Seisia is our last contact with civilisation before we head over the Gulf of Carpentaria and into the Northern Territory. This was the first place since leaving Cooktown that we were able to purchase fresh produce. There was a kiosk here as well as petrol station, supermarket and a place where you could access the internet. The locals were very friendly but as with a lot of places we have travelled to in the past a burger took about an hour to arrive after you'd ordered it!

The locals here orginated from Saibai Island which is located about 8 kms South of Papua New Guinea so the indigenous people here are more Torres Strait Islander than Aboriginal. There appears to be a fairly strong Christian influence here with a large Church and crosses dotted along the shoreline.

Seisia was originally called Red Island Point which is what it still appears as on a lot of geographical and navigational charts. The family of Mr Mugai Elu chose to settle at Red Island Point using an existing army hut for their home. October 14 th 1972 saw the dedication of their new church St Francis of Assisi . After a five year wait the people of Red Island Point were permitted to change the name of their village - the name was changed to Seisia.

Seisia was formed by taking the first letter of the names of Mr Mugai Elu's father and brothers:- Sagaukaz, Elu, Isua, Sunai, Ibuai, Aken, Pronounced Say-Sea-A. There is a monument erected to him near the Church.

There is also a large caravan park here where we took advantage of the opportunity to have a long, hot shower with decent water pressure. These are the little luxuries you miss when you are away from home!

We had heard that there was a 5 metre croc roaming the beaches at Seisia, it was apparently too big to be caught in the traps that were set around the place. Jason and Loretta saw a croc in the water from our boat but we didn't see any. We were told that they were quite a problem in the area and that the local school had to erect a high fence around the school grounds as the crocs were coming up from the beach when school was let out and grabbing the kids. Apparently they still come up at the same time every day but the fence prevents them from getting near the kids. Imagine living like that! I think I would be home schooling!

There wasn't a lot to see at Seisia but we all enjoyed the opportunity to get off the boat and stretch our legs whenever we wanted. We are moving down to Jackson River to give us a better angle to cross the Gulf.