Reaching the Tip!

Not a rubbish dump but a location... Far Northeastern Queensland, Australia

Auspicious journeying to you where you are in the world when reading this.

West of Cooktown on Endeavour Battlecamp Road, we stopped briefly to admire and appreciate Isabella Falls. I’m sharing it simply for its beauty and soothing sounds… enjoy!

Aboriginal Elder, Roy took us on a guided tour of the rock art where he lives in Laura. It saddened me to hear that when a massacre of their people took place they ceased to paint. After sharing our lunch with him we took a tour of the Quinkan Cultural Centre where I learned ‘Quinkan Country’ is Aboriginal for supernatural spirits. Their paintings are said to be 13,000 years old.

Lotus Bird Lodge, owned and operated by OutbackSpirit, is a generator-run, tranquil place where the star-studded sky, lights the way each night we made our way back to our raised accommodation… ever watchful for crocs! Here, we rose with nature’s natural movements and birdsong… what a gift.

We spent two still days at this location to enjoy blue skies, no wifi nor electronic devices… a reprieve and opportunity for deeper connection and alignment with nature where I enjoyed the harmonising of being at the point where everything comes and goes. Lotus flowers graced the swamps, unfurling with the sun as they warmed to its beat. So much gratitude there was for the peace, that is nature’s perfection.

It was at this location that we also embraced a helicopter ride… with no doors! Join me in this video from the front passenger seat as we take off over the lodge and lotus flowers on the swamp… the flight took us over Rinyirru (Lakefield), across plains and forests to follow the Kennedy River to Princess Charlotte Bay. A few crocs were spotted from this vantage point.

*Photo credit: Leonie

Skipping forward a couple of spots, another favourite location was Moreton Telegraph Station… the second lodge owned and operated by Outback Spirit Tours. It was here beneath the June winter solstice moon that we sat to enjoy a campfire.

*Photo credit: Leonie (I think!)

The following morning I returned to the campfire site and sat in the darkness to be with Mother Earth. Only later when I mentioned this to staff did I learn that it wasn’t a wise thing to do as there are many wild animals out and about at that time of day. I was then shown a video in the dark of night, of a snake about 6 metres in length, weaving its way beneath the buildings… YIKES!

Of course, I loved my time alone and once again listened to the birdsong that morning that heralded a new day. Interestingly, the sounds here were different to Lotus Bird Lodge. Take a listen…

On the morning we were set to leave, I’d been seated for breakfast in the outdoor dining area and unbeknown to me a watchful eye was kept on where I placed my feet! Freddy, which staff later realised should have been Fredericka, was the resident tree frog…

From there we swam at Fruitbat Falls… getting there was part of the fun! My sister and I are waving as we lean againgst and receive nature’s shower. Mum was able to get in too which was lovely.

Finally, for this newsletter, we reach the Tip… the most northern point of Australia, known to be a bucket list item, which was interesting because I didn’t know this before reaching this point on our journey.

As I commenced the climb at Pajinka, partway up I felt compelled to reach for a large rock the length and width of my hand. I carried this with me around boulders and over uneven rocks forging my own path as there didn’t appear to be a wellworn one. This appealed to me for who doesn’t want to live their own unique life?

A couple I walked with copied me and also picked up a rock… they placed theirs on one of the many piles along the way. When the pitter patter of rain fell, a rainbow appeared in celebration and the path became slippery.

My rock stayed with me until the end and with no time to think about what I was going to do with it, my body already seemed to know and released it from a reasonable distance into the furthest rockpool, dead centre, with barely a splash (behind me and to my right in the photo).

Wow! In that moment, I wondered if the rock I had carried would once again connect with the islands it once had when all the segmented lands of the world became one again. Reaching the tip was surprisingly euphoric, despite there being bullet holes in the signage!

While this isn’t the end of our journey, this is where I must leave it. Thank you so much for joining me on my family’s travels to Cape York. I hope you’ll join me for my latest adventure in my next newsletter.

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Love in Harmony,

Leanda Michelle ✍️📚