Page 52 - Ebook Explore Cape York

Explore Cape York 46
Captain Billy Landing
67km from Bramwell Junction is the turn off to Captain Billy
Landing on the east coast – named after a local aborigine from the
1800s. Travelling a further 28km (and 220+ water run-off humps)
through rainforest and heath will bring you to the beach. The
concrete ramp on the beach is the remains of a loading point built
by Comalco (now Rio Tinto) for the barging of cattle to Bamaga
and Weipa in the 1960s.

At the southern end of the beach there are a series of caves, home
to a colony of bats. As with all destinations on the east coast you
can expect strong trade winds from February through to late
November which may make camping uncomfortable.

Captain Billy Landing is in the Heathlands Resources Reserve NP - a
camping permit will need to be purchased prior to arrival if
overnighting. Your amenities - toilets & a shelter.
Heathlands Ranger Station – Gunshot Bypass
Heathlands Ranger Base is the next stop on the road if you want to
check out Gunshot without having to drive the OTT - see page 54,
OTT southern line map. It’s another 14km past the ranger base to
the junction, and a further 12km via the southern Gunshot bypass
before hitting the OTT, then a further 9km to the legendary
Gunshot Creek. The only creek north of the bypass, Cholmondeley,
is easy to negotiate.

There is room to camp if you want to hang around and watch the
action and a chicken track or two if you choose to continue through
and exit on the northern Gunshot bypass.

** A word of warning when travelling shortly after the end
of the wet, there is a pretty big mud bog you’ll have to make
your way through, which may involve winching to reach the
northern bypass **

As you traverse the track, you’ll come across the grave of W J
Brown, a linesman who died of a heart attack while on the job –
huge sacrifices were made to link Australia to the rest of the world.
From the northern bypass a further 14km east brings you back to
the junction, then 14km back to the PDR.