30 April 2013 – Cooktown

Thankfully, there wasn’t as much rain last night only a bit of a heavy drizzle every now and then.  However, the wind didn’t ease up much.  I didn’t hear it, but Josh heard and then saw a rather large branch off a nearby tree snap off through the night and it landed near our tent.  Clean up man came around early hours this morning and cleaned it up before I had a chance to see it.  Josh has decided that after very little sleep the past 3 nights, it’s time to pack up the tent and find a comfortable bed out of the wind and rain – as well as for safety reasons with the cyclone getting nearer.  So we dried and rolled and stuffed and packed (and re-packed a few times as we couldn’t get everything to fit) back into the car.  As we checked out, Josh stopped in at reception to see about booking a cabin for a few nights.  They did us a deal for 2 nights at $100 each for the cabin, with linen and all so have a bit of comfort the next two nights.  This morning’s news upgraded this cyclone to a Category Two (it was only category 1) so at least we will feel a little safer in a cabin than in a tent.  We headed into town to our little café to grab a morning coffee and then went to the Anzac Memorial Park.  The kids raced towards a tank which was used by the RAAF in 1977 and upon running over the top of a painted concrete slab, Zoe went for a spill landing on her butt, back and hands and hurting her wrist.  A long cuddle though and a bit of ice, she is already fully recovered.  We came back to the caravan park to check out our cabin and it is great, especially because we can stand in the cabin unlike the tents.  No bathroom but the amenities are great and they are only about 10-15 paces away.  Now we can watch the updates from the comfort of our own sitting area with a bit of space to move around.  Josh had a bit of a catch-up sleep this afternoon trying to rid himself of a headache, whilst I took the kids over to the pool for a quick swim in the rain.  We haven’t done much except sit around waiting for updates but all we know is that it is sitting approx. 500kms ENE off Cooktown and tracking west at 15kms an hour.  It is currently due to hit the mainland around the Lockhart River on Wednesday afternoon (tomorrow afternoon) and the winds could reach up to 150kms an hour.  After dinner Josh went back to the camp kitchen to have a chat to the couple from last night who are trying to get to Cohen to see their son, and find out what their plans will be due to the cyclone.  One of the managers also went over there to make sure that everyone was ok, etc which was nice.  I also just noticed a police vehicle driving through the park.  It is very quiet here and we haven’t seen one in town let alone in here before – so we assume that they are checking out how many people are here for just in case they need to evacuate, etc.  This is very, very unlikely but just in case I guess.  I’m heading for bed now – looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

29 April 2013 – Cooktown

Up early again this morning thanks to a bit of torrential rain which was causing a ditch behind our tent to sound like a running river, as well as having an aboriginal rock art tour booked and had to drive north to Hope Vale to meet up with Willie Gordon, Guurrbi Tours, by 8.30am.  Upon arrival and after following the red dirt road, it appeared that we were the only ones who had booked today’s tour so it was in fact a private tour and time to learn as much about aboriginal life as possible.  Willie is a fantastic guide, a sincere and genuine fellow, great communicator and was simply fantastic with the kids.  We learnt many things such as not needing a didgeridoo to make that incredible sound.  It simply comes from your mouth and the didgeridoo is just an amplifier for the sound.  He taught us about the fruits of many trees and how the growth of these determined what season it was and which animals to therefore hunt at what times of the year.  He showed us how to make whistles out of what appeared to be a big gumnuts, which long grasses they stripped to make ropes and paintbrushes and which ones could be cleaned up and the juice drunk from.  There were others that if you pull right down from the root has a red root that you can use as the paint.  Further along, he took us to a cave where his father was born.  Part of their culture was to bury the placenta nearby to the birthplace of a child and later in life, upon their death, the body is buried until it decays and the bones later dug up and buried in a special bag not too far from the placenta (sounds gross but I think that’s a pretty special thing).  He also spoke of his father being taken to the Mission in the late 1920’s and later returning to Hope Vale to help build the community.  We went on further to look at many aboriginal rock arts, and the story behind them.  Willie feels that he is responsible for passing on these stories and not forgotten in the future.  He even had both girls do a bit of rock art painting themselves and they then laid them in a special area away from the elements of the weather so that they may come back one day in the future and find and reminisce about these themselves.  A few other fun things that the kids got involved in were the lizard fishing and the cleansing of the skin by using soap bush leaves.  It was an extremely informational and spiritual morning and lovely to meet this man that is trying to keep his culture alive for future generations, and by that I don’t just mean the aboriginals, but all Australians.  Definitely worth your time if any of you ever come to Cooktown.  The kids were exhausted afterwards and fell asleep on the way back to Cooktown but Willie had told us where there is a crocodile in the wild, and this afternoon we went to find him.  The first dirt track was quite long and didn’t quite take us to the river where we thought he had intended.  We drove back to the highway and found another track and this time after a short drive, it led us straight to the river.  We peered down the steep embankment, searching both up and down the river but unfortunately couldn’t find him.  I think we will have to head back there another day to see if he has returned.  We, or should I say I, was also lucky enough to go to the local cemetery, something that I can’t convince the kids to get excited about.  There were many distinct old gravesites but a more recent one caught my eye.  It was bright blue and stated “here lies a legend”, dedicated to someone’s grandad… very touching!  To top off our busy day, we headed to the wharf for a spot of fishing.  It was about 5pm by this time and only 2 others trying their luck.  We grabbed a hand reel and a couple of lines and our frozen prawns and enjoyed the gorgeous sunset while dangling our lines.  Sami and I both caught a fish but I have no idea what they were.  Obviously not worth eating though as Josh threw them back, or perhaps he just didn’t want to gut them?  Fortunately there was a little fish and chip shop a few doors down from the wharf, so we opted to take them up for dinner tonight.  After dinner we headed back to the caravan park and back to “our” camp kitchen for some good conversation with another new couple.  The rain wasn’t as heavy tonight but the wind is continuing to blow strong.  Both Josh and I are hoping that it dies down so we can catch up on sleep that we’ve missed out on the past two nights.  Our cyclone now has a name and we are hoping that “Zane” disappears before he even appears!

28 April 2013 – Cooktown

What a night!  Our tents are only just long enough for me to lay straight – that is when my head is at the top of my pillow and my feet are pushing at the other end of the tent.  You can imagine the angle that Josh tries to lie at in order to fit in the tent.  Needless to say that we don’t sleep in the same tent but share one each with each of the girls.  Because the blow up mattress only just fits in the tent, they rub on the side of the tent and we can hear every time someone rolls over.  Also, the winds were so strong that it felt like we were going to blow away – however, they did keep the tent a bit cooler.  BUT, then the rain began.  I realised this at about 1am when my feet were getting wet.  I jumped out of the tent and ran to the close the flap at the other end (which we’d kept open to get some airflow through) and then closed Josh’s tent too.  I obviously wasn’t quick enough as the sheet was quite wet at my feet as well as my pillow – what a great start to camping!  And I didn’t pack coffee….  We had a drive about town.  There was supposed to be a charity jet ski event leave from Cooktown this morning.  However, due to the cyclone warning, strong winds and rough seas, this particular leg of the trip from Cooktown to Townsville was unfortunately cancelled.  There were still a few jet skis being put in the sea though – very game considering all the crocodile warning signs.  I hope they don’t fall off.  We ventured around town and took in some of the history.  There are old cannons, a replica of the Endeavour (with musical instruments on board for the kids), remnants of an old crane down by the wharf, a rock monument in memory of Edmund Kennedy who attempted an expedition to the Cape York Peninsula in the 1840’s but who was speared down by aboriginals before he met his goal, and another monument in memory of Captain Cook (who I’m sure you are already aware landed here in 1770).  After having a bit of morning tea (and a coffee) at the local café, we headed up Grassy Hill to Cook’s Lookout.  Captain Cook headed up here to survey where his boat had run aground and to search for a way out of this predicament.  It is pretty cool to think we are walking some of the same paths as the first European white man to find this great land.  Our next stop was to the James Cook Museum which was a 19^th century convent, a gorgeous old brick building.  The Sisters of Mercy at this St Mary’s Convent educated young women here until WWII forced their evacuation.  It was then left empty for nearly 30 years but after a lot of fundraising, in particular from the locals, it was restored and reopened in 1970 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.  The highlight of this museum is seeing the original anchor and cannon from the Endeavour ship as well as reading the story about finding and recovering the anchor in 1971.  There was also an extremely old piano which had once washed up from sea which reminded me an old piano which now sits in my father’s garage.  There were some statements printed on one wall about Captain Cook, one of which the kids found very amusing – it went “Captain Cook chased a chook, all around Australia, lost his pants in the middle of France, and found them in Tasmania.”  This afternoon, we went for a drive to Archer Point and the view was simply stunning.  It is quite a hilly area and extremely windy, especially in the circumstances.  We were surprised to see a few people up on the rocky areas which were hard to get to and also shocked to see the two young people who had made it in their station wagon (rather than a 4WD) to reach the lighthouse atop one of the mountains.  Later in the afternoon, the kids went for a swim and again, it is a lovely big pool with few people around.  While in the pool we got talking to another older couple who have been living in their caravan for about the past 5 years, and as of tomorrow, will be working here for about the next 5 months.  We have been listening closely to the news and weather reports waiting to see what might be – still very unsure of how bad this cyclone may get!