and the weary wanderers, totally cured of walking, returned to camp around 2pm for a late lunch.
The stag horns were most impressive and even the boys found something of interest on the walk.
Although our walk was in the middle of the island and in a rain forest, the creek beds were all sandy and the clarity of the water was amazing. Given that the entire island is sand it’s hard to imagine what there is to sustain a rain forest.
Fraser Islands SS Maheno Shipwreck
The Maheno was built in Scotland in 1904 and was the world’s first ever triple screw steamer, weighing a massive 5323 tonnes. It also held the blue ribbon in trans-atlantic crossing for several years after she was launched. The Maheno was hit by an unseasonal cyclone off the coast of Fraser. Attempts were made to refloat the Maheno unsuccessfully and eventually it was left abandoned on what is now known as 75-mile beach.
After inspecting the SS Maheno we continued north along the beach to Indian Head and climbed to the top for some great views and a bit of whale watching. The beach also serves as an airstrip, so it pays to keep your eyes open.
From Indian Head to the Champagne Pools at Middle Rocks for some lunch and a quick dip for those poor souls lured by clear skies and clear waters into believing that we had actually managed to drive away from chilly winter seas.
Cornwall’s Drive through the rain forest and across to the other side of the island took us to the yuppy areas where tourists, lattes, tour operators and snapping cameras abound. McKenzie Lake was popular although you’ll note not too many brave souls in the water. Alcohol consumption appeared to be the preferred sport in this idyllic spot.
Fraser Island’s Eli Creek
Eli Creek lies on the eastern side of Fraser and is fed by a natural aquifer (water table) that is exposed to the outside elements several kilometres inland. It produces up to 80 million litres of water per day and it takes up to 100 years for water to be filtered through sand. By the time the water reaches the mouth of Eli Creek, it may have travelled from one of the sand dunes that are 200 metres above sea level. It is theorised that some of this water may not have been exposed to the outside environment for hundreds of years.
Having said our farewells to the Jenners we headed towards Emerald. Time was against us so we stopped off in the caravan park at Gaynder where, with some very interesting drawings and some absolutely off the planet guesses the girls showed the guys how to play Pictionary.
From Gaydner we made a bee-line for Emerald to say hello to Fiona’s Uncle “Tiny” who had invited us to stay overnight. I must admit it was a strange feeling camping in someone’s backyard but we were made to feel more than welcome with dinner laid on and plenty of amusing anecdotes from “Uncle Tiny.”
Our next destination was Charters Towers but after about 200kms of straight road and repetitive scenery we decided to veer right towards a blue spot on the map called Burdekin Falls Dam.
The road in proved to be dusty and meandered through creek beds and past some of those lovely Brahma steaks we had consumed at “Tiny’s” the night before. Over hills, down dale, plenty of little bridges and some wide creek beds that were dry but debris caught in trees well above the height of our vehicles was evidence of when the creeks raged.
When we arrived at the southern side of the dam it was time for me to answer nature’s call and my first experience in flushing the toilet and seeing green frog legs appear from under the rim I was just sitting on. From then on, going to the toilet required flushing first.
The Burdekin Falls Dam was constructed across the Burdekin River in 1987 for irrigation. It has a surface area of 22 400 hectares, an average depth of 8.3 meters and holds 1 860 000 mega-litres of water at full capacity (seven times that of Sydney Harbour). Tributaries of Lake Dalrymple include the Burdekin River, Sellhiem River, Suttor River and the Rollston River.
The campground, complete with showers, toilets, grassed areas, trees and plenty of peacocks was $5 per head and we got there by driving across the bottom of the dam.
Leon “bird whisperer” Fox was quite enamoured with our feathered friends.
On to Townsville – oh the joy of traffic lights and people.
Leon took the opportunity to hook up his second battery, the kids took advantage of the free water playground on the foreshore and we all checked out the lookout before moving on the next day, to Atherton.
Our stay in Townsville also included a trip to the aquarium and a torchlight search of the trees in the caravan park for fruit bats and yes we found some.
On our way to Atherton we stopped at the Frosty Mango (at Mango Obsessed Fiona’s request).
After Fiona had her mango fix of two mango ice-creams, a mango drink and some dried mango to go (must admit I had two mango smoothies) we headed on to Atherton.
We finally got to burn some of the wood we carted from Rainbow Beach, all over Fraser Island and finally to Atherton. The caravan site at Atherton was quite nice apart from the odd leech so most of us sat around with our pants tucked in our socks (most attractive).
Curtain fig near Atherton
We moved on with Karen and Tim Thiel to Kuranda so we could do the train and sky rail tour while the Fox’s dropped their van off at Cairns and Mark and Karen Smith went to Cairns to get a tyre fixed. Deb and Leighton moved on to Cooktown where we were all to rendezvous.
From Kuranda we made our way towards Cooktown via Cape Tribulation. It took Karen and me over an hour to drag the boys away from the marina at Port Douglas after wiping the dribble off their chins every few minutes.
On to the ferry across the Daintree to Cape Tribulation and the Bloomfield track heading to Cooktown. The scenery was magnificent as the road followed the coast with rainforest on one side and pristine beaches on the other.
The road was constantly changing with some steep sections of concrete that had Russell mumbling something about a turbo. We had dirt, water crossings, concrete and what at one stage looked like a drain.
After a one-nighter we made our way from Cooktown way to Cape Melville National Park and on the way we came across this bat that unfortunately wasn’t very gracious about our efforts to rescue him so we had to resort to euthanasia.
On to Bathurst Bay in the Cape Melville National Park and once again the terrain and the track provided us with variety. There were more dry creek beds, some simply marvellous corrugations and stretches of deep soft sand that claimed both Russell and Tim’s vehicles.
We camped on the shores of Bathurst Bay just outside of Cape Melville National Park. Tim was our fisherman extraordinaire and two fish fed 10 of us. Most of those who fished caught some beauties although you might like to ask Leon about the picture of the broken rod (borrowed) and his ummmmmmmmm catch. No swimming due to crocs but a nearby natural spring provides plenty of fresh water and an opportunity to cool off.
From Bathurst Bay we made our way back through Cape Melville National Park to Wakooka ruins and on to Lakefield National Park.
We initially camped at a place called Breeze but just after having set up the ranger called in and told us it wasn’t a designated campsite and that crocs were known to come up the embankment. It didn’t take much more to have us packed up and on our way to Hann Crossing campsite which had nice steep high banks.
At Musgrave Station we topped up the tanks and checked out some local pig shooters. We got to Archer River about lunch time and had heard the hamburgers were pretty good so we stopped and gorged ourselves on their home-made burgers. Neills and Smiths decided to stay the night while the rest of headed on to Weipa.
At Weipa some of the crew took a tour of the bauxite mine and we did a day trip to nearby Mapoon. Leighton was still suffering from the midge bites he got at Bathurst Bay (such sexy legs!) we saw our first croc and some fantastic sunsets. Russell just about had a coronary when he went to buy a slab of Johnnnies. 24 cans $145!!!!!!!!!!!!
Needless to say they stayed on the shelf and he opted for a bottle.
From Weipa we travelled down the Peninsula Development Road, cut across to Batavia Downs, Moreton Telegraph Station and stopped for more hamburgers at Bramwell Junction.
The first part of the telegraph track had been set on fire by a local who was burning off which made it all a bit eerie.
Our first crossing at the bottom of the telegraph track was at Palm Creek with a steep descent and plenty of
water. That night we camped on the southern banks of the Dulhunty River at the bottom of the telegraph track.
Some heroes with cars on steroids tried to exit Dulhunty via these two tracks but eventually conceded and took the exit to the right. Entry to the crossing at Bertie Creek was a bit “squeezy”.
The next day we headed for the famous Gunshot crossing but Gunshot is no longer the challenge depicted on some of the 4WD shows. You could see where films were made with some of the entries on the right but they are virtually unusable unless you have some real hardcore gear.
Cockatoo Creek crossing followed after quite a bit of discussion because there was a lovely deep hole in the middle just waiting to swallow up any fool hardy travellers. After Cockatoo Crossing we made our way past Sheldon Lagoon to Fruit Bat Falls. Unfortunately no camping allowed. Fruit Bat Falls were beautiful and most of us ended up going for a swim and sitting under the falls.
We neither swam nor camped at Elliot Falls as National Parks have done their thing with the permapine posts and I’m sure they either don’t want people with camper trailers or the guy who designed it has never been camping.
We camped at Sam’s Creek just past Elliot Falls and found a great secluded swimming hole complete with waterfall.
Cannibal Creek was interesting and for some reason the big holes always seem to be on my side of the car.
The log bridge over Cypress Creek had the boys doing a few running repairs. There’s actually quite a large hole under those logs. Safely over the log bridge, across a ford and on to Nolan’s Crossing for a two night camp.
Before catching the ferry across the Jardine we decided to check out the old crossing and came across a couple of heroes giving it a go. It looked fairly easy to start off with. That is, until they disappeared into one of the three large holes on the northern bank. We decided that none of us were willing to jump into a river known to be inhabited by crocs to attach a snatch strap and opted go across on the ferry.
We headed on to the Seisa Caravan Park. Unfortunately the five of us were crammed into a three site area with no grass and no shade. The Foxes and Pools did a tour of a pearl farm and there were several walks to the pier where a few locals fish. Under the pier are thousands of bait fish but no sight of the biggies.
We cut short our stay at Seisa and headed for greener pastures at Punsand Bay Caravan Park. The sites here were all shaded and either on the beachfront or within a stone’s throw of the beach.
Leon and Fiona get my “heroes award” for trading the comforts of their Penguin Caravan for a strictly two man tent. The chairs and table were Fiona’s croc alarm at night. I think the idea was that the croc’s would wake her as they pushed past the barrier and Leon would provide them with a “tit-bit” while she made her escape out the back door.
While at the top we took a look at some WWII plane wrecks, including a Beaufort bomber that had been hit on the ground during a Japanese attack. It crashed and was partially burnt, incinerating the crew and passengers. There were six personnel on board who were all killed. Needless to say the boys were in their glory trying to identify the bits.
Of course you can’t do Cape York without walking to the tip. Although it’s more of a trek than a walk so I suggest wearing good shoes.
We took the coastal route over the rocks back to the cars. Unfortunately Karen went for a bit of a spill and needed some TLC from the crew. On the way back to the cars we also came across this beautiful spot below where one of the locals had a camp fire and was cooking up some fresh fish. Pity we hadn’t found it earlier as it would have made a great bush camp.
By now most of us were ready to head off and check out some of the attractions on the way home. Leon and Fiona were the first to leave, opting to pick up their van and head down the east coast taking in the sights and visiting some rellies. Russ and I left a day or so later but opted for the inland route and Karen and Tim did a visit to Thursday Island and a drive to Somerset before also heading for a coastal route home. Deb and Leighton and Mark and Karen did Thursday Island and Horn Island, deciding to stay at the top for a few more days.
We made it to Musgrave from the tip on our first day and from there went to Chillago, checked out the caves, balancing rock and the old smelter.
From Chillago to the Undara Lava Tubes where we briefly reunited with Karen and Tim Theil. At our Undara campsite we had a visit from some Rufus Betongs. According to the ranger we were very lucky to see them although they have no natural fear of humans. Did the tour of the lava tubes. Quite fascinating actually.
From Undara we decided to leave the Thiel’s and doubled back to Cobald Gorge where we took a tour up the gorge in a narrow boat powered by an electric motor. It was so quiet in the gorge that everyone was whispering because they didn’t want to disturb the silence. It got a bit squeezy in places.
From Cobald Gorge we made our way through Charters Towers, Muttaburra to see the Muttaburrasaurus and on to Longreach.
At Longreach we toured the Quantas Museum and the Stockmans Hall of Fame, rested for a few days and then headed for Toompine just below Quilpie. The Longreach to Jundah road had flock after flock of budgies flying off as we went by. Quilpie wasn’t overly impressive and the free camp at Toompine was full of road workers so we moved on to Thargomindah.
Camped at Milparinka just below Tibooburra before making the dash for Mildura for two nights of relaxation before heading for home.