Day 14

A time of sad farewells to Punsand Bay and it's unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) weather. We packed up double-time, as showers rolled through camp soaking all the things that were just about to be loaded into the cars. Sun would come out, so more stuff would be stacked ready to load....shower wets every thing in the new stack! Thus, we managed to get everything soaked before it was loaded.
We bounced down the driveway just after 8 oclock. At Bamaga, we turned left and went via the short cut to the PDR. This was pretty corrugated, but much shorter. Still not sure if it was worth it. The Jardine River Ferry is the next chance to stretch the legs, and a quick photo before scuttling across the river. Stopped for fuel ($2.40cpl for diesel). The road south is a chance to stretch the legs of the cars. The weather hasn't improved, and chased us south towards Eliot Falls and Heathlands.

Jardine River Ferry

We decided to head out to Captain Billy Landing, as it looked like we'd get to Heathlands too early. We had been warned about the road out there, so we cautiously drove down the track, expecting at any time to have to turn around. As it was, the road is fabulous and driveable in a normal sedan. Cpt Billy landing is a beautiful point on the coast. It is very exposed, and cops the full brunt of the weather. The vegetation has been sculpted into amazing shapes by the wind. Not only that, the rocks of the actual point are layered, so they lend themselves very well to being photographed. There are caves that run into the cliffs, and hidden in them are bat colonies. We caught a glimpse of the bats as we peered in, but didn't want to disturb them, so left them be.

Captain Billy Landing

We got into Heathlands about 4pm. The trike was as we had left it, much to our relief. Nothing has moved or been blown apart in the wind, and everything looks un-marked. We left it as it was, with the weather the way it was, we decided to leave the covers on until morning. Cloud base was even lower here, less than 200ft, and showers constantly moving quickly over the landscape. Here we can see the showers moving in from the coast, and have gotten pretty good at judging if they our coming for us or will miss us. Camp was a discreet distance from the trike. We set up a tarp in a vain attempt to keep dry. All this did was re-direct the water gathered in the tarp and strategically dump it on the person who bumped the tarp as they walked under it. This, as you can imagine, did much to improve everyone's sense of humour.....
We will see what the new day brings....

Bob & Tracey