Cape York: Beyond the Tip – Murray White

Somewhere deep in my psyche I must have an affinity for the surveying fraternity. It’s not that I feel compelled to go around hammering timber pegs into the ground, but I’ve certainly gone searching for them. All of the mainland state border junctions, and with the exception of the southern-most tip, all of the other prime compass bearing limits have piqued my curiosity. Even Lamberts Centre – that theoretical point where the entire country will balance on the head of a (very large) pin didn’t escape my scrutiny.

Of course this geographic bucket list was not entirely driven by a latent love of cartography, or even for the travel itself; I visited these places to burn film! What was interesting though, is that in virtually every case, the photograph taken at the precise location itself, was not exposed out of a sense of aesthetic wonder – it was done simply to record the moment. Despite secretly hoping to discover magical subjects in wholesale quantities, all that was typically found was a dog-eared visitor book or a sterile plaque and a few discarded beer cans.

So, having made the case to not visit geographic coincidences for meaningful photographic purposes, let me now explain why I continue to do so. Firstly most of these arbitrary co-ordinates are not exactly easily accessible to the weekend tourist, so some planning and often a lengthy road trip will be required. In addition, an itinerary of sorts could be formulated and research undertaken. These aspects of remote area travel prepare us for that in-depth experience consistent with a project-like undertaking where the ‘destination’ forms just one way point on a more comprehensive expedition.

As an example, we visited Cape York about 18 months ago. The fabled ‘Northern-Most Point On the Australian Mainland’ was certainly part of our agenda, but in the overall scheme of things this visitation was merely a passing novelty. Lining up with others for an obligatory photograph at ‘The Tip’ was in reality quite tedious in comparison with other less frantic locations on the Cape. In fact overwhelmingly the reward, photographically and otherwise, was experienced throughout the entire journey itself, not in this rather farcical tribute to it.

I have in the past exposed plenty of medium format transparency film on the Cape, but this trip was to be B&W only. I brought with me an 8 x 10 view camera, a 4 x 5 view camera and a rollfilm rangefinder camera, together with a backup body for the latter. Previous experience with an otherwise reliable Hasselblad in the Queen Victoria Desert region of South Australia proved to me that the wicked combination of dust, corrugations and heat in this country’s remote regions can play havoc with even the most robust of cameras, (and in that case, picking up a replacement camera body from an outback roadhouse became a lesson in logistical gymnastics!).

In an effort to reduce the risk of gear damage, I pack everything in padded bags and transport them in insulated boxes, built into the vehicle. My film and holders travel in a dedicated insulated box too, and in very hot weather I rotate freezer packs from our fridge to the film box on a daily basis. I do this early in the day just after my morning walk, and at the same time make any notes relevant to the previous 24 hours in respect to destinations and what film was used. I’ve found this routine works for me, and so far any damage to equipment has been accidents in the field rather than disasters in transport.

For those with a desire to visit Cape York there are a number of possibilities open to you. Regular escorted tour buses make the trip with various levels of comfort, duration and flexibility. Tag-a-long 4WD trips are also an option for those hesitant to drive solo, while every Dry Season sees a handful of intrepid souls make the journey on push bikes (although I have to confess this not on my bucket-list for all sorts of reasons….). Self drive options are probably the best choice for dedicated view camera users as we need more flexibility of schedule to accommodate those inevitable moments when all of the photographic stars align.

Potential locations for setting up the tripod are as numerous as the road corrugations that you will become most familiar with (although every year sees just a little more bitumen find its way further north, and on our last trip recent grader work had made travel along most of the Developmental Road a pleasure). There are signposted waterholes and waterfalls, together with plenty of beaches and huge national parks. But beyond the iconic features it is possible, and I think desirable, to find relatively secluded rivers, pockets of rainforest and other interesting tropical subjects.