Leichardt Lagoon

After one further night on the road we arrived at Leichardt Lagoon which is 20k from Normanton and just a beautiful place to go. The camp is only seasonal and part of a large property. In the middle of the campground is a lagoon which is the home of hundreds of birds and lilies. It is just so peaceful and we are camped right beside the lagoon, sitting outside the van watching the birds go about their daily business. We had originally booked in for two nights but can’t resist a third as it is so lovely and as we have resolved our battery issues we can now camp without power again for a number of nights. There is no water to the van but showers are provided if we run low in the van so we’re set.
The homestead is nearby and tonight we are going there for tea. The owner puts on a regular three course meal for visitors for ……………….. THREE DOLLARS a head! We think we can splurge for that! We have to take everything including chairs, cutlery and drinks but they supply all the food. I’m sure it will be fantastic and there will be about 60 people there so I’m sure it will be a great night.
We drove to Kuranda to see what there was to see and decided you would be in heaven if you were a fisherman but as Ian is not inclined despite having a rod on board we bought prawns and barra wings instead. It’s not too bad a life really – temperature at 12 o’clock a comfortable 30degrees. Hope you’re all having fun too!

To Leichardt Lagoon

It has been an eventful trip to Leichardt Lagoon which we have visited before. On our way here we travelled along the Savannah way which leads to Undara Larva Tubes which we have visited twice before. The road has been one of our bug bears on our previous two trips and was the inspiration for us getting a two way radio as there is a constant stream of road trains on a very narrow road, in some places only a narrow single lane of bitumen and the two way provides some measure of communication between vehicles.
As a general rule of thumb however if you see something bigger than you coming either behind or in front – get out of the way because he won’t! However we were very pleasantly surprised when we discovered that much more of the road was sealed and in some places two lanes so we thought we were home and hosed. We were more than happy to pull over anyway as we’re not in a hurry and others are. Obviously so, because we had just pulled over and allowed a vehicle with a boat attached to go past which he did at high speed and broke the passenger window on Ian’s side of the car by flicking up a stone. Damnation, damn and a few other words too!
However following our glass half full philosophy, it could have been worse, we weren’t hurt, there was no-one sitting in that seat and it could have been a windscreen. Nonetheless we wish our fisherman a very poor catch when he reaches his destination at Karumba!
As I started sweeping millions of pieces of glass from the car a couple of grey nomads stopped to see if we were OK which was very nice and a B double with a very friendly truck driver stopped to offer assistance. We assured him we were OK and he began to drive off, but stopped just beside the car and hopped out and asked what were we going to do with the hole and did we have any suitable tape. Ian had hundred mile an hour tape (guess you will know what that is!). It was like that scene from Crocodile Dundee when Paul Hogan says to the thugs of New York “Now this is a knife!” He produced from his cabin a roll of blue tape which caused me to say “Now that is tape!”.
For those who may find themselves in a similar position, the best solution as he recommended to us is cover the window with a towel, it’s much more effective than plastic as we discovered. The things you learn. We proceeded on our way without further adventure except for thinking bad thoughts about cars with boats and new respect and kind wishes to our angel from Emerald who delivered our random act of kindness. We’re sure going to have to add blue tape to our kit now!
Our overnight stop was forgettable so I won’t talk about it!

Archer Creek

We have stayed at Archer Creek 20 k SW of Ravenshoe before and this time it was a great stop on our way to Leichardt Lagoon. Archer Creek is a very popular stopover as it is such a pretty location being right beside Archer Creek. The first time we visited the creek was pretty slow, but there has been much more rain this time and the creek was in much better form. We were accompanied by about 20 other vans on this visit and Ian was able to light up our little campfire and cook jaffles for our dinner which was lovely. We stayed sitting outside for a long time and later in the evening we were joined by Ray the wool classer from Geelong who drove up in the dirtiest Mitsubishi Pajero I have ever seen. He had been splashed by a truck which completely covered his car. I was even cheeky enough to ask what colour it had been. He was not the slightest concerned. It was not the greatest of his troubles as he had driven up with no gears or clutch due to the “wonderful” roads he picked! He was full of suggestions of where Ian could take us. After we retired I assured Ian we were already on the right track! It was nonetheless a very entertaining evening and we wished him well as he chugged off in the morning!

Heading South

After a fantastic time in and around Cooktown, it is time to start the long journey back south, having been as far north as possible with the van. On the way down we stopped and took the attached photo of some of the beautiful landscape that we travelled through.
We stopped that night at the Rocky Creek War Memorial site, just north of Atherton on the tablelands above Cairns. This was the site of a 3000 bed hospital during WW2 and used for many wounded and ill soldiers from New Guinea, and other Pacific locations. At the site today is a very impressive memorial to many of the units which operated, or trained, in that general area, and I suspect that Ian’s dads unit might be one of them. It has inspired him to find out much more about his dad’s war service when we return home.
The photo is of one of the units which he may have served in. As well as the memorial is a large area set aside as a free camping site for up to three nights – lovely place and very well maintained.
From here it is on towards Normanton, in far north west Queensland.

Guurrbi Tour

This tour has to be the highlight to date for us. We started our day at 8.30 at a meeting point near Quondong Creek about 10 minutes from our campsite at Endeavour Falls. There we met Nugal-warra Elder and story teller Willie Gordon who spent the next four hours telling us the stories of the people of the area and showing us the magnificent country and rock art sites. It is difficult to put into words what we learnt, our heads were spinning but in a great way.
We learnt about the country, the plants, animals bush medicine and foods as well as how the art came to be and what they mean. We learnt the importance of three things, Spiritual, Education and Economics, and the importance of the interrelationship between them. We also had a large dose of politics and philosophy from this highly educated and wise man. Each site we visited as well as many other spots along the walk, was explained by Willie, both from a traditional history point of view and also how the knowledge is relevant today. He also talked about his desire to share this knowledge both with us and his own young people to inspire them.
As we walked Willie would pick a bunch of leaves, scrunch it in his hands and magically a hand lotion, hand wash or wound dressing would materialise. His grandfather was born in a cave which we visited, and his people were removed from their traditional lands by the government during the Second World War. We spent time in the cave were the women stay in their very late stage of pregnancy, and then to the birth site, and saw fascinating rock art relevant to the places.
We both have struggled with how to describe our morning and to do it justice. We think the best thing is to say if you’re in the area, or even remotely close by you should come and do the tour yourself. It certainly will stay in our memory for a very long time.
Willie’s website is www.guurrbitours.com so you can see for yourself a little more.

Coloured Sands

From our park at Endeavour Falls we have been to a number of places. The caravan is only 100 metres from Endeavour Falls which we visited shortly after our arrival. We also drove to Isabella Falls which are quite impressive, especially when you get to drive through water which Ian really enjoyed. Whilst we were waiting to cross the water to see the falls there was another Prado stopped in the middle of the water with its owner giving it a wash! They had been to the Coloured Sands and were just washing off the sand and salt. Cheap carwash!
Saturday and we drove into the Hope Vale Aboriginal Community to travel to the Coloured Sands. Firstly you have to gain a permit from the store which we discovered wasn’t open when we got there at 10.30. Fortunately the morning service had just finished at the Lutheran Church and we were able to ask where we should obtain the permit. We were advised to travel down to the Coloured Sands and stop at the big mango tree and see Eddie who is the T.O. (Traditional Owner) and he would give us a permit. Meanwhile another car had been circling the town looking for the same thing so we met Rebecca, Sam and Brayden and decided to travel together which made Suey very happy as the roads were not really great (they weren’t really bad by any measure) and courageous is not in her 4WD vocabulary!
So off we went in convoy to find Eddie at the big mango tree! Big is an understatement! When we found Eddie after a couple of wrong turns and some creative driving the tree was so big you almost didn’t see it except for the fact that Eddie’s whole house appears to be built around it like a giant tree house on the ground. Eddie was very obliging and we paid our ten dollars per car to travel through his traditional land. Rebecca asked about the crocodiles and Eddie said they didn’t bother him especially since he shot a big one, bled it out and trailed the blood along the front of the camp. It seems the crocodiles don’t come around so much.
We enquired from a few other travellers about the tide before we ventured along the beach and having decided we were unlikely to float away, drove onto the beach. The sands are beautifully diverse in colour and quite impressive, but the wind defeated our plans to stay long and we were all sandblasted very effectively. However some good photos have come out of the day.
Rebecca, Sam and Brayden drove back with us and later called at our camp to have a look at the falls. Sue gave Rebecca our details in case they were travelling through on their way back to Tasmania and we both thought the other has obtained their details, so if Rebecca or Sam (or probably even Brayden who is a very clever two year old!) should check our blog, please leave your contact details as we would love to see you when we go down to Tasmania.

Cooktown

We arrived in Cooktown to find our misgivings about the weather largely unfounded although the wind more than makes up for the intermittent rain which is just enough to increase the humidity. Never mind it’s a lot better than being at work!
We found a caravan park which was quite busy to say the least, every spot had a van on it and some very long power and water leads were in evidence. We haven’t found an opportunity to free camp for a while but after our next stop we hope to be able to test the new battery at a roadside stop.
We have found Cooktown to be very interesting and enjoyed seeing the various sights and attractions which tell the earliest history of Australia. We walked along the shore starting with the River of Life Walkway which tells the stories behind the historic sites. The Milbi Wall was made by local Aboriginal artists and the tiles depict local history from the creation of the Endeavour River to the present day. We saw where Cook landed in 1770 and the steps which were made especially for Her Majesty’s visit in 1970 when she came to open the James Cook Museum. The museum is a magnificent building which was built in 1889 as a convent school and is now a very impressive museum housing amongst other things the anchor and cannon from the HM Bark Endeavour. We also saw the cannon which the people of Cooktown requested be sent to them by the Queensland Government in 1881 to protect them from ‘Russian invasion’. Obviously that says a great deal about local government and makes you wonder what was in the teapot when they had meetings!
We also walked through the Botanic Gardens which were established in 1878 only to fall into disrepair as the fortunes of Cooktown faded. Now however, they are being restored, not to their former glory but to a more than interesting walk. Included in the Gardens is the Visitor Information Centre, always a stopping off point for us and the Charles Tanner Gallery which has the most incredible selection of botanical illustrations of Vera Scarth-Johnson. They were as detailed as any photo and quite breathtaking.
We also drove down to Finch Bay and although the wind was blowing the sand along at a rapid pace it was spectacular.
In the evening we drove up to the Lighthouse at Grassy Hill which is having a new road made up to the top. It was quite a hair-raising walk from where we left the car although the view at the top made it all worthwhile if you could hold your feet. One of the few times I’ve been pleased to have large feet and a substantial body to hold them down!
After the lighthouse we had booked in to see a video re-enactment of Cooks Landing by the local re-enactment society and also some live re-enactment of the landing at Botany Bay which was very entertaining. Sitting beside us was a nurse who works with Ian’s sister at the Womens’ Hospital! After we introduced ourselves she remarked that she could see the family resemblance. I remarked “Poor Jan” but I’m sure Jan will take it in good humour.
We left Cooktown on Saturday morning to travel to Endeavour Falls which we reached via a fairly rough unmade road for 10kms. We’ll stay here for three nights to take in some falls, an indigenous tour and the coloured sands.