Oooh er, That's a big one !!

---

DAY 332


The Darkness on Bramwell Station came quickly, as if a velvet cloak had been thrown over the top end of Queensland, and everything fell silent.

Only the sponge eating horse and a handful of cows wandered around in the darkness still grazing, oh and the mob on Kangaroo’s, about 10 of them silently moved around and got closer to us.

The generator had long since dozed off to sleep, and the only sound was a lone cow calling in to the darkness. I walked Caroline over to the loo, just so she didn’t trip over a lone Python out hunting or some other disaster. I commented to Caroline on how silent the Station was, except for the silly cow occasionally mooing and we walked back unzipped the door and got in to bed, the night air was still with the occasional waft, but warm, Caroline wanted to finish a puzzle and I wanted to get to sleep so I kissed her goodnight and drifted off.

This morning at 5.00 am the magicians cloak had not yet been removed, but the Kookaburra’s were the first ones to step up to the plate and announce that as they were awake it was time that everyone was awake.

Something was being mechanically loaded, and the generator was back with us, I looked out of the trailer but could only see the odd light moving around in the darkness.

As the day came up, station hands were whizzing around on quads, the sponge eating horse was standing next to someone else’s trailer, with a long face, dogs were chasing each other and Bramwell Station was back in full swing.

It was 6.20 when I jumped out of bed (must have been that Kangaroo I ate last night!) and put the kettle on, I took a picture of a couple of cows walking up the track and saw a lone Kangaroo grazing, I went to take its picture but it bounded off, probably knew that I ate one his mates last night, which was lovely.

The cattle road train had gone in the night, but the day was here in all its glory. Caroline joined me just before 7.00.

We had run out of bread and we were on our emergency milk supplies as the fresh stuff had run out so we decided to ask the Station to knock us up a bacon sandwich for our breakfast, a rare treat (honest). They said they would, no problem and as I said we were not in a hurry, the lady got on with her chores, she had a banana cake in the oven for one of the guys on the roadwork crew, he was instructed to take it with him to the site of the roadwork’s, I guess so that they could all have a piece, unless he wanted to keep it himself.

We got on and packed everything away, the tent was folded onto the trailer and ready to go. Andy had been chatting to our fellow camper, Michael, he camped last night with his family, they also have a trailer, but they were pulling theirs with a Toyota Prado. Andy asked if they were heading South and which way they had come. Michael said they were heading south and he explained his route to us. Up until now we have had some very mixed comments on what route to take or not to take and don’t take the trailer etc. However we found out about the bypass road, which is no bother at all for trailers, and we knew that the Old Telegraph Road was rough in places and would not be suitable for trailers.

We got our maps out on the bonnet of the Patrol, Michael showed us on the map the bad bits and told us which route to take, i.e. he has just done it with his trailer in tow so we knew that we would be fine.

The upshot of it is that as long as we use the Gunshot Bypass Road and not take the Gunshot Creek crossing itself then it would be ok, also we could get away with doing more of the Old Telegraph Track if we wanted but absolutely do not take the Old Telegraph Road to the Jardine River, he said that to drive across a croc infested river, 80 metres wide was just crazy and is for stupid people.

So Andy and I had a chat about it, thinking that perhaps we could use his plan, but to remember at any point we think it is crazy or too dangerous then we go back and find a different route.

I see that the lady is back in the kitchen so we wander over with our mugs and she soon appears with a kettle of hot water and two bacon sandwiches, we sit in the covered area “The Stockmans Bar” and have our breakfast.

We then go for our showers; I am most annoyed with myself as when I get into the shower I realise I have not got my shampoo, conditioner or shower gel. Andy hears my annoyance through the thin walls, but he explains that he has them in there. When I showered yesterday, I forgot to put them back in my bag, the funny thing is that if it was any other caravan park, they would be long gone, but here they remain so I get dressed and go next door to Andy’s shower room and grab them from him.

Andy chatted to one of the ladies that work on the station, we find out that although it is a working station and does a bit of cattle work, the main bread and butter here is the repairing of roads on the Cape York Peninsula. The cattle work is secondary, the cost of transportation to markets from this remote location means that the price would be too high and therefore no profit to be made.

This lady is here as her husband is one of the road crew, they usually go home to Brisbane before the wet season, however this year they are going to stay for a change to see what it is actually like.

We hit the track and head toward Bramwell Junction where we need to fill up with Diesel, we don’t need a lot but we do prefer the tanks to be as full as possible, now this really proves its point today, as we have filled up at every opportunity so far, even if only a few litres, when we arrive at Bramwell Junction we find that they have no EFTPOS facility, i.e. they have no electronic means of taking your money!! Oh Dear! We can only pay in cash, but we have a limited amount of cash for this part of the journey, i.e. we never like to carry too much cash, but of course we knew that we would need cash for the ferry and other emergency type situations.

We put $100.00 toping up the main fuel tank and filling the sub tank, we needed to make sure that we had enough cash for the ferry as Michael the guy we were speaking to this morning told us it was going to cost us $99.00 bucks and the lady as the fuel station said it was just over 200k’s.

200k’s on Bitumen is one thing, 200k’s off road is quite another and the Patrol does use, noticeably more fuel when she is working hard, in sand or in 4 wheel drive or come to that dancing around on the corrugations like a pig on roller skates.

We took the main bypass road and crossed over to the Gunshot Creek bypass road, then dropped south for 7ks to get a look at the famous Gunshot Creek. The 7k track was tough going, very rough and full of deep scars and gullies that if the trailer wheel had slipped down in to one then we may have still been there now!

We stopped at the Camp ground at the top of Gunshot and made a cup; of tea, what struck me about these clearings in the tree’s is the rubbish, left by past travellers who just can’t be bothered to take it with them, things like babies nappies, drinks cartons etc.
What surprised us was we saw no one on the Telegraph track for the duration of our stretch on it.

Driving back North the way we came down the Old Telegraph track we went past a grave for WJ Brown died in 1945, he worked as a linesman.

Back on the “Old Telegraph Track” we made our way through deep sand and some heavy corrugations and were unsure as to which way to go, to took what we thought was the correct track but ended up in a bush camping area, so we turned the truck around in the tree’s and went back to find the creek crossing. We got to Cockatoo creek, at first glance we thought “sh*t” this is the biggest crossing we have ever done, not in length but in trickiness and depth, we were very uncertain, really the main problem being that if we got stuck we are travelling alone.

The lady in the Gas station had said to me stay to the left, I think!! However Caroline had said she thought she said, stay to the right, there was no alternative, I gave Caroline my camera and keys, just in case I slipped over and fell in, I waded in to walk the creek crossing side to side looking for the obstacles and potholes and everything else that needed avoiding. It is marked on the Hema map: CAUTION BEWARE LARGE POT HOLES IN CREEK BED.

Andy did not look too nervous and I tried not to be too nervous as I did not want him to be put off, however I wanted Andy to be certain that he was capable of getting us across safely. Not that it would have been dangerous to us personally, but if the truck got stuck in one of the potholes then we would have struggled to get it out on our own, especially as we have the trailer.

The benefit of walking the creek was that it was lovely and warm and was about 30 mtrs side to side, I walked it as if I was the truck, looking at where the wheels should be in relation to the pot holes.

Caroline was at the other side and I was explaining where the truck needed to be, so at least she could not say “you didn’t tell me”.

My feet now, thoroughly cooled and cleaned I walked back and we went through the plan, explaining it down to the finite detail.

We walked back up the hill and got back in to the Patrol, we put in in 4 wheel drive and tipped the mirrors downwards so I could easily see the water.
Our first obstacle was a rocky drop off, at the top of the hill, which we eased down and gently, let the truck down to the waters edge.

Hard right, and we were where we wanted to be, I asked Caroline to stop taking photographs as I needed her to be looking at the near side front wing, and where we were in relation to the rock ledge we were balanced on, usually I want Caroline to take photo’s to record the exciting bits, but this was just to important to get wrong.

We ease the truck hard left now and with a little bump, it crawls off the rock ledge on to another part of the crossing where we need to be. Caroline tells me the front nearside wing is just about to collide with a large boulder and I need to give it more “hard right”, which I put in to avoid collision, I straighten up and the truck pulls out of the creek bed with a steep uneven climb but we are out.

A job well done, but it was all down to the planning, we congratulate each other victorious on a good piece of teamwork.

The track continues and the corrugations are awful, the truck is bouncing all over the place, but we have no choice just keep going nice and steady, the Patrol is amazing I would have thought it would have fallen to bits by now but she still seems to be enjoying herself.

We drive past Sheldon lagoon, there is water on the left hand side but not on the right and a little sand bar takes you over, Caroline asks me to stop so she can take some photo’s and I tell her not to get to close to the waters edge, as the Crocs are ambush predators and are very good at what they do, and as were are unsure about the croc factors, safety is the key word.

We drive only a few more kilometres and see a sign in the bush with a picture of a truck on it, we laugh and say “who put that there? Is that to tell us there are trucks out in the bush.”

We drive down a hill and see a huge Western Star truck pumping water from a creek, we look at each other and laugh, we think there must be road works further on, that’s why he is pumping creek water.

Sure enough just up the road we see a huge Dam that has been carved out of the red earth to form this enormous water catchment, perfect for when the wet season finally arrives.

The bush land opens out a bit more and we pass arrive at the junction to pick up the Main bypass road as the Old Telegraph Track continues North to Fruitbat Falls, “shall we stop here?” we both comment, but we agree we will do it on the way back as we will be coming back this way as it is the only road up to the tip.

The developmental road is being worked on, well not at the moment but there are signs that it is, a huge Caterpillar Dozer, is parked on the side, with an amazing canopy/cab to keep the driver out of the sun and cool, I would guess it may be air conditioned as well.

A grader is also parked up and the road is in very good condition, credit to these people who do this job, this road is a lifeline. The road works are quite something, that is to say we are in Outback territory yet the roadworks are phenomenal.

We cover 53k’s, the road in places was rough but fairs fair it was not too bad, we see signs for the Jardine Ferry and the fuel station, in only 1 Kilometer.

We pull in to the service station, Diesel is $1.99 per litre, I top the tanks up whilst Caroline goes in and sorts the ferry cost out. The ferry is $88.00 for the car and $11.00 for the trailer and she paid for the Diesel (fortunately their EFTPOS is working and we can use a card to pay) and had a “Well Done” Ice lolly to cool us down.

The guy at the fuel station gave us our return ticket which we cannot loose, well we could be we would have to buy a single to replace it. We ask him if many people have crossed the Jardine River without the aid of the ferry and he said one fella has done it this year.

Let us just consider this it is 80mtrs to cross (apparently) and its full of crocodiles, if you got stuck in the middle what do you do? He said about some people had got stuck halfway across and thus not making the Jardine River crossing, it costs about $1000 to tow you out, so far exceeding the $100 Bucks to use the ferry, well worth it maybe!

Whilst eating our Ice lollies we get back in the truck, all full of fuel and gently slip down on to the ferry, this distance to the other side is only about 60 mtrs and the ferry driver didn’t even acknowledge us or check the ticket, the ferry just moved off and got to the other side and we drove off, the ferry seems only large enough for one vehicle towing a trailer at any one time. No sooner than we drove on, the ferry moved off and we were on the other side in no time at all.

The ramp is a steep climb and we are on the other side, we have about 45k’s to Bamaga, the road is again shocking, very corrugated, but we are not far away.

The first place we get to is Injihoo, an Aboriginal community that is full of roads works stuff, like trucks and heavy equipment, another few k’s and we are in Bamaga where we are thinking about either bush camping or a camp site.

Caroline is keen to go a few more k’s on to Seisia, pronounced so we have been told
(Say-sha) we find a campsite and pull in.

A guy who turns out to be the manager (Peter) asks us if we would like to have a nose around and we say yes, so we get in his golf cart and he takes us around, pointing out the nice shady sites.

“For a few bucks more” we can have a hut, which is a shady area that is enclosed, with power, lights and a sink that is right on the beach, this is good for us, what a view!

He tells us that there is a Salty croc around so don’t do anything stupid like sleep on the beach, you may wake up with a bodily part missing. He seriously tells us that “sometimes” it swims past about 100 mtrs out but they very rarely see “slide” marks on the beach.

We set the trailer up, with our bedroom window over looking the sea, what a spot, it is breath taking, and within half hour it’s all done.
We obviously have a cup of tea, that goes without saying but we are pleased that we have made the 1091 Kilometer journey up here and are only 29k’s from the most Northerly tip of Australia.

We need to shoot out and get some bread and milk, there is a little supermarket just down the road, which we go to, heavens above you want to see the prices I think it is cheaper in Harrods food hall, $17.00 bucks ea for a warm up basic pizza, $5.50 for a bar of Chocolate and the best was a bottle of Fruit Cordial $8.80 that we would have paid $1.95 back in Cairns.

We get back and have a shower, we are both filthy and hot from a days travelling, plus fuelling up walking around, and all the other stuff.

Caroline does a light evening meal, as we are tired, we talk about our day and do a little bit of blog work.

We go online and have a quick chat with Darryl and Sarah (The Wallaby Wanderers) then its 9.30 and I am done in, I really do want my bed.

With lights out Caroline does some puzzles and I drift off to sleep the Coral Sea laps into my thoughts, I drift off to sleep.


P.s. Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad, I know it will be late by the time you read this.

---

Photos

First Thing I saw
Was Chyenne waiting for Michael and his family to get up, he may have been there all night

Bramwell Station
The Bush Showers

Bramwell Stations
Road Train

The mobile Kitchen
For the road Gang

Exit From Bramwell Station
Shut the gate mate

Huge Termite Mound
We prefer then in Red !

Gun Shot Creek
This little stretch of water is what it is all about.
OH, NO ITS NOT, YOU NEED TO READ ON !!

Paddling in Gun Shot
It was lovely warm water, no reason for it apart from having a look up the creek

Track Back
This is the 7 K track that we came down to have a look at Gun Shot Creek

W.J Brown (Linesman)
His Grave R.I.P

Cockatoo Crossing
Our River Crossing when we looked in

Comments

[Janney]

Great Photos
Your travel post is indeed worth reading. I love your photos. You have some great talent here. Good luck on all your future travels and I hope you'll share them the same way here. Happy Anniversary to your Mum and Dad! By the way, do you know that you can earn by travelling? I found a new social networking community that is surely exciting to join. I hope you'll be interested too. Have a blessed day!