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Old Laura Coach Road 2
We left Jessop Ck early, refreshed and ready to tackle our second day on the coach road. Immediately upon leaving camp we were confronted with more washed out creek crossings and rough terrain. It was very slow going all morning. Our morning tea break arrived without any incidents or recoveries required. After our break, we encountered a couple of very steep climbs that required the lower clearance vehicles to be very choosy about their line. Craig’s Mazda had to have two attempts at one climb, but a little guidance saw success on the third attempt.
At about the time Craig was having his third attempt, a 4WD club came up behind us. As the law of the tracks dictates we let the smaller faster convoy overtake us.
In short order we found ourselves crossing the Little Laura river and then onto the good gravel road. Along the way we stopped to assist some
ringers from Olive Vale station who had a ute with a flat tyre. Gathered around the ute was a group of horse riders. A helicopter sat idling beside the road. As soon as the tyre repair was complete the helicopter pilot lept in and the chopper was gone in seconds.
Our visit to Laura coincided with the State of Origin match, so we all had dinner at the pub and watched QLD flog NSW again.
The Old Laura Coach Road
This morning began with a short drive into the site of the old township of Maytown, then we explored several of the old mining sites before setting off on one of the roughest and most challenging tracks on the Cape.
A rough rocky descent into the North Palmer River had everyone anxiously anticipating what lay ahead. A large vertical sided gully in the river bed denied us access to the easier of two climbs out of the river and to the top of the ridge-line. The remaining choice has a very difficult steep climb over large rocks right at the very top of the ridge and immediately prior to that , there is a very steep long climb on loose soil.
Kerry’s 80 series struggled to climb the slope, and at first it simply appeared to be a tyre pressure problem, but it soon became obvious that the centre diff lock was not engaging. A quick inspection under the car found the source of the problem, and much to everyone’s delight Kerry and Janice easily climbed to the top off the ridge.
More Jill climbing rock hopping and creek crossing adventures continued for the rest of the day. We made camp at about 4 pm on Jessop Creek, where I staked a tyre on a very sharp rock.
A good wet season prior gave us yet another camp on a delightful waterhole.
Lappa to Palmer River
We got away from Lappa pretty early, and made our way across the Great Dividing Range into Mareeba. The drive in has some beautiful scenery, especially along the Walsh River.
We refueled and restocked in Mareeba then headed towards the picturesque village of Mt Molloy. From Mt Molloy we ascended the ranges again before turning off the Mulligan Highway on to Whites Creek road. This road used to a fantastic drive along the very tops of the ridges, the climbs were steep, but the views were worth it. The Cook Shire Council in a feat, demonstrating their lack of understanding of the desires of those who visit the area, “improved” the road. This improvement not only caused a well compacted road to break up into bulldust holes, it also took away much of the attraction of driving that road.
Our camp on the Palmer River is a beautiful spot on a small but picturesque waterhole.
Undara to Lappa
We got away a couple of hours later than planned due to Undarra splitting our group into two. One group did the lava tubes tour at 10:30 and returned at 12:30. Flexibility is the key to safe and stress free travel, so some quick changes to the plan would give us a reasonable target for tonight’s camp.
From Undarra to Mt Garnet is a pretty easy bitumen road but we found ourselves first on the scene at a fatal motor vehicle accident and spent an hour assisting there.
Once underway, we reached Mt Garnet where we began our run along the old railway line to Lappa. This is a very picturesque drive with great views. The last wet season caused some serious erosion which made for an even more interesting journey.
We arrived at Lappa with plenty of time to set up camp and inspect the old Espanol Hotel. Australia’s only BYO pub.
The Yappa from Lappa visited our camp site, recited some bush poetry and generally kept us entertained with his antics. We had a fantastic night around the camp fire under a sky filled with stars.
Townsville to Undara Lava Tubes
Today got off to fantastic start even tho we were a little late getting away. We explored some local history and aboriginal art on the way. It was a pleasant drive with few road trains to bother us. We had a short lunch stop in the shade of a very old she-oak on the bank of the Clarke River, followed by a refuel for the vehicles at Greenvale before moving on to Undara. A campfire kept us warm as we all got to know each other over dinner.
We are off to Cape York Tomorrow Morning
The time has arrived, and we are once again headed north to Cape York. I’ll keep everyone posted here via my iphone.
You can track our travels here http://www.djolsen.com/ham/aprs40m.html
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