Fishing the Tip

Wroonga Point

Thursday 4th - Saturday 6th August

After stopping at both Bamaga and Seisia for supplies we headed towards Wroonga Point, a free camp near the Tip that we’d heard about. A few wrong turns later we found a track that took us out to a lovely beach. We’d been told there was a great camp spot on a point (where the fishing was meant to be fantastic), but we were unable to find it, so we set up on one of the beach spots. Daniel went off to get firewood and stumbled on the spot they’d been talking about (we’d chosen the wrong spot at Wroonga- Dad that joke was for you!). Daniel took the kids there fishing for the afternoon and they came back 3 hours later with a tusk fish, a golden trevally and coral trout. Due to their success, we decided it was worth packing the tent up and moving to the point in the morning.

After we’d re-set up the tent on the point, we headed up to the Tip so we could officially say we’d been to the most northern point in Australia. The boys took their fishing rods to try their luck. After spotting fish jumping near the rocks, they ran over and started flicking lures. Within a few minutes Jackson’s rod bent over and the line took off! Unfortunately the line snapped off but he was super excited to have had a bite from what was definitely a large fish (most likely a mackerel).

After taking a few photos at the Tip and enjoying the view we headed back, dipping our toes in the clear blue water. It looked so inviting and it was so hot, but there are signs everywhere warning you of the possibility of crocodiles in the water so we refrained from swimming.

We needed a few more supplies so we drove back to Bamaga, but unfortunately (and very unluckily) when Daniel was putting the shopping in the boot, the rear windscreen was hit by the shovel (which had shaken loose from the side of the roof). There was a huge bang and the whole thing shattered. Thankfully the tint held it all in place but that wasn’t going to last long. An hour, and $90 worth of the strongest tape we could find, later Daniel had taped up the whole back windscreen- this was the best we could manage up here and we hoped it would hold!

We finally got back to camp and the boys had another fish. Sam, our friend from the Telegraph Track, joined them and between them they caught another 4 fish which we all shared for dinner.

It was a lovely spot, but it was very exposed to the elements and we had all had enough sun and wind, so we decided to move in the morning.

The beach in front of where we camped the first night.

We had 3 different types of fish for dinner the first night- what a feast!

The boys trying their luck on the way to the most northern point on mainland Australia.

We tried to recreate the photo we took at the Tip in 2007.

Fishing the Tip.

WE MADE IT!

Walking back from the Tip- the water was very tempting!

Pajinka- The Tip

Fishing off the rocks at Wroonga Point

Daniel got a giant trevally that we all enjoyed for dinner.

Not a bad view from the campsite, and the boys could fish right off the rocks in front of the camp.

This is where we enjoyed our morning coffee on the day we left- pretty incredible.

Alau Beach

Saturday 6th - Monday 8th August

We moved to Alau Beach Campground and were lucky enough to score a spot for our tent right on the beach. It was a gorgeous beach with soft white sand and turquoise water. We enjoyed the pool in the afternoon then relaxed on the beach to watch the sunset. The boys tried their luck fishing and Daniel hooked on a shark!! It put up a fight, so it was very thrilling to watch. That night it was flake and chips for dinner. There was a lot, so we filled our fridge then shared some with our camp neighbours, who then gave us some queenie the next day, so we had another amazing fish dinner.

The next day we walked along the beach looking for shells, visited some of the WW2 place wrecks in the area, fished off Seisia pier, cooled off in the pool and enjoyed another breathtaking sunset over the ocean.

A highlight for the kids at Alau Beach was a young friendly dog who visited our camp regularly. They spent lots of time patting and playing with ‘Cheeky’ as they named her (as she cheekily tried to steal food from people’s bins).

There are so many dogs wandering the streets up here and it is unclear if they are owned or not- some were friendly, some not. There are also lots of wild horses and we were amazed to see horses just walking around the towns, some were even in people’s front yards! No one seems bothered, though I found it very strange.

After 4 great nights we decided it was time to head back south and pick up our van. It had been 12 nights in the tent, and we were all ready for our proper beds. Of those 12 nights, we ate freshly caught fish on 6 of them- the fishing was definitely a highlight of our time up the top of Cape York!

On our way back to the Archer River Roadhouse (and our caravan) we stopped in at Fruit Bat Falls to have a break from the serious corrugations on the Peninsula Development Road. It was a long, dusty and very bumpy drive back, but it was well worth it to get back to the van in a day 😊.

Sunset fishing at Alau Beach.

Emilia looked like a real fisherwomen in her new Cape York fishing shirt.

He's on!

The reef shark was about 125cm long.

Enjoying the reward from his hard work fishing - beer battered flake. It was delicious.

We did a big walk along the beach and around the other point, which took us to another gorgeous bay.

Jackson took his rod on the walk and flicked lures for a bit of fun.

A WW2 DC3 aircraft that crashed near Bamaga on its way to PNG. All 6 crew on board perished.

Another WW2 aircraft - a Bristol Beaufort- that crashed in the region.

There are heaps of fuel dumps near the Bamaga Airport - another reminder of the activity up in this area during WW2.

Seisia Pier

Fishing off Seisia pier - all the locals use hand lines and live bait. The boys tried live bait but didn't have any luck this time.

I made Emilia pose for this photo as I wanted to capture the two small children in the background- the little boy on the right was fishing with a hand line when we arrived, hanging right over the edge. He knew exactly what to do and I was just amazed that a 3 or 4 year old could do this (I was also a bit worried for him as he was hanging half over the edge holding the hand line, but after watching for a while I could see he was quite capable).

The thong tree at Alau Beach - thong trees are quite common up here (as are broken/discarded/lost thongs).

This tyre swing was right out the front of our camp- it made a lovely frame for a sunset photo.

'Cheeky' - the kid's adopted dog for our time at Alau Beach.