Day 13 – Day Trip to Thursday Island

With half the crew in Sydney, the Seisia’ns boarded the ‘Strait Runner’ at Seisia Wharf and travelled over to Thursday Island for a snappy little day trip.

Ben and Dad on Thursday Is

We decided against the bus tour option, choosing to explore the island at our own leisure….A decision that was probably re-considered halfway up the long, steep hill to the elevated Green Hill Fort…

Green Hill Fort – Thursday Is

Green Hill Fort – Thursday Is

View of Thursday Is dock (taken from Green Hill Fort)

The sudden onset of a ‘pressing matter’ for one of the party resulted in the groups seperating for a short time, meeting up at the Torres Strait Hotel, known as ‘The Top Pub’ (in reference to being the northern most hotel in the Australian continent. After a quick feed, we wandered the main street of Thursday Island, perusing the wares of the local traders. With the usual dust collecting souveniers onboard, we headed for the ferry dock and cruised through the Torres Strait back to Seisia…

Benny on the dock waiting for our ferry home…

 Rookie mistake of the day – opting to walk and tour ourselves as opposed to paying for the bus tour. It was a long hard walk to the top of the mountain.

Interesting fact of the day – In the 1970’s Papua New Guinea sought to include some of the Torres Strait Islands within it’s borders but the Torres Strait Islanders insisted they were Australians and after much political discussion they remained part of Australia.

Day 12 – Seisia – Clare, Ethan and Harper Return to Sydney

Sadly today saw the Riff to Tip team go seperate ways for a few days. Ethan, Harper and I packed a bag and headed off to Bamaga airport – no duty free shopping here – just a runway and a small building. The plane was a little 40 seater and there was a not a spare seat on the flight.

Harper excited by her impending first flight…

Bamaga Airport

We knew we had a 3 hour stop over in Cairns and with E and I on our own with the bags and Harper it was always going to be a long day. We boarded at 10:35am and Harps was pretty good on the 2 hour flight to Cairns. She had a sleep and there was very little whinging. Changing a dirty nappy in an aeroplane toilet with no change table was challenging though.

The 3 hour flight to Sydney was made a little easier by a spare seat next to us but it was still a relief to see my brother at the airport. We dropped him back at the hotel in Ryde and headed back to Glenmore Park to pick up some appropriate clothes for the funeral. Harper had a bath and Ethan had his first shower without thongs on for 7 days. We then headed back to the hotel as it would be easier to make the 9:30am start from there as opposed to fighting the traffic from home. Our heads hit the pillow at 11:00pm and after 12 hours travel we were all pretty tired….

Back in Seisia, the rest of the crew broke out the UNO cards to bide the time, missing the others and praying for their safe return on that little plane..

Rookie mistake of the day – When embarking on a 10 hour journey it helps if you pack the toy bag. Luckily Anthony had enough time to return to camp and pick it up before we left.

Interesting fact of the day – Bamaga airport was created in late 1942, in WWII as a substitute base for bomber planes, replacing the Horn Island airport which was receiving heavy Japanese fire and rapidly deteriorating due to flooding

Day 11 – We made it !!! – Seisia to Pajinka (‘The Tip’)

Today was the day….After 18mths in the planning we finally did it, we reached the ‘northern most point of the Australian continent‘ – The Tip!!! – A short 20min journey from our digs at Seisia, then a 15min walk up and over the rocks and there it was…arguably one of the most famous signposts in Australia.

The Tip – Don’t you kids touch that sign first!!

The kids raced ahead, touching the post and posing for the gen Y obligatory ‘selfie’. The champagne was popped, hugs and handshakes all round and a deep sigh of relief…The dusty campsites, thousands of  kilometres of corrugations, screaming babies, tired teenagers…it suddenly all became worth it. The cameras came out and photo after photo recording the pinnacle moment in family history…The trip Akubra donated by Col Colman, was then  ceremonially christened in the rockpool below the sign…

Unfortunately the afternoon was slightly dampened by a clumsy Ant dropping Ethan’s iPhone on the rocks, right beneath the sign, resulting in a smashed screen and a not so happy Ethan…

We made it !! – The Riff2Tip Crew 2014

The Prado Crew @ The Tip

The Dmax Crew @ The Tip

A photo for Harper’s 21st…

The girls, wine in hand…contemplating jumping in to avoid more corrugations…

Cheers !!

Harper dipping her toes @ The Tip with mum

Harps and Dad @ The Tip

On the way back, we encountered a small water crossing, with Clare at the wheel taking the opportunity to bath the Prado…

Clare bathing the Prado on the way back from the Tip

What an awesome day…..

Something Anthony wont mention – the 15 minute walk to the tip was rocky and mountainous. He was so excited and determined to get there capturing every moment that I had to carry Harper in the pouch and Paul had to assist me over some of the steeper bits – his reasoning – Harper only weighs 10kg, I’m carrying 15kg in camera gear! Cx

Rookie mistake of the day – check where you’re standing before attaching the go pro to the vehicle – Anthony was standing amongst a bush full of green ants while setting up the go pro (quite a funny dance after the first bite) and when walking over rocks it’s always a good idea to have your iphone in it’s cover.

Ethan’s interesting fact of the day – you are not actually standing at the most northern part of the country when you’re at the sign – there’s about another 2-3 metres of rock past the sign post.

Day 10 – Bramwell Station to Seisia

Bramwell Station is a lovely place, and we wished we could’ve spent another night or two just to relax in it’s surroundings…

With our last ‘one nighter’ behind us for a while, our spirits lifted and we continued on towards the Jardine River Ferry, and our destination Seisia Holiday Resort…

Whilst waiting our turn, it was discovered the brake wiring on the Nova Terra Sportz had come apart over the endless corrugations and dust holes encountered along the way. With no brakes operating on the 2.3t van, future travels were going to be slowed…But, with a trusty tarp and tools in hand, the mechanical wiz Paul was under it in a jiffy and Team Dmax were back in business…The issue – the electric brake wiring wasn’t long enough to accomodate the suspension travel, and had pulled from its connections…

Waiting for the ferry @ Jardine RIver

Team Dmax hogging the ferry…

After our first river crossing, albeit without getting the Cooper’s wet, we pushed on for the short 30min drive up to Seisia.

After checking in and being shown to our sites right on the beach, we set up and the kids went off to explore the surrounds…While our sites were right on the beach, unfortunately there was no swimming due to the crocodiles. It was sooo hot, humid and dusty but after seeing two crocodiles in the water about 100m of the shore we thought it a little bit risky.

Not too long after, a mysterious man in a dinghy selling fresh crayfish pulled up onto the beach…Two were selected and appropriate financial transaction undertaken, no questions asked…well just one maybe! (“how long in the pot mate?”)

Boys with their fresh crayfish @ Seisia

With our campsite established, Clare started making arrangements for herself, Ethan and Harper to fly back to Sydney for the funeral of her beloved Nan. Flights were booked the following day, with the trio set to fly out of nearby Bamaga Airport to Cairns, before flying on to Sydney…Despite the circumstances of the trip, all three were looking forward to a nice shower and hotel bed after 10 days on the road…

Our beachfront campsite @ Seisia

A Seisia sunset from the campsite

Day 9 – Musgrave Roadhouse to Bramwell Station (via Archer River Roadhouse)

With an early start, we fuelled up and departed Musgrave Roadhouse, heading for Bramwell Station.

Fuelling up @ Musgrave Roadhouse

With a long day of dirt road and corrugations ahead of us, it was unanimous that an Archer River Burger was on the cards for lunch. With that in mind, we continued north and knocked out about 175kms before lunch…Having thoroughly researched the trip, Ant was well aware of the famous burger delicacy and made haste…Harper just took in the scenery as we went…

Harper enjoying the scenery out to Bramwell Station

We pulled into the Archer River Roadhouse, parked up in the shade and headed for the burger menu. Archer Burgers, chicken burgers, and alike were ordered and received promptly…along with the obligatory keepsake, another stubbie holder…

The Riff2Tip Crew @ Archer River Roadhouse

The trusty steeds resting under a shady tree after a morning of hard work…

Harps and Dad @ Archer River Roadhouse

The Three Musketeers @ Archer River Roadhouse

The infamous ‘Archer Burger’

With our stomachs overloaded, we continued on towards Bramwell Station, the most northern working cattle station in Australia, and our camp for the night.

Our campsite @ Bramwell Station

After set up, we headed over to the bar and celebrated our arrival over a coldie or two and learnt about the station itself from Ken, the resident manager…

We returned to the camp for dinner, with Harper having her first ‘bush bath’ in a plastic tub…

Campsite Bathtime for Harper @ Bramwell Station…That water was clean when she went in…

After dinner, the crew headed back over to the bar and took in a comedy show by comedian Brett Thomson, flown in especially…The boys though he was pretty funny, and thought it was pretty cool to be sitting in the bar watching the show…It’s interesting both boys ‘got’ different jokes, and had to explain to the other the punchline..

After the mandatory photos, we headed back to camp and put our heads down, preparing for the day ahead. Already, the ‘one night’ set up/pack ups were wearing a little thin on the boys…

Captain & Vice Captain at the bar @ Bramwell Station

Katreen & Paul @ Bramwell Station

Harps & Mum @ Bramwell Station

The Prado @ Bramwell Station

Ethan’s Interesting Fact of the Day – Bramwell Station is the northern most operating cattle station in Australia, with a size of 132,000ha. It’s also the place Clare slammed Ethan’s finger in the door of the Prado just as we pulled in…Unfortunately for him, despte his suggestion otherwise, the injury didn’t preclude E from setting up…

Bennie’s Highlights – The comedian, the mechanical bullride and Ken and his welcoming staff…

 

Day 8 – Cairns to Musgrave Roadhouse (via Lakeland)

Finally some internet access – we’re currently in Weipa  but you can read about Weipa later (around Day 17-18)…

When looking back to Day 8 we refer to it as “Oh, that was the day Clare had her meltdown” yes – day 8 got the better of me and after a stressful pack up, leaving an hour late and the boys spending 20mins in the servo choosing breakfast, we weren’t off to our best start…

We left the green, leafy surrounds of Cairns, headed up through the beautiful tree lined Kuranda and headed to Mt Carbine for our first scheduled rest stop…The Prado getting it’s first taste of dirt roads under it’s nostrils….Unfortunately we had our wires crossed, with the DMax Crew stopping at Mt Molloy. With no phone reception or UHF in range, we spent the morning apart. Unfortunately upon our arrival in Mt Carbine, we discovered the former roadhouse was closed, undergoing renovations…With no alternative in sight, we settled for a roadside set up, pulled out the awning and stretched the legs…

Roadside pitstop & nappy change @ Mount Carbine

With an awning malfunction due to a wind gust, we escaped the heat and returned to the Prado, heading for the scheduled lunch stop at Lakeland Roadhouse. Unfortunately as we approached Lakeland and regained phone service, we received the unfortunate news that Nan had passed away. We gathered the crew at Lakeland Roadhouse, and over lunch discussed whether to continue on, or return to Cairns.

A big decision being made…

Consensus was to push on, and with the encouragement from Clare’s dad, we continued north towards Musgrave Roadhouse, our destination for Day 8. Arriving just on dusk, we checked in and parked up side by side. Clearly the mozzies could smell ‘fresh city folk’ and attacked us within minutes of exiting the cars. After a rushed set up, we sat down for our first meal in the ‘bush’.

Our overnight campsite @ Musgrave Roadhouse

The Prado starting to get a little dirtier @ Musgrave Roadhouse

Rookie Mistake(s) of the Day:

– Letting the boys loose in the servo with a hand full of cash under instruction to “just get whatever you want for breakfast while we fuel up” (they were still in the store 20mins later, emerging with microwave cheeseburgers !!)

– Turning left (south) at Mareeba instead of right…Could have been an even longer day

– Getting our ‘Mt’s mixed up and spending the morning apart

– Not pegging out the car awning at Mt Carbine

Ethan’s Interesting Fact of the Day – Musgrave Roadhouse is the only overland telegraph station in the peninsula that remains, as the old wire has been replaced with modern microwave radio systems and optic fibre…But Anthony still had to use a pay phone and dial 1800 Reverse to call his mum…

and, is approximately halfway between Cairns and the Tip…

Day 8-11 Coming Soon…

We’ve made it safely to Seisia…Internet access is has been an an issue for past few days, hence no updates…Stay tuned for Days 8-11 posts and new pics…

Day 7 – Cairns Coconut Resort

Firstly, apologies for the delayed updates….Internet access up here is intermittent and the resort hotspot doesnt like accessing the blog page…If you’ve aready read Days 5 & 6, head back to check out the added photos taken along the way….

What a relief waking up knowing the camper was staying put for the day, and we were persons of leisure…After a fantastic knock up breakfast courtesy of Paul, we headed off down to the Cairns foreshore to wet a line. With Paul’s dad Bob taking the reins as ‘Activity Leader’ for the morning, we loaded up the bait and dropped the lines in amongst the million dollar tinnies of the rich & famous…

Within minutes, Bob had his first bite…but the lines went a little quiet for a while. Ben then started what would be a one sided fishing affair, reeling in the next 5 fish, including a stingray. Ethan came close, and we all seemed to get a nibble here and there, but the winner was fishing….

After returning to camp with a plethora of stories about ‘the one that got away’, we headed down to the resort pools to seek solace from the 32deg heat. Harper even threw on her bathers and hit the water park. She was wary at first, not leaving dads side, but eventually crawled in further and started splashing away…A deeper foray into waist deep water didnt seem to phase her either, taking it in her stride, before graduating to the ‘big’ pool with a tight grip on mum…

Well this is it, the real adventure starts tommorrow…Grocery shopping tonight for both parties, pushing around two carts per family, loading up on the staples. Final checks of the vehicles in the early morning daylight, the off we go…

Thanks again to Bob and Betty, Paul’s parents…they helped make this all possible by bringing up the D-Max and Nova for Paul & Katreen, and are great fun to have around…Safe travels back to Sydney, and enjoy you trip to Hawaii.

Ethan’s Interesting Fact of the Day (by Clare again – E’s far too busy on the jumping pillow) – The Cairns Region holds the world record for the longest single day mail run – Spanning 1450kms and taking 9 hours, the route includes 10 flight take offs and landings, stretching from Cairns to Cape York…

Rookie Mistake of the Day – Awarded to the seemingly unknown individual who bumped the thermostat on the fridge and froze, butter, milk, cream, eggs, beer and juice poppers…Hands up anyone ?

Stay tuned for a new segment currently in development by Ben…

Ant x

Day 6 – Townsville to Cairns

We have finally reached Cairns and we’re all very relieved. We arrived around 1:30pm and had just enough time to set up the camper trailer before Katreen, Paul, Brooke and Ben arrived.

It must have looked a sight from the outside – the weary 6 day travellers rushing to set up camp – tired, hungry, a little frustrated with each other and very hot and sweaty being greeted by the fresh faced, very excited 4 hour plane travellers, all cheery and smiley walking straight into their already set up, air conditioned caravan.

Thank goodness Paul’s mum Betty was on hand with some toasted cheese sandwiches and icey cold soft drink for us once we were set up – lunch has never tasted so good.

We stopped at Cardwell for our mid morning break and I have to say it was my favourite roadside stop so far. It was a beautifully kept park on the foreshore, plenty of tables and shade – it was lovely. The “Do not feed the crocodiles” signage was a little bit concerning, it had me facing the water during lunch. I’m certain Ethan wasn’t thinking anything sinister after sharing the backseat for the past 6 days…

It is great to have the whole Riff to Tip team together now. The caravan park we are staying at, Cairns Coconut Island Resort, is the nicest park we have stayed at, it’s great – plenty for the kids to do, pools, activities, great facilities. The kids had a great time on the giant jumping pillows and then hired some buggy/bike looking things to ride around on for an hour.

Ethan is relieved that he now has Brooke and Ben and doesn’t have to hang around us anymore. Sadly he doesn’t have an interesting fact for you today as he has been too busy.

We enjoyed our first group BBQ for dinner and Anthony and I finally got a chance to relax with a drink once Harper was asleep.

The weather is hot and steamy, 30-32 degrees with a drop to about 14 overnight. A breeze is providing some relief and I plan on hitting the pool with Harper for her first swim.

The gang plans on a fishing adventure tomorrow, just off the jetty in Cairns – their big deep sea fishing trip is later in the trip.

Cx

Ethan’s interesting fact of the day (By Clare this time) – Cairns is among the top 10 fastest growing towns in Queensland, it is home to the world’s most dangerous bird (the Cassowary) and Australia’s largest moth (The Hercules Moth).

The Rookie mistake of the day – nothing to report  🙂 which is a relief!

Day 5 – Rockhampton to Townsvillle

Great start this morning, Harper slept through the night so we all managed to get some sleep. We decided to get an early start so it was up at 5:15am (we actually had to wake Harper rather than her waking us). We were packed up and on the road at 6:30am. We knew we had a VERY long day today – 720kms if we wanted to make Townsville. I was skeptical as today would be 3 hours past Harpers breaking point but to be honest she handled today better than I did.

First stop was breakfast at a little roadhouse called Clairview Roadhouse (we thought it appropriate to stop here) then another few hours drive until lunch at Mackay.

Our afternoon stop was at Proserpine then it was full steam ahead until our destination, we arrived at 5:45pm, later than we wanted but relieved we had made it. This gives us a much shorter day tomorrow and  we are all looking forward to that.

We enjoyed our first group BBQ and Anthony and I finally got a chance to relax with a drink once Harper was asleep.

The long trip has meant quite a bit of entertaining for Harper – Ethan has been amazing with her in the back but as much as she adores him she bores quickly so here are some of the other things that have kept her attention – keys, Ethan’s rubber thong, a stubby holder, mobile phone covers, the tyre pressue gauge, empty bottles, Anthony’s watch, a piece of rubber floor matting, sachets of her food, socks and of course the good old Wiggles.

We have a few days in Cairns from tomorrow where Ben, Katreen, Paul and Brooke join us. We are looking forward to some new company and especially looking forward to setting up for a few days, I’m really over travelling all day, getting in, setting up, settling Harper, cooking dinner, cleaning, sleeping, packing and then on the road again. We really haven’t had much, if any, chance to see the sights of the places we are staying. In hindsight six days of constant travelling was probably not a great idea. Bring on Cairns and a few days of relaxation.

Your comments have been giving us a laugh each day and keeping us connected to home, we’ve had a request to give a weather report – Beautiful and sunny Bruce. It’s about 23 by 10am, around 29/30 by lunch time and then 32 at around 2pm. The nights are cool enough for a jumper and we’re all quite comfortable in sleeping bags and doonas.

Cx

Ethan’s interesting fact of the day – the thing I found interesting today was that the first Japanese consulate was set up in Townsville in 1896, it closed in 1908. The other interesting thing was that in 1942 three small Japanese air raids were made against Townsville, there was no damage to any buildings, they missed their target of the railway and destroyed a palm tree instead.

Ant’s Rookie mistake of the day – now called The Rookie mistake of the day – thanks Robyn, you jinxed me, I now share in the rookie mistake category. Always check that your baby is buckled up before you leave. We realised about a km down the road that she was kicking back, legs outstretch. Ethan looks down and says “Harper’s seatbelt isn’t done up – whoops…….