We had French Toast and Bacon for breakfast. We had an early swim after that and the boys started boy type things. Alex and
I did our washing by hand. we read our books and fluffed around camp.
A really nice day just relaxing and swimming. I washed Alex’s hair with the soap today too. Now we’re both bogan style.
We had Rissoles and veges for dinner and the night was cooler than the night before.
We had pancakes for breakfast this morning. The boys were still pottering around the Jeep to make sure everything was okay. We let all the other cars go before us incase we had anymore problems. One thing that I’ve noticed already is that people have defaced the Poles that were used for the OTL.
It really annoys me that people can’t respect property and give all the other people doing this trip the chance to see the history of the Line.
Today was the day I got to drive the GU through the OTL. I will admit that I can’t drive as quickly as Glen, but we were also going slow to see if the Jeep would be okay (my excuse anyways). Alex has been driving the Challenger for a lot of the way because Luke’s ankle is still really quite bad. Alex and I are alike with driving. We don’t enjoy driving just for drivings sake. We drive to get from A to B. I’m not sure if Luke realises the sacrifice that Alex has made for him during this trip… Not giving Luke a hard time – I think any boy wouldn’t appreciate how much pressure it puts on us girls who don’t have that much experience.
Anyway, during my driving stint, Glen was crapping himself. “You’re too close to the left”, “Slow down”, “Did you see that hole in front of you?” and “Change gear” were all said quite often.
We saw an Australian Scorpion at camp!
We made camp at Delahunty Creek and we decided to stay for two nights. The first night was pretty warm and there were lots of flys; other than that, it was an awesome campsite.
We went for several swims. There was a small waterfall and at the top, there was a small spa like area where all of us could fit. I went total bogan style and washed my hair with Eco Soap. It wasn’t a good look.
Camp oven Pizza was for dinner.
We had Cereal for breakfast because we needed get up and going very quickly due to needing to be at the bridge at 9:30am (it opened for 5 mins).
We got up early and had a good run to the bridge and we had some time to kill so we went to Red Beach. We had a look around and Garry spotted a log that didn’t really look like a log. When the log moved, we were sure that it was a chomper.
We filled up at the BP 149.43L $216.52 (1094km since filled up totally – Cairns). We stopped at the Bauxite Terminal to get some piccies and then we were on our way.
We took the Batavia Downs turn off to get to the start of the Old Telegraph Line (OTL). We stopped for more piccies at some huge Ant Hills.
Ristan was interested in checking out the Moreton Telegraph Station and we stopped there and got more piccies.
Next stop was Bramwell Junction. They guys had to fill up (again) Unleaded – $1.80 per Litre and Diesel – $1.86 per Litre.
Once everyone had had amenities stops, we started on the OTL.
When we got to the first creek crossing, there was a back log of cars waiting to get across. A car had got bogged and someone was pulling him out. We met quite a few people while waiting for the guy to get pulled out. The Jeep went across first for our group and Scott drove it easily. The GU was next and Glen had his frilly skirt firmly on. A small log that the bogged guy had tried to use to get out, flicked up and hit the GU. Luke helped another guy towing a trailer down (snatch attached to the back of the trailer and the Challenger lowered the trailer slowly – releasing the pressure on the tow ball etc) and then the Challenger went across without a problem. Garry and Ristan decided after a while that they weren’t going to risk their son’s Hilux through the crossing. The Hilux took Bamaga Road to the top.
Not long into the track, Scott broke his front driver’s side control arm and then noticed the mount to the rear driver’s side shockie mount had broken off. The guys took off the control arm and the shockie and we decided to make camp so they could attempt to fix it.
We made camp at North Alice Creek. They guys that we had met at the first creek crossing asked if they could camp with us and if we could all share a community fire. These group of people were awesome. They were quiet and even set up the fire for us.
A note here for Mick and Shaz – Oddie made like a bear in the woods at North Alice Creek…
We had Wagyu Steak and Mushroom Risotto for dinner.
Injuries & Ouchies:
Jeep – Front Control Arm
Jeep – Rear Shockie
Jeep – Castor Slap
We had Scrambled Eggs with Toast made from the bread made yesterday. We were all a bit cranky and over the bogans the night before. When we got up, we didn’t care how much noise we made around the bogans (they camped behind our tent). We headed for Weipa on the Penninsula Developmental Road. Parts of the Penninsula Development Road are fabulous and we could go really fast.
We got into to Weipa at about lunch time. Scott, Luke & Glen went to go and get and air filter for the GU. Garry and Ristan went looking for internet access for Ristan to submit a recommendation. Alex and I went to the shopping centre to get some more bread, milk and other stuff. Before we started the shopping, Alex and I needed to use the amenities. We were following an Aboriginal lady and honestly, I could’ve got drunk just standing next to her.
Total for the group $91.07 and there wasn’t that much shopping. I got a bottle of Cab Sav to share with Garry as we are the red drinkers out of the group and I had been drinking his on the trip up so far.
We walked past a takeaway store and saw pies, wedges, chips, cake and other assorted goodies. We decided that we were going to buy lunch. Glen got a pie and I got wedges with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce. We got 40L on diesel at the BP $1.44 per litre.
Luke’s boss had told him about this fantastic camping spot called Pennefather. We had to go and book and pay at the Camping Ground at Weipa. The bridge at Weipa was getting works completed and was only open at certain times, so we had to wait until it was open before we could go make camp.
Our convoy got stuck behind some slow going vehicles so the trip was long and dusty. We took the Pennefather turn off and unfortunately, that’s the way the other cars went too. The road in was shocking! It went from a bad dusty road to a very soft sand road. The GU and the Challenger got stuckish in one spot on the road in the soft sand. The beach sand was the worst beach we have ever driven on. As soon as you stopped, you were up to the chassis in soft sand. A couple of guys that were already camping there stopped to have a chat. They told us about an inland track to the campsite that Scott and Glen had found.
If you are really into fishing and want to stay there for a week, then this is for you. People wanting a nice campsite, Pennefather is not for you. They had massive thorns – one went through my thong and lodged itself in my big toe – ouch! Other turn offs were: lots of mozzies, midgies and it was hot. Even after the beautiful sunset and the rusty shelter, we would not go back.
We had Roast Chicken & veges for dinner.
Injuries & Ouchies:
Oddie – Thorn stuck in her toe (and then another in her finger)
We had Corn Fritters for breakfast – yum! and then we were off and racing. I need to mention again how shocking Battle Camp Road is. It was really really bad – slow going!! We stopped at Musgrave Roadhouse for the guys to fuel up (again – we still didn’t need to). Glen and I got icecreams – it feels like such a treat!
Garry needs to have medical attention for his toothache. We stopped in Coen, but the nurse was on lunch. We decide to check out The Bend Camping Site. We got there and we were not impressed. The toilet stank! The campsites were not level and the site was actually on the main road. Not so good for the light sleeper – ie me. We decided that we would have some lunch and Garry and Ristan would go back into Coen to wait for the nurse to come back to the Medical Centre. We had just finished lunch and were about to head into Coen to see how things were going when Garry and Ristan turned up. The nurse had given Garry the drugs he needed without a charge. They gave a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor’s Service instead.
We decided that we would continue on to Archer River Roadhouse as they had Amenities – including a hot shower!! We got to Archer River Roadhouse at about 2pm and we were the first campers there. We got the pick of the campsites and got the flatest bit and all of us made camp around a campfire. A winnebago parked next to our car and the guy got out and had a good chat with us and even gave us some crap about chewing up the roads (bloody 4wders as he said).
On the menu for dinner was Rib Eye Steak with Mushroom Sauce, Deb and Peas & Corn. We had Apple Crumble for dessert. I cooked my first Camp Oven Bread and it turned out fantastically. Yum Yum fresh bread.
As the evening wore on, more and more campers were setting up camp. Soon, we were in the middle of a huge nest of campers. We went to bed and could still hear people pulling in. The attendant when booking in told us that the generators would turn off at 10pm. At midnight it was still going and we had bogans come to our fire in the middle of our camp and they made noise and yelling until 2am. We had tried several times to ask them to be quieter, but alas, they were bogans (bevans, wankers, f*cktards, morons etc) and didn’t care who they annoyed. WE WERE NOT HAPPY!!!
When they bogans (finally) went to bed, the locals (after drinking) went balistic. Glen went to the men’s facilities and saw two Aboriginal males having a full on blue. Glen said one guy was speaking english and the other was speaking a different language. When we drove through the Archer River Crossing, we saw where the locals had made camp and there were beer cans and other mixer cans everywhere. It was like a trash site. I feel sorry for whoever has to clean that up. We spoke to some other people futher up the Cape and they stayed the same night as us. They saw a local lady that had been bashed to a pulp and she was in the middle of the bridge. They went and found help for her. What can we do to stop this?!?!
Advice for all future people heading up the Cape – DON’T STAY IN ROADHOUSES – IT ATTRACTS BOGANS!!
Injuries & Ouchies:
All – No sleep and cranky!!
We left Palm Cove at approx 8:30am heading north to eventually start the CREB Track. We stopped at Daintree for Garry to get some breakfast (tomato & cheese toasted sandwich) and a P stop.
We weren’t sure how to get to the CREB Track so we drove around Daintree several times and discovered that our Navman was correct. It started down an No Through Road.
We got to the start of the CREB Track and there was a “CLOSED” sign on the track. The boys decided seeing we were up here, we were going to do the CREB Track even if it was closed. The girls were not so keen (hello – closed for a reason). So all the reading and the 4wd Monthly DVD was correct; it is quite difficult. There were creek crossings, steep decents and ascents, drop offs, slippery bits and – the reason why it was closed.
We ran into Ergon Energy guys decommisioning the lines. The lines were supposed to be already decommissioned and down by mid July (oopsy running a bit late boys? Probably due to all the people coming through the closed signs).
The first crew were not impressed when we came across them. They radioed the other guys to let them know that we were coming. The guy told Scott that if the Ranger caught us, we were risking a $1500 fine per car. FARK! Glen and I reasoned that that was pretty much a fare for both of us to New Zealand and could be labelled as a holiday expense – LOL. We had to wait until the guys had moved all their cars and tools off the road so we could pass.
The second crew were a lot nicer. They actually saw us coming so a guy came down to let us know what they were doing and asked us to wait until they’d got the lines down and then they’d move out of the way. It was pretty cool watching them decommissioning the line. At one point, they asked for someone to help hold the line down so we could drive over them, so I got out to hold the line. The guy started making jokes ‘send a woman to get the job done’ etc, and he told me that we’re not the only ones that have come through the “CLOSED” sign.
We got to the end of the CREB Track and saw the sign for the Roaring Meg Falls. We had booked the site annd had permission from EPA but still had to call the local elders to get permission to enter. Of course, we didn’t have phone coverage, so we had to drive until we did. Luke got coverage first and he called and got permission. Men are not allowed at the Falls and we had to respect the land. Can do.
The Roaring Megs Campsite was a lot better than I expected it was going to be. They had a toilet and wooden table and chairs. Alex and I went for a walk to the Falls and there was a sign to say that no photography was allowed – doh! Seeing the boys weren’t allowed, they’d asked us to take photos. We kept walking and a tree had fallen across the track. We didn’t want to clamber through all the branches and there was a steep cliff on the other side, so couldn’t go around. We couldn’t hear the falls so turned back.
We started cooking dinner (Camp oven Quiche with Potato Salad and Garden salad), when another car turned up. Luke said he didn’t think they had all the proper approvals to be there as we had all 3 campsites booked. The car was full of 3 guys and all of them went to the Falls. We tried talking to them and they were just weird.
There was an animal of some kind hanging around the camp. Luke said it looked like a possum with no tail but that was from a distance. I didn’t sleep much because I could hear this animal walking around our tent.
Injuries & Ouchies:
Hilux – Hole in air hose
Garry – Toothache
Luke – Ankle – existing before trip
We checked in to the Sebel Reef House and Spa on Sunday. Our room is fantastic! We have “ocean glimpses” and it was a bargain on Wotif.
On Sunday after we checked in, we went for a walk down the beach and wandered down the esplanade. It is a really touristy spot and if you plan on using the campground, book in early. It’s pretty busy. Most of the restaurants / eateries charge approx $30-$40 for a main meal, so if you want to do Palm Cove on the cheap, get an apartment rather than a room like ours (as awesome as it is). Mind you, honestly, every meal that we have had here has been fantastic! The banana pancakes from the Sebel’s restuarant were devine.
Monday we did the tourist thing that you’ve got to do when you’re up this way – Kuranda. We were picked up from the Sebel by bus (at 7:10am) and we caught the train up to Kuranda.
We had 3.5 hours to do what ever we wanted while in Kuranda. I actually got Glen to come with me to the markets (and I bought a dress – two ground breaking moments in a day!)
We also got some pistachio nut bobbleheads…
We caught the Skyrail back. I can honestly say that getting off at all the stops is worth it. Take a wander to the lookouts and look at all the stuff they’ve set up for you. At Red Peak, wait for the Ranger to do the guided walk, the info that you get is really interesting.
When we got back to the room, we were both pretty tired. We watched “Love the Beast” with Eric Bana. After we watched the movie, we went to go get some dinner. We were going to go to Clifton Beach to get Fish & Chips. When we got in the car, I said to Glen, where did you put the aerial?
Glen’s response “F*ck!” Our aerial had been stolen from our car. I went to reception to see if / what they could do… not much; they gave me the Smithfield Police phone number. I called them and the number rang out. We called Suncorp, and there was nothing they could do – our excess was more than the aerial. Glen was furious!!!
We had a pretty restless night as we have our tent (Oztent’s 30 second tent), gazebo, spare tires and other good stuff stored on the outside of the car. Glen was doing multiple trips to the car to check on it. Hamish, the employee that checked us in, caught up with Glen near the car and had a good long chat with him. Very much a fate thing. Hamish actually works in the restuarant here and was taking out the rubbish when he saw Glen. Hamish reckons that it could’ve been the local kids… grrrr…
Tuesday involved chasing an aerial. Obviously, this event has really dampened our holiday mood and has jaded our thoughts on the people around here. We ended up getting the aerial from Dick Smith. $198… bugger…
When we got back, the Sebel’s Maintenance guys hooked up a hose for Glen and I to us to fill up our 60L water tank. It didn’t take very long to fill. We went for another walk down the beach and esplanade trying to soak it all in.
We went back to the room for a cuppa tea (well that’s me anyway). It wasn’t long before Glen got a call from Scott to say that they had just finished their Skyrail ride and they were on their way to Palm Cove. We met them at the Coles at Clifton Beach to do final shopping (milk, bread, cheese etc).
We’ve just had dinner all together (Garry, Ristan, Luke, Alex, Scott, Glen & I) at the Thai restaurant. We’re meeting at 8am at the Camp Ground at the end of the esplanade to start the actual trip to the Cape… part 2 of our holiday – woot….
Maybe a while til we get coverage again…
NB. Glen and I are no longer embarrassed taking Dog with us placing and setting him up. We’ve actually turned into entertainment for other tourists, pointing and talking to us. The pistachio nut photo was pretty amuzing. People were taking photos of me setting up the photo – lol!
Today, we slept in. That’s a first, we didn’t get out of bed til 7am. Glen woke up at 4ish again, but went back to sleep. We packed up quickly and went down for the breakfast that was included in the room’s tariff at SeaBreeze. We were the first guests down for breakfast and caught the staff during their break having coffee. They were really friendly and showed us to where the food was and our table. We had raisin toast, fruit, yogurt, cereal, juice, tea & coffee. We checked out and were on our way to Townsville.
I really wanted to stop at That Sapphire Shop at Leap, but it didn’t open til 10am. Glen has said that we’ll stop there if we come back the coastal road.
We stopped at Home Hill. Glen and his olds lived in Home Hill some time ago. We drove around looking for Glen’s old house, but it has been knocked down.
Home Hill Caravan Park
Glen has got a Tourmaline at home that he bought from Home Hill when he was a boy for $6. So we went to the store to check it out (seeing I was disappointed about the other gem stone store). We had a look at the tourmalines and they were now $130 for a decent size rock. I had a look at the Sapphires (my birth stone) and they were all chips and expensive. Very keen to go back to That Sapphire Shop to see what they’ve got!
Dog posing in front of the Gem Store at Home Hill
On our way to Ayr, dog met his first snake! He was not impressed!!
Dog meets Snake
We stopped at Dal Santos Gourmet Deli in Ayr for lunch. We had to wait 20 minutes for a couple of sandwiches (read cranky Glen), but it was well worth the wait! I had roasted capsicum, grilled eggplant, semi-dried tomatoes and jarlesburg on a pannini and Glen had pretty much the same but with meat. The latte was perfect too!
We met a couple of kiwi ladies at the Deli and Glen was comparing stories with them. Their husbands were in Townsville for the V8 race and they were kicking back in Ayr. They told us that Townsville wasn’t that busy and they had enjoyed their day at Townsville the day before. They had flown over from NZ just for the race. Talk about keen. They were so lovely, they even waved us off when we left.
When we originally planned our trip up to Cairns, we didn’t know or investigate if there was anything else planned up this way. So a couple of weeks ago when I read the Sunday Mail about the V8 Supercar Race on July 11 in Townsville, I freaked out. After many calls, emails and rumours of rooms available, I got a room at the Dalrymple Hotel. Glen was a bit tentative seeing it’s a hotel and we’ve heard how busy Townsville was going to be. So far so good. We’ve just had room service and the food was good.
After we checked in the room, we walked down the block and checked out Anaconda, Spotlight, Dick Smith and a couple of other stores. Glen is very taken with Howard’s Storage World.
We checked out the race and here’s dog getting close to the action! Haha!
Dog getting close to the action
Next stop over Cairns (Palm Cove!).
After 18 months of planning, Glen and I left for our Cape York Trip yesterday, Thursday 9 July 2009. Glen and I aren’t the biggest fans of having our photos taken so a work friend (Hi Tricia) gave me the idea of taking a mascot and letting them tell the story of your trip. Don’t get me wrong, there will be pictures of us during the trip but already we are having heaps of fun setting up our mascot.
Our mascot is… Dog from Footrot Flats.
Now to the story so far.
Glen had taken Thursday off work to pack the final things into the car and he picked me up from work after I had sent the 170+ PAYG Summaries out!! Glen had packed the car, was ready to go and I still had work to do, so Glen went to say “Bye” to his olds in Brisbane before he came to pick me up.
Dog says Bye to Glen’s Olds
We left Upper Mount Gravatt at approx 1:30pm and we stopped at the BP northbound for lunch. The first of many takeaway meals on the way up. Seeing we were both starving and the fastest moving line was McDonalds, that’s what we had. We had a pretty good run up to our first overnight stop, Bundaberg. We stayed at my olds place. Dinner: Glen – Pork Chop & Veges Me: Spaghetti Bog (yum yum my favourite) & Veges. Dessert: Apple Pie & Custard. After dinner we went to my sister’s for second desserts: Little Cakes, Chocolate Slice, Anzac Slice & Tea / Coffee.
Dog making friends with My Olds in Bundy
10th July: Glen woke up just after 4am, and we were on the road by 5am. This is the biggest kilometre day for the trip up to Cairns, our official start for the Cape Loop. We stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast – top hint – 24 hr open Maccas will give you old crappy stuff if it’s sitting there. We didn’t eat all our brekky – we felt crook.
We stopped at Rocky for the touristy photo ops (and a P Stop).
Dog meeting a Santa Gertrudis
Dog at the Tropic of Capricorn
Dog showing the km’s to go from Rocky
Something that we’ve noticed is the amount of caravans that are heading up north with us. We had two different episodes of where people pulled out in front of us (in a 110 zone) and Glen had to JAM on the brakes to stop from ramming into them. I understand that the highway is busy at the moment, but hell, wait and not cause an accident!!!
We stopped at Sarina for some lunch – Bakery food. Sarina reminded me of Bundy. Probably something to do with the Mill and the smell.
Dog checking the ties on the Roofrack at Sarina
From Sarina, we stopped at Hays Point to check out the Coal Port. Glen counted 32 ships waiting off the coast to come in to fill up with Coal. The tugs bringing them in were awesome to watch.
Dog checking the Coal Port
Walking down from the car park at the Coal Port (Hays Point), I saw this sign and freaked out (wearing thongs!).
Dog making sure the snakes don’t get us
Our stop for tonight is Mackay. I booked our accommodation on Wotif and when we plugged in the address, we kept driving and driving and we ended up at Slade Point. It’s on the beach north of Mackay. Driving through Mackay, Glen and I really liked it. The CBD is really beautiful, and there seems to be a lot works happening here, so we assume that Mackay is really growing and moving ahead.
Our room at SeeBreeze is pretty good. I saw some dodgy places in Mackay that wanted $90 per night and we paid $100 for here and that includes Breakfast. The shower is awesome!
Dog enjoys the shower at Mackay
We went down and had dinner in the Bistro. Glen got the seafood pasta and I had a vegetarian stirfry. Big meals and pretty reasonable cost.
Our stop tomorrow night is Townsville. Should be interesting seeing the V8 Supercars are in town this weekend too!
For the Queens Birthday long weekend, Glen and I went to Rover Park. Initially we we were going to go to Levuka, but after all the rain, all of their 4wd tracks were closed, so Glen sourced Rover Park.
I have to say that there were a LOT of people at Rover Park. The Campground near the amenities block was absolutely packed. We camped in Campground 2, which is behind the main campground. There was only two other groups in our campground. In our group, we had quite a mish mash of cars and people. There was us (Mav); a Challenger; a Wrangler; a Range Rover; a Discovery and; a Cherokee.
The Cherokee died on the way into the Park. The transmition blew up and they called RACQ to get towed. Seeing we were in NSW, they had to wait for NRMA to come get them. The Wrangler broke on the way out of the park. It drove home in front wheel drive. The Range Rover had major issues on the way home. I’m not sure of exact details, but I think it had to limp the whole way home. The guy who owns the Challenger rolled his ankle on Sunday night and it blew up the size of a house. He got taken to the hospital at Tenterfield and ended up getting 2 weeks off work!
On Tuesday morning, I woke up and said to Glen, my eye feels funny. He took one look and told me that it’s blown up again. Last year, in August as my Doc tells me, my left eye decided to have some fun and swell. I didn’t know what it was from and my doctor at the time told me just to have an anti-histamine. We didn’t look into it, because the anti-histamine did the trick and it hadn’t happened again or before then.
So on Tuesday, I just took an anti-histamine and went to work. It did kinda go down but not enough. I called the doctor’s and made an appointment. While waiting at reception, my face started to puff up. So did my lips, left arm, left hand and my left side…. Weird… I just took off my watch and waited for the doctor… When I got to see the doctor – She gave me a stern talking to… Off I went to get an injection to stop the swelling and she put me on steriods too. Apparently, I was in the midst of a pretty serious allergic reaction.
Seeing Glen and I are doing a Cape York trip in just over 2 weeks, I have to get an EpiPen. I got told that the Allergy Specialist has signed off on my Pen; but I’ve got to go and have testing to see what I’m allergic to… Should be fun…