Coen to mapoon mission

Saturday 17 July 1971

Started at 7.30 overcast day and continued to Coen, posted mail to mum. Took on 60gallons of fuel cost $30.00(that is 227litrs at .13 cents per litre) and 15gallons of water, had lunch wound speedo back to start so we could keep a check on our fuel and distance and headed north not far out of Coen we met up with the Leyland brothers going south they told us that it had been a very heavy wet season and the roads and crossings were not to good . We continued on over some very rough crossings & onto the Archer River where we went for a swim it was Beaut. Bob & Henry went spear fishing & caught about a dozen yabbies, they look like a prawn only with big nippers & live under the rock ledges as they were swimming Bob came face to face with a water dog they are like a goanna only live under water. We made camp on the sand in amongst all the boulders in the riverbed then cooked the yabbies they were nice to eat, the river is about 100 yard wide. We had only covered 70 miles that day

Sunday 18July

We got away at about 9.00 an drove 50 yards and got bogged trying to get up the sandy bank, we had to join the 2 rovers together to get them out , we also had to pull another guy out of the river an took us 2 hours finally getting away at 11.00. Four miles away Nevell stalled in a mud patch about 50 yards long. We then drove on to the Portland Roads & Iron Range turnoff 60 miles from Coen we got to the Weipa turnoff at 12.45. The Nikon packed it in at Archer River and had to use the Rollie all day. We drove on and saw wallabies and went along a road that we should not have gone on took 15 minutes to get 3 miles. We made camp on 9mile creek a few miles from York Downs station a very spooky place there were snakes and plenty of mosquitoes finished film 18 & 15 camped near a small lagoon plenty of bird life, also got Nikon working.

Monday 19 July 1971

Got away at 8.00 we passed hundreds of kangaroos in packs of about 20 or 30 while driving to old York Downs homestead had a look around and found an old clay fireplace. we left there and drove on for 7miles at 10.00 we got bogged had to use the chain puller to get out. We kept on driving an met some aboriginals who told us we had missed the turn off so we went back to the blue tins, drove for 3/4 mile and got bogged we had to make a new crossing 100 yards up the creek took 2 hrs drove a short way then Nevell shot a pig with the 303. we got going again and headed for the west cost north of Weipa to the old Mappoon Mission,we were driving ourselves into a massive swamp and decided it was not the right track so turned back, found another road marked IWS and followed it till we ran out of road so again we turned back and went back to a small creek that ran out of a swamp saw plenty of dingos and pigs . The ground is tremendously wet the surface has a crust on it and when the rover goes over it the 6inch crust breaks and reveals pure mud. Made camp had tea and went to bed had a good sleep.