Next up is a mudcrab congee cooked over the campfire, then
we have some whole slow-roasted whistling ducks. We also have
magpie goose breasts, the beef ribs from the killer and grilled
roti, courtesy of Paul. Not a lot of greens – the season for
samphire and other wild coastal plants in these parts has been
and gone. I also make some campfire jaffles with oxtail inside.
There is nothing better than spending a night cooking and eating
in the wild, and it gives the whole experience perspective to
share in the hunting and gathering. A bond is formed with each
other and with nature.
We wake in the morning and pack up camp. Back at the
homestead we reflect on the past four days, how lucky we all are
to have had an opportunity to spend time in this environment,
and to meet the hard-working people who farm the land.
The other guys fly out, and it feels like watching your best mates
leave your birthday party when you were a little boy... We later
depart by road to Cairns, a brief and easy drive over the Atherton
Ranges, where we leave
this journey.
Images and text from
Due North by James Viles,
photography by Adam
Gibson except for
pp. 210, 211, 218,
and 224 by Danny Tate.
(Murdoch Books, $39.99).
At the time of print,
James Viles-operated
Biota had gone into
liquidation, Viles
attributing the cause
to catastrophic bushfires
at the beginning of the
year closely followed
by the global pandemic.
Go to delicious.com.au
for the full story.FROM LEFT:
Paul Carmichael, James
Viles and Beau Clugston
delicious.com.au 145