I,m glad that nobody was hurt, yet reading about the hospitality aspect brought to mind an incident of my own (not wishing to detract from this one),,that some may find interesting.
I was driving back to Weipa, just a young fella, in '82, by myself, in one of those new fangled hilux,s, (the one with the axles under the springs), and south of Coen i passed a shorty L/cruiser on the side of the road with the bonnet up. About 20 k,s further, i came upon an aboriginal elder walking along the road. I stopped and offered him a lift as i suspected he was headed to Coen. After some chit chat, and finding out that the shorty was his, he made a comment to me, that i,ve never forgotten, to this day. " You must be a local', he said, "Them bloody tourists are frightened of us Abo,s", "none of them would stop for me".
Yes, i lived in Weipa for 10 years, and grew up there.
Despite the progress in communications, vehicle technologies, and more road houses, the distances are still the same, and the cape road still takes its toll on travelers. You just never know when you might need assistance from a stranger, as it could save your life as well as material possesions. This is one of the reasons why the local people up there are so good.
Take care.
