Sunday 2^nd November

Today I managed to get a load of washing done and spent time updating the blog and sorting photos as well as just relaxing with a book. 

Saturday 1^st November

We were up and away before 8am, with the boat on the trailer, to nearby Dingo bay, that has a boat ramp. We sailed a short way to Saddleback Island where there was a lovely bay with a beautiful coral reef where we spent a good hour snorkelling. Tony, being a marine biologist, knows all about coral so it was good to understand a bit more about the corals we were seeing. The weather was calm and the water quite warm and I found it much more relaxing to snorkel without fins, although that may have been the lack of currents. It did get a bit shallow in places so that I was afraid I might touch the coral. Luckily it's a bit early for stingers around here yet so we didn't need protective clothing as we had on the Port Douglas trip.

We then sailed around Saddleback to Gloucester Island, where we disembarked at Eastside Bay. There was some pleasant shade under the trees and we had a picnic and a very relaxing couple of hours. Tony then sailed around Gloucester Island showing us some of the dramatic granite cliff formations, ospreys and their nests and some sea eagles. The sea had a lot of yellowish red coloured algae floating on it so we were glad it had been clear at the snorkel site.

We arrived back at the house about 3.30pm and had time to relax and then get ready to go out for a meal. We had booked at Monte’s which was a short drive away up an unmade road and it was a very pleasant place on the beach, with tables on a verandah overlooking the sea. Iain and I had excellent meals of Calamari or crispy pork belly followed by fresh seafood spaghetti.

Friday 31^st October

After a fairly restless night – Iain’s leg is still troublesome – we spent the morning taking the pump in to be repaired and doing some necessary food shopping. Later in the afternoon, while we went down to have a swim, Tony had to go and collect the pump. Apparently a snake had managed to get into the motor (goodness only knows how) and caused it to seize!

Tony and Avril live in an idyllic spot in Hydeaway Bay and have a lovely open verandah that opens off a large open plan living area, all at first floor level, so it catches the breeze.

Thursday 30^th October

I didn’t sleep too well as I am suffering from a prickly heat rash on my tummy which is incredibly itchy but our bruises seem a bit better today. We had a very good breakfast and also saw a cassowary who wandered into the garden looking for fruit. I suspect he has been given the odd banana on occasion!

We paid a brief visit to the Tyto wetlands (reclaimed) and then stopped in Ingham where I had a lovely salad and Iain tucked into a massive omelette as though he hadn’t had any breakfast! We got down to Townsville at about the same time as Tony (my cousin) and Avril (driving down from Cairns with their boat on the trailer) and managed to transfer our luggage and drop our car off without much trouble. We then had another three and a half hours drive down to their house in Hydeaway Bay and reached there as darkness set in.

Having arrived after being away sailing for four weeks they discovered that the water pump had seized and there was no running water. Luckily they also had a gravity fed pipe so we made do with buckets. Tony and Avril are very fit and healthy and subsist mainly, it seems, on plants and nuts although when they are on the dive boat they have to eat what’s going. Luckily they liked the cheese we bought them from Gallos dairy in the Tablelands, which we all tucked into with a salad for supper.

Wednesday 29^th October

We set out just before ten for the long drive down to Mission Beach. Hamish had recommended that we stop en route for Lakeland at a small billabong at the side of the road to see if any interesting birds were there. Iain duly got out with his camera and was about to take a photo a little way from the car when he was completely unexpectedly charged by a bullock who was the wrong side of the fence and knocked flying. His glasses had come off so once I realised what had happened I came out of the car and went to look for them. With hindsight I should have circled around whilst Iain kept the bull’s attention but he came and knocked me over as well. Iain was behind a couple of trees and eventually I found his glasses and we retreated! Luckily we escaped with a few scratches and bruises and although Iain’s leg is a bit sore, it could have been a whole lot worse. We were both quite shaken up and stopped at the next roadhouse for a nice cup of tea.

We had an uneventful drive thereafter and arrived at our accommodation around 5pm. We drove a short way to an Italian restaurant as I fancied some pasta for a change and Iain managed to scrunch down a ditch into a metal bar whilst reversing – it sounded worse than it was and luckily the car seems undamaged. We also saw a tiny wallaby in the garden, apparently called a Paddy Melon.

Tuesday 28^th October

Today we had a relatively gentle day, visiting the beautiful coastline at Archer Point, where Iain had a swim in a little bay Hamish had told us was protected by a reef from crocodiles. 

We then drove into Cooktown and had lunch of grilled fish and salad at a restaurant overlooking the harbour.

After lunch we spent a couple of hours looking around the James Cook museum which was very interesting, before heading back to the pool at Mungumby.

Monday 27^th October

We set off for Laura at 8am as Hamish had arranged for us to have a guided trip around some of the aboriginal art of the area, starting at 10am. We stopped at Lakeland to buy some lunch to take with us and to refuel (we have travelled around 1200Km and were approaching empty).

Having got to the Cultural Centre at Laura we met up with the ranger, Lex, and our aboriginal guide, Gene. We drove in Gene’s car although Iain had to drive it down the main road to the track as Gene is currently under a driving ban for ‘being a bad boy’ in Cairns! This area was very affected by the gold rush and tin mining operations but several good art sites have been discovered. Gene drove, very slowly, along a track through the forest and up the mountain for about ninety minutes to a remote cave site, previously used for initiations. He kept us entertained with stories of his experiences (he is 24yrs old and tried his hand at many different jobs until becoming a ranger/guide) and explaining some of the trees and plants we passed along the way. The art was in three main sites only a short walk from the car and, as ever, we took too many pictures!

Once back at Laura we were intending to drive the loop road back to Cooktown through Battlecamp, but Lex informed us that the road had been blocked with a bad accident earlier. A road train carrying cement and limestone had overturned. The driver was on the phone to his wife when the accident happened and unfortunately died at the scene. There were lots of lorries waiting at Laura for the road to be re-opened, but they were waiting on a crane to come up from Cairns.

We drove a little way south and visited the Split Rock art site which was a very hot climb up from the road for 350m but worth the effort at the end. Once at the major site there was only a short walk along to the Flying Foxes and Tall Spirits site. 

We then came straight back to Mungumby and a swim in the pool followed by a relax before dinner.

Sunday 26^th October

Today we are stayed at the lodge until we drove to Cooktown in the evening and spent the day doing a couple of the local walks, getting the washing done and catching up with dairy and photos.

We really enjoyed the walk and scramble along and across the creek, following the pink ribbon signs tied around various trees, until we got to a lovely waterfall where Iain had a swim. It was not always easy to find the right path but that added to the experience! 

The birds here are amazing; we hear loads of birdsong but it is really difficult to catch a good look at the bird, because they are so well camouflaged. We spent ages watching some golden oriels and some finches squabbling over which tree flowers were theirs!

Iain drove us into Cooktown where we had dinner which was quite exciting in the dark! We had an excellent meal - I had an excellent and very tender kangaroo steak.