At the last update we were headed up to Cape York and to the very tip of Australia's east coast which is still an undeveloped frontier. In 1863, when Frank Jardine was sent to govern this remote outpost, he had a vision: Cape York was to be another Singapore. Cape York, glitzy gateway to Australia. Well forget that idea (it wasn't meant to be) and concentrate on this: rainforests, endless roller coaster dusty tracks with gaping holes and no other cars or people for hours on end. I think I prefer Singapore.

We elected to take the Old Telegraph Line (The OTL) - a track that shoots straight up the middle of the peninsula rather than the wider, windy route. The OTL used to be dotted with telegraph poles bringing the outside world to the tip and it probably used to be a track once too. Now it is an endurance test for 4x4 drivers with daunting challenges to test their skill and the vehicle's solidity every inch of the way. It took us ten hours to drive 115 miles.

We crossed over 20 creeks, some with deep water, some with slippery, gooey mud, some with dizzying nose-diving slopes in and out. There are times where you aim, close your eyes and pray because you know there is no way that four wheels can climb straight up or down. Thank God for Land Rover Defenders and first gear low low low range. I am now convinced that Defenders have suction cups for feet. And this was the supposedly safe "dry season" when it is easy to drive up to "The Top".

We passed many broken down vehicles and their sheepish drivers. It is not macho to be stranded with no hope of help. Some just abandon their fully loaded vehicles because no one can or will tow them out. Macho is the key word to describe Cape York visitors who come there to fish, camp and drink. We met a meek bird watcher from Idaho who had enlisted on a German 4x4 tour via the Internet. "There hasn't been much time to see birds, my binoculars jiggle too much and I'm car sick most of the time," she moaned. There was not a bird watcher among her German travel companions.

We did manage to photograph the bird we came for - the largest Australian parrot and one of the most elusive: the black Palm cockatoo. Years ago when I campaigned for the protection of rare parrots endangered by the pet trade, the Palm cockatoo was a top contender. Parrot collectors would happily pay $50,000 for a pair and the illegal trade was booming. New international permits and heavy fines have stemmed the flow of illegal "Palmies," as the Ozzies call them. So I wanted to see my old friends where they should be, in the wild. We were lucky to find a female guarding her nest high up in a dead tree quite near the road and spent happy hours watching her watching us.

Finding other wildlife is not so easy. The species you are most likely to encounter is the Cane toad which was introduced here from South America in 1938 to control a weevil in sugar cane. It is now a plague in northern Australia (and in Florida too), all the way to the very tip. Kangaroos are there, both the small Agile wallaby and the larger Antelopine wallaroo - in small groups hopping through the eucalyptus forests. We saw many forest fires for miles at a stretch, sometimes all around us (you close your eyes and pray there too). The Aboriginals set them deliberately to encourage new grass to grow for their cattle but many fires rage out of control for weeks and incinerate small creatures like mice, tortoises, and snakes.

We are now headed back south through Queensland on our way back to Sydney, luckily on tarred roads mostly. I have earned my Purple Heart in 4x4 driving and need no more challenges. We made many friends in Cape York, from naturalists to fishermen to delightful Aboriginals. Watching the rodeo in Hope Vale with Aboriginal cowboys was a great photo opportunity. Listening to an Aboriginal elder describe his ancestors' 45,000 year-old rock paintings was magical. The bruising roads will soon be forgotten but these images will remain. I'm glad that Jardine's dream for a new Singapore never materialized. Cape York is special enough as it is.