Moreton Telegraph Station Qld Wednesday 10 August 2022 (2 nights)

 Moreton Telegraph Station Qld Wednesday 10 August 2022 (2 nights)

Wednesday

I can’t say why, but Weipa is a place I have always wanted to visit. It is of course a purpose built mining town from the 1960s when A geologist, Embly, 'discovered' near pure bauxite, the very stuff that Matthew Flinders had pointed out as a cliff face with a really unusual red and mauve colour as he cruised by some 150 years earlier. Our Hotel I felt was fairly tired, having been built in 1973, but it was comfortable and the food excellent. 

Blue Winged Kingfisher. Weipa Qld

Apart from mining bauxite, there’s not a lot else. Fishing in the river and crocodile watching are the main pastimes. We went on an excellent crocodile tour with a very knowledgable fellow, and ex-miner, who told us all about the history and what they were doing now, and the wildlife, which comes in the form of birds and crocs. 

The crocs were just laying around on the mudflats next to the water waiting to be snapped. There was one every 100 meters of so, all females except the one big male. They are so regular in their habits that all have names. There were lots of birds flying about but nothing terribly exciting. We spend most of our time up Roberts Creek, where if you are so inclined you can park your yacht for free all year round and take the tinny to work. When we headed back across the town the wind had sprung up and we drove into a decent chop, most of us getting a decent soaking for our trouble. Not to worry, everything dries in 10 minutes in the sun and wind.

Crocodile Weipa Qld

We visited the cultural centre where we had a cuppa and wandered around looking at the displays of Weipa history, bauxite mining and indigenous culture.

View looking out from the Cultural Centre. Weipa  Qld

This was followed by some free time in ‘town’. Town consists of a small mall with Woolies, a pharmacy and a newsagent. And a bottle shop course. Not even a coffee shop, it having expired some year ago. The post office was across the carpark, in a tin shed.

Downtown Weipa Qld

Mandatory stop to look at a boat being filled up with bauxite. Now that I've seen Weipa, I will never need to go there again!

Filling up the boat with bauxite. Weipa Qld

We drove out of town to a place where there are two lakes. We stopped next to Lake Patricia and had a nice lunch of salmon on sourdough with capers and condiments. Others had the tapas, but I was quite happy with the smoked salmon. Thank you.

Lake Patricia. Weipa Qld

We left at 1:30pm and headed to Moreton Telegraph Station, which was about two hours away.

Moreton Telegraph Station is now just a place called that. We stopped at the Wenlock River crossing to gawp at a sign stuck way up in a tree. Basically it says that the signee was right there in a boat at 14.6 metres above the bridge during the floods of 2003. The town / place / camp is just over the bridge and to the left.

Check out the small white sign up the tree. Wenlock River. Moreton Telegraph Station Qld

Our stay is at the Moreton Wilderness Lodge, owned by Outback Spirit, so it is a slightly more relaxed stay than being in a hotel or wherever. There is the normal large verandah style lounge and dining area, and our rooms out the back. Our ‘room’, and it just qualifies, is a Deluxe Donga. There are three to a pod, each room has a double bed and an ensuite and seating outside on the pod-long deck. 

They have a fire-pit, and the chef that used to be at Seven Spirit Bay, and an open bar from 5:30 till the end of dinner....

We sat around the first, unusual as it was a big circle fire pit with a smaller circle fire pit off to one side. We sat around drinking cold white wine and telling tales about our travels, when the manager of the lodge, Grant places a round share-plough like BBQ plate over the small fire. It now started to make sense. Next thing the chef has arrived with hot lodge-made Turkish bread and while we are eating and quaffing, he loads up the BBQ plate with a whole pile of kangaroo kebabs. Soon enough they are being handed around and they are delicious. Nothing like eating one of our nation’s faunal emblems, done just so. I think I had three, or was that glasses of wine, or both?

Then on to dinner. We had preordered this a few days ago and had chosen lamb, as a change from the ever present and ever delicious barramundi. It was followed by a dessert of a chocolate cake / slice that just exploded with flavour and richness. Thank goodness it was a small serve!

Thursday

A day of rest. We did a lap of the 2.5km sightseeing track, the sights consisting of the Barra Hole, a section of the Wenlock river where barramundi are found, and Cave Creek. Oh and a Lagoon was on a sign but was not mentioned even as we walked past. Probably infested with crocs.

The Cave Creek is an interesting formation where the creek flows under over-arching rocks and looks to be quite deep. You could be forgiven for being tempted to jump in, but not knowing how deep it is, or just how to get out again, you err on the side of caution. The fact that there just may well be a resident crocodile is also a bit of a turn-off.

We were going do a bit of a drive up the track but our driver and guide is not feeling too great and so it was declared that we would all have the day off. Judy and I walked up to the public campground, had a look at the tiny museum, did another lap of the track and retired until campfire time.

Sat around the fire drinking wine and eating garlic prawns and chorizo skewers. Moved up to dinner at 630 and were served a beautifully BBQd steak and chicken dinner.