Artemis Station

 27 – 31 May 2021

We left Lake Eacham and drove back through Atherton and Mareeba before continuing on to Mount Molloy where we stopped for a picnic lunch. Rifle Creek is a very popular free camp just north of Mount Molloy, and has a few picnic tables, as well as toilets. From there we drove on towards Mount Carbine, but took a short detour at Maryfarms to search for Australian Bustards. We did see a few, but they weren’t well positioned to have their photos taken.

From there it was on to Lakeland for a comfort stop, then through Laura and beyond. The bitumen extends all the way to Laura, and from there several stretches of about 10 kilometres each break up the gravel road. The turn to Artemis is past Hann River Roadhouse and about 10km beyond Morehead River. From the turn off it’s only a short drive to the station.

Mick had called a week before to arrange camping for a few nights and had indicated his desire to see and photograph the Golden-Shouldered Parrots that are resident in this area. We have visited about 5 year ago, but Mick wanted to try for some better shots. We made it into camp quite late for us, so by the time we had set up and settled in it was time for dinner and a quiet night after a very long day.

Mick rose early the next morning to go down to the feeding station where he spent a few hours, with limited success. Later in the morning we chatted with some of the station staff (also family members) who told us about a spot on the property where the birds are often found in the afternoon.  We decided on a walk to check it out – and the fill in the time – and were very surprised to spot some parrots exactly where we were told they would be. Mick managed to get a few photos – not the perfect shot yet – but a good start with another spot to try.

We’d also been told about a nice place for a picnic – about 10km along the Dixie Road. The only concrete causeway is easy to get to if you watch out for the wash-outs along the way. There had obviously been a good wet season and many of the small gullies still have water running through them too. The creek at the causeway was still running and with lots of shade, made a perfect spot for lunch. The water wasn’t deep enough for a swim, but we did sit in it for a paddle, just because we could.

Mick spent the late afternoon down at the bird feeder, but again wasn’t really happy with the shots he took.

On Saturday, Mick again rose early to get down to the feeder while I spent the morning pottering around at our camp. He also drove down to the spot we had walked to the day before. Another session at the bird feeder finished the photography for the day. The sky was cloudy on and off throughout the day, which made getting the perfect shot difficult. During the day the campground had started to fill up and we were joined by a tour group who arrived just on dusk.

One Sunday morning Mick finally managed the shot he was after – a male Golden-shouldered parrot, clear and crisp. Happy with his success he went to download the photos only to find his laptop battery was completely flat. Looks like our next few days will be on a powered site in Cooktown – which we were planning on anyway.

To help pass the time we decided to drive the 23km north to have lunch at Musgrave Station Roadhouse. The place was busy with a few campers already settled in to the grassy campground, the fuel pumps in constant use and many people having burgers, pies or sandwiches for lunch from the shop. The chicken burgers we had were tasty and even included fresh salad – something you don’t always get when travelling in remote areas. We spent the afternoon considering our options for the next few days – the water tank was low so Cooktown became a definite for the next few nights, then probably Elim Beach, and Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park if it was opened on 1 June, as planned.

Mick finished off our visit to Artemis with a short afternoon session and an even shorter morning session at the bird feeder. We packed up efficiently as always and were on our way just after 8:30am. Our first stop was at Laura and then Lakeland for coffee.

Lake Eacham

 25 – 27 May 2021

Having made the big decision to sell our home of more than 30 years we wanted to take a short trip up to Artemis Station before knuckling down to get the house in order. We visited Artemis Station some years ago and have always been keen to return. As a bird photographer Mick was keen to try his luck with the Golden-Shouldered parrots on the property.

We set about getting the camper trailer ready, including having a lithium battery set-up installed in the hope of extending the time we could stay “off grid”. Our Cub Daintree LE has followed us to many places throughout the country, and all states except Tasmania. Each time we pack up to go away we seem to do things a little differently and this trip was no different. With only one, lighter, battery we had regained some space under the bed – room for more beer!

We had upgraded the car’s suspension recently so had to get the Prado in for a 500km check. Instead of waiting at home to make the magic number we decided to head for the Tablelands and have the car checked in Atherton, on the way to Artemis Station. Once we had made up our minds to go that way, there was nothing stopping us – even rain.

It seemed like a great idea to head for Lake Eacham – in the rainforest, with rain forecast for the next few days. Despite the mud and everything feeling damp, it was a  good couple of days. We left home in bright sunshine, and stopped at Tyto Wetlands in Ingham for a cuppa where the first spits of rain occurred. From there we continued north and drove down to Alligator’s Nest in Tully Gorge National Park for a picnic lunch. This lovely spot looked like it had recently been the site of a party of some sort as evidenced by broken glass in the grass and a wrecked car in the carpark. Still, the sheltered picnic tables allowed us to keep out of the rain. We walked down to have a look at the creek, which is a popular swimming spot.

From there we drove up the Palmerston Highway to Lake Eacham. We have been regular visitors to the Atherton Tablelands for over 40 years (Mick for more like 55) but we have never stayed at the caravan park near the lake. Neat and tidy but small, with a camp kitchen it would do us nicely for a couple of nights.

On the afternoon we arrived we drove the short distance to Lake Eacham and went for a short walk in between showers of rain. Some folk were swimming but at only 18 degrees it wasn’t on our agenda this time. The next morning we set off to visit a few of our favourite spots – Curtain Fig Tree (just out of Yungaburra), Hastie’s Swap (near Atherton) and Atherton itself. The first two are great bird watching spots and the latter allowed some shopping time. Later in the afternoon we went back to the Curtain Fig and the swamp.

The following morning we had to be up early to get the car to the 4WD centre by 7:30am. Once that was done we still had time to go back to the swamp and the Curtain Fig before returning to the caravan park to pack up. Fortunately for us, there had only been a few showers overnight and the morning was sunny so the canvas wasn’t too wet. Armed with a take-away coffee we headed further north towards our next destination – Artemis Station.