{"id":4372,"date":"2020-08-07T22:51:47","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T12:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/?p=4372"},"modified":"2022-02-05T16:06:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T06:06:47","slug":"breaking-isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/breaking-isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We have been here at our \u2018Covid 19 bunker\u2019 since early April, over 4 months, but in many ways it has felt longer, not because it\u2019s hard to be here, far from it, but I think because we have no leaving date, & every time we listen to the Covid 19 news it seems we will be here ever longer. We continue to feel lucky & grateful that we are here & not at home in Victoria, currently experiencing a severe \u20182nd wave\u2019 with ever more severe & necessary restrictions. It\u2019s been sometime since the last blog, partly I think because we have \u2018switched off\u2019 a bit – a means of managing what feel like long term uncertainties. We have adapted to a \u2018doing little & letting time pass\u2019 strategy rather than a \u2018keeping busy & distracting ourselves\u2019 strategy & it seems to work ok on the whole. Daily life remains largely in isolation, leaving the property only to shop every few weeks in Mareeba, or to visit the local sub post office to collect online purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A pair of Australian Bustards in the paddock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cattle Egrets <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That said we haven\u2019t done ‘nothing at all’, but the \u2018to do\u2019 list on the car & a few other bits & pieces were all completed fairly early on. Time has once again become an unclear commodity with us often competing with each other to be correct about the date & the day of the week. We each \u2018win\u2019 about equally – but if we were somehow magically transferred to a dementia clinic & given a test where you are asked questions to determine your time & place orientation, we may well be pronounced \u2018too far gone\u2019 by the medicos! In reality if a doctor asked me the time it\u2019s quite possible I may answer by talking about birds! I wrote the following a month or two back – \u201cI Haven’t worn a watch for more than 30 years. I can’t recall ever camping anywhere when the dawn chorus & daylight didn’t wake me, At our current location we have ‘alarm calls’ with a ‘snooze function’! At very first light, approx an hour before dawn the Bush Stone-curlews have a bit of a wail, along with an occasional howl from a dingo or two. Sometimes I sleep through & miss them, but when I hear them I smile, knowing I have another hour or more to snooze. Pretty much on dawn the Blue faced Honeyeaters start their early morning calls , different to their calls later in the day, & within minutes the real alarm clocks go off – the Laughing & the Blue Winged Kookaburras. As they tail off the melodic tones of Magpies & Pied Butcherbirds provide a background sound which remains for much of the day. Ah but what about the snooze function I hear you say. Well, from a little after dawn & for the next hour or two the Red Tailed black Cockatoos fly past overhead squawking in bunches of just 3 or 4 up to sometimes 100. Overall each morning we estimate around 500 fly by on their way to a river location to our east. (And if we somehow miss the fact that sunset is close later in the day, the calls from groups of Cockies returning alert us.”<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Straw-necked Ibis on a dead tree at the farm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We do continue to enjoy the peace & the bird-life (& a wonderful Facebook page #Birdthefeckathome for bird watchers in lockdown which has been a great resource for folk with similar interests worldwide to join together in good humoured support), but it is fair to say that this stationary \u2018marking time\u2019 lacks the regular excitement of the traveling\/discovering lifestyle. Motivation to write the next blog post has suffered as a result, but there has now been sufficient occurring to warm up my typing finger! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First up is Gina. She has been living with us for over two months now. She\u2019s a Kelpie, a \u2018reject\u2019 working dog from a cattle station. We were asked if we would like to have her with us for the duration of our stay here, or until a new owner could be found to take her as a pet. She\u2019s a really smart dog, but had been \u2018inherited\u2019 on the station as an adult dog, & proved too headstrong to rely upon in a working situation. Essentially she would decide when she\u2019d had enough & \u2018down tools\u2019 – not what is expected of dogs who do nothing unless commanded by the handler. She has settled into life with us with ease, & shown herself to be very laid back & adaptable to change. We have no doubt that she would make someone an excellent pet, but for the time being she\u2019s ours and as such has been a great daily help in passing the time. We have taught her new commands, to fetch & taken her swimming and more recently camping. Yep she somehow helped us to break out of the self imposed \u2018staying put comfort zone\u2019 & we took off for what proved to be a wonderful 3 days away in the local hills we had been looking at daily from a distance. It woke us up! First time we had been camping since arriving in Far North Queensland at the end of September last year. Motivation to \u2018recommission\u2019 the Tvan – a big post hibernation clean up & re-stocking. By the time we were ready to leave we were \u2018chomping at the bit\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Female Red-winged Parrot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Male Red-winged Parrot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No great mileage was required but we were back into discovery mode, in country we had never seen. Hill country, old \u2018gold country\u2019, dry & plastered with trees, & occasional painted car bonnets fixed to gates or nailed to trees declaring \u2018Keep Out, Cameras & Guns in use\u2019. We had been pre-warned & regaled with tales of it being \u2018Banjo Country\u2019 where folk have been known to disappear presumed to have fallen foul of possessive rotten toothed gold miners & marijuana growers. All overdone tales no doubt, but they did no harm to inject more interest & intrigue for us! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Emu Creek at Emuford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Camp at Emu Creek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tiny Striated Pardalote at Emu Creek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Scarlet Honeyeater on Grevillia at Emu Creek.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Emu Creek is a permanent river in them thar hills & we found the perfect spot to set up camp along side it at Emuford, once a thriving little gold community, but now no more than the bridge which superceded the ford, a sign saying Emuford beside the dirt road & evidence of a few remaining footings of what had once been dwellings where trees have now grown up. The river was scenic & with easy entry & exit for Gina who never needed any encouragement to have a swim. We stayed for three nights, enjoying the solitude & the birds, walking & lazing, but the lazing had a different quality to the \u2018lazing\u2019 back on the farm – the context was different – it had taken little to re-connect us with the adventurous lifestyle we had placed on hold. \u2026\u2026\u2026.. so instead of driving home the way we\u2019d come we decided to take a potentially more interesting route – to find our way through a maze of 4wd tracks over the hills, once gold routes, many now disused & others used only by station owners. We had little idea of whether we would be able to get through, the couple of folk we\u2019d asked about the tracks had said \u201chaven\u2019t been out that way for years, but it was pretty rough back then”. The trick, we thought, would be to pick the point that we turned back before we found ourselves in stuck a situation where turning our almost 10 metre long car & Tvan combo was too hard, but hoped this would be unnecessary. Most of the tracks we followed were actually very civilised, to the point of having direction signs as well as reasonably smooth surfaces. The last few kilometres changed however – we got through, but it took several hours & the use of two conflicting GPS navigation systems to travel a relatively short distance ‘as the crow flies’. Pretty rough & very steep was the name of the game, hills requiring \u2018commitment\u2019 & confidence. Long, boulder strewn, washed out with drop offs just feet away going so far down the bottom could not be seen. We climbed to over 1000 metres more than once. In wet weather it would have been impassable as often washed out sections of track meant diverting into & along creek beds & then climbing up steep banks to rejoin the track. In short it was challenging but tremendous fun. We were tired by the time we got back to the farm having taken 6 hours to cover what we had thought would take one third of that, much of the time in low range 4wd, but we were \u2018buzzing\u2019. Such adventure right on our doorstep! Since then folk have expressed surprise that it was possible to have towed anything over those hills, but the reality was that the Patrol & Tvan handled it all with relative ease. The challenge was mainly psychological. Just a few weeks after this little outing an opportunity to get away for longer, without Gina travelling in the passenger foot well at MrsTea\u2019s feet arose. We still had the \u2018spark\u2019 & didn\u2019t hesitate to take it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wild horses can be a hazard when driving on the back roads in the local hills.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the Queensland Covid 19 border restrictions were lifted, & travel restrictions within the state were eased, with communities on Cape York re-opening at the same time, we felt it was a recipe for a disaster. Cape York 4wd social media appeared to harbour a large percentage of \u2018redneck cowboys\u2019, ignorant selfish people, often with freely expressed racist views, for whom being able to pursue their planned drive up the Cape trumped any care about the risk of taking the virus into highly vulnerable & remote aboriginal communities with totally inadequate health resources to cope with any virus outbreak. We felt it was only a matter of time before a catastrophe unfolded. The tourism lobby, who\u2019s member businesses were hurting badly from lack of income, were pushing the Queensland government to lift restrictions prematurely & en masse, preventing proper evaluation of these actions. It was also clear to us that there are significant numbers of folk in our community who simply cannot be trusted to behave in a manner with compassion, for the greater good & who would take advantage of the changes without care. We would have loved to be driving up to the tip of Cape York, but we did not want to be part of a tourist influx which could so easily wipe out entire aboriginal generations & the knowledge & culture they carry which gives meaning to the lives of the younger generations. We could not live with ourselves if we thought our actions had been part of bringing about of yet another generational trauma to people already struggling with the multiple generational traumas inflicted upon them since white colonisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the opportunity arose, it offered us a means to explore a part of Cape York off the \u2019tourist trail\u2019 where we could be confident we were not going to be contributing to an impending genocidal-like catastrophe. Strong words, but that is how we felt about what seemed just a matter of time away. For a number of reasons we now feel more optimistic about that situation, in part because of further Queensland government actions, in part because of actions by communities to protect themselves, whilst still picking up limited tourist income, & in part because it appears that much of the keyboard \u2018bravado\u2019 & hatred I was exposed to has not actually resulted in the declared intent for hordes of red-necked fools to take the actions they aggressively claimed as their right. Nevertheless, at the time of the offer arising, our concern level was still very high, but the possibility seemed to give us an acceptable & desirable alternative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offer was for us to stay on a cattle station in the south west of the Cape. We could reach it using \u2018back tracks\u2019 via two aboriginal communities on the west coast, one not generally a tourist destination (Kowanyama) & another (Pormpuraaw) which although \u2018open\u2019 has effectively closed itself off to tourists this year by closing all it\u2019s available campgrounds. From the main road going up the Cape (the Peninsular Developmental Road – PDR) it is a 500km return trip to Pormpuraaw, too far to go to make it worthwhile without staying there, & camping had been the only accommodation option. We were confident that our isolation & Covid protected living ensured that we presented no risk to the two communities & that we would not be exposed to risk ourselves whilst there. The station is owned by relatives of the owners of the farm we are caretaking here in Mutchilba. Folk we knew to have also been isolating. The possibility of leaving Gina at the farm came about when friends of the owner planned to stay here to carry out a few renovations for them. Leaving Gina was necessary as we would need to pass through a National Park on our way up (no dogs allowed) & we were also not keen to take her to a spot where we knew we would have to keep her tethered at all times to prevent her swimming & risking becoming croc tucker. They were happy to look after Gina here in our absence & so at fairly short notice we pored over maps, & prepared the car & Tvan for another \u2018outing\u2019. Woohoo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gina took to her new temporary owners like a tart to jam. We had no qualms as we hitched up & drove away, heading west toward Chillagoe & the beginning of the Burke Developmental Road (BDR) which winds first west & then south west eventually to the fishing community of Karumba on the Gulf & the nearby town of Normanton close to 600kms away. Our memories of Chillagoe from over a decade ago were of a warm friendly sleepy little village, surrounded by impressive limestone caves & bluffs. The limestone (Devonian coral reef from when the country was once under an ancient sea) remains, but we found the place very busy with weekend tourists from Cairns & the welcome was a little soured by what seemed like money grabbing attitudes without smiles so we practiced our social distancing and hand sanitising, but moved on after a brief but overpriced lunch stop. To be fair I expect that the place was gritting it\u2019s teeth with the influx of potentially infected outsiders necessary to provide needed income. Once a centre of copper mining & smelting, the place also has an on\/off \u2018mining\u2019 history of marble in recent decades with many opportunities either side of the town to see sites with huge rectangular blocks of marble sitting on the ground near to holes in the ground where it has been cut out like peat from a bog, (where it formed from ancient volcanic activity), presumably awaiting for acceptable prices in the marble market. Compared to our previous visit there was far more of it sitting around, but we remain uncertain if this was indicative of a healthy or unhealthy market, which I recall us being told in the past was a particularly fickle one. Health & safety requirements appear to have had an impact in the intervening years with previously unrestricted access to the extraction sites from the side of the road no longer possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BDR was a nice surprise, we had ridden motorcycles along it for 15 or so kms out of Chillagoe years ago & it had been very rough. This time it was in far better condition with a loose gravel top instead of the red dirt with body & vehicle jarring corrugations. 15km out of town it got better still as we once again reached ‘virgin ground’ (for us) & passed the turn off to tourist drawcard of the Mungana caves. Around mid afternoon we took a turn off the BDR to where we found a pleasant sandy camp spot alongside the Mitchell River (which runs west from the Atherton Tablelands right across the base of Cape York, eventually emptying into the Gulf, with many other smaller rivers joining it en route). Reaching our camp spot required a river crossing, but this was an easy affair in shallow water running over a narrow concrete causeway. Known as Dumdruff Crossing as it provides access to Dumdruff Station. Once across it became clear that the river we had just crossed was merely a small channel in a far wider dry & sandy river bed. We had passed large piles of sand on the way to the river & it now became apparent that heavy machinery is used annually to remove huge amounts of sand from over the causeway each year, as wells as to lay a drive-able surface across the rest of the river bed to allow vehicle crossing until the next flood. With tyres deflated driving along the soft sand to where we chose to camp was all good so long as momentum was maintained. This became difficult as we we had to turn into the Paperbark trees & negotiate some low hanging branches. Result was a temporary bogging, resolved with letting more air out of the tyres, use of our shovel & some \u2019skilful\u2019 driving. \ud83d\ude42 When we set up camp 50 metres later (on harder sand & facing toward the road to aid out morning departure) we had almost gotten over the slightly fraught nature of our arrival. Part of setting up includes pulling out the slideout kitchen from the Tvan. MrsTea immediately noticed one of the gas stove knobs was missing. It could only be behind the kitchen in the inaccessible bowels of the Tvan & needed to be retrieved if at all possible to prevent it disappearing further and jamming the slide mechanism, making the big job of complete kitchen removal necessary. Physical contortion & torches located the missing knob & Macgyver-like ingenuity saw a neodymium magnet taped to a length of fencing wire retrieve the errant knob gradually in painful multiple attempts. There was relief, but breaking my old sidecutters trying to cut the fencing wire had been a downer. It also proved most inconvenient. One of MrsTea\u2019s fingers had been swollen for a day or two, a ring finger, making removal of the ring impossible. Oil & soap had not helped. Next morning it was worse, but still with a very small clearance at the base of the finger. We decided the ring had to come off before the swelling made it tighter still. Initially we tried winding fishing line around the finger, painful, more for her than me, but two attempts failed & we decided the only option left was to cut the ring off. That\u2019s where the sidecutters would have been ideal, but<\/em> I\u2019d broken them & one sided side cutters are about as useful as a hammer made of jelly. After searching through my tools the only option we had was to cut it off using a hacksaw. A nail smoothing \u2018emery board\u2019, extracted from MrsTea’s ‘secret ladies bag of many wonders’ could just be squeezed under the ring to protect the finger & palm from being sawn, & the deed was done. The metal in the gold ring was surprisingly hard, & it took a fair time before the job was finished, but we both agreed it had been the best thing to do. New sidecutters are on the shopping list, & I can say that I am not cut out to be a surgeon despite the compliant nature of MrsTea\u2019s patient status! One could be forgiven for thinking, reading this, that as camps go, this was a disastrous one. Not so, it was a very pleasant shaded riverside spot which we would happily use again if out that way. Driving out in the morning was no problem, we crossed the water before stopping to re-inflate the tyres, and continuing on to what we thought might be a worthwhile camp spot at another crossing around 100kms further on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dumdruff Crossing, Mitchell River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A pleasant shady waterside camp spot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Beyond the narrow strip of Paperbark trees along the waterside, the full width of the river bed was revealed. Evidence in the trees shows water levels almost submerge them. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This 100km section of road deteriorated within a short distance. Long & frequent stretches of bulldust filled the road making them impossible to avoid. Bulldust, for the unfamiliar among our readers, is extremely fine dust, like talcum powder, which settles over the road making ruts & holes look smooth. Driving into it creates enormous thick dust clouds which if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction can obliterate vision ahead. Using windscreen wipers & washers simply creates mud across the windscreen instantly. Additionally the bulldust hides any rough surface, making the situation one which requires slow & careful driving, to avoid damage to the vehicle whilst the dust sucks the power from the car like soft sand. Essentially it is like driving into \u2018dry water\u2019. It is a driving situation that the 6 cylinder 4.2 litre motor of our car manages very well, & to be honest I\u2019d prefer bulldust over corrugations any day! We were told later that this 100km section of the road has always been \u2018bad for bulldust\u2019. What makes it so I\u2019m not sure. We experienced similar in one place north of Mt Dare a couple of years ago, where the car gave us confidence such that we can now just \u2018enjoy\u2019 the experience as part of the outback adventure, but one time I really should stop before entering it to take a photo. Once into it the camera remains safe in it\u2019s case – so no pics this time unfortunately. Video footage of driving in it would be fairly spectacular!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dunbar Crossing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hughes Crossing, or Dunbar Crossing as it is more widely known, because it is on Dunbar Station, is unusual. At least to us it was, having never seen anything like it before. It is a wide crossing, wider than any we have previously taken, enough that when you are out in the middle of the flowing river & look side to side it is like being in the middle of a large lake. The bottom of the river here is all sand, making it un-driveable except for one thing – a river-wide heavy duty rubber mat which has been laid, following the contours of the sand, & somehow secured in place against the flow of the water. Again the road approaching the water was lined with multiple huge piles of sand excavated from the river, presumably annually to uncover the mat. Luckily as we arrived we were able to watch another vehicle crossing, allowing us to judge the water depth which was reassuring. Although the depth varied a little with the ups & downs of the sand, average depth was less than the height of our wheels, & water flow was fairly gentle. It was nevertheless our first crossing ever where the water has been higher than the bottom of the car doors, & was a test of the cab’s waterproofness. We only went there to camp for the night & had no need to cross, but we were there & crossing for fun was the order of the day – excuse was to wash away some of the bulldust! \ud83d\ude42 Over & back without problem before setting up camp for the night. Not a drop inside the cab. Phew! It was entertaining watching the occasional driver unfamiliar with the crossing & without the benefit of seeing others cross first weighing up their options. Those coming from the far side would have a journey of several hundred kilometres back where they had come from if they didn\u2019t cross. All did, but one chap paced back & forth with his wife & young daughter for 45 minutes before taking the plunge. At camp we saw the largest goanna we have ever seen scurry off into the bushes as we drove in. MrsTea named him \u2018Rustle\u2019 & we hoped we\u2019d see more of him, but never did, but enjoyed birdlife & the many roos & wallabies which came to the water to drink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overnight camp by Dunbar Crossing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sunset at Dunbar Crossing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sunrise looking over the crossing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rainbow Bee Eaters were everywhere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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