4 Stray Katz: July 2022

Rossville (en route to Cooktown)

Saturday 16th -Monday 18th July

We decided to go the long way around to Cooktown as the Bloomfield Track was exceptionally steep and we were a bit concerned with the downhill sections whilst towing a large van. This also allowed us to restock in Mossman and load up on food ready for Cape York. We were hoping for a bush camp on the way but ended up finding a great place to stay only 20 minutes from Cooktown. The owners of a large property in Rossville had just (3 weeks ago) opened up some of their land for bush camping. The sites were private and tucked away and even had fire pits. We ended up staying two nights as I came down sick again, and we were all a bit exhausted from our action packed days in the Daintree, so we used the time to 'rest and rejuvenate'.

The camp was only 5 minutes from the famous Lion's Den Hotel, so of course we popped in for a drink and a few games of pool. Daniel and I spent about half an hour searching the signed walls trying to find our names (that we'd written when we visited on our way to the Cape in 2007). Alas we had to give up in the end - it must be somewhere but there are so many more names on the walls now compared to when we were here last time!

The next day was spent relaxing around camp (the unused air strip on the property provided heaps of wide open space for the kids) and exploring the nearby Annan River. We found some rapids and the kids spent several hours with a girl they met, Ava, paddling a blow-up mattress to the top of the rapids then letting the water propel them down.

It was great to have a fire in the evening and enjoy the starry skies.

Lakeland Sculpture Park had information about all the towns up Cape York as well as some impressive sculptures. For obvious reasons this one was Jackson's favourite!

We had a few rounds of pool at the famous Lions Den Hotel- both Daniel and I were a bit rusty, we haven't played for a long time.

The bush camping at the newly opened Rossville Retreat was just what we needed after several weeks on the 'tourist trail'.

The face of persistence - she nearly got there.

After practising and taking tips from Daniel, Jackson was able to walk the length of the slackline- he was pretty proud of himself.

The property we were camped on backed onto the Annan River. This swimming hole was past the waterfall, so safe from crocs.

There were rapids that we threw ourselves into and enjoyed the feeling of being propelled down the river.

The kids met a friend who had a blow-up mattress which provided hours of entertainment in the river.

Cooktown

Monday 18th - Friday 22nd July

Cooktown has a great RV park at the racecourse so we decided to stay there for the 3 nights they allow. We then did one night at a caravan park to charge everything up (and shower!).

We came to Cooktown mainly to get the last of our supplies before heading up the Cape and for they boys to fish, as we'd heard the fishing was good. Jackson and Daniel haven't had the best opportunities to fish so far so we hoped Cooktown would prove more fruitful (of fishful). Alas it did not. The lack of fish was certainly not due to a lack of effort though. Over the 4 days we were in Cooktown the boys would have spent around 12 hours fishing (at all different times of the day) and they only caught two trevallies. Jackson did begin to reel in a very big fish though, only to discover it was a toadfish (noxious and inedible) when it he pulled it above the water!

Other than fishing we also:

- Meandered along the main street reading the mosaic story trail on the pathway

-Went to the Cooktown History Museum and learnt about everything from the way Indigenous people of the area used to live and the time Captain Cook and the crew of the Endeavour spent here repairing their boat in 1770 to the thriving hub Cooktown was when gold was discovered nearby and the damage cyclones and fires have inflicted on the town.

- Saw the story of the first reconciliation between Indigenous Australians and Europeans as depicted on murals at the Waalmbal Birri Cultural Centre.

- Jackson and Daniel climbed Mount Cook whilst Emilia and I chose to do the hike to Finch Bay and Cherry Tree Bay instead.

- Played on the Musical Ship and read through the Milbi Story wall which depicts local Indigenous history from dreamtime until present day

- Wandered through the cemetery looking at all the very old tombstones

- Looked through the Botanic Gardens and drove up to Grassy Hill Lookout

- Went to Reconciliation Rocks- the site of the first reconciliation between Indigenous Australians and Europeans (a local tribal elder and Captain Cook)- the elder is said to have walked towards Captain Cook with a spear with the end broken off, depicting that they did not want to fight.

The boys spent a lot of time on Cooktown Wharf but the locals said the bait fish weren't around so that meant no big fish - the locals were right!

One of the impressive murals telling the story of the first white men at Cooktown and their encounters with local Indigenous people.

A replica of the HMS Endeavour - Captain Cook's ship.

Monument to Captain James Cook

That's History covered for this week!

Fish and chips at Cooktown Wharf.

Finch Bay

View of Finch Bay on our way to Cherry Tree Bay

I thought the tiny mangroves all sprouting on one side of Cherry Tree Bay were delightful!

Whereas Emilia preferred all the different types of driftwood and other beach paraphernalia. She arranged it all and took some creative 'arty' photos....

...then she wrote this in driftwood. Gotta love a bit of beach creativity.

The following 3 pictures are from Daniel and Jackson's walk up to the top of Mount Cook. Apparently Jackson set a cracking pace and they made it to the top in 50 minutes (it is meant to take about 1.5hours each way). The enjoyed the walk and loved the views.

I'm on top of the world!

We all loved these tiles on the story trail depicting the Indigenous yearly hunting calendar. They hunted different species at different times to ensure nothing was over hunted.

Deep in thought, reading through the Milbi Story wall, which tells the story of the local Aboriginal people.

Part of the Reconciliation Rocks display- this is the elder that approached Captain Cook seeking harmony

This striking sculpture 'All Together' is at the start of the Reconciliation Rocks precinct (pity about the orange fencing in the background - doesn't really match with the photo!).

Daintree Rainforest, Far North Queensland

Wednesday 13th - Saturday 16th July

We took our time on our way up to the Daintree, enjoying a few beaches, shopping at Mossman and stopping at the Mowbray River where we were lucky enough to see two saltwater crocodiles. By the time we got the ferry over the Daintree River and got to camp it was already 5pm. We were super impressed with our choice of caravan park - the Daintree Rainforest Village- as it was set within the rainforest, bordered by two mountains. The park itself was very picturesque, with a sunset viewing area, a swing attached to a giant old fig free and a communal fire pit. After a wander around the park we ended up at the fire pit and were lucky enough to join a group of 12 travellers, of which 2 played the guitar and sang (really well). We enjoyed a few hours of live music (they even took requests) and chatting with fellow campers before we realised how late it was (8.30pm) and decided we'd better be responsible parents and get dinner for the kids!! It was a lovely first evening.

We spent the next 2 days exploring the beaches, rainforest boardwalks and other attractions in the area, ensuring we made the most of our time here. It is a lovely place with so much to see. It was extremely windy both days though, and actually quite cool on the beach on Friday (not that you can swim anyway). We visited the most well know beach (Cape Tribulation) but actually thought some of the other beaches were nicer. The way the rainforest meets the sea is so unique and it is beautiful to wander through the ancient rainforest then pop out of the thick vegetation onto the beach.

We really enjoyed our time in this natural wonder.

Saltwater crocodiles on the banks of the Mowbray River on the way up to the Daintree.

He even gave us a smile!!

Myall Beach- Jackson built a driftwood bridge so no-one would get wet feet

Wandering along one of the many lovely beaches that border the Daintree Rainforest.

We drove the Bloomfield Track to Wajul Wajul (to check out the road condition and see these incredible falls).

Enjoying the serenity

A big fat croc on the bank of the Bloomfield River.

We stopped in at Cowie Bay on the way back from the falls - the tide was out so far and we had the vast beach to ourselves.

We walked out to the exposed reef at Cowie Bay. In this large rockpool there were heaps of stingrays and even a white tipped reef shark.

The super low tide exposed so many starfish in the shallow pools- we had to watch where we walked as they were everywhere.

As it was going to be full moon this evening, the tide went out extremely far. This photo was taken closer into the high tide mark and the ocean was very far away!

A little rocky island off Thornton Beach.

We couldn't go past the Daintree Exotic Fruits Ice-Cream shop.

The ice-cream flavours on the day we visited were coconut, passionfruit, wattleseed (tastes a bit like mocha) and mamey sapote (a tropical fruit sort of like a papaya, that makes a fabulous ice-cream flavour).

Great timing - just as we pulled into a carpark these 2 juvenile cassowaries were wandering through the forest- they were not upset by our presence at all and just kept foraging.

There were several picturesque boardwalks through the rainforest- the Daintree Rainforest is the oldest continually surviving rainforest in the world and some of the trees on this particular walk were so big. The boardwalk was made around existing trees and the kids gave each one a hug as they passed by.