Cape York - To The Tip and Back - Cooktown, Wonga Beach, Atherton and home.

Cooktown

21 – 24 July 2016

We made our way into Cooktown and checked into a cabin in the caravan park. We figured after 5 weeks under canvas we deserved a treat. As luck would have it, new mates Boyd and Ruth had collected their caravan and were staying in the same park so we hosted drinks that afternoon on our verandah.

We had booked to stay for 2 nights but decided that there was plenty to do so we added an extra one. We caught up on the mountain of washing we had accumulated over the last week then visited the James Cook Museum which is housed in an old convent. It’s a great museum with each room themed to tell a part of Cooktown’s story – Cook’s visit, indigenous history and culture, gold and the Chinese, military history as well as the story of the convent itself. We had lunch at the Bowling Club and then had an afternoon swim. Yes, it is winter, but this is north Queensland.

Christie enjoyed the Museum.

On Sunday morning we went to the markets which are held on the foreshore and then drove up to Grassy Hill Lookout which affords spectacular views across the region. Later, we drove out to Keatings Lagoon Conservation Park, just a few kilometres out of town, and a good birding spot.

Large-billed Gerygone perched above an old nest at Keatings Lagoon. We could see the new nest from the boardwalk.

The Cooktown Markets.

View from the lookout.

Before we left Cooktown on Monday morning we stopped at the carwash to give the Prado and Cub a good scrub down. They were filthy and it took quite a while to get them looking even half clean.

Wonga Beach

24 – 26 July 2016

We drove down the Mulligan Highway and stopped for coffee at Lakeland, then on to Mount Molloy where we turned onto Rex Range Road. Through Mossman and on to Wonga beach, we stopped at one of the two caravan parks to try to obtain a site. At this time of year, most parks are full so you either have to book in advance or arrive early – we did the latter this time and were rewarded with a nice grassy spot away from the main sites. While most sites were full, our little section of the park had only two others camped nearby, and not right next door. Just what we like!

Male Fig Parrot.

Female Olive-backed Sunbird.

Dusky Honeyeater.

We had a leisurely afternoon which included a swim in the pool and booked a Daintree River cruise for the following day. In the morning we made a fairly early start to drive the 15 minutes to the Daintree River crossing where we joined the 9.30am “SolarWhisper - Daintree River Wildlife and Crocodile Cruises”. This would be the fourth Daintree cruise company we have tried.

The guide from Solar Whisper posts lots of nice bird photos on Facebook so I presumed it may be a good cruise for bird photography. I had the wrong idea, this is primarily a crocodile tour with the possibility of a bird encounter. Still good value as far as that goes. We had good views of a Papuan Frogmouth. Mick.

Two babies. There were lots of crocs out sunning themselves on the muddy banks of the Daintree.

The alpha male in front is about 4.5 m long. It is unusual to see two males sharing a bank like this.

This croc was only about a metre long.

Papuan Frogmouth.

This boat uses a solar powered electric motor and so is much quieter than others we have been on, but is focussed more on crocodiles than on birds, although we did see a few photographable (is that even a word?) ones. The highlight for me was not so much seeing the crocodiles up close, but seeing the young ones. I had only ever seen babies and juvniles at crocodile farms.

After the cruise we drove into Daintree Village for a coffee and another look around at the couple of craft shops, before returning to the caravan park for more swimming and relaxing.

We set off on Tuesday morning, headed back up to the Atherton Tablelands, this time to stay in Atherton.

Atherton

26 – 28 July 2016

We drove back through Mossman and up Rex Range Road before stopping at Abbatoir Swamp. We were delighted to find that they have finally repaired the boardwalk after several years, but unfortunately the swamp itself is now so full of vegetation it is impossible to see birds. Hopefully clearing it out is also on the list of things to do, although we suspect this may not be a priority for council. We stopped for coffee in Mount Molloy then in Mareeba for the op shops.

Not much in the way of waterbirds here but it's a good place for bush birds. Male Leaden Flycatcher.

Macleay's Honeyeater.

Again, we had booked our spot at the caravan park in advance and were glad we did. It was almost full. We settled into a nice spot with shade, and had lunch before setting off to do a bit of shopping.

Female King Parrot at the caravan park.

A great disguise.

In the morning we made Hastie's Swamp our first stop and were rewarded with masses of waterbirds, far more than we had ever seen at this spot before. From there we went over to Lake Barrine for a walk in the rainforest and the famous Devonshire tea. They have been serving traditional Devonshire teas at the lake since the 1920's and it never disappoints.

Great Crested Grebe at Lake Barrine.

A very light Plumed Whistling-duck at Hastie's Swamp.

A very small fraction of the many thousands of Plumed Whistling-ducks and Magpie Geese that were present.

We drove back to Malanda for some more shopping then stopped at Gallo Dairyland to buy cheese and chocolate. They have tastings of their delicious products and if you are there at the right time you might even see the cheese or chocolates being made. There is also a cafe on site but we were still full from morning tea so just satisfied ourselves with the tasting samples.

Back in Atherton we did the rounds of the op shops and stocked up on supplies and fuel. Later in the afternoon we drove over to Herberton - we had heard there was a good op shop there and called in to Hastie's swamp again.

In the morning we headed for home - but first we made our way to Ma:Mu Tropical Skywalk. This time the sun was shining - finally! This popular tourist destination allows views into the canopy and across the surrounding rainforest from raised walkways and a cantilever. It is located in Wooroonooran National Park the traditional country of the Ma:Mu Aboriginal people. There is also an observation tower which we didn't climb - my fear of heights preventing me from going further than the second landing.

Tree walk.

Brown Cuckoo-dove

Although not a great shot, it's fitting to finish this trip with another new bird for my life list. White-eared Monarch.

We spent a couple of hours there and headed off around lunch time stopping for lunch at the pub at Wangan. On towards home, with a quick stop in Ingham to check out (just one) op shop and then home at last.

We spent 44 days on the road and travelled 4500km, much of that on unsealed roads. We camped at four campsites (Cooks Hut, Chilli Beach, Eliot Falls and Hann Crossing) in three National Parks (Kutini-Payamu, Jardine River and Rinyirru) and camped at 5 beaches (Weipa, Loyalty Beach, Punsand Bay, Seisia and Wonga Beach). Our favourite spots were Eliot Falls (especially swimming at Twin Falls) and Hann Crossing (a beautiful, peaceful spot).

Cape York - To The Tip and Back - Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park

Hann Crossing Campground - Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park

18 – 21 July 2016

We had booked our campsite at Rinyirru while we were in Seisia. The online booking system can be a pain, and you do need to work out when you will arrive, but we haven’t found this to be too much of a problem. We have been able to get good sites at the National Park campgrounds of our choice, throughout this trip. Our new travelling friends, Boyd and Ruth, were also booked in so we were looking forward to catching up with them.

A single Plumed Whistling-duck in the company of Wandering Whistling-ducks.

We drove from Musgrave into the national park, stopping briefly to look at a lagoon before we arrived at our Hann Crossing campsite, right on the North Kennedy River. We had some shade and plenty of room, although our site (number 11) was adjacent to another (number 12) which meant it wasn’t as private as some others.

Afternoon light. Some spuds in the camp oven for dinner.

The North Kennedy River in front of our camp.

Our humble home on the bank of the North Kennedy for three nights.

At night a full moon shone in the clear sky.

Drinks again.

Our three nights at Hann Crossing were magical. We drove out to the Nifold Plain in search of birds, and explored the area around the Hann Crossing campground. The campsites are spread out for several kilometres along both sides of the river. The side we were on looked to be the best with shady and private campsites. Those on the other side were more exposed to the road and lacked shade.

Peaceful Dove.

White-throated Gerygone in front of our camp.

Another Rainbow Bee-eater.

I'll call this a Zitting Cisticola because of the white tail tips and faint eyebrow.

Juvenile Star Finches. It's a shame I couldn't find any adults, they are spectacular.

Black-throated Finch dusting the edge of a lagoon.

Most of the lagoons are covered in waterlilies.

The lagoons are beautiful but danger could be lurking among the flowers.

Royal Spoonbills and Magpie Geese.

We spotted lots of wildlife from our camp including a goanna that sunned itself on the rocks, and a large crocodile that patrolled its section of the river each morning. We also spotted a snake swimming towards the other side of the river, another 4 snakes on the road while out driving, some lost cows, the usual wallabies, a goanna and a number of frogs who tried to take up residence in the camper trailer.

It turns out these are different goannas. This one has a tick behind its eye.

This one looks pretty fat.

This large croc patrolled it's territory each morning in front of our camp site.

Orange Plane Butterfly, also around the camp but not as dangerous as the croc.

Double-barred Finch, looking a bit disheveled.

We joined Boyd and Ruth for drinks in the evening for the two nights they were there and we made bread in the camp oven on the third day. There are no facilities at the campsites except for a hybrid toilet at the entrance to the campground, which was a long way away. We managed a decent wash with water drawn from the river using a bucket on a rope – staying well back in case of crocs.

It's nice to have a fire... making bread again.

Drinks at Ruth and Boyd's camp.

On our final morning we headed back out to the road towards the southern section of the park. We stopped at Pink Lily Lagoon and Catfish Waterhole – both lovely spots. Passing the New Laura Ranger Base, we headed towards Old Laura Homestead and Battlecamp Road. Last time Mick drove this road (over 20 years ago) it was a rough track, but it is much improved although yet to be completely sealed. Because of recent rains it was quite slippery in parts.

Taken at Pink Lily Lagoon.

The waterlily seeds are edible and taste similar to green peas.

They go through a range of colours as they dry out.

Nankeen Night-heron at Catfish Waterhole.

Mick had read about a likely birding spot (funny thing, that!) so we turned off onto McIvor Road, a few kilometres before Isabella Falls. We drove along about 24 kilometres before stopping at McIvor River. It was a very beautiful spot and we had lunch before searching for birds. Not much luck on the avian front, but a very pleasant spot to have a break from the road.

At McIvor River.

From there we backtracked back to Battlecamp Road, and on to Cooktown.