Last leg of the lap

It's with sadness that we write the final chapter of our amazing adventure around Australia. Our one piece of advice is that it is a misconception that you have to be a grey nomad to travel around Australia. Infact, we think that it is better being younger as it allows you to do and see as much as possible. The number of times we heard from octogenarian friends we met on the road "we wish we had done this when we were your age" was extraordinary.

Sorry to anyone queasy. After telling about how James' finger got caught in the door on the last blog, many people requested a photo. Here it is. Those same people that requested a photo from when we visited Nudie Hot Springs, your request has been declined.

Some friends near our campsite just south of Townsville. We were preparing to head to Winton in Western Queensland to see some Dinosaur Stampede Footprints (James was singing the Jurassic Park theme song a lot).

5 hr drive west towards Winton, car making a weird spluttering noise, boot deciding to not open again (after paying $590 in Cairns for a new latch) and 4 hrs back to near where we started at Charters Towers so we could be near a mechanic. Challenging day, but more importantly, we had to give the Dinosaur footprints a miss (James more disappointed than Min).

Grumpy Min. Boot not opening meant we had to unbolt the cargo barrier (again), unpack the entire boot, and open the boot from the inside.

Neenish tarts are proven to help overcome grumpy episodes.

As is James' new favourite herbal tea varietal. It's the citrus tang of the mandarin that makes it so special.

Min made James pose for this one. Very funny Min.

The beautiful Balding bay on Magnetic Island, just off the coast of Townsville.

Radical bay, Magnetic Island.

Castle Hill, overlooking Townsville, towards Magnetic Island.

Bowen caravan park insisted on giving a key to access the toilets and showers. Unfortunately, James accidently left his pants (with key in the pocket) in the shower. Fashoning a device using a tent pole and a towel, after 30 minutes of trying, he nearly got the door open via the side window. Just as he was about to have success, a grey nomad came to use the toilet, opening the door and reporting James to the police.

We made tracks down to Byron bay over the next couple of days. Despite huge crowds, Byron is as beautiful as ever.

Eastern, Western and Northern most points on Australian Mainland. Tick. Min obviously not too impressed by this achievement.

James getting in his 'model mindset' prior to wedding photos.

Our wedding venue, Newrybar.

Hitched.

Our good friend Charlie doing an amazing Kevin Bacon impersonation on the dance floor at our wedding.

"No Min, I can't at all understand why you are having second thoughts about saying I do"

Encountering rain at Port Macquarie. If living in the outdoors for the last year has taught us anything, it's that towels offer better rain protection than umbrellas or raincoats.

Back outside Dad's place, where we left for Alice Springs just over 1 year ago.

Having finished our trip, we thought we'd like to give awards to certain things from throughout the year. We often played this game to prevent any awkward silences in the car.

Best Flora: The Boab.

Best Fauna experience: This Wombat crossing the beach river in front of our campsite, near Arthur River, Tasmania.

Best spot for a tea and chips: Branco's lookout, El Questro, The Kimberley.

Best camping meal: Capsicum Ole (Ole!)

Most scenic camping spot: Coffin Bay NP, SA.

Crapiest camping spot: Katherine Gorge caravan park (this was a close one between here and Port Hedland).

Most scenic toilet: Turkey flat campsite, The Kimberley.

Best novelty, oversized animal: The Big Lobster, Kingston, SA.

2nd best novelty, oversized animal: Rooey II, the Nullarbor.

3rd best novelty, oversized animal (a surprisingly big category): The Penguin, Penguin, Tasmania

Most sandflies: Cape Leveque, WA.

Most flies: Flinders Ranges, SA.

Best National Park: Karijini, WA.

Most underrated National Park: Kakadu, NT (seems odd but we met a lot of people who said Kakadon't... idiots!)

Best hike: Jatbula Trail, Katherine Gorge to Edith Falls.

Best town name: Bing Bong, NT.

Best drive: Out to Bachsten Bush Camp on the Munja track, The Kimberley.

Best adopted hobby: Birdwatching (it was close between this and herbal tea drinking but given James' previous fear of birds, this one seems more remarkable).

Best camp oven achievement: Pineapple cake.

Best pub: The Innamincka Hotel, north east SA.

Most annoying thing to happen to the 4wd: Boot hinge disintergrating, making it impossible to open from the outside.

 So that's it! Our Russell Coight Adventures are on hiatus for now... but there will be more to come.

It's all happening in FNQ

Wow.
Our usual monthly update is long overdue. We have travelled across the dusty roads underneath the Gulf of Carpentaria, through the beautiful tropical rainforests north of Cairns, camped next to rivers teeming with saltwater crocs, and made it to the top of the Australian mainland!
Some unpredictable events have spiced up the adventure and we are still loving every minute of it. Sadly, our adventure is reaching its final stages. Boo.

Another amazing lunch stop. Next to the Stuart Highway, 2km south of Katherine. Truck fumes really add to the taste of 3 day old flat breads.

Driving east, we passed through the Lost City in Limmen National Park.

Just before the QLD border, we went to an amazing property called Lorella Springs. Lots of tracks to explore and hot springs to swim in. When in Rome...

The remote and stunning Lawn Hill (Boodjamulla) national park. An oasis in the middle of a dust bowl.

More bird watching. The next blog is going to be completely dedicated to rare and exciting birds.

Karumba. A beautiful spot on the Gulf of Carpentaria. Unfortunately, it has been taken over by grey nomads. Apparently, walking to a toilet at night is too much effort so they use 'night buckets.' Yuck.

Not always being able to access shops, one has to improvise. Here is James using Min's deodorant (an added bonus was it gave him the perfect amount of feminine confidence to start each day).

Getting used to the flat, red dust of the Queensland outback, it was wonderful to hit the wet tropics of FNQ. This is Millaa Millaa falls, in the Atherton Tablelands.

We headed straight up the coast to Palm Cove. Heard good things about Palm Cove. How good was our view? We declined the ocean views for the carpark view. Enchanting.

The Daintree rainforest.

James enjoying some peaceful contemplation. Enya would have been perfect.

Camping at the Lions Den, Helenvale. We met Bruce and Michelle, camped next door. They insisted we wear one of their Hawaiian shirts as nothing says 'fun' like Hawaiian shirts. We waited till the dark of night and quitely relocated.

The unique Lions Den Hotel. Built in 1875. It sits in the rainforest and is a very unique place.

We thought one of the central themes of this blog could be our food. Proving that camping is no limitation to great food. Here is James preparing Breakfast at the 'Breakfast Bar'.

Pineapple cake done in the camp oven.

Min's lunch Mezze plate.

The benefit of being in FNQ, you have access to great tropical fruit such as this tangelo.

Muesli topped with star apple and an assortment of berries.

Us with 'Cookie' in Cooktown. James spent a significant amount of time in the James Cook Museum (while Min chose to spend it in the souvenir shop).

Coastline near Cooktown

The world famous Giant Gumboot at Tully. Holds the Australian record for amount of Rainfall in 1 year. 7.9m in 1950 (the height of the gumboot).

We met up with our friends Sam and Steph to go up in convoy to Cape York.

We met another couple, Mark and Laura, and made it a party of 6.

Out on the Eastern side of the Cape at Lockhart River.

Sunset at Bramwell station.

4km along the Old Telegraph Track, we came to the first creek crossing, Palm Creek. A little bit too challenging for us (and we wanted to return back to Sydney alive).

This guy put us to shame.

The beautiful Fruit Bat Falls. At this point, Sam had started to develop some abdominal pain. Hmmm.

By the next morning, Sam had some concerning signs that suggested appendicitis. To Bamaga hospital we went. Within, a few hours, Sam had been choppered to Thursday Island and was awaiting a plane to Cairns to get his appendix out. He was only 36km from reaching the top but didn't get there! But he can say he was admitted to the northern most hospital on the Australian mainland.

Steph soildered on in the Troopie and we tackled the 'shortcut' to the tip of Australia.

James was mildly excited.

We did it!

Poor Sam... he and his appendix didn't.

The corrugated roads up to the Cape are a killer. People warned us that we wouldn't escape unscathed.

We didn't. Our boot decided it didn't want to close when we were still 1000km north of Cairns. The latch was stuck. We got it unstuck with the help of the local Seisia mechanic. We then closed the boot... and couldn't open it again. Slight problem as our entire life is in the back of the car.

We had to access the boot from the inside. This meant unpacking the entire car, unbolting and removing the cargo barrier, and Min crawling between the space between the fridge and the drawers to open it from the inside.

Under vehicle check. The car was making some sort of unusually loud noise. Mechanic Min's diagnosis: "the front resi is gone". She's a keeper.

We did a day trip across to Thursday Island. The hub of the Torres Strait. A place that feels very much like a different country. It was like we were in Fiji. Only 200km from PNG.

Sam's helipad, Thursday Island.

Not wanting to feel left out, James thought he should have an interaction with the Queensland health system too. He crushed his finger in the rear door and ripped the nail off.

So we are back in Cairns, waiting for some car repairs and planning our last leg of the journey. We still can't believe what an incredible year we've had.
Australia is a wonderful place.