EXPLORING THE CAPE

26^th May, 2013

Well it was a nice, quiet, sunny day and we were taking time to smell the roses – or in this case the unpolluted tropical air – when the peace and tranquillity was shattered by the sound of a helicopter.  Probably we shouldn’t have been too surprised to see a small yellow chopper heading our way as the sign at the back of our campsite did give us an inkling as to the likelihood of this happening.

Helicopter coming in for a landing on the beach behind our campsite at Seisia

It wasn’t long before it was joined by its mate

Oh Oh  ...  they seem to be multiplying

and a bus load of tourists arrived to take their ten minute joy flight up to ‘the Tip’ and back.  The helicopters are based on Horn Island and use the beach in front of the caravan park as a tourist pick up point  They can only take three passengers at a time so for a couple of hours we were treated to the helicopters’ landings and take offs.  Quite a few of the tourists were not as mobile as their comrades and were not able to make the climb up and over the rocks to ‘the Tip’.   Taking the helicopter ride was the next best option for them to see the most northern point of the Australian mainland in the limited time they had on the bus tour.  Most of the tourists had travelled up the peninsula in the 4WD bus and were returning via the ship that makes a run to Seisia from Cairns once a week with supplies.  The tour bus then returns to Cairns with a new load of tourists that the ship has brought.  It’s not the cheapest way to see the Cape but does save people from having to make the bone jarring road trip two times.  There are a few tracks to explore on the Cape so we head off in Mitzi to have a look at a couple of historical sites.  Near the airport is Jackey Jackey Creek – named after the aboriginal that accompanied explorer Edmund Kennedy on his ill fated journey up the Cape.  At the airport is a cairn which recognises his effort in making it to Port Albany near Somerset in order to summon help for the men that were left behind along the way.

A track near the airport takes us to the wreck of a World War II Beaufort Bomber.

Wreckage of Beaufort Bomber in bushland near the airport

There was a large military presence on the Cape during World War II and the rainforest surrounding the airport is littered with rusting 44 gallon drums.  The buildings have long since gone but hidden in the undergrowth are concrete floors and foundations.  Along another track we find the wreckage of a DC3 that crashed enroute to New Guinea in 1945.

DC3 Wreckage

A memorial plaque has been erected at the site in remembrance of those on board who died.

After spending the day checking out different tracks, we head back to the campground and watch the sunset over the water.  In the morning it is time to pack up and head back down the Cape.  We take one last look at Torres Strait and hit the road.  By mid morning we have made it back to the ferry at the Jardine River and another hour later come across the road crew near Fruit Bat Falls.  We’d like to say that the road had improved since we had last travelled on that section but sadly it was in a worse state with the corrugations seemingly to have grown in size.  Thankfully the ditch beside the road was in better shape and for most of that forty kilometre stretch Mitzi and the Van became very adept with the intricacies of evading culverts and the odd fence post.  Late that afternoon we pulled into Moreton Telegraph Station and set up camp.

Entry gate to Moreton Telegraph Station

The station is beside the Wenlock River and a new bridge has been built next to the old river access

Bridge across the Wenlock River at Moreton Telegraph Station

making the river easier to cross during the ‘wet’.  Major flooding can still be a problem though when cyclones and rain depressions occur and a few years back this makeshift raft was hastily assembled to transport people and vehicles across the swollen river.

Makeshift raft at Moreton Telegraph Station

Wok reckons that with a few new 44 gallon drums to replace the old rusted out ones, the raft would be a ‘goer’ again in no time at all.  The Telegraph Station was established in 1887 as part of the telegraph line that ran from Cairns to Thursday Island.  There were only two wires, one up and one down, sending morse code via repeater stations along the way.  The line was upgraded to radio during World War II and six wires were used to transmit the signals.  In 1962 communications were upgraded to microwave repeater towers.  The old telegraph line ceased to exist but the  occasional old telegraph pole can still be seen along the way.  The following morning we continue our journey south and take the turnoff at Batavia Downs Station and head west to Weipa.  This seventy kilometre stretch of dirt road which joins the Peninsula Development Road with the Weipa Road was excellent.  It had recently been graded and we actually managed to travel most of its distance at 90 kilometres per hour.  It was wonderful!  By lunchtime we were at Weipa and checked into the caravan park for the night.  It was pretty hard not to miss the signs that Weipa is a mining town.  This is the site for the world’s largest bauxite mine and is operated by Rio Tinto.  Large freighters are moored at the docks and a continuous stream of trucks bring the ore to the conveyor belts.  Fishing is obviously a very popular pastime with a fishing fleet and lots of recreational boats in the bay.  There is also an interesting centre at Evans Landing which gives an insight into the local aboriginal culture and mining history of Weipa.  In the morning we head south once more and can’t help but notice that there is lots more traffic on the road compared to over a week ago.  Parts of the road that were good on the way up have started to deteriorate and corrugations are starting to form.  We see two separate roll overs that have occurred the day before.  A reminder to take it slow around blind corners where the corrugations are the worst.  At Archer River Roadhouse we pull in to top up with diesel and have lunch.  While we chow down a convoy of about thirty four wheel drives pull in.  It is a Variety Club rally headed for the Cape. 

Variety Club rally cars at Archer River Roadhouse

Thank goodness we had stopped for lunch otherwise we would have met them on the road and would have had to contend with all the accompanying dust clouds.  On our last night headed down the track we free camped beside the Coen river just to the north of the town.  Wok tried to catch some yabbies but we didn’t have the right gear.  We will have to do something about that!  By mid afternoon the following day we had reached the bitumen at Laura and our odyssey to the Cape was over.  The last hundred kilometres of dirt road had really fallen to pieces over the time we had been in the north. 

One last look at the road to 'the Tip'

It seems that we have timed our trip to the Cape at just the right time  …  ahead of the first influx of four wheel drivers of the season.  We have had a great experience and will definitely remember our drive to ‘the Tip’.