Once the car was packed, checked out mechanically and food and supplies were sorted, we left the vans at Mt Carbine and headed off on the 2000km round trip.
Looking back the trip was a huge success. I had a lot of trouble dealing with the thousands of corrugations on the road because it caused me a lot of neck pain, and my mood reflected it, but we did have a lot of really good times as well.
There was 14 of us in total, 3 families and 8 kids.
Our first night was at Coen, camped behind the Exchange Hotel (the sign over the roof has been changed to read the Sexchange Hotel, which it is known as by the locals)
Thousands of corrugations!!!
We couldn't get over the size of the termite mounds!
We took the Development Road most of the way there, but we did take a peek at Old Tele Track to watch some of the hard core 4wd'ers cross the Palm Creek.
Our second night was at Bramwell Station, where we were woken up by the resident pig, scrounging for food. Zaccy thought it was hilarious when the pig ate his breakfast.
More corrugations!
Driving to the Tip was a dream come true for Dan. We couldn't wipe this grin off his face for the whole trip.
Crossing the Jardine River.
We camped at the Umagico Campground for a few days while we explored the Northern most point of Mainland Australia.
Mark and Dan on domestic duties
Beautiful beaches, but we didn't want to swim with the crocs!
The port at Seisia, where we saw about 20 cars loaded onto the ship. A local explained that about 20 to 30 cars a week get written off along the Tele Track in the dry season. It can cost upwards of $10000 to ship a car back south. You would be crazy to come up here without good car insurance!
We had a fantastic day when we drove out to the Tip. We stopped off at the Croc Tent to buy souvenirs, then took the fairly rough and wet road the rest of the way.
More beautiful beaches!
The walk up to the Tip was full of excitement.
Will made sure he was the first one to the sign.
The Woods family.
All of us, excited to have made our destination after a few long, hard days driving.
The Cronans
And us! I never thought I would be standing here.
We all had a few celebratory drinks.
We couldn't swim in the ocean, so the kids cooled off under the sprinkler.
There are a couple of plane wrecks from WWII scattered throughout the bush up there.
The Cronans got bogged in some very soft sand. The kids and Nikki thought it was funny, but Matt - not so much!
Each afternoon some of the local Aboriginal kids came down to the beach to play. Our kids loved joining in with their games, and all had a great time comparing life stories around the campfire at night.
Amanda, Mark and I had a great morning out on a Shipping Charter. I didn't catch anything (surprise, surprise) but Mark pulled in this huge Mackerel. It was enough to feed all 14 of us twice!
After some very hot and dusty days, it was like entering paradise when we arrived at Elliot Falls. The falls are safe to swim in, a perfect cool temperature and only a short, easy walk from the campground. We spent the next three days swimming, playing and jumping off the cliffs. It was a wonderful way to end our Cape York experience.
As much as Dan was enjoying himself, I was over camping, and really wanted to get back to my caravan. So when Dan received a phone call from one of his clients, with an urgent job, I was more than ready to cut the trip short and head back to civilisation.
So after a quick trip to Fruit Bat Falls, we packed up, said goodbye to the Woods and Cronans, and started the long journey back by ourselves.
Even after three trips through this under-car body wash, it is still going to take me hours to clean the red dust out of every nook and cranny of the car!
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