19-Mar-2017 --
Our daughter teaches at Mapoon community, situated on the traditional lands of the Tjungundji people. When planning a visit to see here, I noticed that the 12°S 142°E confluence had not been visited.
Our planned visit required flying from Brisbane to Weipa via Cairns, driving from Weipa to Mapoon, crossing the Wenlock/Ducie rivers estuary in a tinnie (aluminium dinghy), then hiking about a kilometre inland.
All looked possible from a Google Earth reconnaissance, however the ground conditions were not favourable. Our closest approach was some 900 m perpendicular from the river bank (1,195 m documented), but the bank was dense mangroves, with a healthy crocodile population.
We tried following a creek for some 300 m, hoping to get past the mangroves, but with no luck.
A new bauxite mine is planned for the area, and exploration tracks can be seen in Google Earth, some 3 km north of the confluence – that may provide an easier approach.