Wiepa. caravan park.

RThursday 31st October....So here we are awaiting our vehicle part which is coming by airmail from Melbourne. We hope it might come tomorrow.

One of our neighbours here has been waiting for 6 weeks for his part to come from Melbourne!

And the graffiti in the picnic shelter adds to this...

But of course it won't happen to us. 

At least the RACQ has been faultless! We have our accommodation and camping fees paid until Monday morning so far. We have our vehicle back now (although it is in limp mode) so we can live in it again. 

We have a lovelly shady site and have our friends Stuart and Nira nearby. We have also met an Austrian couple travelling with their 20 yr old son. They are heading for the Cape too! and then across to the Kimberly. So we are spending quite a lot of time in loud (Austrians!) conversation, which is very entertaining but quite exhausting. And we are invited to stay in their place in Vienna! 

The Austrian's vehicles which are imported from Europe, are aluminium (because of the salt used on the roads over there) so they are not concerned about being stuck here for the wet and then needing to take the vehicles back by barge. The salt spray shouldn't worry them at all. They also comment that in Europe there are no animals jumping out onto the road to run into, nor birds nor crocodiles nor snakes nor trees..... I think they are commenting on the abundance of wildlife we have here... They also mention amazement that we cook and eat together in camp kitchens, talk to our fellow campers etc. in Europe they keep to themselves. Aussie, Auzzie, Auzzie!!,!,

And of course we require some wine to facilitate spending all this time here. The local bottle shop is only able to sell cask wine between 5 and 6 pm. And then only 2 casks per person or vehicle. And much as we'd love to have bottled wine, that is not practical on 4wd drive tracks. And most evenings we have missed the 6 pm cutoff. 

So the other night we decided to walk (10mins says the poster) to the other bottle shop which doesn't close until 8 pm. Walking, we thought, we allow us to get 2 casks each, stocking up for the next remote leg of our trip. The walk took a lot more than 10 mins (or seems to in the heat), and when we got there he said he can't sell it to is without a vehicle! (Drive through = vehicle). We were just about to admit defeat when a taxi van pulled up, someone jumped out and declared that we were with them! We had never seen this fellow before but he evidently understood our dilemna. So we were sold 2 casks each and got a lift back to the caravan park as well! Work that one out!

The revellers in the taxi van had hired a house boat for a week to go fishing, but had caught not 1 fish. This was their last night in Wiepa and they were celebrating before flying home tomorrow. 

Stuart and Joe have been working on the bent and twisted steps. They have hammered them out (during which process Stuart sustained a lump of steel to the face with laceration between the eyebrows and on the chin!) and fitted the top two stairs back onto the vehicle. They seem to work fairly well with only a bit of a twist at the end of their travel. The bottom step is missing a couple of bolts so will be fitted later. In the meantime the footstool still has a place. 

5th. November

Still in Wiepa! We heard yesterday that the part is in Rockhampton! Apparently it has taken this long for Fuso to locate a part, but it has not yet been posted to us! And it appears that we will have to pay the postage.... Apparently warranty parts are usually sent by road transport. So for a difference of say $20 it would be quite alright to leave us hanging about in Wiepa for who knows how long! Not happy! Not impressed with Fuso! 

RACQ on the other hand has not missed a beat. They have paid our accommodation without complaint and in a very efficient manner. We are back in the villas last night and tonight -because we were expecting to have to take the vehicle to the service centre at short notice. After tonight our RACQ membership entitlement for accommodation comes to an end. 

The view is helping to relieve our boredom!

This lodge is designed for fishing parties. There is a chef's kitchen ( not for our use -we just get a room and acces to the verandah, laundry, and lounge area) and the chef cooks for them night and morning. The current group is catch and release fishermen and yesterday they caught a large barramundie, and a large marlin! They also saw another large marlin swim under their boat! They were quite hyped up lasts night! 

All of our friends have left us and gone on to the tip. I wonder if we will ever catch up with them!  

We'd 6th November

Today is the day!!,! (We hope). Hopefully the part will arrive on the afternoon plane, and we'll be off sometime tomorrow. We have now exhausted our accommodation subsidy from RACQ and we have to move out of this luxurious lodge back into the camping area and our Earthcruiser. Not that we mind that but we have enjoyed the airconditioning whilst the temp outside was 38 degrees!  And we've been entertained by the antics of some blue winged cookaburras on the verandah rails. That blue really is "kingfisher blue" and shines in the sun. I thought I'd seen them before but I can see I'm mistaken. This is so much more blue than the common kookaburra! 

We have also been entertained by a Jabiru who wades across our view, in the ocean, every morning. He also displays, spreading his wings and leaping up put of the water. There is no other bird around so we figure he is practising or just having  joie-de-vivre moments.

We heard last night that Zef is going to join us after his exams. So we are now trying to work out where will be the most convenient place to pick him up. Options are Iron Range, Wiepa, and Bamaga. It will depend on when we actually get away from here. 

Ummm, - no not today! 

Thursday 7th November,

YES! Today our part arrived.! Just 10 days after the diagnosis was made...... So in the morning we are to take the truck to the service centre. It will only take half an hour and we should be on our way! 

Yeeeeeha!

8th November-yes!!!!!! The car is fixed and we are on our way to Lockhardt river/Iron Range. Palm cockatoos here we come! 

Tribute to Stuart

 This is a love story in the best sense of that word.

Nira is a woman of Indian descent. She was born in India and came to Australia as a young girl. She later returned to India and stayed there in an arranged marriage for a couple of years but that is incidental to this story. 

In Australia she received the rubella vaccine at age 13 years. This was possibly the cause of her problems- both the vaccine and the rubella virus are thought to occasionally (rarely) cause rheumatoid arthritis. Nira developed juvenile rheumatoid. Her joints have been severely affected. 

She has very limited use of her hands, has had joint replacements in both knees and both hips but has very limited movement in these joints. Her right elbow is frozen and she has very limited movement in both shoulders and both ankles. She has difficulty turning her head. She requires assistance for personal care and for many activities of daily living. Despite all of these limitations she is an exceptionally cheerful and intelligent woman! 

Stuart is a diesel engineer by trade, a very practical guy, who enjoys tinkering with his car, fishing and hunting wild game for food. Heis very generous with his time and mechanical skills helping out people he meets. He has practiced Chinese medicine for 20 years. 

Nira and Stuart met in Nov 1997. Stuart offered to help Nira across the road and (according to Nira) was instantly smitten. Well I haven't asked Stuart for his version but after not too long they were a couple and Stuart promised Nira he would "show her Australia".  

Nira was already severely disabled, but Stuart set about learning how to care for her and make travel possible. Initially they tried camping with a tent but that proved impractical for Nira. Then they bought an "Ultimate" camper trailer. Stuart has modified the trailer for Nira, with special handles on the drawers and has built a ramp for access. He has given up his Chinese medicine practice to be Nira's full-time carer, only able to practice occasionally while on the road. And he seems to be devoted to giving her the best care he can. They have now been travelling full time for 4 years! 

Nira has found that exercise in the water is good for her mobility, and so they have toured artesian pool sites in NSW and Qld. Earlier this year she feared she would soon be in a nursing home but she intensified her water exercise and feels this has helped her keep her limited mobility. 

Nira is aware that without Stuart she would require that nursing home. Instead of that she is enjoying travel and the outdoor life of a grey nomad. To meet them travelling is to enjoy Stuart's warmth and Nira's hearty laugh and enjoyment of life.

The gift that Stuart has given to Nira is priceless. He is an inspiration. And that is true love! 

Happy anniversary Stuart! and Nira! 

Coen to Wiepa -vehicle problems.

Friday 25th October.

The McIllwraith range has intrigued us for years -it has large patches of rainforest which should have Eclectus parrots, palm cockatoos, striped possums and possibly Cuscus. It is an almost inaccessible area west of Coen. We took a road towards Point Stewart in the hope of onding some rainforest but there was no luck -only the dry eucalypt vegetation of the Cape, and views of the range with its inaccessible rain forrest. We did however find a great view from the pass towards the coast -pristine wilderness as far as we could see. 

However we started to get an "Eng. sys" warning light, and at the same time the speedo dial went to 0. This was momentary only and then everything was normal again. This happened three times so we got a bit nervous and decided to head for Coen. 

We knew that Stuart and Nira were probably there too. We caught up with them at "The bend" about 2 km north of Coen, in a lovelly shady bend in the river. Since it was the weekend we couldn't do much about the car so we just chilled. There were quite a few birds to see including a great bower bird male in his bower. He was very busy sorting his treasures and calling incessantly hoping to attract a female to his lair. This is the first time I have seen a bower. 

We had a nice social time around the campfire with Stuart and Nira and another couple of their friends who called in on their way to Cairns. 

Joe checked the oil and the water and anything else he could see in the engine bay, and on Sunday morning we took off for Wiepa where we hoped to find someone who can work on this vehicle. On the way we took a detour towards to water hole in the hope of seeing new birds. Suddenly there was a crunching sound and it turned out the steps had come down and then caught on a passing tree. The clip was still in place so it was not a case of forgetting to clip the stairs up-it must have bumped out of position on the corrugations, letting the stairs sag in their usual manner. 

Monday 27th October

Well it's a good thing there is a new set of stairs waiting for us in Sydney. These ones are past repairing. Joe took them off. Next day in Wiepa we took them to a fabricator who studied the problem and advised us to get a foot stool or ladder :(.  He said it could cost us $1000 to get them straightened out and reattached!  So foot stool it is. 

The Repco mechanic has booked us in for 7.45 in the morning to run a diagnostic on our engine to see what the problem is.  Since Joe isolated the battery in Coen we had no problem in 7 hours of driving, so maybe it has righted itself. But there is a chance that the problem is dirty fuel. We filled up at Musgrave roadhouse! where the fuel is normally good according to the Repco man. 

So we are in Wiepa for another night. 

Tuesday 28th October -the fault in the engine has NOT gone away. Yesterday afternoon it recurred, this time stopping the car for a few minutes. When it started again we headed back to the caravan park and stayed put until our appointment this morning. The diagnosis is " communication problem between the dashboard and the engine management system". The Repco man thinks it will need to be taken to Cairns! 

After a number of phone calls I located the Fuso person who makes the decisions -and that turns out to be the nearest Fuso service centre -in Cairns! After being too busy for some hours he finally phoned our Wiepa mechanic and it was decided that the search for the fault would be done here. But of course we will be homeless until it is finished. 

Wed 29th. The car is at Repco and we have moved into a villa in the caravan park. It's not too shabby though....nice view. Courtesy of RACQ.

The Fuso people have decided that it is the vehicle speed detector that is faulty. They are sending another one up from Melbourne. It should be here Friday or Monday. And so we wait. 

Lakefield National Park. Oct 22 -

The road from Cape Melville after the Starke Track junction is like a highway compared to the Starke track and the Cape Melville track before the junction. We reached the Normanby River causeway at Kalpowar about 5 pm, but didn't like the look of the camping area. It had a large group in it and there was scanty shade. The only thing going for it is the ablutions block which includes showers (cold). But the river is lovelly and causeway interesting.

So we returned about 5kms to a site we had looked at on the way in -a lovelly shady riverside area big enough for both vehicles. We camped about three meters above waters level so we felt fairly safe from crocs, although we didn't see any. Stuart thought he saw eyes with his spot light though. And then he lost his lure and wanted to wade into the river to get it! It took some dissuading to prevent him doing just that. 

After setting up camp we realised that we were on the aboriginal land of Kalpowar Station. However nobody hassled us and we had a nice night. In the morning we left Stuart and Nira! hopefully to meet up again in the park in the next few days. 

The Lakefield Ranger base is a dry and radiating hot place! I almost passed out with the heat! 

The booking system for the campsites is very awkward, requiring you to choose not only camping areas but camp sites within them, from photos and brief descriptions! This is not our style since we like to choose camp sites as far as possible from other people, and preferably move on to the next camping area hoping there will be nobody there! Joe felt he had to carefully choose sites whereas I would have paid for 4 nights in any place and then camped wherever we pleased, since there are not many people in the park at present. Consequently I sweltered whilst he chose, getting more hot under the collar as the time went by......and he explained that the computer was playing up!

Have a look at this crocodile trap at the ranger station...

And this is what happens when I think about the crocodile that this might catch ....

...........and I don't wash my hair for a few days, and don't look in the mirror, and the roads are dusty.

There are a few sights in the  Lakefield park... Red and white Lilly lagoons, with lots of water birds, and Breeza Plains Out Station. This place was run by a family for 100 years starting during the Palmer River gold rush and eventually they walked off it (sad). It has 100 year old mango trees. The mangoes are starting to ripen right now and so we picked probably more than we can eat. 

Our first camp, chosen because it takes only 1party of max 2cars, was Midway Camping Area. This is a very shady spot on the banks of the Normanby River. 

It rained during the night, and the moisture just disappeared into the sandy soil. 

Leaving Midway camping area who should we run into at the intersection but Stuart and Nira! Great co-incidence. They suggested adding the green mangoes to the sauerkraut, and treating them as pickles. So that's what I have done! 

We went together into Hanushe's camping area, just to have a look. There we saw a large crocodile cruising along the waterhole. We estimated he was more than 3.5 meters. It's difficult to estimate when you are looking through binoculars at an animal that is half underwater. But his head was big and mean looking. So we are being conservative in our estimate.  Last we saw him he had submerged just across the river from us - ie about 30 m. We wondered whether he was coming across towards us underwater. Anyway it was time to leave so we will never know whether we were being hunted.....

We wanted to explore the park and Stuart and Nira wanted to move on so we agreed to meet at the Lotus Bird Lodge just outside the park in two days. 

I think we visited almost every camping area in the park and travelled through a number of different vegetation types. The riverside camping areas are very similar, with only a few having no shade.

The Nifold plain was interesting - a treeless plain with termite mounds.

There were also a number of waterholes where water birds have concentrated for the end of the dry season. We saw lots of water birds including the Sarus crane -similar to the brolga but slightly different markings. It was thought to be an adaptation of the brolga until it was realised that the two didn't interbreed.

On the last evening in the park we started into Sweetwater camping area, and suddenly Joe cried out that he had seen a very big parrot. Binoculars out and it turned out to be an Eclectus parrot. This is the extreme southern tip of its range, but we got a good look and we were sure that is what it was. We also got photos (on Joe's camera so I can't post them).

Half an hour later we were at the Lotus Bird Lodge to meet up with Stuart and Nira and found the Lodge was closed and they had gone on. We spoke with the receptionist about the parrot. She said they would be out to our spotting place in the morning to look for the parrot. She also told us where Stuart and Nira had gone, so we might still catch up with them in a few days.

Disappointed that we couldn't stay at the Lodge we decided to go back to where we had seen the parrot and see if we could see it again by camping on the spot for the night. We camped on this tiny waterhole close to the tree in which the parrot was seen. 

I was even up at dawn (great effort for me) but the parrot failed to show. Oh well, maybe in the McIllwraith Range or Iron Range where they are more common. But I have never seen so many birds in one place before! there were 24 different species, including a number of new ones for me. And we also had a family of pigs with at least 15 piglets, and a few wallabies come to the water hole for a drink.

We have been disappointed with Lakefield National Park. It is no 4wd challenge! There is a veritable highway through the park! Some of the tracks into the camping areas are just wheel tracks -but on very firm and level soils (at least in the dry -in the wet might be a different story). We reckon we could do this park in our daughter's Suzuki Swift! Large parts of the park are closed off with no explanation. It seems that the thing to do here is fishing -which doesn't interest us. Croc watching is good -but you can only do so much of that. The bird life is nice - but the park is really not set up for it with no bird hides, only scorching hot parking areas to view the birds from. So far we can see no good reason to return here, unless to camp in a shady area on the way through to Cooktown. 

Wongai camping area -almost paradise! Oct 18 - 20

The Wongi camping area is stunning! There are very shady Wongai trees right on the beach, nobody but us (our two vehicles), miles of untouched beach without even footsteps. We are amusing ourselves with crocodile watching, bird watching, reading. Yesterday we swam in a mountain stream not far from here. The wind has been consistent so we have no sand flies. And the temperature is lovelly. We are however being very wary of going near the waters edge, since we have seen crocodiles a number of times already, right off our section of the beach. 

Stuart however is a keen fisherman and cannot be persuaded to keep too far back. So Joe follows him around with a waddy to attack any croc which chases Stuart. Stuart has caught a couple of fish and so he is happy. 

The consensus is that we are staying here for a few days or until the wind drops and the sand flies start! 

Nira and Stuart travel for long periods at a time and we have been discussing how to keep fresh vegies for so long. They do a lot of dehydrating, of vegies, fruits, and even herbs. They also salt some things such as limes, lemons, green mangoes, and cabbage ( sour kraut!) 

Nira showed me how to do the sauerkraut!  I have always wanted to do this but thought it was difficult! Not so! My first batch is started and if it turns out this will become a regular for us!  

Stuart also likes to catch game. Last night we saw lots of feral pigs running past our campsite to a patch of Wongai trees. -apparently eating the fallen fruit. However he and Nira are uncertain about eating feral pigs because of the parasites. We fantasised that the crocodiles might get an easy feed if Stuart and Joe can catch and kill one of the pigs!  Could make quite a spectacle!  

We stayed here three nights! The days were spent chatting and telling yarns. Nira and I chatted about food and India (Nira is of Indian heritage), Stuart fished and worked on his car, and Joe went for a long walk to the tip of Cape Mellville, but didn't make it back before dark. He (and we) was concerned about crocodiles if he walked on the beach, and about wild pigs if he walked on the track - since he had no torch. So Stuart went along the track in his car to meet him. Joe had the handheld UHF radio so we could communicate. He had walked about 20 Klm's. 

The wind blew a gale all day yesterday and the night before. There was spumes blowing off the waves, white tops every where, and chairs and solar panels blowing over. On Saturday night we phoned (sat phone) Emma to check the weather report to make sure we were not in for dangerous weather (heavy rain or a cyclone). She reported only a strong wind warning so we stayed put. Of course the wind meant no sand flies so we were glad. 

We found that if we lowered the roof on the Earthcruiser the re was less buffering and we had a better sleep. We left regretfully after three nights, heading for kalpowar crossing in Lakefield National Park. 

Cooktown to Cape Mellville -the Starke track! Oct 15 - 18.

After a delay of some hours waiting for a legal document to arrive we finally got out of Cooktown about 4pm! On the Cape at last! But the first stretch is bitumen and no challenge at all. We arrived at Isabella Falls about 5pm ready to camp if it was nice, and found another camper there. After introductions it transpired that they were also considering Cape Mellville but were put off by a magazine article about the trip and had decided against it. They also told us about a camping spot about 50m from them with a lovelly little "bath" in the creek.

They (Stuart and Nira) also loaned us the magazine. The story was at once disturbing and inspiring! We decided we would do the Starke Track! to Cape Mellville, but not go to Bathurst Head where we would have to drive over mud with a surface crust and who knows what underneath!

In the morning we suggested to Stuart and Nira that if they still wanted to go to Cape Mellville we could travel in convoy. There is security in numbers - they have HF radio and we have sat phone etc. Already we have been able to help them out with txt messages to their friends who are broken down in Cooktown. So it was agreed. We will meet at the boat ramp at the mouth of the Starke River tomorrow morning, for the start of the track proper. 

The Starke River boat ramp area was thick with sand flies! We managed with lots of repellants, but decided we could not stay there another night! In addition another camper there told that a croc had come up the bank after his little dog a few days before, so we shouldn't go close to the water's edge.  Well we don't have to be told twice! So when Stuart and Nira arrived we headed straight off to the Starke Track.

Now we were starting into 4wd country. This is not a mainstream track, and is not maintained. 

The road is washed out, there are numerous dry creek crossings with steep entries and exits. 

Things were going along fine, with some weaving and tight fits between trees on the sides of the track and overhanging branches. Until they didn't go along fine!  Joe was trying to fit the vehicle between trees on the side of the track, with only centimeters to spare, when CRUNCH. The drivers side wheel went up on a termite mound, tilting the camper to the left and into the tree he was trying to squeeze past. The sickening crunch was caused by splintering fiberglass. :(

It was not easy to get put of either! We couldn't go backwards or forwards without doing more damage.  Joe dug the termite mound down to avoid the wheel lifting up over it. 

He also started to cut down the tree with the chainsaw but soon saw that it would fall onto the car possibly damaging the solar panels, so that was no good. Eventually he put the "Treds" under the left side wheels to tilt the camper away from the tree! and then he could back out. Then he cut down the tree so we could go through. Now the window is taped up to keep the dust out. 

And there was certainly lots of dust -bull dust in fact. 

The bull dust turned to sand which was quite deep and soft. Stuart and Nira got bogged twice and each time let their tyres down further.

We noticed the scenery in spite of the driving challenges though, with a number of different vegetation types in white poplar gums, paperbarks, and a very pretty tree which we think was E. Tesselaris. 

There was also a strange termite species which built up the trunks of healthy trees. It's colour was red which must have been the colour of the deeper soil, since we saw other termite mounds the same colour. The surface soil was white so it did look surprising. See the orange trunk in the background here...

And here is a close up of the tree and another mound. 

The trip from The Starke River took about 13 hours travelling, and we camped one night on the way.

So we were very pleased to get here.

Bloomfield Track - Cape Tribulation to Cooktown

Cape Tribulation is a tourist Mecca! And yes the rainforest does come down to the sea.

Every visible business is tourism related and there are tour buses everywhere. It is well set up for tourists with a couple of very interesting board walks through rain forrest and mangrove forrests, reptile and bat houses, lovelly beach access, guided tours.

This species is the tallest Zamia in the world, and certainly the tallest we have seen. 

Although the tour guides seemed happy to look the other way while tourists waded knee deep in the sea only meters from stinger signs and crocodile warning signs. We know that the stingers have started further south for this season so it wouldn't be me in the sea around here. 

I was very happy to see the vinegar stations at each beach -pat myself on the back ( I had a hand in proving that stings were best treated with vinegar, changing the treatment of the day from metho). 

The drive was spectacular through the forrest, with the canopy often meeting above us. 

After leaving Cape Trib though things changed. The road north of the Cape is designated 4wd only, mainly because of a couple of very steep climbs and descents. We needed first gear to get up them. And this is in the dry. -very dry that is...

The Wujil Wujil falls were a relief from the dry and well worth seeing. And the community is the neatest aboriginal community we have ever seen. It puts some other Qld towns to shame. 

Bloomfield is also a far cry from my last visit here by boat in about 1977/78. We sheltered here from a Cyclone, in the Bloomfield River. Bloomfield now is quite a community with an IGA, and a caravan park, where decided to stay for the night -with the park to ourselves! 

Not so many tourists this late in the season? We hope this isn't a bad omen, but do hope we have more camping spots to ourselves on the Cape. We have seen two other 4wds going north with camper trailers etc. We had the camp kitchen all to ourselves.

Bloomfield 's beach at Weary Bay. 

After Bloomfield it is an easy run to Cooktown, on mostly sealed road or very good gravel road. 

Black mountain range was very interesting with its unique species -obviously a unique habitat and a very hostile place to make a living.

Then on to Cooktown and a cold drink in the air conditioned RSL. It is VERY muggy and uncomfortable outside today. 

So tomorrow we will be off into the wilderness of Lakefield National Park! Woo hooo,