Truenorthbeckons!Mid-yeariswhen the call of the wild north-
easttropicalfrontierbeckonsmost urgently, insisting we
experienceitsuniquehabitatbefore the moment passes, never to be
revisited.“WHEN,”wemuse,“willi ever return to the magnificent
north-east?”Whenindeed.
just keep on repeating itself. I’d finish my studies for
the semester, throw a few things into a bag, stop
drinking beer for a month and scrounge some cash
together for the airfare. Then I’d fly to Cairns, hop
on the 4WD bus service that plies the coast road
between Cairns and Cooktown and, seven or so
hours later, hop off at my mate’s place. So began
the revitalising slow transition from urbanised
Melbourne wannabe hipster to fully native FNQ
barefoot hippy. Ahh, those were the days.
And now, looking back on those memories and
realising — cripes! — I never find the time to head
up that way at all anymore, I’m full of, not regret,
but exactly the same sense of wonder I felt back in
the day before each individual trip I planned and
undertook. No two trips were ever the same. The
place is so dense and changeable, the people who
live up there so colorful and interesting. This is what
makes Cape York so appealing. It’s impossible to
miss the place because, really, have you ever really
been there?
You head to Paris, New York or London for
sightseeing. You head to Cape York for a completely
different reason. The people, the hippies, the
crocodile infested swamplands, estuarine mangrove
environment, the magnificent offshore reef system.
It is one of the world’s great frontiers and frontiers
are meant to be experienced again and again, not
ticked off a list as something done. Once it’s in your
blood, you’ll always go back, one day.THE CAMPFIRE
Editor
Aaron FlanaganI
t’s been more than seven years since I’ve been
up beyond Cooktown in Far North Queensland.
Before life happened, I used to regularly travel
between Melbourne and Cooktown, at least once
a year. Together with a mate, I’d spend whole
months cruising around islands dotted throughout
the barrier reef, spear fishing, camping on remote
beaches and sand cays out at sea, eating mud crabs,
oysters, trout and crayfish; that is until we became
sick of seafood and headed to shore to snare a pig
or two, just for the dietary variation. Plus, being a
true Queenslander, my mate loved hunting pigs.
Little did I realise then – the naivety of youth
I suppose – that this was destined to become a
momentary phase in my life. I assumed it wouldCAMPER CREW
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A tranquil lagoon in the FNQ rainforest. Few things are more inviting.
PICTURE CREDIT: Andre Dobroskok/Getty Images