The tip of Cape York is the Northernmost point of mainland Australia, but there are bits of Aussie that are even closer to Papua New Guinea and the equator.
For the history and geography of the islands, read the Wikipedia article here.
The way the tour was organised, the bus took us to Seisia Wharf, near Bamaga, and we took the ferry from there. We could only take one piece of luggage each, that fell within the Qantas cabin allowance. Once we were on the ferry, Grant turned the bus, with our main luggage, towards Cairns and had a day-and-a-half to drive back what had taken 9 days to cover when Northbound.
There were several terns fishing for smaller fry. We think they were Common Terns, but this has yet to be confirmed.
The Thursday Island ferry arriving at the wharf.
Debbie accompanied us on the Ferry to Thursday Island.
Due to the whims of European navigators, four of the islands are named after days of the week; Tuesday Island, Wednesday Island, Thursday Island and Friday Island. So every week in the Torres Strait has a long weekend. ;-)
Our tour of Thursday Island did not take long. It's much smaller than the neighbouring Prince of Wales Island and Horn Island. We were taken to Green Hill Fort. It was constructed between 1891 and 1893 in response to the “Russian scare" of 1885.
A Rainbow Lorikeet that didn't hide from the camera.
More interesting (to us) than old guns was a visit to a pearl farm on Friday Island. We were provided with very elegant snacks, and shown how the oysters are 'seeded' to generate pearls.
The water taxi that took us to Friday Island
Being taught how to coax an oyster to generate a pearl.
Our night in the Jardine Motel was without Internet. The motel's wi-fi was not working. Because of the Ospreys, maybe? However, the room was comfortable.
A very insensitive view of history greets the visitor. Torres was the first European, but the strait had been navigated by Melanesians for thousands of years before he arrived.
The next morning we boarded another ferry, this time bound for Horn Island. Off the ferry and onto a small bus for a tour. The museum was small but informative.
You simply can't get away from our name in North Queensland.
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The island had an airfield in WW2, which attracted Japanese bombing so we were taken to the remains of a heavy anti-aircraft battery.
A heavy AA gun. The guide is opening a bag with an example of the ammunition used. Hopefully just a empty case!
A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
The airfield is still there, but used now for more peaceful travel. The Qantas flight to Cairns was part of our tour.
A sparrow? Yes, but what kind? This is a Eurasian Tree Sparrow at Horn Airport.
As he had promised, Grant met us off the 'plane and we boarded the Outback Spirit bus to the Shangri-La Hotel for our last night.
A welcome surprise was a reunion with Blythe and Karleen. The manager of Moreton Telegraph Station had driven them to Weipa, an almost 2 hour journey, to a doctor. They were reassured that it was nothing serious and required only rest, but in remote areas of Australia doctor = hospital. Blythe was accommodated at the local hospital, which managed to find a bed for Karleen, as well. From Weipa, they were flown to Cairns.
They were full of praise for Outback Spirit. Not only did the station manager personally take them to the nearest doctor, the company sorted travel and accommodation and helped with their travel insurance claim.
The final night dinner was thankfully not an emotional weep-fest, but a few email addresses were exchanged.
Our room at the Shangri-La overlooked the Cairns marina.
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