The Return from Cape York

After farewelling my first tour group for the season, it was time to welcome the return group.  I didn't make the mistake of telling this group it never rains at this time of the year.

Judith castes a lovely reflection as she stands at the 'Tip' in the sunshine

After the 'Tip' we continued to Somerset and the sun followed on.  

Kay rested at the old well which is hidden behind the mangroves (look out for crocodiles)

The Somerset beach.

A bit of amusement occurred at Moreton when I tried on 2 occassions to enter the wrong tent.  Red faced I tried to make a hasty retreat from the gentleman's tent.  "Are you OK asked a concerned voice from behind another tent."  "No", I said, "the zip's stuck".
Wrong thing to say!


 While my group were doing a Weipa Mine Tour, I did a few tour guide related chores, then waited at Albatross Bay for their tour to finish.

There is usually some interesting bird activity going on and today wasn't any different.

I watched this Egret doing some fishing, using an unusual tactic - he seemed to be listening for the fish.





Then I got too close -  and yes, he flew away.  Funny thing though, he kept his neck outstretched for the first few wing flaps till he kinked it in true Egret style.  He looks all neck and legs here.

Then I found this Striated Heron fishing using a different style. 

                 This was a more concentrated killer look.

And it worked.  A fish in the beak is worth two in the sea.

We headed down the Cape and called in to the Batavia Gold Fields ruins.  In the early part of the 19th century, there was gold in them thar hills.  Heavy machinery was brought in to crush the gold bearing rock in order to extract it.  It took teams of 60+ bullocks to drag the machinery in and many months to get it there.  When the gold ran out, the machinery stayed put to slowly rust away.

 



Some of the old machinery from the gold mines.  The Batavia Fields had several ups and downs in the search for gold and was finally given up on around WWII.

 Helen contemplates the feasibility of repairing this vehicle, while Judith looks sceptical.  No-one has ever worked out exactly what make this vehicle is but one smart remark suggested that it was an Oztours bus (gotten lost). 

Now during this tour, as in most others, there is usually at least one person who really wants to see a crocodile.  The chances of seeing one are inversely proportional to the degree of wanting to see one.

I didn't like the chances.  There was one glimmer of high possibility.  Musgrave!

A couple of 'freshies' might have been put there on purpose

After arriving at Musgrave and putting our gear in 'the right rooms', we headed down to the billabong.

Nah, they weren't there - at first glance.  Then someone spotted a little snout.  Hooray, it was there.  OK, not a 'saltie' but very photogenic with the still water providing a reverse image below the croc.

There is always a good show of flowers in the gardens of the Musgrave Telegraph Station.  I was happy to get a shot of these late blooming Cooktown Orchids.












We were getting close to the end of our trip with Lakefield National Park being the next on our agenda.  I made everyone get up and packed early as there is a lot to see on this leg.


There is an area in Lakefield called Nifold Plain.  There are no trees at all over a large area, only magnetic termite mounds.  This gives the are an eerie moonscape feeling.

A Brown Falcon watches us from his guide-post perch.  

Lilies abound in the many waterholes throughout the Park.  On the right is the tiny Snowflake Lily which can be easily overlooked till pointed out.  The petals 'zip' together when the flower is submerged under water.

There is an enormous lagoon called Red Lily Lagoon which is completely dominated by these beautiful red Lotus Lilies Nelumbo nucifera .  









These Scarlett Gums can be found along the southern end of Lakefield along Battlecamp Road.  They grow across northern Australia and in a small area between Cooktown and Laura.  

Our last stop before Cooktown was Isabella Falls.  I waited patiently for a car to cross the causeway for my next photo.  Soon I was rewarded with an obliging driver who wanted to know how fast I wanted him to go.  "It's up to you", I said.  "If you want an action photo with water spraying everywhere, go fast.  If you want a nice photo  with a reflection, go fast."

The driver was a man, so he went fast!  

                            The following movie goes for 1m:39s 

Cape York - It never rains in the dry season

 I have just returned from my first tour to Cape York.  Nerves were working overtime as I haven't done a tour since leaving Oztours 3 seasons ago.  It was good to be back and I had 13 eager people to show off the Cape to.

I'll do a series of blogs on my Oztours travels this year with a few highlights each trip.

First day was from Cairns to Cooktown via the Bloomfield Track.  This controversial track was made in The Daintree Rainforest during 1983/84.  Protesters did their best to prevent this track going through.  Although the track finished up going through, the publicity highlighted drew the attention of scientific interest as well as that of the rest of the world. This ancient forest is now protected by World Heritage listing which was granted in 1988 as a result of the track and hence the protesters. 






Picturesque Woobadda Creek. a great place to stop and stretch our legs and take a few pikkies.

The Lions Den is a hotel named after a tin mine which was situated on a hill opposite.  The owner of the mine named it after a young stow-away named Daniel who was working for him.  One day when Daniel was sitting at the entrance to the mine, it reminded the owner of the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den.





The first night was spent at the Seaview Hotel in Cooktown.  We had the luxury of phone reception, electricity, TV and an ensuite all at the same time.  This isn't always possible on the Cape as there are very few towns and a limited number of places that have accommodation. 

Cape York Peninsular is almost the size of  Victoria. Tourism, mining and cattle stations are the main industries.  The beauty and remoteness of the pristine landscape and varied ecosystems draws more people to this area each year.  I was astounded at the road and accommodation improvements made during my 3 year absence. 

After leaving Cooktown the following day, we made our way to Lakefield National Park.  Our first stop was Isabella Falls.  

An interest feature along the way is the Old Laura Homestead which was run as a cattle station to provide meat to the miners of the Palmer river gold rush in the late 1800s.  

A rusted relic of bygone days, waits patiently amid old buildings for its final slow demise.

The pristine Wenlock forms a  corridor from east to west and brings with it a number of rare and unusual flora and fauna.  It is also home to many rare marine species, some of which are awaiting discovery yet.

Some of the cattle stations supplement their incomes by providing a few tourist comforts for the weary traveller.  






Palm Cockatoos are Australia's largest cockatoo.  They can only be found on Cape York Peninsular north of Princess Charlotte Bay.  They have large red cheek patches and long curved crest feather which distinguish them from their smaller cousins, the Black Cockatoos.  Their powerful beaks are able to crack the hard nuts of Pandanus.  They are usually found in rainforest and margins adjoining eucalypts, often following the corridors of riverine rainforest.


We were treated to a grand floor (tree) show by the iconic Palm Cockatoos at Bramwell.  I took a million photos.  Here are 3 of them.

This young brolga which was rehabilitating in a nearby paddock, gave me the opportunity to get a nice closeup.  They are usually not so obliging.





While others were enjoying a dip at Fruit Bat Falls, I stood guard protecting them from the numerous carnivorous plants which lurked in the area, waiting for some unsuspecting victim.

Pitcher Plants

Sundews

A new ferry returns my passengers from their Thursday Island trip to Seisia.

The following day, we go to "the Tip".  One more tick off the bucket list!

The following movie goes for 4.17mins and is 52.7mb.  

I will try to do a blog on each trip with different features each time.  As I will be away much of the time, some of these won't be done till the end of my season, mid Sept.  I now have to rush and do some speed research on a new trip for me to the Gulf.  I hope my passengers are as excited as I am to be doing this trip.

Unanswered questions - sometimes a question comes up during the trip that I can't find the answer to.  

Tony - the name of the shrub with the yellow flower which grows profusely at Kennedys Lost Camp in Heathlands is the Yellow Tea Tree (Neofabricia myrtifolia) 

From Tablelands to Table

Spotted Harrier

Time is flying by and good intentions of keeping this blog going must be upheld. 

The past couple of weeks has seen me resign from my job with Sunpalm so as to have a few weeks off before starting my "Dry Season" job with Oztours.  More on that later.

The time off has given me some time to do things with Ian - when he isn't working.

We've taken a couple of trips to the Tablelands.  The first was to beautiful Lake Mitchell.  Always a favourite with beautiful scenery and lots of birds.

Lake Mitchell

Driving home via the Port Douglas Road, we were treated to the rare sight of Black-necked Storks resting on the low tide sand banks.  Ian executed a swift U-turn and we were soon clambering down the steep rocky banks from the road to the beach.  We're good at this as we had some good lessons with this sort of thing from Clive (Ian's brother) in Darwin.  See Clive's Shortcuts http://winkali.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/clives-shortcuts_24.html

It's good to have a win once in a while.  Ususally Black-necked Storks fly off as soon as you're in Cooee of them.  These two hung around for quite some time and when they flew off, they went one at a time, just in case our cameras weren't focussed properly the first time.

The Black-necked Stork is Australia's only endemic stork.  They were formerly called Jabiru, however, the Jabiru is actually a South American stork.  

They stand about 1.2m high with the male slightly larger than the female and have a wingspan around 2m. Females have a yellow eye - males black.

They have a striking plumage.  The white is almost luminous.  The black isn't black at all.  It changes from black to turquoise, to violet, green, blue. . .

Back home, Winkali has been having a bit of cosmetic repair.  All her exterior timber trim was stripped back and revarnished.  We had to wait for the end of the wet season for the humidity to ease.

Another trip to the Tablelands.  This time anticlockwise.  We went through Julatten where we saw these two young Sea Eagles soaring and practising aerial acrobatics.  They seemed too young to be courting but this young fellow is certainly going to impress some lady Sea Eagle one day.

Wow.  This was food for our shutter hungry fingers.

A little further up the road we stopped in at Abattoir Swamp. We mainly like to go there because of the name.  There is a Boardwalk there that leads down to a bird hide where you never see too many birds.  Usually the obligatory duck, sometimes an Egret.  

The Egrets were more interested with interacting with the cattle in a nearby paddock today.  The cattle disturb the insects as they walk through the grass and graze.  The Egrets like this very much.

It was time to take Winkali back up to Port Douglas now.  A friend of ours, Vic, offered to let us use his mooring piles as he isn't using them at the moment.

While we were waiting for high tide to allow us out of Blue Water Marina we went to the Home and Camping show in Cairns.  I have been keen to get my hands on a thermal cooker and was hoping to buy one.  I wasn't disappointed as there were three stalls there. Joy, we had decisions to make.  We chose wisely!  The most expensive!  The price will be long forgotten while the Thermal Pot endures (we hope).

Armed with Thermal Pot and high expectations, we sail up the coast at a snappy 7-8kn.  Two nights at Low Isles - we've missed that place.   

We had a rock and rolly first night.  That wonderful 30kn wind that brought us here so swiftly, also brought swell.  Well, at least we knew we were on a boat.

The fish were abundant.  We aren't allowed to catch them as it is a green zone here.  First class snorkelling can be done here if you're not afraid of the over- friendly fish.  

But, it is a different matter for the birds.  They had a great time fishing.

An Osprey dives in and catches a fish

He carries it away

To the light house where he enjoys a meal

The Ospreys were joined by the Brown Boobies who employed slightly different fishing tactics.  

Not so graceful, but very entertaining.

A flock of happy tourists sailed in on the catamaran, Sailaway.

Some enjoyed a bit of snorkelling while others looked through glass bottom  boats.  Some snorkelled and looked at bottoms.

                                                                                   Photo by Ian

Eventually the day turned gloomy and rain set in.

Sailaway sailed away.

It was time to try out the new Thermal Pot.  The idea is you heat the food to cooking point, then place the pots into the thermal cooker.  It's very efficient at retaining the heat and food can be left in for up to 8 hours safely.  Similar principal to slow cooking in a Crock Pot, but without having to use gas or electricity.

We carefully documented the whole process with the video camera expecting magnificent results.  Our expectations weren't met.  However, with much editing, here is the result.

This clip is 8.3Mb and goes about 2 3/4mins 

Oh well, practise makes perfect.  I'm looking forward to the next time.

I'm off to Cape York this week as I'm starting my new job with Oztours.  Some interesting blogs coming up if I have time.

The down side is that I can't take Ian with me.  I'll be away for 2 week blocks for the nest 3 months.  The up side is we're getting closer to our next sea-going adventure with Winkali.