John setting waypoints for Day 1 of the paddle – this is detailed, close work requiring a high degree of accuracy – unfortunately John’s glasses got burnt in the trailer fire so special thanks to Lindsay because without glasses we are worried he might plot a course to New Zealand!
After 880km and 38 and a half hours riding on mountain bikes, today we get a taste for fast tides and high winds. It blew 25 plus all evening so we will be tested in seeking to get 65km of paddling behind us today. At least after our trailer fire we are not carrying any excess weight!
We rely on the Bureau of Meterology for our wind, tide and weather outlook. This mornings forecast, for our first long paddle day is testing (and hopefully favourable). Testing in that seas will be 1.2 to 1.7 metres with swells to 2.0 metres and winds to 30 knots. Favourable in that the winds are South Easterly. With a northward journey our challenge will be avoiding drifting too far west!
Kila Elave reaches the ‘tip’. “My home is that way!”
We arrived at the ‘tip’ at 8.10am on Saturday 12 June…. 880km of sand, dust, corrugations, mud, creek crossings and lots of laughs! Special thanks to 2XU (and dual suspension Specialized MTBs) we can still sit with comfort! Next stop New Guinea.
It will be another dawn start. Approximately 36k to the “tip” to complete our ride. Kila is to try his hand (or legs) on the mountain bike tomorrow! We know he can carry heavy loads up and down the very steep Kokoda track but we are all interested to see how he enjoys a mountain bike on soft red sandy hills!!
Thank you to all the local folk and fellow travellers who have helped us on our journey! Special mention to The Bramwell Junction team, the Hendersons and the Timps, John Charlton, The Seisia Fishing Club (great steak burgers!), Sue Parker (a legend), Daniel at Capacity Sports and Paul at BLA. Thank you all!
As we take stock of our inventory the phone runs hot to family and friends. A rendezvous on Daru on Wednesday requires quick action. So we begin collating paddles, life vests, fresh trek boots, backpacks, clothes and charts of the Torres Strait ahead of a morning flight from Cairns to Bamaga.
Our thanks go out to goodwill samaritans John and Jan Timp and John and Robyn Henderson in our time of need. Risking croc warnings and fast flowing currents they ferried us 80 meters in a tinny to meet the other half of our long-faced road crew who fought flames from the trailer fire.
A trailer fire has managed to take out most of our gear!
After a dawn start John and David navigated 70km of sandy tracks before arriving at the Old Telegraph Crossing on the Jardine River. Along the way we visited the spectacular Elliot Falls and had a swim at Twin Falls. There were many creeks to navigate, all crystal clear, wadeable and croc free!! The Jardine required an 80 metre crossing …. and swimming the fast flowing waters at the site of a croc attack is definitely not recommended! With our support crew dealing with the trailer fire we relied on the Hendersons who willingly unloaded their “tinny” and ferried us across. When we did meet up with our crew, not surprisingly they were a little dejected. We all agreed that as everyone was safe and the kayaks were unharmed we would continue on the 51 km to Seisa. A few calls and a visit to the local shops and we were back on track. John Charlton the skipper of our kayak support boat made us welcome and offered up his place for us all to stay. The steak burger at The Seisia Fishing Club is highly recommended!
Making great progress this morning after notching up 100kms in 3 hours and 40 minutes. John Jacoby and myself are leading the charge with a sore Chris Bradford behind! Currently heading due north on the Old Telegraph Road onwards towards Fruit Bat Falls.
Don’t forget you can track our progress via satellite GPS.
