Tuesday, 30 April 2013

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 19th 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!































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