Musgrave Station - July 28

Almost to the bottom - after a chilled morning we drove and drove today, to get as far south as we could. It was a wonderful relief when we hit the tarmac sections after bone shattering corrugations. Stopped at Arthur River Roadhouse for lunch - chips, bread & sausage rolls, then more driving to reach Musgrave Telegraph Station. After set up Vin got back under the car to tighten more bolts, which attracted the attention of a couple of traveling mechanics. What luck! After a meal of spag bol, Jasmine lit a fire and we enjoyed toasting marshmallows altogether until late.

Morning at Moreton Station

Flood markers at Morton Station

Flood markers at Moreton

Chip butties!

More tightening of bolts at Musgrave Station

Down to Moreton Telegraph Station - July 27

Woke up to rain again this morning - this tropical weather!! Theres nothing like packing away a wet, sandy tent! Like the pros we now are - we packed it away with great teamwork. Drove through a fair amount of rain to Fruit Bat Falls, took some photos but unfortunately the weather was too rotten to swim in the lovely falls.

Fruit Bat Falls

Bramwell Junction Number Plate Tree

Dirt

Bull dust everywhere

Ate lunch in the drizzle then headed further south to rest and dry out at the very pleasant (& grassy) Moreton Telegraph Station. Even got (free!) electricity to charge up all the devices and the fading lights - whilst the generator was running. A relaxing and clean night after our much needed hot showers.

Moreton Telegraph Station

Relative normality at Moreton Station

Flood Level

We Made It To The Top !! - July 26

Slow start cause we're staying another night & don't have to pack up - yeah! Cameras charged & excitement mounting we headed up the last 20 or so kms to The Top. The winding track surprisingly went through rainforest and was very pleasant. We clambered over the rocks, the wind nearly blowing us over.

Stopped at the sign declaring we were .."standing at the Northern Most Point of the Australian Continent". We made it. Quite a feeling! Walked back along the rocky coast to the beach which cemented a very memorable experience.

 

Jordan at the top

Robyn at the top

 

Ben at the top

Adam at the top

Vin at the top

Weathered rocks

Beach at the top

I was here

Back at the caravan park where we had a swim in the pool, an ice-cream, then Vin, Jordan and our neighbour Roman tightened bolts on the car. We later shared a few drinks with our lovely neighbours from Melbourne - Heather & Roman, who had lots of stories to tell about their daughter's wedding in India. A late curry for dinner before bed.

Bush mechanics

Punsand Bar

At least there was a pool to swim in

The view at the top

Round two!

To the Top - July 25

Back over the 'ford' waterhole to the Bamaga Bypass Road to head north. Vin covered the nose of the car with a tarp as advised & made the crossing without any support - our hero!

Time for the tarp

That water crossing was deep

Crossed over the Jardine River via vehicle ferry, then bounced along over some of the worst corrugations so far. Stopped in Bamaga (northern most town) for some bolts & $2.28/L diesel!!!

Shake, rattle and roll

Jardine ferry crossing

Zip ties didn't stay - round two!

Heart attack prices for diesel

Drove to the nearby seaside town of Seisa where we ate our lunch amongst the palm trees.

Getting lunch

Another 25kms north & we arrived at our oasis - Punsand Bay resort. Managed to book the 'penthouse suite' of campsites - right at the end with the creek next to us facing the white sandy beach.

 

Our view at Pushand Bay

Some of us went for a swim in the pool, then we ate fantastic pizzas in the rustic 'Corrugation Bar'. Chatted to the friendly owners, staff & people who we keep seeing along the road & listened to some 4wd stories. Great night!

Really good pizza

This photo is produced without comment

Eliot Falls -July 23

A slow start today as we only had a two hour drive ahead of us. Ben had changed the GPS car symbol to a big ball, which was the opposite to how the drive actually was. Bumpy & windy-averaging 70km/hr -driving defensively in case any ***** was oncoming in the middle of the road. The car passengers grew quieter as we approached the intersection with the Old Telegraph Line Track (OTT) a rough track  for "experienced" 4WDers. We had to go on this track for 10kms (!!) to get to our next pre-booked campsite for the following two nights.

Old Telegraph Track entrance

After a couple of kms we came across the 'ford' we had heard about : a 20m stretch of water we had to cross. We parked up so we could watch others cross. When it was our turn, Vin was feeling confident - more than I can say for the passengers!! The bow wave nearly went over the bonnet!! The exit was nerve racking (for me hiding behind the camera) and as we came up the cutting we heard a loud scrapping noise - "Oh no - now what"? On further inspection we discovered the guard plate under the car had lost all four bolts and bent backwards! Nothing a few zip ties (I think they call it "bush mechanics") couldn't fix. The car that came over behind us had done many crossings all over the OTT and said that this had been one of the deepest!  A few more k's along the track & we hit the campground - relief!!

Umm a bit deeper than I thought

Bash plate took a bashing

Where would we be without zip-ties!

After a satisfying late lunch of tuna & pasta we all changed into our cozzies & reef shoes & walked to the Falls. Twin was a lovely light blue swimming hole with small falls to clamber around, and Eliot was larger & more difficult stretch of clear green water to access. Vin & the kids managed to find a way in and enjoyed the challenge. I was designated photo taker & towel holder. A quick dinner of sausages in bread cooked on the fire before an early night.

No rest for the wicked!

Arriving safely at Eliot Falls 

Twin Falls

The Saucepan

Adventure swim