To Loyalty Beach, Cape York

This morning has seen me complete my run up to Cape York.

I left the Bramwell Junction Roadhouse campground at about 0715. On the way out I said farewell to the Walker family. We may make contact up here next week.

I set off on a lovely bit of mainly gravel road. There is a lot of work happening on these roads to the Cape. As explained to me, the aboriginals are requiring better roads. It certainly makes for a lot easier travelling. However, suddenly one comes onto some severe corrugations. Thankfully, they do not last long but it certainly makes one slow down very quickly.

After a while, I passed the entrance to the Heathland Ranger station which is also an access to the Overland Telegraph Line track(OTL). A while later, I pass the entrance to the Elliot and Twin Falls as well as the Fruit Bat Falls. I hope to visit those on the way back next week. All the way along there are access tracks to the OTL. The countryside changes all the time from slightly open country to heavily timbered. It is covered with sparsely placed termite mounds should being quite high. This has been a feature all the way from down near Laura. 

My guess at my average speed up here is around 55 km/hour. There are parts of the road that can be covered at high speed while some requires a safe speed of about 20 kms/hr and thankfully very little of that.

Eventually, I arrived at the Jardine River ferry. It is the most expensive ferry possible, $99.00 for a pass to camp anywhere north of the river and some to the south and of course the 11/2 minute ferry crossing but it does allow multiple crossings. There is no other way across so one has to pay up.

I drove on to the Injinoo community where I had to work out how to go onto Bamaga. Not many signs on roads up here. Soon I arrived at Bamaga where the show is on and a public holiday declared. It looks quite a nice town and I asked a couple of white girls how to get to Loyalty Beach. They gave good directions and in several minutes I arrived here, still about 30 kms from the Cape York tip. I hope to rectify that tomorrow.

Quite a friendly bunch of travellers here. I think it is because we have all achieved the trek up over perhaps the perceived hard drive up. Again, I have met up with Max and Sue with their Kimberley Karavan. They are at the other end of the caravan park.

Tonight, I had drinks with Noel and Marge from near Melbourne who own a big nursery there that his father started over 60 years ago. They are away for a few months. So that has been my day.