Cape York – Cape Weymouth

One of the best lessons learnt on the road is to NOT trust everyone’s opinion on anything as being gospel. One persons terror is another’s rollicking good time. A “we nearly lost everything”, can be nothing more than an ‘interesting’ creek crossing. “There are crocs everywhere”, but you can do an entire trip to the Cape, and not see one…..except when you least expect it, but more on THAT later.

The second fun fact, and actually really useful is, that all major dirt roads are periodically graded and repaired. For the grader to actually turn around, they create a turning circle in the roadside bush. There are hundreds of these, one every two/three kilometers and make for perfect rest or overnight stops, nearly always discreet from the main road. So, no worries about where to pull up on your Cape York treck.

There’d been a slight change of plans for our next stop. Chilli Beach was still on out to-see list, but Ken had found a farm-stay at nearby Cape Weymouth, that looked a bit more……something. I was in his hands. I could only cross my fingers and hope. The section of the PDR that we had bypassed because of our detour to Weipa, was the best of the lot and we approached the Portland Roads turnoff in high spirits.

We had a dream run turnoff to Cape Weymouth on our left. The road condition was unknown from here on in, but reports were promising. We were heading east through the Iron Range and the rolling hills were a pleasant change. Traffic and the corrugations was almost non-existent and even the driver was more relaxed.

After and hour or so, we managed to find a pull-over just past a causeway crossing. That tropical feel was back in the air again although it would be another hour before we arrived at Cape Weymouth.

The winds had been strong for a couple of days and Chilli Beach had a reputation as the windiest paradise on the planet. The plan was to take shelter at a farm stay on the lee side of Cape Weymouth and avoid them. Well, that was the plan. Cape Weymouth Camping and Cabins was about as high up as the Cape itself. The views were stunning and as it turned out, the cool winds off the ocean kept us reasonably comfortable, especially at night.

The tides were the best part of a metre. Only the branches of this mangrove remained above the high water mark. The next morning we decided to take the short run to Chilli Beach – just to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about. The dirt road was enveloped by rainforest, the beach hidden in plain sight. It was only as we stepped onto the sand that it all made sense.

A sandy beach bordered by endless palm trees. You could have been on any South Pacific tropical island. What a view! The breeze pounded the beachfront. The campsites behind the beach were shaded under a rainforest canopy, still and quiet. The shadow of the coming wet season had emptied them of visitors. A quick look around and we headed back to camp.

Portland Roads is an historic gold mining town of the late nineteen early twentieth centuries and a disembarkation port up until the 1970’s.

The wharf is long gone now, but the new claim to fame is the Out of the Blue Cafe. We had heard stories, but nothing prepared us for this quality dining experience. Patrons would drive for four hours from Weipa, across the cape, just for dinner(not that there’s a lot of competition in Weipa). It’s an unexpected touch of class in such a remote location.

The next morning we were up and away. Next stop would be Lakefield, our one but last before heading back to Cooktown