47km. Camping next to Isabella Falls was not a good idea. The falls were never endingly loud, and I didn’t sleep well.
I was going to go for a swim in the falls waterhole in the morning, but it was just too cold. I must have been up here in far northern Queensland too long, and got used to the warmth. I filtered water out of the falls. Cooked my barley for breakfast, and when I was starting to pack up a tour group rolled up. They were nice, asked the usual questions, and went on their way.
I wasn’t feeling the best, an off day. I started off with a 3km uphill climb. At the top of the hill 3 4wd passed me and stopped. They were people I had met at Cooktown Caravan Park a day and a half ago, and they promised if they saw me they could top me up with water. However I was full with water from Isabella Falls.
I continue on through rolling hills until Normanby River crossing. I topped up with water, filtering it. I was wary with the crossing because this was obviously croc country.
I got across with the water being about 20 cm deep. I had lunch in the shade on the other side. One last hill and I would have left the hilly country. I plodded on until I hit the edge of the Lakefield National Park around 4:30pm. I decided it would be better to stealth camp outside the park, so I backtracked a km to a grid and a fenceline. I went about 150m along the fence line and camped in the scrub.
