Seventeen Seventy Rediscovered
The last time I visited the town Seventeen Seventy was back in 1983. Then the
road in was probably the worst I have ever encountered. Nothing but ruts and
pot holes on a dirt road for hours. How times have changed, it is a popular
seaside town and there is a nice bitumen road in.
Seventeen seventy is named as such because it was the second landing James
Cook and his shipmates made in Australia. There is a walk around the headland,
a marina with associated cafe and tourism facilities and a nice national park
nearby.
I met up with some old buddies I hadn't seen since I was in my twenties. They,
like me are enjoying semi-retirement and getting out in their van.
I found a reasonably priced campground, on the main road just between Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy. The owner was a keen scholar of bush food. For a small fee he passed on his knowledge and treated us to a bush food tasting.
In the bush I would be hopeless surviving. I am in an environment where I am
completely ignorant of what is in the larder. I love getting the opportunity
to learn and fill in that missing knowledge.
I stayed there a couple of days. It was good to wash my clothes, shower and
bring myself to some semblance of civility. Then I relocated to the national
park. There are some lovely sites by the river. The road in, though sandy and
having a few ruts was within my van's capability.
A couple of campers had a bit of an issue with a broken axle. Luckily, town
wasn't so far away and a guy with a portable welder was able to repair it.
I went for a paddle in the packraft along the river both in town and in the national park. The currents are very strong here so I had to be careful to read the tide charts and keep close to the shore. Last thing I wanted was to drift out to the open ocean or be blown afar into an area where I would find it difficult to return from.

I loved this area. Both the town and national park are great places to visit.
I would have enjoyed staying here longer, but the rain gods cuased me to change my
mind. Looking at the rain maps, far north was the place to head.
For an interactive map see:
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