Ah well back on to the Cape York trip; I will be trying to keep the reading to a minimum based on the amount of pictures in this blog. I know what your thinking, Dave never can keep things brief but I’ll give it a try. Hoping you enjoy the below post.
The above is a serpentine feature at Cooktown marina/harbour; the top is all done in half inch mosaic tiles in the Aboriginal style colours, the snake is raised and runs down the center of each of the sections (not sure if it is visible on the blog).
One of three sisters of the Wujal Wujal tribe that guide you to the falls of the same name; they are very interesting to listen to as they are very knowledgeable on the area and the flora & fauna.
The Wujal Wujal falls are quite spectacular; the river they run into is half freshwater and half saltwater, crocs do roam these waters but only in the saltwater sections of the river.
On another of our stops we met up with a real character named Willie from Gurrubbi Tours; Willie had a great sense of humor but also a vast knowledge of bush tucker and bush remedies and what different plants can be used for. Above a bunch of leaves is rubbed down to small pieces, water is then added to produce a soap that is a great moisturiser.
Willie also introduced us to several spots in the area that had Aboriginal rock art; it was also explained what the pictures meant and why they were made.
This was one of the most unusual hills Lin & I had ever seen; it is a mass of black rocks hence it’s name “Black Mountain”, it does have a few trees that have managed to grow and survive. The hill became as a result of molten rock exposing itself and evolving into fractured granite, this has supposedly taken place over 260 million years.
The local indigenous people are very frightened of the hill as on occasions the rocks get that hot they become unstable and explode (bad karma).
As the sign says it is Laura General Store; beers here were $5.00 each. One of the couples on the tour after being told the price each asked how much it would be for a six pack to take away, the reply from the girl behind the bar was “you may not be smart but surely you know that 6 x $5 = $30”. The couple left empty handed.
The old “Laura Lock-Up”, not used today.
I had to check the lock up out, by gee it brought back memories of my days in Bogga Road & Pentridge.
Taken at the Hann River Roadhouse; it shows all the distances to places from the roadhouse, we at this point were 592km from the top.
One of the Hann River Roadhouse residents; if you are unsure which is the resident it is the short bird on 2 legs with an odd looking head, I suppose thats still left you guessing.
Not all of the roads are like the one above, we did see a lot of graders and the like on our way. We were told the wide roads were done to accommodate mining if it should happen; seems this may be on the books as a lot of mining exploration is taking place, wide roads such as these are not necessary unless it is a requirement for future mine traffic.
The above sign is shown on the end of a large fuel tank at Musgrave Station, once again it is adorned with the distances as a constant reminder how much longer we have to go on the bloody bus.
Musgrave Station homestead and general store.
Another one of our lunch stops on the banks of a river; no swimming allowed here, although no crocs have ever been sighted it is not worth the risk. We were told it would be safe as the water is shallow and clear, 2 of the things crocs don’t like.
The stop we made had this unique loo; you may not be able to read the name on the gutter rail but it is called “The WindyLoo”, named because of the gap at the bottom which acts as ventilation.
The above is the most northerly set of traffic lights you will see; they are situated as you enter Weipa to control traffic crossing the haul truck road for Weipa mine site. The lights are monitored by camera & operated from the mine control house; big fines here if you run the gauntlet.
Weipa loading facility for Bauxite; this is loaded on to ships and sent to Gladstone for processing into alumina powder, some of the powder is converted into billets at Boyne Island but most is exported to overseas countries.
Weipa hotel bottle shop; take a note of the prices and believe it or not this was the cheapest seen since leaving Cooktown.
Hope you have enjoyed the read and I did not ramble on too much; I will start work on the next episode from Boulia (the camel races) and hopefully post up again in a week or so.
Hoping you are all keeping well and those that are travelling are doing it safely.
Love & warm regards to all – David & Linda – The DavLin Rig
