After the early start to yesterday, followed by a big night of drinks and pizza in the restaurant here at Punsand Bay, we all took the opportunity to sleep in beyond our normal 6:15am start to the day. Breakfast was consumed with no great urgency as we watched others around us pack up camp and head south to places unknown. It is clear that the peak of the season on Cape York has passed and the numbers travelling in these parts is diminishing. The campground numbers seem to be less and less with each passing day.
Wendy staked out a claim on a washing machine and soon filled the clothes line with items such as tea towels that may not see another wash until we get to Noosa in a fortnight. A swim was next on the agenda; the pool eventually resembled an over-sixties water aerobics class with no children in sight either in or around the pool. The conversation in the pool covered the normal topics of where home is, whether the OTT was attempted, where people camped on the way up, what damage (if any) was done on the journey north, etc. We listened to others preach on how effective it is to cryovac food on such trips (even though we have been doing similar for ages) and heard how one couple were visiting their niece who was a teacher on a two-year placement at the local primary school in Bamaga.
It came time to head back to camp for lunch while Wendy attended to the quickly drying laundry. We packed a few things away in preparation for our departure tomorrow, while also restocking items in the pantry above the fridge (including breakfast cereal, tea, tinned foods, etc). The pantry is far easier to access than the backup storage under the bed inside the Tvan.
Later in the afternoon we ventured back to the pool for our final swim of the day, only leaving when the number of children in the pool was about to outnumber the adults. We have packed a few more items away while watching the new arrivals to the camp grounds set up for the night. The gusty winds that were present through the day have eased as the sun moves towards the horizon. People are making their way to the beach to watch the sun set before returning to their campsite for more drinks and dinner. This seems to be the routine up here.
Tomorrow we will be back on the road south, with a morning swim planned at Fruit Bat Falls (just south of Eliot and Twin Falls where we spent a couple of enjoyable days on the way up Cape York).