Cracking stories from our Group Trips - Part 3 - stories from trips to Far North Queensland:
- David Allan
- Oct 4, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 8, 2024
Cracking stories from our Group Trips, is a series of journals about our time leading group trips all over Australia.
"You couldn't make this stuff up!"
It's a place where adventure and discovery are constant companions.
All these stories have become folklore in our groups and get regularly trotted out over campfires some of which tend to get a tad embellished over time. The richest memories are often about relationships and the group dynamics rather than the destination.
The stories are not so much about an event but rather a time, an attitude, a way of life.
Why tell stories?:
Story telling is an essential human need that has been used, for ever, for entertainment, education and cultural preservation. Compelling story telling is the path to imagination and people are hungry for stories.
Memorable travel turns you into a story teller.
Story # 1 - “welcome to my shangri-la” - Operation Hot Chilli:
It had been a huge adventure just to get to Chilli Beach when, unexpectedly, Dave offered to take us to a remote tropical island paradise on his boat to meet a friend of his, also named Dave, who lived like a modern day Robinson Crusoe.
This was our third trip to Cape York, Operation Hot Chilli - Sept. 2003, our destination was Chilli Beach on the east coast 775km north of Cairns. Chilli Beach is a magical spot of white sand and a coconut tree fringed beach littered with shells.
We were a group of four couples made up of Kel & Yvonne, Greg & Michelle, Jim & Jeanette plus Jim's brother Dave who came up the coast by boat on an extended adventure of Cape York by sea. "I might get home by Christmas" Dave said. Dave was an ex crocodile hunter from the 70's and kept us entertained each night with rich stories from his croc hunting days in Cape York. My personal favourite stories from Dave are captured in our post 'Cracking true stories from the Outback Part 2'.
We rented a fabulous old beach house, being one of the few houses in nearby Portland Roads, that could accommodate our group. The little utopia of Portland Roads was established as a port for gold mining during the 1930’s and is now a popular protected anchorage for the yachties and fishing trawlers.
Even the sight, upon arrival, of a snake on the front porch and a giant Golden Orb spider with a leg span of a dinner plate did not put the girls off. Scientists say, that the web from a Golden Orb spider is 100 times stronger than any man made fibre and if it were possible to weave a line of silk from the spider, to the thickness of a pencil, it would be possible to withstand the thrust of a 747 jumbo jet at maximum thrust.
Each of our three nights was an unforgettable feast either in the beach house or on the boat with an abundance of seafood traded from the fishing trawlers in the area.
Of course, we jumped at the chance to visit Dave on his tropical island and the chance to explore Curd Reef which is a pristine part of the magnificent Barrier Reef untouched by tourism.
The Barrier Reef in this region comes very close to the coast so it took no time to motor out to the reef but still far enough out to minimise the likelihood of an inquisitive crocodile. The coral here was absolutely magnificent and pristine. We snorkelled on the reef for hours, we couldn’t get enough. Turtles were swimming around as well as abundant fish life. The fish also seemed to take no effort to catch on a line, indeed Kel caught a whopper Coral Trout which was straight onto the BBQ that night.
Upon arriving on the idyllic lush tropical utopia, we were greeted by Dave who welcomed us to his island and invited us to have a look around. As we walked around, I remember the men in our group saying “Oh wow” and the women also saying “Oh wow” but in a completely different context.
We were particularly intrigued by a mannequin sitting at Dave’s outdoor table. Dave explained that his wife did come with him when they exchanged their hectic insatiable consumerism lifestyle in Sydney for their dream alternative lifestyle in shangri-la however his wife only lasted about 3 months. He said he was now looking for an adventurous woman to share his island paradise. "There must be some adventurous women out there somewhere, it stands to reason, there must be?” Dave said.
In the meantime, Dave’s mannequin, Miranda, did offer some relief to his solitary lifestyle. Miranda’s pose at the table was leaning in with hand under chin as if fully engaged in conversation and hanging off every word. “Miranda’s Awesome, she never complains, never argues” reflected Dave. He said when he finds a real woman he is going to fibreglass Miranda and mount her on the islands peninsular as a monument.
Dave also asked skipper Dave, who was an electrician, if he could have a look at his solar power system, while he was there, as it was not working. “How long has it been out of action?” asked the skipper “Oh, it’s been a while” “How long is a while?” "Oh, about a year” said Dave.
We never heard if Dave found a real woman to share his island paradise. Although, the ladies in our group thought Miranda would not become a monument any time soon.
Story # 2 - "they said it couldn't be done" - Operation Pajinka:
"It has not been done before or since. They said it couldn't be done".
On our fourth trip to Cape York, Operation Pajinka in 2021, with 6 couples, we celebrated a significant event from a trip to the Tip we did with our friends Kel & Yvonne, exactly 20 years earlier, in 2001.
On that 2001 trip, Kel drove to the Tip, including the Overland Telegraph Track (OTT), in a 2WD Ford Courier ute (pictured above) albeit with some help through a few creeks. It was planned that Kel would drive via the main road that bypasses the OTT however Kel was so overstimulated at Bramwell Junction, where the OTT starts, that he just had to give the OTT a go. Resistance proved useless.
Half way through the OTT, we made camp at Eliot Falls. As Kel drove into camp on dusk, looking for a camp site with his window down, he overheard a camper relaxing over a beer who said "Oh wow, there's that guy in the 2WD! How did he make it up here?" then Kel heard his mate say "Yeah, but he will never get through the next section". Well, that fired Kel up making him more determined than ever. Amazingly, Kel did make it through the next formidable creeks, unaided, and the legend was born.
The story has since become folklore and is immortalised in the attached poem. We had a formal reading of the poem around the camp fire at Eliot Falls campground, on our 2021 group trip, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of that memorable event.
Story # 3 - “I didn’t do the bolt” - Operation Tinaroo:
Suddenly the cops appeared out of nowhere on the remote fire trail and stopped Dean on his trail bike about 300m in front. Trent was unlicensed, unregistered and uninsured. Trent was now faced with an agonising decision. Does he go and support his mate or does he do the bolt.
It was a well earned camping trip to Lake Tinaroo with a group of workmates and their families on the long weekend. There was activity galore with water sports on the lake, 4WDing in the bush and trail riding on motor bikes.
Our two young apprentices, Trent & Dean, were part of the group and they were very focussed on the trail riding. Unbeknown to Trent & Dean, the cops regularly patrol the fire trails near the lake to check for unregistered bikes.
In line with loyalty the comes with true Aussie mateship, Trent reluctantly rides down to see what’s happening with Dean and the cops. The cops had seen Trent hesitating on top of the hill and could see he was unregistered with no number plates.
“Unregistered I see” says the copper “let’s see your licence then”. “Um, a bit of a problem there” says Trent, now things seemed at their worst.
Funny thing is “we thought you’d do the bolt” said the cop. “What if I had, what would you have done?” said Trent? “Oh, probably let you go” said the cop.
"If only I’d done the bolt” thought Trent. Nevertheless, Trent felt a little optimistic about how this might play out given he hadn’t done the bolt. Optimism was misplaced however and the cops threw the book at Trent for being unlicensed, unregistered and uninsured. This included a day in court the following week.
The boys came back to camp and told us all their awful tale. “If only I’d done the bolt” said Trent.
As the following week unfolded, everyone, including the courts duty solicitor, advised Trent to get a solicitor to represent him in court.
Trent thought about it and concluded “I’ll save myself eight hundred bucks, I’ve got this in the bag. I reckon I will win the judge over when he hears I didn’t do the bolt”.
This was regarded as such a rich experience the following poem was written to preserve the story. The poem was displayed in the site office back at work to celebrate true Aussie mateship.
David & Rosemary Allan – the faces behind:
May adventure & discovery be your constant companions.
Reflection:
For me, a trip is memorable when I am enriched by a deeper sense of connection to a place which triggers an emotional or spiritual response. This comes from feelings of Awe when I feel part of something bigger. Such as, seeing dramatic landscapes, being caught up in the history and sensing the passion of the human spirit.
A memorable experience will cause me to day dream about the next trip even more than the last trip.
Remember: Your adventure begins the moment you decide to go.
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