Jude🇵🇸

Jeez I love #Landline. A wonderful piece today about Don Rowlands who is retiring after 30 yrs as an indigenous ranger at Munga Thirri National Park (Birdsville and the Simpson Desert): he's been responsible for conservation, country, culture and tourism. It left me dabbing my eyes; full marks to young journo Hannah Walsh, beautifully done. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-30/don-rowlands-retires-ranger-munga-thirri-simpson-desert/106862384

Approaching Weipa, yay! We thought we had over 8 hours of driving to get there, so left before dawn... but we found a short cut! Sunrise just south of Bamaga was gorgeous, so we stopped to take it in and make coffee. #CapeYork

We got to the tip. No, not the rubbish tip. Crowds were bonkers, had to queue for the pics. #CapeYork

Faaarrqqq, I'm acopic here in the tropics. I'd have no hope in summer. Anyhoo, we've spring cleaned Ronnie and Rhonda, washed the sheets and towels, done a week's worth of shopping, done the walk of shame with the toilet cassette, and we have the oil change and the computer repair booked for the morning. We ride at dawn.* Time for a swim! #Cairns #CapeYork 🥵🥵🥵 *Prolly about 2pm, be lucky to get to Kuranda by tomorrow night.😆

Sitting at the Lightning Ridge sunset lookout. I was here in the early 60s, don't remember much but I remember the place was just a buncha dirt roads with humpies and mullock heaps; we'd driven on dirt roads in the rain to get here, sliding all over the slippery black soil plains. It's a very different town now...

Jardine River Ferry: the legendary (coz it's often out of action). Crossing in the morning then should see the tip of #CapeYork before lunch. 🎉

Thursday Island! Two hours on this boat first. 🎉

In a lovely camp site about 15 mins south of the township of 1770, big bush block belonging to a young couple. Quite a few campers: park wherever you like, basic amenities. Very peaceful, except some dickhead has Slim Dusty's greatest hits blaring .. FFS.

Satnav Girl is calling tonight's stop 'Raven shoe', when in fact it's 'Ravens ho', and I can't stop laughing. (Ravenshoe)

The great sesame oil catastrophe of the trip is now behind us. We hit a huge unmarked speed bump in Weipa and the pantry broke, sesame oil everywhere in Rhonda's guts, poor girl. For days we've been mopping and washing her guts (acrobatics 101), the kitchen 'carpet', the pantry, whatevs. She stank of sesame something awful. We're now in Innisfail and have put the carpet under the carwash pressure wash, done the guts again and finally she stinks no longer. I never want to smell sesame oil again!

"Air Gar(n)?" This is Queensland speak for "hello" (How Are You Going?). 😆

Today's excitement: Biloela for lunch! Hoping Priya and Nades have their food truck open. 🤞

Struck down with himself's gut bug in the night. Luckily we were in a lovely campsite with nice amenities. That folding bucket has earned its keep this trip. Recovering, but weak as a kitten. The 1770/Agnes Water region used to be a quiet little outpost, but it's an ugly, sprawling tourist joint these days. I'm just in the passenger seat while we see the coastline and himself does some errands. Back to the campsite for a nap soon. 😵‍💫

Sheesh, Cape Tribulation. Quite the business to get to, and then the rest of the world is there. I'd rather be in Biloela! Anyhooo, this is where Capt Cook reckons all his troubles started (and not just yours, mate!). Slightly related: none of his 6 offspring lived long enough to produce children, and his long suffering wife outlived him by 56 years... 😱

Oh no... Glenn A Baker. 💔

Archie Moore: Kith and Kin. Venice biennale winning entry. Astonishing. #QAGOMA

I'm endlessly fascinated with these hard core 'living on the road' grey nomads' massive rigs. These 2 have a house on wheels and they tow a little car (for popping down to the shops 🤣). Imagine the fuel costs, but I guess that's all part of the lifestyle if you've sold your house (not my cup of tea but wow). Look at the washing machine and dryer! Clever.

Bundaberg water tank, just waiting for Grand Designs to show up (albeit not a bloody barn). Pic from moving car...

Jeez Louise, the (trade)winds in Cooktown are epic. Got blown off my feet, literally, at the lookout and nearly knocked over an old bloke. Anyway, this was the view...

Cane train... so cute!! #FNQ

In Weipa today. Spent some time at the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, found the shopping centre (a small air conditioned complex which looks like an old warehouse from the outside!) and now we're off to Mapoon, an hour's drive north. The indigenous inhabitants of Mapoon were forcibly removed in 1963 so it could be mined; this was obvs Not Good, and in recent years the ppl have been slowly returning.

@smitjo@mastodon.au @HardBeingGreen@theblower.au Hear hear. Don't hold your breath.. budget's bound to be a huge disappointment.

@treleanor@aus.social We did the same recently. Rip-off merchants!

@HardBeingGreen@theblower.au @smitjo@mastodon.au Don't expect any more than tinkering at the edges!

@SeaFury@aus.social Nawww... 🧡

@Sheep_Overboard@infosec.exchange Yes, same! Always so appealing!

@NormanDunbar@mastodon.scot Yep.

@czarbucks@vmst.io Bastards. 😡

@SeaFury@aus.social Oh no!! I hope you get over it very quickly!

@InsurgoFormica@aus.social @RaymondPierreL3@aus.social The great Trickle Down scam!

@skyfire747@aus.social @treleanor@aus.social @DenisCOVIDinfoguy@aus.social Yes, that's what I meant.

@lacroixboi@beige.party And you prolly don't have 14 kids.

@Heliograph@mastodon.au 😍

@ewen@social.ewenbell.com Yay !!

@SRDas@mastodon.online Yum!!

@caity@bne.social Yes, a lot of stuff outta your control. The elderly though, always get short shrift, just not good enough!

@caity@bne.social From my nursing experience, the only thing that takes 6 weeks is toxicology (drugs in the bloodstream), which doesn't sound likely here, so it's a bit weird ...

@caity@bne.social Glad to hear the day went without any drama. Let's hope for the best results .. but 6 weeks??

@avlcharlie@mastodon.social 😃

@czarbucks@vmst.io 💔

@SRDas@mastodon.online 👌👏

@treleanor@aus.social @DenisCOVIDinfoguy@aus.social I read this morning that they think this outbreak is a rare case of human to human spread. It has a long incubation time, so it seems someone contagious has boarded the ship and spread it around.

@tayfonay 😪

@afewbugs@social.coop Yes. 😡

Goondiwindi innit. It's in Quuensland but you can holler over the river to 'New South', as they call it here.

@ewen@social.ewenbell.com Ooh, what is this place? (I'm often in Melbs, but not this week).

@cheryanne@aus.social @Stoori@polyglot.city 🤣