Touching the Tip

Friday 27 July

We packed up early this morning and picked Peter up and headed up to Mareeba to return the hire car and head to the airport. Our mode of transport for the next ten days will be Peter’s Beechcraft Bonanza single engine plane. I am joining Peter and Philip as they return to WA via a very disjointed route. Today’s destination is Northern Peninsula Airport, (Bamaga), Cape York area and our accommodation is at Loyalty Beach Lodge. Departing Mareeba we fly northwest away from the coast and the clouds reaching about 4500 feet. Pretty smooth flying with great views out over Mareeba and surrounds. As we fly north we fly along the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range passing Mt. Carbine, Lakeland, Old Laura and Battle Camp Road (which we drove three weeks ago) and round the shoreline of Princess Charlotte Bay. Then further north we followed the Peninsula Development road and did the Old Telegraph Track, checked out the Jardine River Crossing and onto Bamaga to land.

An awesome flight. 2 hours 45 minutes. After refuelling we tied the plane down and were collected from the airport by Graeme who drove us out to our accommodation at Loyalty Beach. We pulled up in front of a two storey, very basic building and were told this is our lodge. Not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. Four bedrooms each with two beds, a kitchen and a large deck with table and chairs. No doors, no windows, basic lighting, fans in each room, almost no internal walls and a bathroom and shower downstairs with no door and walls up to my shoulder! It’s really awesome and part of the experience. Our view is straight out over the sea and the islands where we can watch the boats and people on the beach. Rustic is a word I would use to describe this place.

After a few nibbles to stave off the hunger pangs (we missed lunch) we decided to walk along the beach to Seisia where we watched the ferry from Horn Island berth before walking around the road back to the campground. About a 7 k round trip.

Dinner was at the restaurant on the beach front and we all had great steaks, eventually. Our booking was for 7pm and Philip went to order our meals but it was only 6.56 and he was told he would have to wait until 7. By the time he got back to order there we 20 people in front of him. Some meals were sold out and we weren’t served until 8.15. Not that it really mattered, we enjoyed a drink watching the evening darken and listening to the sounds of the other guests. After dinner, back to our rooms and showers. White lipped green tree frogs shared the bathroom with us. Two in the vanity one in the washing machine. They are beautiful green, hand sized frogs.

The bathroom, shower one side, toilet the other with a fly wire door in between. Water from the shower and basin run straight outside onto the ground.

We all slept really well and Philip woke us about 5.30 to get up and watch the blood moon and eclipse (if you think HIS photo is awesome don’t believe it as I am sure he borrowed it off the internet! (But that is what it looked like awesome!). The Milky Way was very clear and we also saw satellites, jets and falling stars. Awesome.

Saturday 28

This morning we are off on a tour to the Tip. Cape York here we come. Graeme is our driver and we head first to the airport to pick up 11 others that have flown in on an Air Adventure tour. Two of whom are in their 90’s. Our first stop is at the old Pajinka Resort. Now only ruins. This was originally built and owned by Reg Ansett and was a 5 star exclusive resort before being handed back to the local indigenous people. It was then destroyed by fire and now only the reception area and the pool remain in a state of disrepair. From here it’s just a short hop to the Beach, morning tea and a climb up over the headland and down to the northern most tip of Australia. Another tick off the bucket list. We walked back round the headland and then through the shallows back to the bus and enjoyed some time relaxing before boarding the bus and heading to Somerset.

This area was founded in 1863 and was to be a town to service the islands but was abandoned when the services moved to Thursday Island. Captain Jardines home was built at the top of the cliff overlooking the harbour. In the tropical climate here remains of the homes deteriorated quickly and now there is nothing left but the graves of two aboriginals and some aboriginal bones that were returned to the site 132 years after they had been sent to England.

The last couple of stops were the Croc Tent, full of tourist stuff for sale and then the DC3 plane crash site just before the airport. After dropping the air tour people back at the airport we made another stop at a WW11 Bomber crash site and then stopped back at the DC3 site to get some photos before heading back to Loyalty Beach. 7 hours of touring, now for a rest before dinner.