Kutini-Payamu NP Iron Range: Part One

Definitely one of the stars of the trip, the Palm Cockatoo

Back in September 2022, Robert Shore had put together a Facebook messenger group of people interested in going to Kutini-Payamu NP (the Iron Range) in January 2023. Clint Hook was part of that group and did some pricing research and bottom line, I decided I could do it. My buddy, birding/nature partner and the other half of Team Troopi, James Cornelious was keen as well. I contacted David Adam and he was in. Now we had four of us going to the jungle in the wet season. And it was a very wet season. 

Meanwhile, I was also planning finally doing my December trip to Cocos and Christmas Islands that had been paid for and booked for 3 years! I have already posted the blogs about those. But my point is, after the Covid years, I was finally getting out there and it was a lot of ‘out there’ that I was doing in just two months. Comfort zones? We don’t need no stinkin’ comfort zones. Seriously, I had my usual (or worse) battles with anxiety and as I usually do, I won. And I do not mean to minimise that struggle, it is not easy. I just want to affirm that it is doable. 

Many thanks to Clint for sorting the flights up from Cairns and the what turned out to be a wonderful accommodation in the duplex up the hill from Greenhoose. I loved it. 

Speaking of love, I love my dear friends Janet and David Mead. They were responsible for James and me getting the Nordmann’s Greenshank in February 2021 as told in Chapter 26 of "More Australian Birding Tales". They played a huge part in this trip as well. David has the wonderful Great Northern Birdwatching Tours company and he was already up there with a tour. James and I were arriving in Cairns on Sunday 8 January and flying up to Lockhart River on the 9th. Janet Mead generously offered us transport to and from the airport and accommodation in their lovely home for the night (and for the night of our return on 16 January). It was a delightful visit and so much appreciated. I love the vibe of their home. I can relax there and that speaks volumes. 

Janet and David's lovely backyard

I love the luggage dispensers in Cairns, some are fish too

Flying into Cairns

Ulysses Butter fly in the Mead's backyard (it was laying eggs, more about that in the last blog)

Monday morning Janet dropped James and I off at the Cairns airport where we met up with David and Clint to board the Skytrans small prop plane to fly to Lockhart River (where my father was a staff officer of the 22nd Bomb Group in 1942. That tale is told in Chapter 8 of “An Australian Birding Year”). We landed, stepped off the plane and into the excitement of being in the Iron Range in January. 

Left to right, David Adam, Clint Hook, me and James

Me heading for the plane to leave Cairns

Arrived at Lockhart River

The hire car situation was complex and well, not that great. Paul (the car hire man) is a truly lovely guy. Full stop. However, his organisation is a bit jumbled at times. Clint had booked a 4WD Prado a couple of months ago, but it turned into an old 2WD van (Paul’s family van I think) but his wife promised us a 4WD on Wednesday. We did ‘okay’ with the van but it had issues, i.e. the driver’s window would not open and you could not see out of the back windows and they did not open fully. Not exactly a birding machine. 

We took our bags to our house. We had the front half of a duplex with Sofie (a manager at the Greenhoose and a completely delightful person) was in the back half. I did play the ‘age card’ and had the room with a one bed. Another room had two nice single beds and James had a decent mattress in the large lounge room. There were two toilets and a nice bathroom with a good shower. This was all good. 

Me in front of the house (David Adam photo)

Then we headed downtown to the grocery which has been much improved since Lynn and I shopped there in 2015. Woolworths has bought it. However the prices are still staggeringly dear (don’t look, just buy). The selections are pretty good and the use-by dates are good as well. We took the groceries back to the house and went birding.

Scary Drama (but with a happy ending)

We decided to head down to Quintel Beach (the beach by Lockhart River) and have a look for Palm Cockatoos. We had just arrived on the outside of the parking area when James spotted a Palm Cockatoo in a dead tree top. We hopped out and began taking photos. It was lightly sprinkling rain, but we were looking at one of best birds in the world. And then it flew down and toward the beach. 

Our first view of the Palm Cockatoo on the trip

We spread out and walked over looking for it and or others. We noticed Clint photographing something in a tree. He had a Palm Cockatoo right above him happily munching on the Beach Almonds (I think that’s what they were). We took photos, and more photos. Even my 14 year old, tired, hard-used camera got some wonderful images of these wondrous birds. 

The rain got a little heavier and I tucked my camera under my light, BSBO rain jacket (the very same one Lynn wore in the Iron Range in 2015). I was holding it up and to the side to cover my camera body. I walked the 100 metres or so back to the van. I got in and... I did not have my phone. Bearing in mind my iPhone runs everything. My hearing aids are controlled by my phone. Everything is ‘in’ my phone and it was not in any of my pockets, nor my bum bag. So I attempted to backtrack my steps from the Cockatoo tree. No phone. 

I again walked back to the van. No phone. This was such a big deal that I did not even know how to be upset about it. I was just stunned. I could not figure any way to ‘fix’ this, if indeed it was gone (or in a puddle dying). Others have said that my ‘stuff’ was all in the cloud. Maybe so, but there ain’t no iPhone store in Lockhart River or anywhere within 700 kilometres of us. 

And then I saw James, my dear, dear buddy, James, walking toward me holding an iPhone in his hand. I hugged him within an inch of his life. He had found it laying in the sand back near the new construction between the tree and the van. My God I was grateful that it had been found and it was fine. I was truly grateful. Here are a couple more Palm Cockatoos to celebrate.

On that excellent note, I will end Part One. The Papuan Pitta makes its glorious debut in Part Two (on the first morning there) I reckon there will be a Part Three as well. We will see. I will post a bunch of the Palm Cocky pics with this one because they are so damn cool.

Sending love as I do ❤️