At least that was the plan at a point considerably south. After all, it’s not very far from Cape Tribulation – up and back in a day with plenty of time for a good look round. Not so! The short route via the Bloomfield track along the coast is strictly 4WD. A sign at Cape Tribulation tells you of the difficulties ahead in no uncertain terms. It terrifies me so much I don’t even dare photograph it. The road is likely to slip from under you. The mountain is likely to slide down on top of you. The track can become impassable in any one of a number of ways. There are two hills that require serious expertise and the top range of 4WD capability. Not for this timid (wise?) traveller in a campervan.
The alternative is backtracking and travelling up the Mulligan Highway, 324 kilometres, away from the coast, with warnings this time about straying cattle. The cattle prove to be frilly-jowled brahmins preoccupied with their own business. The landscape is quite hilly once I twist up the range: smooth-humped rocky protuberance; Gormenghastian peak; waterfall of stone; rocky fingers reaching up from the bush to meet spectral fingers of mist; roadside grass pink and cream and gorgeous in the wind; and blossoming treetops, also cream and pink – eucalypt, melaleuca, callistemon. Once I reach savanna country there are plantations of small ant-hills like lightly skewiff inverted ice cream cones.
I stop briefly in Mt Morgan for coffee: I have a choice of instant or Mexican, and an accompaniment of f*** and c*** from a group of lads who screech up, burning rubber in a pair of utes, and order and eat hamburgers at the same volume. I don’t think Mt Morgan is on my list of Places I Want to Live, despite its picturesque industrial ruins and tiny flowers.
In Cooktown I find a spot in one of those rare camping areas that welcome dogs, and settle down for a few days of varied pleasures. I wonder how I can reduce four hours and 300 kilometres to so few photos and words, and decide that experience is much denser on foot.
pommepal said:
How windy was it at Cooktown? The wind was a constant companion when we were there. The locals said it never stops blowing…
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morselsandscraps said:
Somehow, I don’t member wind particularly. Rain, yes!
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pommepal said:
No rain just constant wind when we were there
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Heyjude said:
Think I’ll give Mt Morgan a miss. But thank you for taking us to Cooktown 🙂
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morselsandscraps said:
Mt Morgan was a reminder that all is not peaceful and beautiful!
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Lucid Gypsy said:
What are the raspberry like berries tucked in there?
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morselsandscraps said:
Guess what! IDK. (I don’t know!) You have the eyes of a berry-hawk. I’d didn’t even see them.
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Heyjude said:
😀
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Lucid Gypsy said:
A berry-hawk, I love it! They look like they belong to the flower?
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morselsandscraps said:
Ah! Yes. But what is the flower? A minute little field flower. Is that good enough?
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Suzanne said:
Wow – what a journey. You really up in the wilds there. That photo of the Beware sign is incredible. Sounds like there is lots to be beware of up there. Take care.
Your description of the landscape and plants is wonderful.
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morselsandscraps said:
There was so much more that I haven’t included in posts. I’ve been scheduling them right up to departure day for Warsaw next Thursday, and even so they don’t include even my everything. So real time doesn’t exist in my blogosphere. I’ve been home since last Wednesday.
I change blogs on Friday. snippetsandsnaps will let you know the Warsaw address at the end of the week, if you want to come with me.
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Suzanne said:
What a busy year you are having. I’ll look forward to seeing your adventures in Warsaw.
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