Weipa turn off to Fruitbat Falls

 

From the Weipa turn off you follow the route of the overland telegraph line which was completed in 1887 to provide communications right to the tip of Australia and beyond.

As you get closer to the pointy end the bitumen dissapears and the corrugations get bigger. With the amount of traffic on this road it is no wonder that it was so rough.

As you head north you come to Bramwell, a roadhouse at the start of the Old Telegraph Track, the original track following the northern path of the line. This is the last of the truly challenging tracks of the area, mainly because it is not maintained and because of the deep and eroded creek crossings. Because we didn’t have a winch or anyone travelling with us as backup, we took the bypass road called the Bamaga Road. As good as Ned is, the old telegraph track needed more recovery options than he possessed at that moment.

Past Bramwell the corrugations got worse, even so the traffic kept coming, we slowed down to soften the blows but the others seemed to speed up, passing us in clouds of dust. I swear that my right arm is getting bigger with all the winding up and down of the window as cars sped past with the billowing clouds of dust accompanying them. Unsurprisingly, we passed two recovery trucks with disabled 4wds on their backs.

Fruit bat Falls is an oasis and welcome relief from the punishing Bamaga Road. We took the 4k detour to the falls and walked down to the river. Streams of white capped water cascade over the rock shelf spanning the river, plunging a short distance to the emerald pool below. An inviting sight on a hot, northern winters day. Again, many people were there and after having had a good walk around it was time to hit the road again.

 

Not far up the road we decided to find a camp. A small track seemed promising so we investigated. A few k down the track we rounded a bend and came to a small stream with a clearing, perfect. Once again, a crystal clear, running watercourse with a small waterfall and beautiful plants all about. We have been fortunate to come across some amazing camps and this was one of them, the crowds can have Fruit bat Falls, we have our own private oasis right here. 

Even had a quick dip, all the while keeping an eye out for signs of a croc, while unlikely here, it is never certain there isn’t one about.

One of the unusual plants around was the Picture Plant, a carnivorous plant with a cylinder and a lid, it’s shape looking a little like a saxophone, for catching insects and devouring them. This plant was in abundance around our little stream. Another plant of the area is the Tiny carnivorous Sun dew. We have been fortunate enough to get up close to both of these amazing plants in their special environment.