East Coast South to North

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Thursday 28th July – Musgrave Roadhouse to Cooktown via Lakefield NP

This is actually part 2 of this day's trip, so I can put more photos up with it. Somewhere after the 2nd Lakefield water crossing we hit a few bumps and holes and managed to dislodge a plug lead(!) which (not surprisingly) caused a lot of difficulty in running. Phil promptly replaced the lead, and we limped along for a while, gradually losing drive although the engine was still (sort of) running. We ended up on the end of a tow rope from Phil's car and crawled to the ranger station where we could get off the road and have a proper look. The rangers at the station were somewhat sniffy about us being out here in these old cars, but became more friendly when we told them about the other trips we'd dne, and that we didn't need to use THEIR facilities for repairs, just the paddock. We'd done more than just dislodge a plug lead - the heavy-duty battery had got bumped out of its cradle and caused a little bit of damage around the area, which meant that when we got going again various warning lights kept going on and off, and WORST OF ALL, the air-conditioning had stopped working! On this score, we didn't get much sympathy from any of the others when we got to Cooktown, as the only air-conditioning they EVER have is of the wind-down-the-window variety!

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Photos

Not quite the Gibb River....
... but challenging enough! This pic is taken from the halfway point.

And the 505...
still crossing

Palm Cockatoos
Look closely - there are lots amongst the grass. Sadly, I couldn't get a pic of one in flight.

And still the road goes on,
heading towards the coast and Cooktown

The Last Crossing
Although it looks as if we may have, we DID NOT take a nose dive!

Endeavour Falls
Looking very sedate – in the wet it must roar down here

Me at Endeavour Falls
Also looking sedate?