The next day we popped into Captain Billy Landing, this camp spot right on the ocean. At low tide, you can walk along the beach and there are a ton of caves that you can peek into. We had heard there was Aboriginal rock art here but unfortunately, we didn’t see any.
At the camp spot, there was this small shelter and people had written down their names and the dates they had passed through. The whole thing was completely covered. We left our mark like all the others before us.
The next day we really got some driving in and arrived at Musgrave Station. This is one of the first roadhouses you come across when you are driving north from Cooktown. Jonno and Phoebe knew of a free camp just down the road from the station and we stayed there for the night.
The alcohol gets insanely expensive the further you move north. We’re talking an extra thirty or forty dollars for a case of beer. So that really kept us away from drinking. Which I didn’t mind at all.
Musgrave had the first fairly priced beer we had seen in over a week. So we grabbed some beer with an intention of having a party that night. And that is exactly what happened. The night turned into a pretty sweet dance session. Just the ten of us getting our boogey on out in the middle of the bush.
Fuck. We even played limbo with a didgeridoo. I did not win by the way.
There was a small creek not too far away from the camp so after sweating it up on the dance floor we marched down there, beers in hand, and just enjoyed being in the water and hanging out under the stars.
The next night we stayed in Lakefield National Park at the Hanna River crossing. Nothing really to note here but it did put us close to Lakeland. This is a special place because close by there is Aboriginal rock art that is more than 13,000 years old.
Basically these things are just cave drawings but I must say for something so old they are in incredibly good shape. The drawings were mostly of animals like kangaroos, turtles, and flying foxes. Some people too and even some spirit entities. Out of respect for the Aboriginal culture I was unable to take pictures.
From there it was just a quick ride back to Cooktown. The journey was finally (well mostly) complete! It was good to be back at the original starting point. I had some of the best fish and chips of my life that night. I was a happy camper.
That night there was a big rugby game called the State of Origin. The best players from Queensland play the best players from NSW in a best of three series. A rugby All-Star game if you will.
The Aussies in the group were pretty pumped up about it. I had never watched a rugby game to completion but I definitely enjoyed it. It was fun learning about the rules from Scott and Ty. I like it because the ball is constantly moving and there are barely any stoppages of play.
Queensland won the game but it came down to the final play. Most everyone was happy except for the few of us from NSW. Good thing it is a best of three series!