A Trip to Thursday Island

When we met Sue at Weipa she told us about the Thursday Island tour on a small boat that her group had done with Cape York Adventures.  

We booked the same tour, which took a maximum of 7 people (there were only 6 in our group, so it was perfect).  The tour took us first to Friday Island, where we visited a small pearling business, Koko.  I bought a lovely seed pearl necklace here.

Next, it was on to Thursday Island where we visited the Torres Strait Island Museum which had some beautiful arts and crafts housed in this very modern building.  It was very interesting.  

We had some free time walking around Thursday Island village and enjoyed an impromptu singing and dancing performance by a group of young Torres Strait Islanders outside a coffee shop, which happened to be their main sponsor when they attended competitions and displays in Northern Queensland.  

Then it was up to the Top Hotel for a good lunch of fish, chips and salad with a beer or wine.  After that, we were picked up by Mutti (Anthony) our guide, for a tour of Thursday Island.  It was very interesting, he told us a lot of the history of Thursday Island, took us up to the old fort (which has never fired a gun) and the cemeteries, as well as around the schools and many of the government buildings.

From there, we went to Horn Island and visited the WW2 Museum - lots of stuff to read, so Trev had a really good time there.  Our captain, Tom, showed us a crocodile on the way out of Horn Island, so everyone was happy to finally see one.

The trip back was much faster and MUCH choppier than on the way in.  We did lots of low flying over big waves, coming down with a big thump.  I loved it, as did all of us to start with, but eventually it was too much for Lorraine - she was not well at all, and had a very quiet night when we got back to shore.

Getting Closer - Jardine Ferry, Bamaga and Seisia

We had to retrace our route through Canal Creek and Sam Creek to get back onto the Bamaga Road - but this time it seemed so easy it was ridiculous!  Once you've negotiated these sorts of crossings and tracks a few times, it becomes easier, and nobody blinked twice at any of them - it was just straight on through!

We arrived at the Jardine Ferry Crossing, which cost $100 return per vehicle.  In the shop I spotted some stainless steel insulated beer mugs (with the Jardine Ferry logo on them) for only $7.50, so I grabbed a couple, then Bill and Lorraine bought one too.  This was a bargain, as once we crossed the Jardine we saw the same mugs for up to $22 at Bamaga and Seisia. 


Once we crossed, it was a relatively short drive over dirt road to Bamaga.  We stopped there for fuel and to stock up on groceries, then it was on to Seisia Caravan Park, where Bill had booked a couple of nights for us.  We were directed to the unpowered campsites, on the left hand side of the road.  We were right on the beach, close to the barge that comes in from Cairns, but also very close to the Fishing Club.  And of course, with all the beaches up here, don't even think of putting your toes in the water - you could lose them!

Throughout Bamaga and Seisia were wild horses, which are left to roam freely, and if you get in their way, you can end up on the wrong end of a hoof or two.  They come close to your camp area, and try to steal food, and are generally a bit of a menace, and quite dangerous.  And that's coming from someone who loves horses.

I hadn't realised that there were two sides to Seisia, but I think we got the 'wrong' side. People who have stayed there say it was either really good or just OK - and it seems to be the unpowered side that gets the 'just OK' comments.  On the other side are powered sites for twice the price, with better amenities and apparently a better side of the beach too.  Our side also had music and noise right through the night from the nearby Fishing Club - it literally didn't stop, so some people were not very happy.  Ah well, you get what you pay for, I guess.  

Fruit Bat Falls and Elliott Falls

Next morning, we headed back through the forest to the turn-off to Fruit Bat Falls. No camping is allowed there, so we were just popping in for a swim before heading to Elliott Falls for the night.

Well, Fruit Bat Falls was beautiful.  The water was crystal clear, reasonably easy to get into, and warm enough for Trevor to take the plunge (he's a bit of a wuss when it comes to swimming in cold water).  

Around the walkways to the falls were lots of tiny carnivorous sundew plants that exude sticky droplets to attract insects, which are then devoured by the plants.  I did get a couple of photos of them, but they were so tiny, I really had to work hard to find them.

After our swim we had lunch in the carpark then set off for Eliot Falls, our campsite for the evening.  We again ventured onto the Telegraph Track, where we negotiated two interesting/difficult crossings - Sam Creek and Canal Creek.  

We had to check each of these crossings out on foot before we attacked them, and Trev guided and directed the other two vehicles across - I did hop out a couple of times to photograph and video our cars coming across, so that was a lot of fun.  It's amazing what these vehicles will do once you've worked out your path.

 After conquering the crossings, we found our allocated site, set up our tents, then walked to Elliott Falls and Twin Falls, both very pretty areas where we again had a swim.  I must admit that Fruit Bat Falls was the prettiest and the better area to swim.  

On the way back to camp Trev and I also had a look at The Saucepan, another swimming area with a really deep swimming hole.  Then it was back to camp for drinks and nibbles before dinner and stargazing.  

Captain Billy Landing

 Following our entertainment at Gunshot Creek we drove back via the Heathlands Ranger Station so we could book a night at Captain Billy Landing and a night at Elliott Falls.  Well, we were up against the abysmal Queensland National Parks booking system again.  They want you to book ahead using the internet or phone, when you are in remote regions where there is no access!  And you don't always know when you'll be arriving at the places you want to book into, because on the road lots of things can happen to delay your arrival - bad weather, car or caravan problems, change of plans etc. 

We arrived at Heathlands and were directed by the ranger to use the online booking system outside the office - as there were three groups of us travelling together we were supposed to do an individual booking for each group for each night at each place, on separate credit cards.  What a nightmare - Trev got so frustrated with the slow, antiquated system, that the ranger told us to just do one booking for 6 people on one card and that would be enough.  He also agreed that the booking system was pathetic, and that the old honour system, where people turned up, found a site and put money into the envelope worked much better and rangers had far fewer complaints.  It's a headache for them too, having to field all the complaints from travellers.

So, we finally got our booking, and off we went.  Captain Billy Landing is on the eastern side of the cape and is known to be very windy.  The drive down there was lovely - lots of green rainforest, bright red dirt and several river crossings.  

Yes, there were a few corrugated and rough patches but it was a really pretty drive.  Our camp was on a beautiful white beach, with the remnants of the landing jetty, surrounded by cliffs and a rich green rainforest.  And yes, it was very windy.  This was our first night camping, so it was interesting getting set up, and it was noisy with the sea and the wind, but it wasn't too bad.