Cape York May 2010 - Part 1

We here we go with the Cape York trip and it looks like this will be part 1 of 3 given the size for the blog page to fit it all on and to avoid a brain fade on your part with information overload.

Before you continue reading Linda & I enjoyed the trip to Cape York immensely and we had a great time; the accommodated tour (which we thought we had booked) would have been a better option (in our opinion).

I thought the best way to explain this is to open with what we as a couple were required to do on this trip; from here on in I will be referring to this as a “trip” or an “experience”. Why you may ask not call it a “holiday” and the following few photos and subsequent explanation should give you the answer; if it doesn’t then may I suggest you start reading from the beginning again when the alcohol and cerapax wear off.

A holiday to me brings visions of getting up late, having a slow continental or cooked breakfast, relaxing at your leisure throughout the day, buffet style lunches fit for kings, dinners to match the best a la carte restaurants and the best mattress and duck down pillows to sleep away the nighttime hours ready for another day of luxury living and entertainment.

That is why this will be referred to as a “trip”, “experience”, “must do”, “have to see” etc. etc but it never will be discussed (by me) as a “holiday”.

The bus we travelled on was brand new and Oz Tours had not long took delivery of this purpose built machine; it has a seating capacity of 17 plus 2 crew (driver & cook). Our group was 11 so we had plenty of spare seats and could move around; leg room was not great but the seat did recline a little so not to bad to travel on, sort of like a council bus on steroids.  

The tent you see above was handed to Linda and I in a bag marked “Number 5” and we were told “this is your home for the whole of the trip”; we said “very nice but who puts it up for us”. This was the time I realised the accommodation was not what we thought it would be.

All of us were given instructions (a bit like the scouts) the correct way to put the tent up and how Oz Tours expected it to be packed away each morning. One thing that seems familiar on all tents is the bag you pack it back into; it seems to shrink overnight and the bag always ends up smaller than the tent when when you are trying to re pack it.

We were also told how each morning would unfold; this revolved around the 6, 7, & 8 rule, 6am everyone up and pack the tent, 7am breakfast and clean up, 8am all on the bus for more thrills.

Each day in driving along to our next destination the bus would suddenly come to a halt at the side of the road, our next task was to collect firewood; I realised that BBQ’s and camp oven cooking did need a fuel source but I did not have a clue that we were the labour force expected to collect it (silly me).

Being able to have a cooked dinner at night seemed to be a good incentive to get everyone off the bus for a timber run. 

Every meal time held a special treat (washing up); yes we had to wash, dry and put away our own plates, eating utensils etc. All part of that Cape York experience. 

On one of the rivers we crossed on the Bloomfield Track this strange boat was pointed out to us, looks a bit like a train. It is a crocodile viewing boat; tourist board one of the carriages and it travels along the bank looking for crocs for photographs.

One of the morning tea come loo stops we made; most of the facilities were waterless or had manual water pumping handles. 

Because of the flex in the bus between cab and the bus seating there was an open divider through to the driver and front cab section; on some of the roads we went on you could see quite a twist and deflection between the coach and cab sections. 

The Lions Den was a pub stop along the Bloomfield track; we only stopped 15 minutes but just enough time for me to drink 2 stubbies (mine) and another half a one (Linda’s). 

Sign outside The Lions Den hotel.

We arrived in Cooktown mid to late afternoon and the above is called “The Musical Ship”; in a blog I did some time ago of Winton they had a “Musical Fence”, the ship worked in a similar way, there were tubes and other objects with notes on them, just bash the bits and it’s music to you ears (more like a lot of noise).

The above is the Captain Cook statue on Cooktown harbour; he’s the one with bird shit down the front of his shirt. I will put up another couple of Cooktown pictures on the next post.

I am hoping to complete part 2 of this trip over the next week or so; this should take us up to Bamaga. Part 3 will most likely have The Tip, Thursday Island & Horn Island.

Until then we hope you are all well; if you are travelling keep safe on the roads.

Love & warm regards to all our family and friends.

David & Linda – The DavLin Rig

Cairns - May 2010

It’s been a while but I have finally got around to updating the site; on top of this I still have to do Cape York, Mission Beach and a couple more so I need to get a move on

Prior to our trip to Cape York we wanted to sight see around the Cairns area so we stayed for 9 nights at Crystal Cascades Holiday Park at Redlynch, this is about a 15 minute drive to Cairns city center. The park is a Big 4 and our decision to camp here was based on some friends of ours (Des & Kath) having done the Cape York trip and previously stayed at this park. We left our van on site whilst we were away hooked up to power at a cost of $30 for the week, the car also stayed on our site so it is a good service they offer. Des & Kath also told us the park was very good and being away from the city is quiet and safe for travelers. On our return from Cape York we had a further 2 nights (washing of clothes & scrubbing the dirt off us) before moving on.

We were not disappointed with the staff being very friendly and most helpful during our stay; even though we were left on power they suggested we pack up our fridge and freezer in to bags and put them in their freezers just in case our power tripped inside the van, there would be nothing worse than coming back to a freezer full of rotten food.

The amenities were spotless and shower curtains were changed on a daily basis; the grounds were kept well and the sites were of a good size (van, slab and car at the side), the park had a good sized camp kitchen, pool and BBQ’s. Price here for us after discount was $31 per night but come the 1^st June it hits peak rates until the end of October (Victorian Migration) so the prices were going up. Overall in our opinion this is a great park with very helpful management & staff.

We have all heard the term for us travelers, “Gray Nomads” “Sundowners” “Geriatric Gypsies” etc but at a park we stayed at just recently they referred to the Victorians as “Silver Tsunamis” because they come in waves; quite funny I thought.

Our site at Crystal Cascades; plenty of room with the sites being a typical layout of most parks.

The above is the esplanade in Cairns and the great water facility that has been built; this is a beaut area for families to enjoy the fantastic weather. If you look closely you will note how the pool complex blends i with the ocean in the background.

The above birds are Curlew’s and they make a weird sound mostly in the evening or early am; not sure how to describe it but Linda says it is a like ghostly wail; to me it sounded like some poor bugger having a red hot poker shoved where the sun don’t shine. Women have weird ways of describing things but us blokes can always paint the right picture (mine is the closest to correct).

The birds are like an oversized plover (for those that know what a plover is); the bodies of these birds seem so out of place on the long legs they have. There is a family of 4 at the park and they make home each day on one of the empty slabs; walk past these birds and they growl like a dog. 

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The above is Palm Cove just north of Cairns; the palm trees all lean towards the ocean, this is to give them strength against high/cyclonic winds. The beach here is quite good but again the stingers keep most out of the water during the stinger season.

We drove up the Gilies Highway towards the Atherton Tablelands to see the Cathedral Fig; my advise would be don’t take your van up here unless it is reasonably small as the climb is quite steep, very windy and the distance of the climb is 18km. This tree is huge and the walkway you see at the base is about a 50mt walk around the base; at one part of the tree you can walk towards the center of it and looking up through the branches is quite amazing. 

Above is a photo zoomed in of the upper branches of the fig tree; there are large moss like clumps on the branches and ferns are growing quite well, if you are in the area it is a sight to see. There is an animal that lives in this area called a tree kangaroo; I know what your thinking but it is true (google if you like), people we met at Crystal Cascades showed us the photos they took on their trip to the fig. 

Well that’s it for Cairns; I will now be starting Cape York but will most likely do this in parts 1, 2 & 3, I promise it will not be as long winded as Home & Away.

We are currently in Richmond and our next stops are Julia Creek, Cloncurry, Mount Isa and then Boulia for the camel races (mid July); following this it will be (at this stage) Winton, Normanton/Kurumba, Georgetown then out to the coast.

Until the next post stay well and drive safely.

Love & warm regards to all our family & friends – David & Linda – The DavLin Rig