141 km
The day had finally arrived that we were going to get to the northern most tip of mainland Australia- Cape York!!! Our aim for the whole tripJ
What a great day to arrive here too- my birthday- yay!!!!
We got there at around 07h45, at low tide and walked around the peninsula on the beach around the mangroves. When I got to the tip there was no one else there…and we were very lucky to have it all to ourselves!!! We took photos and made our way back to the car via the rocky hill route that is the only way in and out during higher tides. The views from the top of this hill are also great- especially overlooking the bay. One can see how quickly the tide comes in too and the tumultuous currents in between the mainland and the islands nearby.
We checked the odometer when returning back to the car to see how many kilometers we did to get here…4,282km!!! One way as there is a whole return trip to be done still!! Well at least to Cairns for me, not all the way to Brisbane.
As the road to the tip is pretty bad- especially the first 5km of dirt- we decided to see everything we could today- and this was possible with our early start.
We headed to Somerset. This is a beach that also has many graves of the Jardine family and a few pearl divers. It is actually heritage listed.
The tide is too high to go around the rocky bend and check out the caves and rock art.
Grave of a pearl diver (I think) 
Somerset Beach
From here we continued on the Five Beaches 4WD loop, though the weather was turning- windy and rainy. We admired most of the views from inside the car. It’s a rough basalt coastline with intermittent golden beaches before the loop is closed through the rain forest and hits the main road.
Tumultuous seas 
Basalt cliffs 
One of the 5 beaches
After our little adventure we stopped by The Croc Tent- a souvenir shop. Then headed to Punsand Bay for lunch at the restaurant and bar by the Caravan Park. We were hoping for woodfired pizza, but that was only 5-7pm. Had a couple of G&Ts to celebrate, great calamari and lemon cheesecake to share with Lara. Completely stuffed hereafter!!!
Back in camp we reviewed our plans and checked where we needed to make bookings while we had mobile reception.
As there is still no Optus signal – not since Cooktown I think- I hotspot off Christo and check messages as well as try and rearrange my trip to Western Australia to commence my Bibbulmun Track hike.
Currently, and subject to swift changes, I cannot enter WA as I have been in Queensland- a medium risk state- despite not being in any hotspots or near very many humans at all for the last 4 weeks.
New plan- I should be able to enter the Northern Territory – not need to quarantine- spend time travelling for 2 weeks- then fly to Perth without needing to quarantine there, as NT is consider very low risk.
Watch this space as this plan has had many variations!!! Bloody pain!!
Never mind that fact that I will be out bush in WA for 98% of my hike, only resupplying in small towns.