Waiting for our replacement solar panel, we do a wide loop towards Cooktown. Mid afternoon we take the up-and down gravel road to Archer Point, arriving at a ferociously windy, wild bay beneath the lighthouse.
We take a walk across the regrowth of a burnt headland and suddenly get caught in a squall racing inland from the open sea. Driving rain drenches us instantly, raindrops driven by the wind sting on face and arms.
An attempt to escape to shelter under scrubby bushes reveals someone has used them for another sanitary emergency, so what the hell, who cares, we just enjoy the embrace of wet and wild nature.
At sunrise, we cross a rocky hilltop to catch the first rays of morning behind a disused jetty.
The wind, having softened a little overnight, revs up again, leaving us with the feeling of being in a tropical Patagonia or Scotland. A gust of wind tears the Coaster sidedoor from our hands as we open it, and shatters the window.
We try out our Coaster's low 4wd to scale the hill to the lighthouse. Up we go, tyres gripping hard, gears pulling us higher, hearts in our mouth. What a view, a panorama of shining sea and rugged coastline unfolds with each ascending bend.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment: