10 - Cooktown to Port Douglas 19/6 - 21/6/2019

Entry 10           Cooktown to Port Douglas 19/6 – 21/6/2019

Leaving Elim Beach we were thankful the 16 kilometres of dirt road was not as wet or frightening as our inbound drive with only a couple of slippery patches on the way out. After about 35 kilometres we stopped at Isabella Falls with the flow of water travelling over the road just above the falls.

Our drive across the waters of Isabella Falls with water spashing out from the tow tug sides.

Our drive across the waters of Isabella Falls

We drove into Cooktown obtaining fuel for the tow tug and food for our pantry. Our next planned stop was a free camp location about 25 kilometres south of Cooktown. Archer Point; we had been hearing some mixed comments like, it was a great setting, the road in was rough with lots of washouts, the wind is constant and lots of people congregate in the first camping area due to a bit of wind protection. Yes, the road in was a bit challenging but we didn’t experience any issues driving in an appropriate manner considering the road condition.

Yes, the first camping area looked much like an unstructured caravan park with caravans and motorhomes crowded together, nestled under coconut palms teeming with coconuts, for us, it looked uninviting.

The road/track was a bit on the narrow side (as it transpired for a distance of about 2 kilometres further on from the first camping area) and we were looking for somewhere safe to stop to the side of the road to assess our available options. As it transpired all the available pull over locations had road construction vehicles parked in them all with someone seated in the driver’s seat. As we travelled along the road, we put our tow tug into low range 4wd for our safety as the road condition was deteriorating with no-where to pull over or turn around. We were starting to get anxious about our predicament wanting to stop somewhere without causing embarrassment to others to assess the area.

The road suddenly turned into a steep climb and we were in need of keeping our momentum going keeping the power on hard. The road came to an end at a peak next to a lighthouse with a small parking area. Luckily there was only one other car there or we would have been snookered if another vehicle had been present. We assessed our options for executing a U-turn, admired the view and evaluated our terrain below for possible options we could set camp.

Hmm? Are we able to turn around. Hmm?

Hmm? Way down there looks like a possibility?

We spied below a possible location that may work for us and made our way down the hill. True to form another road construction vehicle had just pulled up opposite the entrance track at the same time as our arrival leading to our target location. Out of frustration we just pulled into the track without a prior assessment. GOLLY GOSH. There was a tight bend in the track with a big drop off to the side in the middle of the bend. The tow tug managed to get past the drop off but the caravan wheels tracked straight towards the drop off and we had to stop to avoid risking the caravan rolling.

We were finally out of the way, (possibly stuck) and we walked the rest of the track in with a look around for any other nearby suitable spots. Returning for another assessment of our snookered predicament the road gang supervisor approached us enquiring if they could assist if we were stuck. He offered to get the road grader in to smooth out the difficult bend. In disbelief of the offer, what could we say, yes please!

It doesn't look good.

Snookered

Hmm? Looks awful. When we started to reverse the tow tug slid sideways partly into the hole. Grrr!

Grader to the rescue.

The grader also struggled with the hole - ending up pushing a few loads of dirt forwards to partially fill it in.

What great people, grading the track all the way down to the camp spot.

The grader driver even continued along the track smoothing out the many pot holes making for an easy drive in. As it transpired all the road construction vehicles positioned in the available parking locations were providing a clear passage for the grader along the narrow track as we were driving in. We could hear them notifying the grader driver of our approach over the two-way radio who had also moved off the road providing us with a clear passage in.

Archer Point was an amazing location. It provided a stunning scenic setting with our own private bay. It was a free camping location and the assistance provided by the local Cooktown council workers was exemplary. We were initially stunned by our treatment, the opposite to our personal experiences of our local council at home. It was a wonderful way to complete our 2019 Cooktown experience.

After we set camp the roller came down compacting the new track helping with our departure.

When backing the caravan into its spot we ran over the only cow paddy in the paddock and it was fresh. Grr!

Our setting made up for all the Grr!

We spent the best part of three days at Archer Point gazing out of the caravan windows mesmerized with the beauty of our surroundings. It was rather windy making it a bit uncomfortable standing outside. We still walked up and down the roadway exploring all the other tracks leading to several other inlets. It did feel good returning to the confines of the caravan protected from the constant wind.

Views from the caravan window

Views from the caravan window

Watching the moon rise from the ocean from inside the caravan, gorgeous.

In the morning we watched the sun rising from the ocean

Orange arrow below the dot shows our location with lighthouse above

There were turtles regularly swimming in our private bay

The constant ferocity of the wind eventually thrust us away from Archer Point and we spent the next two days making our way to Port Douglas where we were planning to intersect with a couple from Adelaide (Judy & Jim) who were spending a week at Port Douglas with a tour group.