From Cooktown, I should go to Lakefield National Park. I should… but unfortunately some rivers were too high. Of course, because of the crocodiles, trying to cross them with a bicycle would equal suicide attempt. All I had to do was go back and make detour by boring paved road, however with bridges over those creeks.

Finally, I entered the York Peninsula with its red gravel tracks. The sandy sections weren't too often or too bad, I had to push the bike only few times. Dry riverbed crossings were much worse as it meant a steep downhill on the brake, the surface quality on these sections was usually unpredictable and then I had to climb back the other side with initial zero speed.

For me, however, paradoxically, the most difficult thing was having too much time, because I just can't sit not doing much. I couldn't hurry, more on that in a moment, so I would finish my pedaling day sometimes even at 2 pm. When I was spending the night in the wild and it was raining, it happened that I would lie in the tent from 5 pm for the next 13 hours - a drama. There was also a good side of it, because if I had arrived at the Archer River two days earlier, I would have been stuck there with all the travellers waiting for the wster level to drop. Although I tried to ride slowly, I arrived at the Bramwell Station a few days too soon.

However, there was a lot of work to do because after collecting my food and equipment drop offs, I first dissambled the bike from the racks, bottle cages, take off panniers, replaced the tires and pedals with original ones (lower quality). Unfortunately, it was impossible to send packages from here, so I had to find someone to take it back to Cairns for me. Here, most travelers are loaded to the maximum, so the task was not easy. The second package with food to be taken to Bamaga was a bit easier task, but the real challenge was finding someone who would do a water drop for me at Ussher Point. After all, it is an unpopular place with difficult access, but one tourist declared that he would make a trip there, especially for me. I have the impression that he did not know what he was signing up for, because these 60kms side trip was 4 hours of off-road driving, and you still have to come back. However the people are fantastic and helpful, all logistical challenges have been done thanks to them.

I wanted to reduce the risk of being eaten by a crocodile to an absolute minimum. People advised me to cross the Jardine River by kayak at the ferry crossing, but a 4-6 meter crocodile will easily eat a kayaker, so the argument that it is only 100-200 meters did not convince me at all. I figured out that I have to bypass the river. First option was to bushbash 60-80km through the jungle on the watershed of Great Dividing Range, this way I would not cross a single creek, however there would be possibility to have a problem with finding fresh water and the pace of an all-day walk could be only 5-10km. The alternative was to cover the same distance on a wild beach just in two days, but than I would have to cross several rivers that hardly anyone knows about. I decided on the latter option.

If I had been going at my usual pace I would have reached the shore a week earlier and hit a low tide of about 130cm, but if I slowed down and waited until May 5 and 6, then I would face the lowest low tide of the month, 35-50cm. I preferred not to take unnecessary risk, all I had to do was wait or move at a snail's pace.

With no rush I rode my bike on dirt track towards Captain Billy Landing with backpack on my shoulders. I was warned about wasps, wild aggressive cattle, wild pigs, cassowaries, stinging plants, and of course reptiles. Already at the beginning of the jungle I was crossing a tree and when my leg was already falling with the force of gravity, I saw that it would land right next to a blue snake. I got lucky again as the reptile did not attack, it just ran away. However, in the evening at the wild campsite I heard footsteps, broken branches, and finally through the bush I spotted two wild pigs heading in my direction. I quickly looked for a tree to climb, but they had thorns, lianas, so I stood behind the bike and started talking in a loud low voice. Fortunately, the wild animals were gone.

I arrived at Captain Billy Landing right on the Coral Sea, a very windy place. The plan was that I leave my bike here under the shelter, someone will take it someday. But I arrived here a day too early so I had plenty of time to think and figured out that the bike, in addition to helping carry 15 liters of water, would also be a good extra protection against crocodiles. It will just separate me from the beast on at least one side. I had been stressed for three weeks, but now the fear was intensifying and I was at the height of my nerves. I had no one to talk to, nothing to do, so my head was filled with all sorts of scenarios, some of them terrifying.

I slept on a bench right next to the beach and then waited until noon for the low tide to start. I set off when the beach was finally wider than a few meters. Even though I punctured the front inner tube with the coral, the bike was still riding fine. I had removed the racks beforehand and the weight was significantly reduced, but it wasn't super easy to carry it over the rocks. It was already the area of ​​Jardine National Park (Apudthama), wild, empty, beautiful, although the garbage thrown by the sea disturbed the peacefull views. Beyond the cliffs began mangroves, overgrown beaches and, thanks to the low tide, large muddy swamps. I didn't have the repair kit with me anymore so I put a second uninflated inner tube in the tire, but it didn't work, so I pulled both out and rolled the bike on the tire alone. Fortunately, there were also sections of hard sand where the bike rode pretty well on the rim itself.

Suddenly I saw him. Big, stately, maybe four meters long. He walked slowly and ponderously along the beach towards the water. I was still more than 100 meters away when the crocodile disappeared into the sea. As it was said after nesting period, the reptiles are not aggressive and on the mainland they will run away from me, although in the water it's a completely different story. On the one hand a wonderful view, on the other hand a reminder that reptiles are here and see me much before I see them. Later, I was able to see another saltwater crocodile under similar circumstances.

According to the topographic map and satellite images on Google Earth, I had 11 creeks flowing into the sea to be crossed, three of which (especially the last Logan Jack River) looked dangerous. It was hard to tell if the photos were taken during the dry or the rainy season, or at high or low tide. Crocodiles are watching so do not get near the water twice at the same spot, walk close to the shore, or stay close to the river for too long, because the reptile will find out where to wait well hidden. As for the camping it is absolutely not recommended to sleep on the beach in a tent (it's ok in a car), you should move away from it at least 50 m, and the steeper the climb the better, do not cook near the tent and leave garbage and other odorous attractions away from the tent. And most importantly - don't go into the river if you can't see the riverbed, if the water isn't clear.

Anyway, I reached the first major river Camisade Creek in the afternoon. Not wanting to give the crocodiles a chance to set an ambush on me, I stormed the river without much hesitation, without setting off the drone, a bit an instinct game. It was a mistake that adrenaline dictated the terms. Fortunately, the river was not even 50m wide and I managed to hit a relatively shallow section. Then I rode as hard as I could to pass a few beach rock outcrops before the dusk (before high tide). I managed to spend the night in large dunes field and for extra safety I climbed very high and very far from the water. I did not sleep well, however not because of the strong wind, but I was worried about how I would cope with the next rivers crossings.

In the morning I moved on but after eight hundred meters the sea literally entered the lagoon, cutting off my path. I backed off and waited for three hours. After another three hours I finally reached the first of the two theoretically difficult rivers, and here was a nice surprise - a shallow stream to cross within 20 seconds, the water was flowing fast, which meant that was quite shallow. Relief, but I knew the worst was yet to come.

I jumped on the bike on the harder sections of the beach, going as quick as possible, although riding on a tire without an inner tube was not easy, especially on the muddy sections of sand. However it was much faster than walking. Three kilometers before Logan Jack Creek, a new creek suddenly appeared. I had it marked on the map, and I had satellite photos, so I didn't expect any complications here. I stepped into the water with momentum and…. I dipped to the waist and bike disappeared almost entirely under the surface. I looked around frantically for something in the water to attack, but the brown water didn't reveal what was under. I jumped ashore just as dynamically and knowing that I shouldn't stay near the shore for too long, several meters further I tried again, unfortunately with the same result. I understood that the challenge is serious. I walked along the river for several hundred meters until finally, at one of the corners the water became wider and seemed shallower. I set off the drone to scan the area, a large crocodile should have been spotted. Unfortunately on a sunny day I couldn't see much, both on the phone screen and in the reflective water surface. With one hand I was pushing the bike, with the other I was holding a strong stick for reptiles, and with the third hand I was controlling the drone :) In other words, I had not enough hands to work with, so I acted interchangeably. If it was an Olympic competition I would probably win a medal, because the time I had crossed the creek was amazing. I survived, but I still had to reach the last obstacle.

The plan did not fail because at Logan Jack Creek I found myself at 4 pm, about 20 minutes before the minimum low tide. I saw a river - big, brown, menacing. I got as close as I could and got scared because the water looked too still and stagnant, that is, deep. On that day the tide was 52cm (4 days earlier it was 112cm), the sea had retreated a kilometer from the shore, so I was walking towards the creek mouth. After 10 minutes I found probably the best spot - wider than before with a fast current, so it must have been shallower. I launched the drone and didn't see any crocodile, then grabbed the bike and the stick and looked at the screen of the phone connected to drone's controller, then headed towards the river and without hesitation I entered it. I was walking very fast, nervously looking around, but the heavy bike (water bags attached) sank to the muddy riverbed. So I dragged it with both hands along the strong side current. I was progressing closer to the other bank, the nearer to the beach the more my heart rate per minute increased, thanks to the adrenaline I probably reached the threshold above 200. I perfectly remember the last 10 meters, I looked around and the awareness that I rather will be alive. Water was up to the thighs, knees, calves. Tired and happy I shuffled to the shore.

A moment of rest, then I walked away from the water edge and euphoria overtook me. I started screaming with joy. The stress of recent weeks has been gone, I survived the hardest part. At that moment I knew that I just had overcome the last obstacle in the whole journey, that I would be able to finalise the dream of the last decade. I managed to cross the planned route without the use of a vehicle, nothing motorised moved me horizontally for even a meter. Only those 6 seconds of using the vertical lift were missing to 100% happiness.

Of course, there were still formalities to be completed. At Ussher Point I picked up a water drop off, left my bike and started off hiking. I was so excited that on the first day I walked as much as 50 km. The next day, when I reached the gravel road after five days of solitude, finally I met the first people. Shortly after that I had a shower, a shop, an official campsite, evening dinners in the company of other tourists.

  I left a large part of my luggage and set off lightly for the last 34km stretch. A beautiful narrow red road among the green rainforest, memories wete flashing through my head. I got to the end of the road, the cars were gone because you can't spend the night there. I climbed the rock and saw the edge of the country, 500m separated me from Cape York. Clouds and strong wind did not disturb me too much, the place was just for me. On 9th May 2023, at 4:45pm I stood on the northern cape of mainland Australia, satisfied and happy. 412 days earlier I had left Steep Point Cape, 14,384 km of fear and fun, delight and challenge, encounters and solitude, the joy of travel.

I managed to avoid injury, a serious equipment failure, the weather was also favorable to me. I must admit that luck was on my side and that decided about the final success. I had a dream and I realised it with the support of family and friends as well as people I met along the way. However, the most important point is the fact that I have the privilege and happiness in my life to be able to attempt this trip. I also wish you to be able to follow your dreams.

Thank you for jurney with me, Michael

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