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Once again, rather more
unexpected, we embarked on another trip through Australia. We wanted to revisit
Cape York and the Simpson Desert. This time though, only for another 10 weeks.
Compared to our earlier trips to the land Down Under, rather a short
trip.
During the first part of our trip, we were accompanied by
Christine and Inge. Travelling with us over the next 3 weeks in their own
Toyota Landcruiser equipped with a rooftent. Due to our inexpirience on our
first trip up to Cape York, we didn't dare to travel some of the more difficult
4WD sections of the Overland Telegraph Line Road (OTL) at the time and were
mostly travelling along the Southern and Northern bypass roads. This time we
wanted also to travel the original OTL Road.
The first 2 days though
were spent in Cairns, firstly to relax, but as well for purchasing needed
equipment as well as provisions for the upcoming trips. Cairns built over the
last 2 years a new Esplanade and park pretty similar to the one in Townsville,
offering walkways, BBQ's playgrounds and park benches to enjoy sunsets and the
mild evenings. New as well the Esplanade lagoon near the pier, which invites
for a swim to cool of during hot days. At the same time the harbour was
extended by new terminals. Tje ticket counters for all the reef trips are now
located in these new terminal buildings. The pier building has now much more
space available for shops and restaurants.
Sadly the weather during the
first week was mostly cool and rainy. After the arrival of Christine and Inge,
we started our trip via the inland route towards Cooktown. Next stop was the
Mungumby Rainforest
Lodge near Helenvale, where we spent the first 2 nights. Situated
idyllicaly and romantically in the midst of the rainforest, it proved to be the
perfect spot to relax and recharge our batteries. Chris and Nina, our Hosts,
took care of us in a very pleasant and personal manner to make our stay
unforgetable. Starting directly from the lodge, we ventured into the
surrounding rainforest along the Hidden Falls Walk. We've been told that with a
bit of luck, we'd be able to see a Bennets Tree Kangaroo.
Chris
explained to us where at the Annan River by Cooktown we might be able to spot a
real big crocodile. Said and done, we were on our way. With our zoom objectives
and binoculars we searched the river for around half an hour without success.
Then suddenly out of nowhere, it was swimming on the surface just 5 m below
where we were standing on the embankment. According to a local joining us, it
was 16 feet long (more the 5m). It really looked very big. Spooky to see it
lying there in the water without having been able to notice its approach. Im
certain it was just waiting for us to take a wrong step and providing dinner
for the next few weeks. In Cooktown we replenished our rations and got the
latest information from the local Rangers office about our destinations further
up north.
Next stop was the aborigine community of Hopevale. Here, in
the service station we needed to stop in order to purchase the necessary
permits to visit Coloured Sands. We then drove on to Coloured Sands where we
intended to stay the night. We pitched our camp directly at the beach, in a
dreamlike setting. Eddy, an aboriginee living here, runs this little campground
After spending a very quiet night in our tents, we explored Coloured Sands the
next morning thoroughly. |
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