COOKTOWN TO THE NORTHERN PENINSULA

We packed up early and after a few snaps out the front of the Loins Den we set off.  We passed through Lakeland, then turned right onto the Peninsula Development Road – this will take us all the way to the beginning of the Old Telegraph Track.  

Our first stop Laura.  We only stopped briefly in Laura to check it out – we’ll stay here on the way down.  There are a number of amazing rock art sites around.   A few of them are by appointment (guided) only – we’re not sure the timing will work for us, but we’ll wait and see.

 

The road to Laura is completely sealed, but not far north we finally hot the red dirt.  

 

The road took us past Hann River Roadhouse and on to Musgrave, where we had lunch with the local cows looking over our shoulders.  

Musgrave is one of the original working telegraph stations.  From Musgrave we drove on a short way to Coen – a relatively big town – 2 general stores, a pub, accommodation, schools, a hospital and more.  We drove straight through looking for our free camp 3 km north of the town on the Coen River.  What a site it was – on recommendation we crossed the river (actually drove through it) to the other side where the banks are sandy and camping is right down next to the river.  We found a spot and set up.  Had it not been for the brown snake we spotted in the river right in front our tent we would’ve been in the water in no time – instead we kidded ourselves and walked 100 metres up the river and swam there instead!!

The next morning we packed up and headed back into Coen.  We needed fuel and groceries.  We found everything we need in Coen.  We also wanted to visit the Heritage Centre.  It had information and old equipment used on the Telegraph Track – it also had a lot of equipment used during the gold rush.  It was an interesting look back into the past – what a tough time it must’ve been for the those pioneering men and women – it’s hard enough diving north up the peninsula today – I can’t even begin to imagine the challenges they would’ve faced back then – dense bush, rough terrain, crocodiles at every water crossing, climate, limited food and water to name a few.  Many of the first pioneers that made attempts to navigate the peninsula perished or disappeared – it’s not surprising now that we can see the unforgiving terrain they faced.

From Coen we headed further north up the Peninsula Development Road past Moreton Station - another working telegraph post in days gone by - today it was our lunch stop.

 From there it was on to Bramwell Station Tourist Park – just south of Bramwell Junction – the beginning of the Old Telegraph Track.  We pulled in to the Station with the idea we’d stay 2 nights – set up on a nice patch of grass, wash some clothes and have a bit of quiet time.  To our disappointment there were no laundries or camp kitchen.  Our one night at Bramwell Station was fun – we went to happy hour at the bar and while we cooked dinner back at the tent we could hear the band playing.  We could’ve make a booking for dinner if we liked - in July!!!  

In the morning we decided instead of staying another day here we'd pack up and set our sights on the tip!

 

We planned out the day, not just driving but a little bit of fun too.  On the way up to the tip we made a stop at Bramwell Junction to ‘look’ at the Old Telegraph Track .  That’s as far as we’ll get I think – just looking!!  

From there we took the bypass road on to Fruit Bat Falls – just at the south end of the northern part of the Old Telegraph Track.  Only 3 kms in and a short walk down to a large, crystal clear creek – we could swim right up to the falls.  The water was beautiful – not surprisingly it’s getting warmer and warmer as we head further north.  Not even another snake sighting could put us off enjoying the swim.  

After a long swim and lunch there was nothing more to do than drive the rest of the way to The Tip!  We crossed the Jardine River on the barge without any wait time (despite everyone telling us to get there early due to the queues later in the day) and we made the last 40km drive into Bamaga – one of the small communities in the northern most part of the country.

We drove straight out to Loyalty Beach. just a little north east up the beach from another small community Seisia, and found a campsite – right on the beach.  Our home for the next 5 days.