Day 8 - Thursday 7th July

Breakfast was at 7am and the bus left at 7:45. It was sunny with very few clouds. We stopped at Bramwell Junction at 8am. One of the reasons for stopping here was to get photos standing next to a very tall termite mound.

Next to the shop, there was a tree decorated with discarded car number plates. On the other side of the shop, there was the start of the original track for the telegraph line. Apparently this track is too difficult for almost any vehicle - especially for our bus. So we would be using other safer longer gravel roads.

It had become cloudy and the road seemed to be wet because it was shiny as we headed towards the sunshine.

We reached Fruitbat Falls at about 10:30am. The first task was to walk down the track to the change rooms to change into our swimming costumes and then we walked further down the track to reach the falls.

It's a popular spot. There were plenty of people swimming in the water below the falls or sitting under the falls or walking around in the water above the falls. We left our gear in a rocky area nearby and ventured towards the swimming area.

I have a lot of trouble with my balance nowadays (because of Parkinsons) and so Nicola helped me clamber down the rocks to the water. I was still unsteady when I got down there because the bottom is rocky and uneven. I managed to get over the rock ledge near the falls and then eventually to the falls. The water was cool, clean and refreshing.

People on the bank were taking photos but Jan had her camera in a waterproof sleeve that she'd bought at Kmart and so she was able to wade through the water to take photos close up. When we ready to get out, Nicola was strong enough to yank me up and onto the rocky bank.

After getting changed, it was time for morning tea next to the bus. It had been a good experience. We set off about at about noon.

We reached the car ferry that crosses the Jardine River at about 1pm. There we had lunch on the riverbank before setting off again at 1:45. It was a pleasant spot for lunch. However we took notice of the warning signs about crocodiles and kept our distance from the river.

On the other side of the river, the gravel road was surprisingly wide for quite a while but very bumpy. The rough surface made the bus shake dramatically until we passed a grader at work after which the road was much smoother.

At 2:30, we stopped for photos at Injinoo. From the water's edge, we could see many of the islands of the Torres Strait. Although it looked like a pleasant sandy beach, it wasn't safe for swimming because of the crocodiles, sharks and jelly fish.

Near Bamaga, we stopped to look at the ruins of a WWII aircraft that had crash landed there.

We reached our accommodation for the night, the Cape York Peninsula Lodge, at about 3:30 but it took about 15 minutes for Mandy to find a parking spot near the rooms we'd been allocated.

Our room was close to the central buildings for the hotel (restaurant, reception, laundry, etc). It had a king size bed and a veranda overlooking the bushland, gardens and the river. It had a TV but once again there was no mobile phone reception.

The hotel WiFi was very slow and unreliable. Almost useless in our room but a little better in the restaurant or reception area.

The washer and drier in the laundry were very good. They were commercial machines, fast and free. So it was a great opportunity to put on another load of washing.

Reception closed at either 4:00, 4:30 or 5:00 depending on which information sheet you read. They didn't seem very well organised. One couple in our group was allocated a room that already had people in it. Luckily they were reallocated to another room - an upgrade to a suite.

Dinner in the restaurant was at 7pm. It was good food and good service. The restaurant was large and well presented but, like so many restaurants nowadays, it was quite noisy.