Can I make it the distance to Lakeland today? That is, the 4.5km into the Palmer River Roadhouse (from where I left my sticks & Dad picked me up last night) plus the (growing) distance to Lakeland of 31km (as per Google Maps), but 34km (as per the locals who do it regularly)= max of 38.5 km? Well, I did 39.5 km yesterday.. so help me God.
Up at 5:15am.Dad dropped me out the 4.5km to my walking sticks on the sidevof the road at 6:15am. I’ll walk in and maybe have a bite to eat, then go on past…
Here goes. ..
Glad to have a walking partner as amazing as comes up with a world like this, with so many options and choices left in developing it.. affecting it.. even the possibility (if we were willing to learn from the way it works, & work in that same direction, with the purposes of a care taker) of bettering it..
6:40am coming down towards (~2km from) the Palmer River crossing & Roadhouse :
The Palmer River, a lovely trickle in a wide Sandy bed (to the right):
then arrived at 7:07am at the Roadhouse for an hour of breaky.
Dad asked to loan my phone for the morning till he arrives at 12:30 with lunch. I thought I could do without it for a morning, but didn’t take into account that it is my watch/ time-piece, camera, for scenes & people, GPS, & map repertoire, as well as note taking facility, recorder & MP3 audio book player. Not sure I’d do that again so easily. I took two 1.25 litres of water, but ran out of water about mid-day. I put my feet up twice, for 30 min, then 50min. Then decided I’d try to walk down the steep road to the lowlands that Lakeland is on. If I didn’t get water by then I’d wait at the bottom, else keep going… I decided to go up a little hill to a lookout that seemed to have a toilet, so I wondered if it had tank water.. It didn’t, but there I met Simon & Mimi, from Cooktown, returning home after a big shop in Cairns..
they gave me water, a madarine and beautiful biscuits,
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and an offer of accommodation for tonight at Cooktown… Thanks you two… how lovely. Thanks to the maker of people and goodness in our cultures ..
Dad arrived around 2:30, and he found a flat spot in a bit of shade for us to eat and rest till 4:30pm… 12 km to go before I get to the Lakeland public toilets.
We had a bowl of cereal for lunch, & I put my feet up. Back on the road at 5 pm, with a cold ginger beer, courtesy of Dad. Thanks Dad.
Amazing scenery here
Trees I have yet to identify: barren, but with bright yellow flowers, and green fruit that look a bit like chokos
Mountains
Walking along the plain about 6km from Lakeland, 6:30pm; the view to the East:
And to the West:
I’m ~5km out of Lakeland as I write this,, and have great reception, so I’ll post it now and send what happens tonight or tomorrow.
A good time to talk on the phone with my lovely lady, and then her good school friend from Ravenshoe, whom I missed catching up with… who first told me of the existence of Mapoon, Jane. Thanks for your wealth of knowledge & ideas & advice Jane.
Here is a welcome sign:
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