9th June 2026: Left Laura heading for Coen via Rinyirru ( Lakefield) National Park, as per Stuart, owner of the Laura Hotel recommended. We travelled on gravel road initially through rain forest with gum trees and fan palms as understory. Along the way there were lagoons with white water lilies and lots of intermediate egrets ( yellow bills). There were lots of steep dips and shallow river crossings which Nic handled very well, or so we thought at the time! The forest thinned out and there were large numbers of termite mounds narrow in one plane and all facing east west  south with longitudinal axis facing north south ! We then saw a huge flock of red tailed black cockatoos, perhaps a 100 birds! We pulled over to admire them through binoculars! 

The narrow termite mounds ceased and there were grass trees in the understory. We then saw a wonderful sight by the side of the road-a Brolga! Subsequent termite mounds were bulky in all directions so must belong to a different type of termite.

We left the National Park and stopped at Musgrave for coffee and an ice cream before heading to Coen via a combination of gravel road with small tracts of bitumen at the points where flooding was most likely. We set up camp behind the S-Exchange Hotel in their camping area by the river-$30 a night with or without power, so we chose with! We then found out that somehow today one of our back stabiliser legs had been torn off where it was welded on! We therefore decided to go to Weipa tomorrow to see if we could 1. Get another one 2. Get it welded on! There is nowhere else on the Cape where this could be done, so we’ll try our luck there! 

I cooked us a Vegie stir fry with onion, mushrooms, red capsicum , zucchini, avocado, celery, green beans and fennel done in sesame oil and Kecap Manis accompanied by tinned salmon and rice. Weipa tomorrow!

Meanwhile, more screaming Bush Stone Curlews lulling us to sleep!

                  Our camp site at Laura
Red tailed black cockatoos 
Flat termite mounds oriented North South
River Crossing
River crossing 
Brolga
The Sexchange Hotel, Coen
 







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