From/ To Today =
Cairns to Archer point light house south of
Cooktown
Km travelled today = 267 km
Fuel cost at
Cairns $1.689
High Points = The
Bloomfield Track And the
Daintree forest.
Low points = Heaps of road works.
General.
Back on the road today after a final good bye to
Cairns. Moved out of the caravan park, refuelled Bazza and turned the nose North. First stop is at Ellis Beach. One of the many beautiful beaches along todays drive. You walk along a mangrove lined path onto the warm sand of
the beach. Signs are passed warning of crocodiles and bottles of vinegar are ready for the risk takers prepared to swim. Now for the touristy bit, into
Port Douglas. The road in is being mown and all looks very neat. The resorts also appear very fine, I wonder how they are staking up against the Bali type holidays. At the foreshore I see the tourists strolling along
the beach with not one person in the blue water. The small waves rolling onto
the beach are so inviting but no, will stay out of the water. Driving on through Mossan to catch the ferry to cross the
Daintree river. $13 one way and I ask for info about the
Bloomfield track. The
young lady kindly radios the ferry master and the good news is the track is sticky but open. The level of the ford at
Wujal Wujal is down so onto the ferry and into the
Daintree. A diversion into Cape Kimberly, a small National Park with paid camping. The road is narrow and ruff but the end is worth the short detour. Another walk onto another beautiful beach with the vinegar to remind you not to swim. Next todays main event, the
Bloomfield Track. As advised it was sticky in
places with most of the floodway’s dry. The creek crossings were taken with ease as the water levels were low and not flowing too swiftly. So many wonderful sights, words and pictures cannot do justice to how this area looks for real. Crystal clear streams, huge trees, sections of the track darkened by the canopy of vegetation or the gentle rain falling just cannot be explained as clearly as experiencing these joys first hand. OK so the road work going on did prove a distraction but all for our benefit in the long run. They must have to be at it constantly to keep the road open. Archer point has been suggested as a good place to fish so head here for tonight’s
camp. It is surprising how many campers are already here and most of the sheltered spots are taken. After visiting the light house a spot is chosen. As the area is exposed making
camp requires more effort with tie down. The weather is detearating with strong winds and very heavy clouds rolling in, possibly a wet and noisy night. Fishing off the agenda.