MUTEE HEADS

Mutee Heads from our camp

Yum! I spent our first afternoon collecting oysters and managed to get a fair amount. It’s hard work though. They are not huge and you really have to look for them.  Not too good on the already dreadful back either. But well worth it – steak stuffed with oysters  - mmmm!  John was up bright and early on Thursday morning (how unusual!) to do a spot of fishing. Leo did the usual complaining. He thinks he should go all the time now that John has taken him out once in the tinny.  When he got back we took off over to the mouth of the Jardine River before the wind got up. Very interesting over there and lots of other boats. Looks like there should be fish everywhere and crabs as well. We only caught a couple of cod but at least we have some bait for the crab pots now. Will set some ghost crab traps on the beach tonight. I saw heaps of big ones down there last night while checking the boat and they are great bait for blueys.

Our camp

The view from our van

The beach with old jetty pylons just visible at top right

Kerry and Jeanette arrived just before lunch and set up camp then it was off down to the rocks to get some more oysters. Leo had a very bad limp by the afternoon so next morning when it was still bad we were in a quandary as to what to do. After establishing that the nearest vet is in Weipa we decided to ring our vet in Townsville. She was very helpful and we think that the swelling is from an injury to the leg joint and not due to an infection. Fortunately Jeanette had a thermometer so we monitored his temperature and strapped the leg according to the vet’s advice.  I also rubbed it with Rapidgel, a horse liniment that Kerry swears by, so we are hoping this and rest will help it mend. Otherwise it will be a visit to the vet when we get back.

Another fireside soiree

John and Kerry headed off to the Jardine again to put some crab pots in and do some fishing. They got back mid-afternoon with just one nice cod that Kerry caught and no crabs. They didn’t leave the pots in just in case we had to leave early due to Leo. Nobody seems to be getting crabs down there anyway. In the afternoon we took a drive up to the headland to see the old radar tower and gun emplacements which are relics of the American base which was here in WWII.

The remains of the WWII radar tower

View across to Prince of Wales & Thursday Island from the heads

We also had a look at the graves and monument on the hill behind our camp. These are graves of the original people who came to Mutee Head from Saibai Island when high tides swamped their island. They eventually moved to where Bamaga is now. Quite sad really as the chief had gone off to school, the army, and was a policeman for years then died at the age of 47 in the year he returned to Bamaga.

I noticed some beautiful native flora while at Mutee Head which I couldn’t help but photograph so I’ve included some shots below.

On Saturday morning we just fished off the head and around the jetty but again nothing much caught. It is certainly a lovely spot here though.  John and Kerry had more success on Sunday though when they went back down to the mouth of the Jardine. John had seen fish charter boats going just past the mouth and using the sounder, they located some good lumpy seabed and managed to bag a nice catch, although there should have been more. Apparently they were smashed up about 5 times so there must have been some big ones there.

Happy old fishers are we

We decided to head off on Monday morning even though Leo’s leg seemed to be on the mend. The swelling was going down but he was still limping so it was off back down the road to the gravel pit then on to Coen for a couple of nights before visiting Laura to see the quinkan rock art there and back to Townsville to get ready for the next leg of our trip. On the way to Coen we came across a real character, along the road with his trusty donkey. He was adamant we could only have one quick photo though as he said everyone was stopping him and at that rate he’d never make the Cape.

The man with the donkey

TO THE TIP OF CAPE YORK

We packed up and left False Pera Head straight after lunch on Sunday and travelled to a gravel pit/dam we had been told about which is about 5 klms north of the intersection where the Batavia Downs road meets the main road north. It was a lovely spot to spend the night. Leo had a welcome swim and Kerry and Jeanette did a bar-b-que tea while I whipped up a fruit cake. Kerry was greatly impressed with my cooking skills. The next day we stopped off at Moreton Telegraph Station and took their nature walk along the Wenlock River and surrounds. It was a pleasant break from the terrible corrugations on the road.

Termit nests at Bramwell Junction

Our gravel pit camp

Mid-afternoon saw us at the intersection to the northern end of the Old Telegraph Track where you access Fruit Bat, Indian Head and Twin Falls. There is a clearing at the intersection which comfortably accommodates two vans so we parked up there, left Leo to guard the fort and drove our car into Fruit Bat Falls for a much enjoyed swim.

Fruit Bat Falls on Eliot Creek

Next morning we ventured into Indian Head and Twin Falls which are definitely the more spectacular, although all are very picturesque and the swimming is lovely. 

Creek crossing on the Old Telegraph Road into Indian Head Falls





Indian Head Falls on Eliot Creek



Twin Falls on Canal Creek

Kerry & Jeanette just lovin' iit!

We arrived at the Jardine River Ferry at 12 noon and had lunch while waiting for the ferry to start running again at 1.00.

The Wades cross on the Jardine River ferry

The roads did not improve all the way to Injanoo and Umagico, which is the campground at Alau Beach. There is a really interesting area of forest around the Captain Billy Landing turnoff – very tropical. We were really lucky to jag an excellent campsite at Umagico with our own picnic shelter etc right on the beach and a drive up to Seisia and Loyalty Beach made us happy that we had chosen the nicest campground. We caught up with Bob and Wendy there.

Umagico sunset

The fishing was not much at all around the Bamaga/Seisia area but John and Bob did catch a few when they took a run down to Mutee Head in the tinny. We’re told Jacky Jacky Creek out near the airport is good but we decided not to bother. We had a great day on Friday, when we drove up to the tip, Pajinka. On the way we stopped at the Croc Tent for the obligatory souvenir and also went into Punsand Bay where we had a cold drink in a lovely setting at the resort’s bar. The beach at the tip is lovely. We walked up to the tip by walking behind the mangroves at the north end of the beach. This is a much easier route. At the tip we met three crazy Japanese guys who were really happy to take photos for us. They were eager to get photos of us as well. We were quite amused that they had come all the way up in a Juicy hire van. God only knows how they got it through the creek crossing but they were having a ball and were due back in Cairns in three days.



Creek crossing on the way to the tip



We took the normal track back to the carpark up over the headland and the views from the very top were fantastic. After a drink and a rest at the beach, we headed over to Somerset which is a lovely little campground on the eastern side of the tip, sheltered by Albion Island. It has toilets, water tanks and would be accessible with the van. It is still a bit exposed to the prevailing south-easters though. The graves at the northern end of the camp were very interesting as were the monument and guns up round the corner where the old magistrates homestead once stood. The history of the area is rich and interesting and we learned a lot more of it when we took our trip over to Thursday Island.



Photoof the tip from the air taken by Kerry on his chopper ride



Chris, Leo & John at the tip

Happy travellers

Three crazy Japanese boys

Looking west from the tip

Looking north at the tip

The road to the tip

Somerset Bay

The weekend was spent fishing and relaxing and taking the odd walk along the beach. We were treated to crayfish for dinner when a couple of the local guys called in to the beach with a fresh catch which they were selling at quite reasonable prices. We had seen then offshore during the afternoon and when asked about crocs they said they will only get you on the surface. I don’t believe that, and I certainly disagreed when John suggested going for a dive himself, especially when he had seen the local croc off the beach himself and assured us it was not little. They said they came in regularly but we didn’t see them again. Jeanette suggested that perhaps they were just getting some extra cash for the big show and rodeo which was on in Bamaga that weekend, complete with fireworks which we could hear from the camp on Saturday night.

On Tuesday we did the tourist thing and jumped on the ferry over to Thursday Island. The bus tour we took included a trip up to Green Hill Fort which sits above the town. Only the bus tour operators get access to the bunkers beneath which have been turned into a museum by the local historical society, so we were happy that we had chosen to go this way as it was well worthwhile. We also went to the local cemetery where we learned about the local burial customs and saw the lovely memorial which has been erected for the Japanese pearlers who died in the area. After lunch at the Torres Strait Hotel (The Top Pub in Australia) we had a quick look through the local cultural centre which was a lovely building and should be great when completed. Then it was back across the road to the ferry. The wind had picked up by the time we headed back to Seisia so the return trip was much more interesting.

Thursday Island from Green Hill Fort

Old guns at Green Hill Fort

John and I packed up on Wednesday morning and moved camp down to Mutee Head where there is a lovely little campground right beside the beach. This is a free camp with bins and nothing else but the beach is beautiful and we had it to ourselves.