So there I was, at the very top of Australia.

As far north as I could get. I had wanted to get to this spot for quite some time. Now, I had finally arrived, at the place called Cape York. It’s not a town but an uninhabited place located at the tip of the Cape York Peninsula. This peninsula is the northeasternmost landmass of the Australian mainland. We took a pretty epic journey to get here, but that’s a story for another post altogether.

For this part of my Australian adventure, I was travelling with Anthony & Emily. Anthony was the Aussie bloke who owned the Toyota Land Cruiser we took this journey in and knew where we were going & how to get there. Emily was another backpacker, from England. Anthony had told us that this was his third time driving around Australia with backpackers, so he knew lots of unique places that no tours would take us. Back in 2016, the three of us rode together for thousands of kilometers, from the northern east coast, across the north, and partway down the west coast; from Cairns, Queensland to Hamelin Pool, Western Australia. Australia is vast, and we sure had some adventures seeing some of its different parts!

 

 

We camped a stone’s throw from the high tide watermark and stayed for a few nights. The tidal flats here are very gradual, pretty much flat. So, when the tide was out, the water’s edge was far away from our camp. Due to the humidity and heat, our laundry didn’t dry out very quickly. All of us had almost all the clothing we owned on the laundry lines when we first arrived because our luggage had gotten wet on the journey up. Again, that’s a story for another post.

One morning, Anthony told me that there was much to explore while the tide was out. Specifically, there was a little beach I could find, and he gave me directions to it. And that he had a surprise for Emily and me before we picked up camp and moved on. Regarding that little beach, I would have to return to camp before the tide came back in, or I would be trapped and stranded for the night until the tide went out again. After learning this, I immediately asked Anthony what time the tide started coming back in. I had hours (it wouldn’t come back in till after dark), so I was confident I would make it back. I asked Emily if she wanted to join me, but she declined. So, with Anthony’s stern warning in my mind, I set off for my solo exploring adventure. I had a secret beach to find!

 

 

Literally, all I took with me was the swimming shorts I was wearing and my phone. No shirt, no footwear, nothing else. There wasn’t any cell service in this remote area, I brought my phone mostly for the camera. On part of my trek, I was able to walk down on the sandy beach, but I had to climb up and over the hilly part. Well, I got a small surprise. When I was at the highest point I would need to climb to get over, I got a little bit of cell service!

Flip-flops, called “thongs” by Aussies, were my main footwear choice, and I was glad to have left them back in camp. For the rocky terrain would have made keeping them on my feet all but impossible, and certainly dangerous. Barefoot was far superior in this case!

 

 

As I worked my way down to the secluded beach, I could see just how little it was. The trees on the beach weren’t too deep before the rocky terrain took over again. I felt like I had found my own little slice of Heaven. I mean, this particular spot didn’t have food or much for shelter, besides one tree that basically provided a little shade. And there was that tide that locked you out, or in. So it wasn’t the type of place to spend a long time at. But this little place has stuck in my memory ever since that day I visited it. Once I got down on the beach, I started exploring. I wanted to take some pictures of myself that weren’t selfies, but I hadn’t brought anything to hold my phone.

 

 

As I looked around, I found a coconut. There were no palm trees there, and it was a little worse for wear; so I can only assume that it floated to that beach from somewhere else. That was cool, and I wondered what story of its journey it would tell if it could talk? I decided to add to its story, by using it as a “monopod” for my phone, thus keeping it out of the sand. That damage to the coconut? It turned out to be almost the perfect size to hold my phone. But it was a little big, so I used a twig & a small chunk of dead coral (from on the beach) to help aim my phone correctly. Then, using the self-timer, I worked on getting a couple of pictures. After a few attempts, I got one that I was happy with.

 

 

Something that I like to do while travelling (whenever it’s safe to do so) is getting a picture of me jumping. As you follow my travels, you’ll likely see a few of these pictures of me. I can’t offer you an explanation as to why, it’s just my thing. This is something that I’ve done for as long as I can remember.

 

 

There was a weathered half of a log laying on the beach (it was split lengthwise), which made a wonderful seat. Once I got my pictures, I sat on that log and just soaked it all in… No rush, no hurry. It was marvellous! I do so love the beach! I forget how long I stayed there, and it’s irrelevant.

 

 

Having thoroughly enjoyed my time there, I started walking back to camp. On the way back, I stopped where I had cell reception. There, I sat on a rock and sent some updates to family & close friends. They had not expected to hear from me yet, as I was in a very remote part of Australia. I was on that rock long enough that when I prepared to go, the sun was closer to the horizon. The sky in the distance behind our camp was filled with stirred puffy blue clouds, a sign of a beautiful sunset to come. I returned with plenty of time left to spare on my “tide clock”, if you will.

After supper, the sunset was indeed beautiful! After dark, once the tide was back in, we threw in some lines and fished. The style of fishing we used utilized a large weight to try to keep the hook from washing back to shore with the waves, and leaves an unattended rod. We set rod holders into the beach, and waited in lounger chairs. Because it was too dark to see any movement of the rods, we clamped little bells to the end of them. We mostly caught a type of catfish, and some small blacktip reef sharks. This being Australia, with its dangerous animals, the catfish had a mean surprise for us. They have a needle-sharp spike in their dorsal fin (the one on top of the fish)! Not only would that hurt enough on its own, but there’s also toxin in that spike that will make the wound hurt more and delay healing. Thankfully, Anthony was aware of this, and warned us, so nobody got hurt. In fact, any catfish we caught were immediately unhooked and released, as we didn’t want anything to do with them! Anthony said that those catfish weren’t good to eat. Over the course of our trip, we did, however, keep some of the small sharks we caught. Surprisingly, they tasted just like fish. We also saved the scraps to put in our crab pots.

The following day, we set out some crab pots. Because we went out when the tide was low, we had to go further out, but the muddy ground was too soft to walk on. So we mostly walked on the exposed Mangrove tree roots, picking the bigger ones that would support our weight. Again, the only way to safely do this is barefooted. We came back to that same spot later in the dark (with head torches) once the tide was high. But this presented new dangers. Not only in walking on the sometimes wet Mangrove roots gingerly, so as to not slip off, but also because there’s always the potential of saltwater crocks. This made me nervous, but Anthony assured me that with him there, I was safe. I may have been relatively safe, but I sure felt like I was doing something crazy! At first, all was going according to plan. We pulled up our crab pot and were disappointed to find no crabs. Then, on the way back, I stepped on a short, but sturdy and sharp, shoot on the root. This stabbed into my foot, causing lots of pain! I got back to camp safely, then cleaned out the wound and applied some antiseptic. It took more than a week, but my foot eventually healed. I still walked barefoot most of that time, because there wasn’t any other practical way.

The next morning, Anthony told us that today we would get our surprise that he had mentioned earlier. We would go harvest and eat fresh wild Rock Oysters for supper! Later in the day, while the tide was out, we walked out to some of the rocky small cliffs that were underwater with high tide. All we brought with us were short-bladed knives (like paring knives). Anthony showed us how to find a correctly sized oyster, pry it off the rock wall, and pry it open. Then we ate them raw right there! It took a bit of a knack to get opening them right, but eventually, Emily & I got it. They were small oysters, much smaller than what you’d get served in a restaurant, from what I remember they fit in the palm of my hand. That was our hors d’oeuvres, so after we’d eaten as many as we wanted, we walked back to camp and made the rest of our supper. It was a nice change, and the chance for me to try something new! I had eaten oysters before this, but I had never harvested them from the wild.

 

 

On the morning that we packed up camp and left this spot, Emily & I got up early to do the “tourist thing” of that area. We walked to the actual northernmost point of the Australian mainland continent. There was a sign commemorating that fact. (In another post, I will share the time when I was at the easternmost point of Australia.) And this morning, we did have a crab in our trap! After making sure it was of legal size, Anthony boiled it while we packed up, then put it in our cooler. We had it for supper that evening, and it was delicious!

Early in our trip, Anthony taught us how to look for a crocodile’s eyes in the dark, using our head torches. Did you know that their eyes reflect back red light? Scanning the edges of water before going near was a necessity for staying safe! This became routine for us, looking for crocs day or night. And we were successful, as we never had any unwanted encounters with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Till next time, keep dreaming big!
» Jamie

 

“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams” – Douglas Ivester