Leaving Lakeland and heading for the coast felt like returning somewhat to civilisation – our destination today was Newell Beach – just north of Mossman and Port Douglas so back in the hub of holiday-making destinations – no  more red dust!

On the way we stopped again at Mt Carbine for their awesome homemade pies then ventured on down the Great Dividing Range to the coastal fringe through rainforest and cane fields.

Back on the tar made the driving so much easier so we listened to the next 2 sermons from the series we had commenced on Hebrews.

We arrived at the caravan park at Newell Beach after a brief grocery stop at Mossman Woolies and were greeted by Warren, the friendly owner of the park who escorted us personally to our sites.

The caravan park is directly opposite Newell Beach – unfortunately like all beaches up this far there is no swimming as large salties inhabit the area – and the Mossman River and Salty Creek open into the ocean at each end of Newell Beach making it a great environment form the crocs!!

Warren was very helpful and the park though small is really tidy and clean – well run and popular with many tourists from the southern states who like to winter here out of the cold. A communal happy hour is held every night at 5 in the camp kitchen – everyone here is very friendly and up for a chat – rivalling Gordie and Trev!!

Trev met a guy called Frank who spent a long time telling Trev about his son who was struggling with depression and Frank was so worried he felt he needed to go home. Gordie and Trev told Frank they would pray for his son… you never know but an opportunity to share the gospel may arise from simply listening to someone’s struggles…

We set up and planned the next couple of days booking an outer reef snorkelling tour for tomorrow and Jungle Surfing up at Cape Tribulation the following day – should be an exciting couple of days!!

Dawn broke peacefully over the Morehead River…..the Wells enjoying another pre-dawn tea while we all slept on…

Packing up was at a leisurely pace – mostly – with a break for coffee and breakfast.

Free camping with no facilities at all brings us all back to basics and enjoying the wild bush life with all its uniqueness is second to none.

During an ablutions break last night Rosie was surprised by a rogue cane toad which caused some consternation….

This morning Trev revelled in getting back to nature and the freedom of it all….. while Rose and Dave opted for a quick exit to the Hann River Roadhouse 20ks down the road after a quick pack up…we agreed to meet them at the roadhouse… or back at Lakeland if they decided to continue on after the stop at the roadhouse.

Trev put the drone up and followed the river both ways – and found a billabong full of lilies not too far away so Gordie, Kerry, Trev and I opted to go for a walk after packing up to see if we could find it on foot.

The riverbed was incredible – full of soft river sand and lots of sparkling minerals – lined with melaleucas, gums and other native trees and shrubs. The water level must rise incredibly during the wet as we could see evidence high in the trees of debris left by the rushing torrents.

We did not reach the lagoon – we could see in the distance the green of the water foliage but there was a fence and bush to negotiate so we decided to turn back and head on our way to Lakeland.

A stop at Hann River Roadhouse for coffee and the best sausage rolls on the Cape was a must. We caught up with Rick and Ann-Maree a couple Gordie had spoken to at Punsand Bay – we seem to bump in to the same people at many different places!

The roadhouse also had a resident emu amongst other birds and animals – the emu was very domesticated having been raised from a chick by the roadhouse owners – it was about 17 years old!

The last leg of our journey along the Peninsula Development Road via Laura to Lakeland was a mix of sealed and unsealed road.

At Laura we stopped to put air in the tyres as we were back on bitumen finally….and Branch detected a bulge in the sidewall of the front tyre of the Titan – a blessing to find before a blowout – so a tyre change was in order….

Eventually we arrived at Lakeland, unpacked and the guys took the opportunity to wash the cars…..although an outdoor shower proved more popular in the heat!!!

The day started before dawn with rustling in the Wells tent, an early cuppa and shower…then the Hunter’s alarm going off…..on and on as the phone was unable to be located anywhere….

Packing up for the second last time for this trip went smoothly and we were on the road in no time.

There were ongoing roadworks along the way and sections of bitumen provided a relief from the corrugations… and some areas that were unsealed were better than the bitumen – these areas were being prepared for sealing.

We stopped briefly at Archer River for fuel then Coen for a coffee and decided to head on to Musgrave Roadhouse rather than stay at Coen as we were making excellent time.

After a brief lunch at Musgrave we planned to free camp at Morehead River if it looked OK – otherwise on to the Hann River Roadhouse for the night…

The Pearl lived up to her reputation for coming in hot, missing the turn and driving over the embankment to get back on track!!

Morehead River free camp looked great- not much water but a great riverbed with beautiful gums and acacias lining the bank….we put up the tents in a beautiful flat sandy spot under some trees – a sensational spot for our last camping night!

Trev walked up the river and spotted a couple of freshies that took off as soon as he saw them….

Dinner and a campfire to finish off the final tenting night – with Bottomless Barista pancakes for dessert  – doesn’t get much better than that!

It was time to leave the remote beauty of the tip of Cape York and start wending our way back down south – although we still have a few weeks left of our Wild Adventure II it seems like a turning point has been reached…

The camp was packed up with military precision…the Wells had made an early start having risen before everyone else and raced to the showers….meaning they could relax and have a cuppa while everyone else threw their belongings into the back of their utes….

The Bamaga road back to the Jardine Ferry was pretty rough – worse than when we came in but still not a match for the Oodnadatta this year…We drove on to the barge – Gordie’s Titan just squeezed next to another car – very close shave!!

We crossed the Jardine on the barge and drove on to the turnoff onto the old telegraph track towards Elliot and Twin Falls. The road in was very corrugated, rutted and had one challenging river crossing which no one had obviously been doing – opting rather for the chicken track around the side.

At one point a new rattle was heard in the Ranger – Branch jumped out to inspect and discovered 2 bolts on the awning of the car had sheared off and the awning was flapping around – MacGyver made use of some straps to secure it pro tem until a more permanent fix could be done…

Elliot Falls were beautiful as were Twin Falls – both part of the Elliot Creek that feeds into the Jardine River.

We had a quick swim at the falls and then drove back out to Fruitbat Falls for another swim and lunch.

Our stop for the night was Bramwell Station again – this time we set up under one of their big shelters closer to the amenities.

Branch assisted Gordie with some running repairs to his camp chair utilising the pink toolkit!!!…

Trev made use of Gordie’s height to install the batlight before it got dark…

We listened to a sermon on “Fear” which put so much of what we face in life in to perspective in the light of eternity as far as what to fear and what not to fear.

Today we decided to have a casual morning around the campsite – a big communal bacon and eggs cook-up for brekkie to use up the last of the bacon began the day.

In all the dust, sand and dirt of camping Kerry’s beautifully painted toenails shone like rubies…how does she keep them so intact???

The day was warm so we walked down to the pool for a swim and enjoyed some relaxing time there in the cool water…

We decided to venture out after lunch back to the Tip to put up the drone for some aerial pics of the area as drones were not permitted at Punsand Bay resort.

The drive up to the tip was equally beautiful as the first one – the rainforest areas are so lush and the coastal landscape is so unspoilt and serene.

Trev put up the drone and captured some amazing shots of the beach and the tip of Cape York – but no images can do it justice!

The very tip of mainland Australia was fantastic to view from the air with the 2 small islands next to it….great shot Trev!

The tide was running out and there was a long clear shallow section so Gordie , Trev and I decided to hop in for a lightning quick dip – only shallow and very safe as we kept an eye out for each other but it was worth it as the water was refreshing on such a hot afternoon…

We headed back to camp and relaxed for the evening- a beautiful tawny frogmouth came to visit us after dark…hoping I am sure for some choice small marsupial delicacy to run out of the bush!!

Dawn broke early – everyone was up predawn to drive to Seisia Wharf – a 45 min drive from the campground – to catch the ferry to Thursday Island (TI).

The ferry to TI was due to leave at 0800hrs and so we had to be there at 745 to embark….Gordie was quick to give the safety check demo…

As we pulled out of the wharf across the channel as large saltie was sunning itself on the bank of the small island….. a reminder that they are here despite the fact that “Gary” the local croc at Punsand Bay had not as yet made an appearance….

The ferry ride took just over an hour and was really enjoyable – warm breeze, calm azure waters and sunlight dancing on the small islands that were dotted in the Torres Strait.

We saw a dugong briefly come to the surface but only once….

Thursday Island is one of the smaller Islands in the group but is the most populated having over 3000 permanent residents.

Arriving at the wharf on TI we were met by a local indigenous guy Dirk who was our tour guide for the morning – he had a great sense of humour and the tour was both informative and amusing…He kept Gordie on his toes!!!

The tour took us around the whole island – about 33kms in diameter.

First stop was Green Fort on the peak of the islands – fantastic 360-degree views over the islands – Prince of Wales Island, Horn Island, Hammond Island and others….

The fort was built in the late 1800’s in response to the Russian Threat and the fort and barracks were used in the 2 world wars. The fort is now a museum so we all went through and had a look at the fort itself and the photos and artifacts from a time long gone….

Dirk took us through the TI cemetery – very ornate and colourful. The Thursday Islanders have a “Headstone Unveiling” ceremony and save money to have beautiful memorial headstones built – the unveiling is often 12momths after the dealth and is celebrated with a family gathering to celebrate the life of their loved one. The cemetery had many historic graves including many Japanese pearl divers who died from “the bends” during the very busy pearling industry of the early 1900s.

After leaving the tour we went and had morning tea at the Makai coffee shop opposite the harbour – great coffee and awesome donuts and apple strudel!

The Naval Border force patrol boat pulled into the bay as we sat there enjoying the ambience.

Next place we visited was the TI Cultural Centre – an interesting collectionof indigenous art and local jewellery as well as historical displays. The Torres Strait Islanders were different from the mainland Australian Aboriginals – the islands were populated by people of Polynesian descent as well as a mix of mainland Australian aboriginals and people of Papua New Guinea.

After a few purchases at the Cultural Centre we walked up to the TI Pub – the most Northern pub in Australia for lunch as recommended by Dirk – large portions of fresh produce so we all shared a meal between 2. The Spanish Mackeral was delicious…

The Crayfish buzzer for letting you know your meal was ready was very unique!!!

After lunch we browsed the shops and bought a few small items. At a local jewellery shop we were looking at the local handmade pearl jewellery when we noted that the music playing was a hymn. Rochelle, the owner and artist was in the shop and we asked her about the music – turned out she was a Christian so we had an encouraging conversation with her. Kerry and I then went to find Rose and Dave while Gordie and Trev stayed and found out some more about Rochelle – her husband was not a Christian and she had 2 young children – life was a bit challenging at the moment and so Gordie and Trev prayed with her – she found it a great encouragement and said our visit had come at the right time – God works in mysterious ways!

We headed back to the wharf to catch the ferry to Seisia which left at 230. At the wharf there was some great local sculpture of turtles and a welcome to TI mosaic with a colourful history of the artist who did the mural….

On the way home the wind was up and the swell was much bigger than the way over – resulting in a rocky ride home – but again amazing scenery and refreshing cool breeze!!!

Trev and Gordie got to talking to a young local TI Josh and shared their faith with him. It turned out that his Grandmother was a Christian and he had been brought up going to church but had wandered away – the guys had a long conversation and also prayed with him – Josh promised to send us an invite to his wedding when he finds the right girl!!! We can only hope and pray he continues to follow Christ…we gave him our blog address and hopefully he will keep in contact with the guys!

Arriving back at Seisia we were struck by the dirtiness of the vehicles……they both looked like they had seen better days!!

Evidence of the Toyota Precision Driving team’s coming in hot to the red mud river crossing the other day was clearly seen on her bonnet….

Back to Punsand Bay and dinner in the resort restaurant….

Trev and I got up for an early morning walk along the beach and enjoyed the sunrise over the hills north of Punsand Bay.

Back at camp the girls cooked the belated Father’s day brekkie of bacon and eggs and we then hit the road to drive to the tip of Cape York – about 30ks distance by road from our campground but much closer as the crow flies.

The drive to the tip was along an unsealed road through some pristine rainforest with one small river crossing…the road was a single lane track but not too bad…

We reached the tip and walked the track to the very top of Australia finally reaching the tip of Cape York. The view across the oceans was spectacular on both sides…

The line to get photos at the tip itself was short thankfully so we had the obligatory “we made it” shots….

We walked back across the sand as the tide was low and put our feet in the shallow water. The beach would have been a great place to put up the drone but we had not brought it out with us – may need to drive back another day…

Gordie wanted to do a car photo shoot od his Titan for SCD so we took some shots right at the beach and also at the creek crossing in the rainforest on the way back…first Nissan Titan to reach Cape York!!

Happy hour that evening was had with champagne on  the beach to celebrate reaching the tip of Cape York!!

Branch who had been very quiet the last few days came out that night on a midnight reconnaissance as he had been made aware of some issues – Gordie’s solar panel had failed as his fridge had stopped working due to loss of power from the solar panel… a loose wire at the back of the solar panel was the culprit!

Dave’s second battery in his car had failed and was not holding charge – an ongoing issue for a few weeks now so when camping for a few days without the long drives it was problematic as the fridge no longer kept the “cold ones” cold…Gordie had used his solar to “charge” Dave’s battery earlier but did not succeed…due to the above wire issue…. The Pearl had been stealthily parked to tap in to power to maintain their fridge temp!!

Gordie’s battery had also moved to the “Pinch Power” point to sort out its loss of power due to solar failure…what a chapter of mishaps – and amazing what happens under the cover of darkness!!!

Everyone was up early keen to get on the road again. We left Bramwell Station and headed north. The termite mounds in the area were huge so we took the opportunity to get some photos that indicated how big they actually were..

The road from Bramwell Station was great – mostly unsealed but freshly graded and some bitumen sections.

A right turn onto the Old Telegraph Track saw us heading down to Fruitbat Falls our first stop.

The Toyota Precision Driving team came in hot as per usual with an amazing precision park in the falls carpark!!

Red dust tells no lies…and it was easy to see who had the dirtiest rear end…the Pearl  had the full powder-filled cracks and crevices with a fine film of overall dust…followed by the mighty Titan with a moderate amount of dirt…the Ranger had the cleanest backside of all!!

Fruitbat Falls were magnificent – large sandy bottomed pools at the base of a wide, fast flowing waterfall of crystal clear cool water – the best swim ever according to all. We swam for ages…

Kerry got out her snorkel and goggles for a better view….

Back massages were enjoyed by all….

The spa pools at the top of the falls were also really beautiful for a swim.

Elliot Creek gets its water from the porous sandstone beds which store huge amounts of water during the wet season and then release it into the creek during the dry. Fruitbat Falls are part of Elliot Creek as are the Elliot and Twin Falls further along the Old Telegraph Track which we plan to visit on our return from the Tip of the Cape.

We continued along the Bamaga Road towards the Jardine Ferry river crossing – the road was again a mix of sealed and unsealed  sections. Roadworks were in progress looking like they were preparing to tar the section in the near future.

Arriving at the Jardine River just after 12 midday we were surprised to find the ferry running as we had expected they would (as advertised) be closed for lunch from 12-1 – but the guy we bought the tickets from said they  were trialling opening from 7AM-6PM this season with no lunch break. The fee to cross was $100 which purchased a return journey. Rather than stopping for our lunch as we had originally thought we crossed the river….

The Jardine was full and flowing fairly fast – the barge managed to fit us all on at once and the journey was brief!

Across the other side we continued on to Bamaga and got fuel and some supplies at the grocery store then drove on to our accommodation a further 40ks roughly to Punsand Bay.

We turned off the main road at the Croc Tent (a tacky souvenir shop in the middle of nowhere) and drove out along the Punsand Bay road. Rounding a sharp bend we came upon a “small” river crossing full of bright red water – deceptive as it turned out to be quite deep as we drove through it with a dip in the centre. Dave and Rose came in hot around the bend and hit the crossing in style – managing to get red muddy water splashing over the bonnet of the Pearl who was not impressed…

Our campsite at Punsand Bay was absolute beachfront – stunning aqua water which looked so inviting but no swimming of course due to the crocs and sharks. We set up under the shady trees – our home for the next 4 nights.

Dave was into chillout mode immediately cracking out his book while Rosie blew the leaves off their mats – which had just fallen after setup… this will be an ongoing activity to try and stay ahead of the leaves to maintain the salubrious Wells campsite!!

Trev and Gordie were already on the lookout for “old mates”…..

As it was Father’s Day each Dad relaxed in their own unique way….

Dave having a beer….

Trev relaxing  at the campsite….

And Gordie gave himself  an uppercut to the upper lip while putting up the Hunter’s tent…

Punsand Bay is stunning – and the campsite is well set up for relaxed camping – shame about the crocs and sharks but they had an inground pool which we jumped in to cool off.

The birds woke us early – the variety of birdlife around the waterhole area was incredible..

Packing up was again a well oiled machine…or was it?? Branch had to make an appearance at the Hunter Ute with a difficulty shutting the rear… and Gordie’s packing prowess was on display at its finest…de javu!!

The road between Coen and Archer River Junction was a combination of sealed and unsealed road…but all in pretty good condition. Roadworks were underway to prepare sections for sealing but not too many delays were encountered.

At  Archer River Roadhouse we stopped for a coffee…and Dave nearly choked on his – his dear helpful wife had put in his sugar for him….and had used salt sachets instead!! Fortunately the roadhouse attendant was happy to replace the coffee free of charge…

The roadhouse had lots of horses nearby – a nice change to the myriad of cows that usually frequent the roadsides…

We left Archer River on sealed road and needed to overtake a truck which we all did successfully but poor Dave (not his day!!) copped a rock to the windscreen and a crack has appeared on Rosie’s side!!

At the junction of the Telegraph Road and Peninsular Development Road we turned towards the Cape. The Telegraph Road was again a combination of tar and dirt – all in relatively good condition – just a few unmarked “lucky dips” as Kerry calls them which required some careful driving…

…. and the Pearl had to restrain herself from coming in hot – after yesterday’s episodes of overshooting turnoffs and stops it was difficult but she managed to temper the speed in particular after the crack episode!!

Some points along the road were fairly corrugated and Branch in protest decided to lay down and catch some rays rather than try and maintain an upright position during such a rough ride.

We checked in to Bramwell Station and set up – looking forward to the station buffet and entertainment tonight!! Some friendly bush turkeys wandered back and forth through our camp looking for a handout – Rosie to her credit restrained herself in the interests of better turkey health.

The buffet did not disappoint – large portions of steak, rissoles and sausages with a large variety of cooked veges and salads as well as home made damper – delicious.

After hearing a short history of Bramwell Station “Just Neil” a guitar-playing singer provided a medley of songs of several different genres – some of which got some of the APT tour group up to dance (or was it the numerous Bundy and Cokes the old mate had consumed??) – at one point he grabbed Rosie up for a dance – she did well – in comparison to his dance style she was a prima ballerina!! Dave kept a watchful eye on proceedings!!

As we were leaving our vans in storage at Lakeland we cleaned and packed everything away and moved them to the storage area. We drove out along the highway past banana plantations, orchards of macadamias and mangos and cane fields – the area is so fertile and picturesque with the mountains of the Great Dividing Range in the background. The weather has been a very comfortable 30-34 degrees during the day but cooler at night so great for sleeping. Flies have not been an issue nor mosquitoes, so we have felt very blessed with the conditions under which we have been travelling.

It felt great to be driving free of towing and we soon arrived on the dirt and let down the tyres.

Driving through the National Park was great – full  of interesting sights – wild pigs, lots of small wallabies, goannas, cows and huge eagles crossing the road or feeding on road kill…

We stopped for a quick toilet break at the ranger station at new Laura then continued on to our first stop – Kalpowar crossing. Along the way we started to see billabongs that looked very “croc” friendly…

The road was being graded so was in really good condition….

Kalpowar Crossing had a flowing river crossing over a weir – and a warning sign about a recent croc sighting – apparently a 5m saltie had been inhabiting the area of late..

The river crossing was very beautiful and easy to traverse…

We enjoyed morning tea there and then continued on – next stop the White Lily Lagoon. The lagoon was filled with white flowering water lilies and edged with gums, melaleucas and reeds – such a tranquil place…but also croc territory!!An amazing amount of birdlife populated the area – Trev put the drone up and got some amazing footage which gave another perspective on the area.

Our next stop was the Red Lily Lagoon – another gorgeous billabong filled with pink lotus and white lilies – we put the drone up again for an aerial view of the wetlands.

We crossed the Hann River which still had water in it but was not flowing over the road and continued on towards Musgrave Roadhouse. The landscape was ever changing – magnetic termite mounds became common, savannah grassland, woodland, grasstrees and scrubby areas – different on every turn of the road.

We rejoined the main road at Musgrave Roadhouse where we stopped for a quick lunch – and Trev got up close and personal with some cows. The cows were actually in plague proportions – we wondered how anyone could land a plane on the airstrip with all the cows sitting on it!

 Continuing on the Peninsula Developmental Road toward Coen the road alternated between dirt and sealed road but on the whole the road was in great condition. We reached Coen in the early afternoon and found the free camp “The Bends” that Tim had told us about.

It was very peaceful with a flowing creek of clear water lined with paperbarks and sandy banks. We set up our camp – like well oiled machines we had not forgotten the drill!!

Dave was horrified when his hands were covered by Rosie’s exploding yoghurt….. he dislikes “off milk” at the best of times.

Everyone settled in for the night…despite the not-old mate who decided to break the ambience of the area by playing his music full bore til late- nearly driving the Bottomless Barista nuts!!