Later that day we finally reached one of the landmarks of the trip – Fruit Bat Falls. It’d been a few days since that last time we found water that we could swim in. And I will tell you, by this point on the trip I was probably the dirtiest I’ve ever been in my life.
Part of me felt happy with the situation. I was proud of myself for roughing it, really roughing it. Sleeping on the ground and not caring how dirty I was. I really had no choice. Because if I cared too much I would have driven myself crazy. But yeah, finding somewhere cool to swim got us all excited, not only myself.
From Cooktown the drive was just dirt roads with a lot of corrugation. Which makes for a bumpy ride. And lots and lots of eucalyptus trees. It honestly felt that we were driving in a simulator, with the road in the distance updating the further and further we drove. It all looked the same. It’s at this point on the drive that we finally reached something that resembled a rainforest. We knew we were getting close.
Fruit Bat Falls was a nice little spot. A really small waterfall but it was perfect for swimming in. And at this point, I couldn’t complain one bit. The water was nice and warm, like a bath. We hung out there until our fingers were pruned. Or until we got hungry for lunch. Whichever came first.
Elliott Falls was, in my opinion, the nicer of the two. It was just so different than anything I had seen before. The way the earth had changed over time created such a dramatic scene for a waterfall. We could jump off the upper part down into the pools and the water temperature was just perfect to swim in.
There were a ton of camping spots by Elliott Falls so we decided to stay there for the night. That way we would have access to the falls in the morning too.
The next day we crossed the Jardine River. Another milestone on our quest towards the tip. We were talking with one of the guys who worked there and he said that in 2019 close to 100K cars crossed the river. In 2020 only 20K cars crossed. So we were able to have all the spots to ourselves which was really cool. Literally every campsite up to this point we’ve had to ourselves. So this start explained a lot because we were getting a bit worried about not seeing anyone on the road.
Most of the communities north of the Jardine River are Aboriginal communities. Some are off-limits to outsiders. You just have to drive through them without stopping. But we did pass through a few. The major spot to stop for supplies up there is Bamaga and it’s mostly Aboriginal up there. You can tell that there isn’t a lot of resources up there.
The feeling of reaching the tip was pretty special. For me, a backpacker without a car, to make it to that point was, if anything, pretty strange. I’m proud of myself for keeping an open mind and meeting the people that ultimately helped me get there. You always need a little bit of help.
It turned out great because two of the people we met on the way up, Lara and Bronson, were there sitting on the beach waiting for us. When we met them in Cooktown they were planning on heading south. They drive a Toyota Hiace (one of those big campervans) and they didn’t think they could make it all the way up to the tip.
But I guess they changed their minds. They even passed us on the way up even though we left a few days before them. Or we were just moving slow. Either way, our group grew by two.
After settling in we went over to the actual tip. Just a small hike across a rock face. A small sign marks the northernmost point here. The currents in this area were coming from all different directions and it was creating a type of whirlpool which was really cool to see.
That night on the beach was just so peaceful. Because there was no one else around but us we were able to camp right on the beach. Under normal circumstances that’s not even close to possible. But we live in strange times.
There was a moment around the fire when everyone fell silent. Not purposefully but you could feel that everyone was just listening to the sounds of nature and appreciating the moment. The cicadas in the trees were almost playing a song for us. They were super loud.
It turned into a group meditation for a while. It was special because not too long into it everyone must have realized what was happening. I knew I did. But everyone made a conscious choice to continue because everyone knew that something special was happening.
We spent the next day in Putsand on the western side of the cape. They have this little beach camp resort with a restaurant and a pool and all of that. It was great to have some proper facilities. And I even got enough service to sort out my visa situation which definitely took a monkey off my back. It was getting close to the end of the month a part of me was worried that I was going to run out of time.
Bronson’s friends, Phoebe and Jonno, joined us there. Legends really. They had this amazing Land Cruiser and it had everything you could possibly need if you were out and about in the bush.
When we moved on to the other side of the cape the next day we found two more friends. KB and Elina. Twelve people and six cars in the convoy. We really got into our camping groove at this point.
Phoebe and Jonno had everything we needed to make dinner using the campfire. Phoebe cooked curry and Jonno baked fresh bread using the flames from the fire. It was just the most natural way to cook food and it felt amazing. Not to mention that it was delicious. A very memorable night.
We spent two days at Somerset and for part of the time, there was just a crocodile hanging out maybe 50 meters away from the shore. It was our first time seeing a crocodile in the wild. Trust me, we were looking around for these things the entire trip up.
It was really cool to see. Ty had a drone and got some really awesome footage of it. But it just goes to show you how careful you have to be up here. They can be hanging out anywhere.