Next day we decided to go into Coen and have a look around
and maybe a counterie at the SExchange Pub. The Heritage House in the main
street is free and provides a wonderful insight into life on the Cape, both
past and present. We spent over an hour here and could have spent longer,
reading all the amazing stories and looking at photos and artefacts. At the
pub, the lunch special, hot beef rolls, was all gone so we settled for the $12
steak burger. It was pretty ordinary with the steak about 5 millimetres thick.
We did expect to pay extra but after Mt Molloy it seemed pretty puny.
Compensated with an ice-cream chaser.
The Bend is definitely a lovely stopover. The atmosphere is
very laid back and there is always a chance to meet new people. Two other
Bushtrackers arrived today, Friday. They had both been travelling permanently
in their vans for 7 and 9 years and still loving it. As Kerry had arranged to
have a grease nipple repaired on his hitch we decided to stay another night so
after a very friendly and obliging mechanic in Coen did Kerry’s repairs, we had
a lovely relaxing day before setting off on Sunday morning for Weipa.
The road got progressively worse until we passed the Batavia
Downs turnoff. We also had to contend
with 50 cars from the Just4Kids Safari who had camped in Coen on Saturday
night. Decided to stop for a cuppa to let them by, but this resulted in only
half a dozen passing us. We thought we might get past the Chilli Beach turnoff
where they were headed before the rest caught us but not so. They were all
really good though and the radio made it easy to get them around us safely.
They turned up at the campground in Weipa on Monday. Don’t know how they fitted
them all in as the campground is chockers every night. Their comments re the
state of Chilli Beach convinced us that we were not missing out by not going
there. Reports are that the beach is covered by flotsam from the many ships
which sail up and down the coast.
We had 3 nights in Weipa while John and Kerry changed out the
pivot blocks in Kerry’s van. More spares to get mailed to Weipa post office.
The nights in Weipa were a lot warmer than we had had so far and we both ran
air-conditioners at night. The supermarket , which is right beside the
campground is pretty well stocked although we’re told the barge comes in on
Monday, so the shelves in the fruit & veg section can be rather bare by
Friday. Prices at the super weren’t too bad but beer at $53.50 a carton hurts.
The road to Mapoon is excellent and we had an easy run right
through. After checking out other options it was obvious that Cullen Point is
the only suitable place for caravaners. The campground itself is nestled
amongst she-oaks and close to mangroves. There is an amenities block with toilets and cold showers as well as a very handy tap for washing down boats etc. The water is of excellent quality. While it is nice and shady, it is also
quite hot as it is sheltered from the cooling sea breeze. We opted to go back
about 100 metres to a pull-out beside the road. We set up camp adjacent to the
beach and had a beautiful breeze to keep us cool and keep away the sandflies
and mosquitoes which come out in the millions on dusk.
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| The view from our camp at Cullen Point |
Our first visitor was Dolla, a delightful local lady who lives just down the beach from our camp. We spent a lovely afternoon being entertained with her stories and enlightened by her knowledge of the local area, its people and its history. Leo actually seemed to enjoy the presence of Dolla’s three dogs as well although he is suffering with a sore paw at the moment. Too many walks!!
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| I love it here but my paw's a bit sore! |
Kerry did a great job spotting lots of birds here as well.
Just that first afternoon, we saw red-winged parrots, black and whistling kites
and lesser frigatebirds which were truly graceful as they glided gracefully on
the strong winds. The beaches here are also great for beachcombing. Unfortunately,
as well as lots of interesting shells, there is quite a bit of rubbish. Again,
most is flotsam from passing boats. Take a rubbish bag with you if you plan on
a walk. Every little bit helps.
While in Mapoon we were really lucky to catch up with Alana,
a school teacher here, and her husband Dave (Lumpy) who drives the local school
bus. They are friends of Neil, who bought our last Bushtracker and they are
truly lovely, hospitable people. Lumpy took John out fishing and they had a
great day, despite John literally throwing away his rod and reel into a school
of tuna. I think he just wanted a new one. It was a real treat when Lumpy cooked
up the tuna on the barbie. I will never consider tuna only suitable for bait
again.
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| Too slow for the sharks Stoz! |
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| Got that one! |
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| Chef Lumpey prepares the tuna. |
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| Mmmmmmm!! |
An afternoon drive to Janie Creek through the sand dunes on
the Gulf side of the Peninsula convinced us that it would be worthwhile to tow
the dinghy down there for a day’s fishing and crabbing so we packed up a picnic
and headed off early on Saturday. Unfortunately, because of the tides here, we
only got one crab which we released but the fishing was good. We landed a nice
catch of mangrove jacks and John bagged a blue salmon about a metre long. Also
saw some smaller crocs (about 2 metres) and lots of birds, including sea
eagles, beach stone-curlews and a brahminy kite. There is a great camp set up at the creek but unfortunately it has not been utilised for some years. It has showers, toilet etc and there is a fresh water tap outsie the fence for public use. The tap came in very handy when Chris managed to come a cropper in the very slippery and very sticky mud on the banks of the creek. Exit Chris covered in mud, as was the rod and reel. Make sure you let the tyres
down if you venture to Janie though. It is about 15 klms through some fine,
soft sand.
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| Amenities about half-way to Janie Creek |
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| View from the picnic table looking out to the creek mouth. |
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| A scud out in the Gulf hides the afternoon sun. |
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. It is a very quiet and peaceful place with friendly people and some stunning vistas across the port to the east and the Gulf to the west. Here’s hoping we get to come back. Met up with Bob & Wendy back in Weipa. John went up to Stone Crossing on the Wenlock River with them the next day to do a reccie. A lovely spot but not accessible for the vans so we will head further north from here.
BREAKING NEWS: Bob has finally fessed up that his famous barra were someone else's and only caught by him on his camera. Good one Bob. You really had us sucked in. Let's hope we actually catch some on a line soon!
