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Cape Flattery NOTE: I'm currently in Cairns as I'm writing this - there was no internet access in Seisia. (it is now a couple of days after finishing the trip)
Days 76=>87: Cape Flattery (41 miles), Murdoch Pt (38), Cape Melville (44), Combe Pt. (20), Claremont Pt. (40), Cape Sidmouth (41), Cape Direction (42), Fair Cape (38), Cape Grenville (32), Captain Billy Landing (35), Ussher Pt (36), Seisia (56)
22 Liters of water was ample (2 left over), and I had NO rain until the last day when the skies let loose with everything they had.
I have 'notes' for each day on a voice recorder, but, since I don't want to listen to it - then update this blog, I'll just try and 'remember' hightlights from the 11 day stretch.
* Especially the 1st few stops (Murdoch, Sidmouth) - where there was mostly beach and no trees - I had to make to with 'scruffy' little trees for shade. I would wait until about 5pm to put up the tent (the sun much weaker by then, sundown was around 6:30pm)
* a good part of this section was very close to the shipping lane - there was
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Cape Flattery (on landing) only one day when I had to go out of my way to avoid crossing it. (saw many freighters)
* interesting in this section: I saw several (large - by comparison) bluebottles - which I hadn't seen in many weeks
* I saw ONE dugong (for US folk - like a manatee) on the whole trip (in contrast to previous trips where I saw many), though I did have my skeg knocked around a few times - I think this was done by sea turtles however (saw many of them)
* Of previous 3 trips (actually only 2 went all the way to Cape York), I hadn't seen any signs of crocs. While paddling by a point - where there was a bit of a tide current - I saw a rather large head floating in the water. My first thought was to reach for the camera (in the day hatch), my 2nd thought was to keep paddling - this I did. Just after I passed it, it submerged. I figured that I had just spooked him, but I did brace up - just in case he was coming after me to try his 'death roll' on
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Murdoch Pt. (tree was here in '06, but the rest of the greenery wasn't - cyclone swept clean) a sea-kayak.
* On crossing Shelburne Bay (to Cpt Billy Landing) (in the early morning darkness), I got to play 'trawler tag' again. For the last (of the darkness) couple of hours I had to leave my light on.
With the light on - I noticed that I was paddling over a short piece of rope - the rope moved around a bit, then submerged - it wasn't rope - it was a sea snake (saw another one shortly after dawn). Hmm, how many other interesting things did I paddle over or close to in all the hours of darkness that I paddled on this trip.
* I took a picture of Macarthur Island (from afar) where David Winkworth rescued a mate from a
croc attack.
* My 'lips' (which burnt badly on my 2nd trip) made it 'most' of the way without burning. About 3 days into tihs last stretch, the 'inside' of my lower lip burnt slightly (I caught it in time and was very protective of it from that point). Not sure how the 'inside' was exposed to the sun - I must 'unconsciously' paddle with my mouth open.
* Both sets of
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'WATER HERE' Cape Melville my 'shoes' gave out on me on the 3rd last day. The Mions (that I wear in the kayak while paddling) tore where I had modified to attach bungies. The 5-10 Nemos (that I wear when carrying gear through rough ground - and earlier in trip for surf landings) - the sole started coming apart (glue giving out).
Well, I think I'm going to play tourist for the next week or so (my flight is for mid-may and it is too expensive to change it). Tuesday (Apr. 28) will be the last time I'll be in a kayak until I get back to Florida - don't know if I will be able to stand it. (hey
FSKA folk - any paddles scheduled for May 16?)
I should write a 'summary' type of entry, maybe something detailing 'the good, the bad, and the ugly' of the trip. Well, if I get bored of being a tourist, maybe I will.
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Greg Bailey
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finished! Great job, mate.
So you've made it to the finish line. Fantastic effort along the way. It sounds like you've earned the chance to relax and be a tourist for a while. Those of us back in Florida and FSKA are looking forward to hearing more details and having you back in our waters again. By the way, great pictures as usual (except for the fungi), that really seemed to tell the story well - along with your unique descriptions. See you soon!