The group of falls on the Elliot river are spectacular by any standard. There are 7 sets I think. Although not huge drops they are all very pretty with crystal clear water. This is the first set on the way north, "Fruit Bat Falls" Both photo 1 and 2 are of Fruit Bat. The first is a photo merge of three photos. The seconfd is the same falls from a higher vantage point.

















The next sets are only about 7 kilometes north. This is the top set of Twin falls on Canal creek which joins the Eliot river immediately below these falls.














Indian Head falls on the Eliotriver at the junction with Canal creek. The pools below these are quite deep and swimming is not recommended. The national parks and wildlife maintain a very good camp ground here. Toilets and tap water are provided throughout the grounds. We stayed here for 3 days

The trip down part of the Old Telegragh Line was well worth it. There are still post standing in the scrub beside the track, although most have been bent over and stripped


 

North of Cooktown are the Isabella Falls. As has generally been the case as we've travelled north, there was excellent flows in the rivers and creeks. This showed all these falls at their most spectacular.












Fishing the 7 mile waterhole on the Kennedy river in Lakefield National Park.














Crossing the Normanby river at Kalpowar on the way to see the vietnam vets at Pandanus Park.












The second battery instalation was faulty and caused us to change our plans to stay remote for up to two weeks. I'm checking out the problem in the main street of Coen. 5 other vehicles were lined up at the local mechanic's garage so we were forced to push on to weipa.
 

The Gunshot crossing, one of the most feared on the Old Telegraph Line. The exit to the south, pictured here, rises almost vertically for about 2.5 metres. "Dissa" handled it with ease. Other wimps took the easy road, seen below. There are about 5 or 6 of these vertical walls that have been disbanded over the years. The picture here does not do them justice .














Here is another group taking the easy way. I was tempted to do this at first but "Machismo" took control and I did it the hard way. These is no control of the vehicle once you go past a certain point. The brakes are locked but you slide into the pit below.


Gunshot creek is a very small and very beautiful creek. I have been reliably informed that the various vertical walls are now being manufactured with mobile scoops to satidfy those that fancy a challenge. There is a bypass around most of these daunting crossings.













Here is one of the successfull travellers who is pictured dopping into the creek bed in the previous photo. The creek is in the front of the vehicle.











Another crew give it a go. While this guys wife walked the edge, he didn't bother to check it out, just got into the "Toyt" and dropped her in.

Our over night camp at the "Tip", Pajinka or Cape York, what ever name you prefer. Susan and I had a romantic camp overnight at the Tip. We hauled our camping gear to the top, watched the sun set, had a splendid prepared dinner, camped the night and watched the sun rise the following morning. Well it certainly was romantic, but- The gear had to be carried iover rcks, uphill for about 700 metres. The sun set and dinner were great. The wind blew at 30 knots all night and it threatened to rain. The following morning sunrise was overcast and I dropped a good fish while fishing the next morning. But - we wouldn't have missed it for quids.


Susan watches the sun set. Two catamarans were anchored below for the night. They had sailed through York passage about an hour before sunset.














Like I said, I fished the Tip, but blew the only goos fish to hit my lure. It is a magnificent spot. The water was magic, very clear. The wind was a problem though.














A picture of our camp site . This shot looks south east along the Coral Sea coast. Let me tell you, single swags and high wind ensures a romantic night.

Vietnam veterans at Pandanus Park, East of Kalpowar Station. Susan and I met a couple of vets at The Lion's Den near Cooktown, and so we decided to pay them a visit at Pandanus Park. This was the 40 th Anniversary of the battle of Long Tan and there were expected to be over 500 people visiting. This is the registration office. I checked to see if any Proserpine boys were there, or others I knew but could find no names at that time.






This shot shows the rememberance area where the service was held. There were men from all over Australia settled in campd along the river. Most had bought their wives. Susan was moved to find so many West Aussies who had made the journey.















Here is the camp of the two men we met at the Lion's Den. Both had served in Vietnam as regular servicemen and had remained in the services after their tours.
We had coffee and a chat before returning to our camp on the Kennedy River at the Hann crossing, about 40 klms away.

Interesting groups we've met on the trip to the Tip. These bike riders are two of 120 BMW bike riders who were on their way to the tip and back in 7 days. We met them on the bypass road where they were visiting Elliot Falls. I'd almost run one of them off the road as he tried to pass me on a very corrogated section. These guys fly at over 90 klms /hour and come out of your dust. They had had three riders injured the day before, two broken collar bones and a cut achilles tendon. I caught up with the guy I nearly bushed and appologised for my indiscretion.














How about this gentleman? Running from Hobart to the Tip in aid of Camp Quality. He's 67 years of age, doing an average of 57 klms/day. Was due at Bamaga on 28th. August, was running several days ahead of schedule. He is a world record holder for his age. His record is for the total klms travelled in 54 hours. He gets about 1500 klms out of a pair of running shoes. His wife was the support driver in their two wheel drive van.
This is the group of 9G Chamberlain tractors that were at Weipa as we passed through. They had been featured in local television news so you probably have heard of them. While there were 30 tractors for most of the trip, 16 of them were at the camp ground resting for a few days before they pushed on up to the Cape. Others in the group had to return home due to work commitments. They are assembled here on the beach in front of the caravan park waiting for a helicopter to vidoe them for their web site. Most are from West Australia where the Chamberlain tractor was designed and manufactured. Two of the group were from NSW.

Cooktown to Daintree scenes. The Daintree Ferry. Usually about 30 cars waiting on either side at any time of the day. The place abounds with "Loopies" like us.














Commemorative Monument to Captain James Cook's Landing in 1770. The cannon in the background was one sent to north Queenslandto help fend off invasion in 1902. I think the Russians were the baddies at the time.

Bulk Freighter only a few kilometres offshore just north of Cape Tribulation.










Spectacular scenes along quiet back roads through the jungle. This was basically the boundary between two dwellings hidden in the forest. 

The Cape Tribulation Trip. This is Dissa crossing one of six fords on the track. It's about standard for the depth of water. Norte the campers on the creek bank to the left of photo. The track is only about 34 kilometres from Wujal Wujal (On the Bloomfield river) to cape tribulation. This is the only "remote section" of the journey from Cooktown via the coast. Very steep climbs and descents but 2 wheel drives will pass easily enough in Dry conditions. This trip is about rainforests and clear streams. If you enjoy these aspects of travel we would thoroughly recommend this trip.
We spent three days on this trip. First nights camp near Thornton's Beach. Second night back at Bloomfield after spending half the day doing the sights around Cape Trib....





The Bloomfield Falls at Wujal Wujal were spectacular. A late finish to the wet season ensures a good volume of water. The pool below this is where I wanted to wet a line. There were schools of Jungle Perch, some over the kilo and a half, teasing me.


















Everybody has heard of the Black Mountains on the approach to Cooktown. Here is a composite shot of the easterly one. This mountain is onloy a few kilometres from the Little Annan river bridge. Below the bridge is a spectacular Gorge. While it is not a huge gorge it is well worth the 400 metre walk to see some of it. 

Fishing around the north has been pretty slack. To be honest I haven't put my heart into it yet. I've had about four shy attempts to wet a line but either the weather or other pressing trips have kept it on the back burner.
This shot is one of me fishing at Archer Point, a light house located about 30 kilometeres south of Cooktown. It was reported to be very beautiful and believe me it lived up to it's reputation. The day we visited,we spent about 3 hours there with 30 to 40 knot winds. It is scenic without any village or settlement. This shot shows an old jetty I believe was used to load cattle onto freighters. Now abandoned. No fish here though, to bloody windy.











Lighthouse on Windy Hill in Cooktown. How Captain James Cook missed seeing it is beyond me, it stands out like the proverbial.
Cooktown is going ahead in leaps and bounds. Real estate has gone crazy. Typical house are now costing 370 - 450 thousand and buildings are going up every where. (Airlie Beach 1970 style)






Historic Lion's Den Hotel. Now does a great trade with the travellers who come up via the Cape Tribulation road. We spent 3 days on the Cape Trib road. No real problems for a two wheel vehicle as long as it is dry. Passed many of them on the trip. We visited a friend (Peter Kelly) near Cow bay, south of Cape Tribulation. Susan could have spent a month in the tropical rain forests between Daintree and Wujal Wujal. Photos of this in the previous blog .





Here Peter Kelly shows Susan his drilling rig. It's parked for repair at Thornton's Beach. The third highest mountain in Queensland, Thornton's Peak is in the back ground.