From Cape York back to Cairns

I spent 6 days at Loyalty Beach, enjoying a few day rides out to various places of interest nearby, besides the Tip itself, which I've already described earlier, I visited Punsand Bay, another resort close to the Tip, also I took my bike over on the ferry to Thursday Island and spent a few hours exploring there, the island is only 2kms long so it was easy enough to get round all the places of interest:

There's a fort which enjoys good views of the neighbouring islands in the Torres Strait, and over the town:

Also a large cemetery with many graves of Japanese pearl divers:

The Torres Strait Hotel has the distinction of being Australia's most northerly pub:

View of Douglas St, the main street:

It was now time to think about getting back to Cairns. I wasn't too keen on riding all the way back, mainly because it would be against the prevailing wind and therefore even harder than the journey up here. There are daily flights to Cairns from Bamaga and also from nearby Horn Island and that was an option I considered. However I found out that there was a spare space on the cargo vessel MV Trinity Bay leaving shortly, and the idea of 2 days at sea sounded interesting. So I made the booking, which proved to be a good decision.
I was told to be at Seisia Jetty by 8.30am on Monday 23^rd. Seisia is only 4kms from Loyalty Beach so it didn't take long to get there. The boat was already moored there and was unloading its cargo:

Once the unloading was finished, I and the other 30 passengers were allowed to board, at about 9.30. Then the crew began loading all the cargo bound for Cairns onto the ship, by means of the large onboard crane, which was fascinating to watch at close quarters:

This took most of the day, during which time we were able to familiarise ourselves with the ship and get to know our fellow passengers. We had our first meal onboard at lunchtime and it was excellent, as were all the other meals during the voyage.

Finally, around 5pm we got under way and left Seisia:

About an hour later we passed Posssession Island, where Captain Cook first raised the Union Flag and claimed the whole east coast of Australia in the name of King George III. We were close enough to see the plaque that marks the spot where this momentous event took place:

Soon afterwards we witnessed a beautiful sunset over the Torres Strait:

The next morning, soon after breakfast we anchored offshore near Lockhart River, a small Aboriginal community which is the east coast's northernmost settlement, and a supply vessel came close by to exchange some of the cargo:

Later that day we were given a tour of the bridge by the Captain, and shown all the navigation equipment that keeps the ship clear of the Great Barrier Reef and other hazards:

The rest of the voyage passed very quickly and we arrived back in Cairns around 11.30 am the following morning:

It has been a very enjoyable and interesting 2 days at sea, and if I ever do another bike ride to the Tip (which is quite likely!) I will definitely return on the MVTrinity Bay again.