Tip and TI make Top 100 wishlist
Monday, 24 April 2006 20:27
Thursday Island and Cape York have been included in a wide-ranging list of the 100 Things to do Before you Die, published by Australian Traveller magazine.
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Headed "Times nearly up at the Top", referring to Cape York, comes in a number 13, while "Munching a monster crayfish on Thursday Island" is ranked at number 83.
The full list is available from www.australiantraveller.com.
To earn its place, the magazine's reviewers said about Thursday Island:
It's a far north as you can go in Australia, it's perhaps the most culturally different place, and it's truly the top spot to eat a painted crayfish. Welcome to Australia's Thursday Island. Situated among 137 other mostly uninhabited islands, Thursday Island is the administrative centre of the Torres Strait Islands. It has a carefree lifestyle, exotic and varied culture, strange tongues and offers a panorama of island scenery, fishing boats and the bluest of blue oceans. TI, as the locals call it, concentrates on three major industries: pearling, crayfishing and harvesting trochus (a mollusc). Once an important port of refuge for survivors of ships wrecked in reef waters, Thursday Island lies 39km north of Cape York. Accessible by air (via Horn Island, a strategically important air base during WWII), the more fun way to get there is via Peddell's Ferry from Seisia. Thursday Island is the perfect one-day trip from Cape York, giving you time to explore and experience one of the most unusual places in Australia. Did you know? In 1898 Australia was in the grip of the Russian War scare, and consequently Green Hill Fort was built on Thursday Island to repel the Russkies should they dare cross the Torres Straight. Fortunately, they never materialised.The discussion on Cape York looked forward 10 years.
Time's Nearly Up At The TopTen years. That's (probably, hopefully) how long you have to visit Cape York and experience a land that has defied the onslaught of civilisation, before the dirt tracks become sealed roads and the peninsula is changed forever.Until 100 years ago, only Indigenous Australians enjoyed this area - and what an area to enjoy. Australia's most northerly point, and one of the few remaining great wildernesses, the Cape has plenty to offer. The dusty tracks contrast dramatically with the abundant river systems, crystal clear creeks and spectacular waterfalls. If you love bushwalking, four-wheel driving, wildlife, fishing, bird watching or camping, Cape York is for you.It's almost impossible to get to Cape York on land during the wet season (December to April) when the rivers crossing the dirt roads become impassable. Seeing the Cape by water is a fabulous option, with uninhabited islands, wilderness coastline, remote tidal estuaries, lagoons and Outback rivers to explore.The gateway to the Cape is Cooktown, a town with two centuries of history to explore: Captain Cook's landing in 1770 (to repair the Endeavour), and the colourful gold rush period of the 1880s.DID YOU KNOW?: The tropical north of Australia is home to the world's longest mail run in a single day. From Cairns to Heathlands Station on Cape York, the flying postman takes the mail a distance of approximately 1450km.The list does not some significant Australian destinations and activities, which has created some controversy.
But the inclusion of both the Torres Strait and the Cape cannot be faulted.
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