13 August – Wednesday
Another fine and extremely windy day – we will be glad to leave the wind behind.
This morning we set up to travel even further north towards Cape York (well, about 50 kms) and were very surprised at the countryside. No savannah and the jungle had been cleared to make proper farming land. What we considered to be lots of feed in the paddocks, a local lady informed us was insufficient for the 57 beef cattle they ran on their property and were hand feeding hay! I think our Tasmanian cows would have been very happy.
The big excitement of the day happened quite early – WE SAW A PROPER CROCODILE IN THE WILD!!! We stopped in the middle of a bridge over the Endeavour River (not much traffic around) and I spotted a crocodile sunning itself on a log – not a little crocodile either. It was so exciting. I also made the mistake of leaning against the bridge railings – my white t-shirt now has lovely ochre stripes across the front.
We stopped at Endeavour Falls (notice the theme in names in this area???) and had a short walk through more leaf litter to get to the river bank. The sign did assure us there more no crocodiles, sandflies or mosquitoes – it was wrong about the mossies.
We continued towards Isabella Falls and hit our first red dust – and it is definitely red. To get to the falls we had to drive through the river across the top of the falls. Some discussion ensured about walking the track through the water and I stated quite categorically that if someone wanted the track walked, he could walk it himself! The three place car parking area was completely occupied by one vehicle parked right across the area. There were four “backpackers,” complete with dreadlocks, standing around but as one of the blokes was holding a very large cane knife, we didn’t mutter about lack of consideration or give them dirty looks. However, when one of the blokes said they were going for a swim, I quietly told him to watch out for crocs. I didn’t tell him that from a hygiene point of view, the swim was an excellent idea! Leslie thought it would be nice to have a photo of him driving through the ford, so while I stood in the middle of the falls (on a rock), he drove backwards and forwards so I could get a photo.
This afternoon we headed south, with the first stop at Keating’s Lagoon. The wild pigs had made rather a mess of one end, but the clear water in the centre contained lots of waterlilies and looked very pretty. There was the usual warning sign about crocodiles, of course. What with the track cleared right beside the swampy section of the lagoon, there was plenty to worry about on the walk to the bird hide. Crocodiles, wild pigs, snakes, death adders in the leaf litter on the path and the mossies had to be seen to be believed. As soon as I stepped out of the car, word went out that lunch had arrived! When we finally arrived at the hide, after meeting a little boy who was very excited at just seeing a snake, there was only one little duck to be seen.
We continued on to Archer Point, about 10 kms off the main road and on the coast. Very wild area, and weather. A bit more practise at 4WD for Les as we climbed the hill to the lighthouse for some pretty spectacular views. The beaches in this area were more like grey sand/mud, with plenty of mangroves – and crocodiles, of course. The wind was so strong we struggled to stand up.
Tonight we are off to barefoot bowls, which should be interesting.
Another fine and extremely windy day – we will be glad to leave the wind behind.
This morning we set up to travel even further north towards Cape York (well, about 50 kms) and were very surprised at the countryside. No savannah and the jungle had been cleared to make proper farming land. What we considered to be lots of feed in the paddocks, a local lady informed us was insufficient for the 57 beef cattle they ran on their property and were hand feeding hay! I think our Tasmanian cows would have been very happy.
The big excitement of the day happened quite early – WE SAW A PROPER CROCODILE IN THE WILD!!! We stopped in the middle of a bridge over the Endeavour River (not much traffic around) and I spotted a crocodile sunning itself on a log – not a little crocodile either. It was so exciting. I also made the mistake of leaning against the bridge railings – my white t-shirt now has lovely ochre stripes across the front.
We stopped at Endeavour Falls (notice the theme in names in this area???) and had a short walk through more leaf litter to get to the river bank. The sign did assure us there more no crocodiles, sandflies or mosquitoes – it was wrong about the mossies.
We continued towards Isabella Falls and hit our first red dust – and it is definitely red. To get to the falls we had to drive through the river across the top of the falls. Some discussion ensured about walking the track through the water and I stated quite categorically that if someone wanted the track walked, he could walk it himself! The three place car parking area was completely occupied by one vehicle parked right across the area. There were four “backpackers,” complete with dreadlocks, standing around but as one of the blokes was holding a very large cane knife, we didn’t mutter about lack of consideration or give them dirty looks. However, when one of the blokes said they were going for a swim, I quietly told him to watch out for crocs. I didn’t tell him that from a hygiene point of view, the swim was an excellent idea! Leslie thought it would be nice to have a photo of him driving through the ford, so while I stood in the middle of the falls (on a rock), he drove backwards and forwards so I could get a photo.
This afternoon we headed south, with the first stop at Keating’s Lagoon. The wild pigs had made rather a mess of one end, but the clear water in the centre contained lots of waterlilies and looked very pretty. There was the usual warning sign about crocodiles, of course. What with the track cleared right beside the swampy section of the lagoon, there was plenty to worry about on the walk to the bird hide. Crocodiles, wild pigs, snakes, death adders in the leaf litter on the path and the mossies had to be seen to be believed. As soon as I stepped out of the car, word went out that lunch had arrived! When we finally arrived at the hide, after meeting a little boy who was very excited at just seeing a snake, there was only one little duck to be seen.
We continued on to Archer Point, about 10 kms off the main road and on the coast. Very wild area, and weather. A bit more practise at 4WD for Les as we climbed the hill to the lighthouse for some pretty spectacular views. The beaches in this area were more like grey sand/mud, with plenty of mangroves – and crocodiles, of course. The wind was so strong we struggled to stand up.
Tonight we are off to barefoot bowls, which should be interesting.
2 comments:
I love the Pajero action shot! Very nice! Sounds like you're having lots of fun with the local wildlife too. Speaking of wildlife, Jack and I changed the water in your fishpond at home - we probably should have scrubbed it out too, but seeing as it was almost snowing, I figured they'd be fine with fresh water (the water is now only very, very slightly green as opposed to very green!). I'm off to the dentist now - just lost the crown on my front tooth courtesy of a complimentary lolly!
Snakes swim you know. Who got to wash the Pajero?
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