Katherine to Uluru

The travel-train departed Katherine, after 2 days at the Springvale Homestead Tourist Park http://www.caravanparkphotos.com.au/katherine_springvale/index.htm , towards the Alice on Friday 12.

On the way through Katherine we called into a car wash to wash the camper as we ended up dusty whenever we touched or set up the camper, a small job for huge gains.

We had a coffee at the Coffee Club in Katherine and noticed that there is an easy identification of caravan travellers apart from campers and that is that they have clean and well pressed clothes, we don’t. 

We made our way back to the Elsey National Park for the second time this trip,  http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/parks/find/pdf/elsey.pdf , just South of Mataranka, and spent 2 enjoyable nights with the mozzies and wild donkeys. This is a really enjoyable bush camp ground, as we said after our first stop there on our way North.  In Mataranka we called in to the Stockman’s Gallery for another mango smoothy, I can confirm they are the best I have tasted so far. 

We are getting quite lazy in that anything over 200Kms travel per day is a big day but the trip from Katherine to Elsey was only about 110Kms so that was a very easy day.

On Thursday evening we had a few drinks with the caretakers of the Jalmurark Camp Ground and found that they hail from Harvey Bay and are only too happy to relate interesting stories about dealing with people in the park from time to time- some try to use the facilities and try to scarper early in the morning, those who run generators, which are banned here, camping in a no-camp area, sounds as though you have to be up very early to beat the caretakers.

On the way through a little place called Larrimah, just South of Mataranka, we called in for scones, jam and real cream with Fran. The scones and coffee cost $13 each but it was worth every cent to see someone put her heart and soul into her cooking and serving the customers.

After we worked our way past the numerous blackboard sign, some of which required some interpretation, Fran provided a running commentary on the situation. It was really good to see someone working for themselves and running the business their way.

We had a quick stop at Newcastle Waters http://www.smh.com.au/news/Northern-Territory/Newcastle-Waters/2005/02/17/1108500201649.html this now Ghost town was created on the intersection of 2 major cattle droving routes, the Murranji and the Barkly and was a meeting and watering site for the Drovers and their cattle. 

In 1917 Newcastle waters was the depot for bore sinking teams who were sinking bores along, mainly, the Murranji stock route, and when this was completed the stock route and the town became quite busy.

The road and rail transport of cattle lead to the demise of the town and there are only a couple of buildings remaining, namely “Jones Store” and the “Junction Hotel”. As this town was also on the telegraph route, there was a repeater station here, and remnants still remain.

On leaving the town we crossed some wetlands and saw a number of Brolgas dancing, unfortunately I did not have the camera ready and missed most of it.

When we called in to Newcastle Waters we were on our way to the Devil’s Marbles (Karlu Karlu) National Park,  http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/parks/find/pdf/DevilsMarbles_000.pdf where we booked in for the night at a cost of 3.30per head. The camping area here had a great view of the Devil’s Marbles, but apart from that was typical of the roadside stops, especially with the number of caravans arriving, most of them late. The camp area had drop loos but no showers but the sites were really good. There were a couple of flea bitten dingoes hanging around waiting for people to feed them.

The ‘marbles’ occupy areas on both sides of the road and there is a very informative self guided walk which only takes about 20 minutes but provides information on the structure and geology of the boulders. 

Next stop on the road was a short stop at a little place called Aileron, 136Kms to the north of Alice Springs, where a local artist has created a statue of an Aboriginal http://www.alltravels.com/australia/northern-territory/aileron/photos/current-photo-34496101 metres high and is located on the hill overlooking the Roadhouse with the name Aileron below him, Hollywood style, very impressive it is. 

The artist has now created an aboriginal woman with a child at her leg and I think she is to be transported up the hill as well.

We arrived in Alice Springs to be met with smoke all around, fires to the North and the South.  By the time we were ready to leave everything was covered in ash and the inside of the tent had a very strong smoke smell.  The scenery around Alice is stunning with the MacDonnell ranges to the East and the West.

This is truly the Red Centre, as the soil is really red. We ventured out to Simpson’s Gap http://www.nt.gov.au/westmacs/places/simpsons-gap which was stunning and then ventured to Standley Chasm which, unfortunately, was closed due to the bushfires around.

The town is a typical smallish city with almost everything required even an excellent health food store.

I made a small adjustment to the Toyota here to try to add some positive air pressure to under the tonneau cover to keep the dust out, which hasn’t been tested yet, but will be in the next few days.

We arrived at Ayres Rock resort on Thursday and booked for 3 days at $41.00 per night. Access to the national park is $25 per person for a 3 day pass kid under 16 are free...... well worth the cost. 

Ayres rock is impressive and seems to be looking at you wherever you go here, and the Olga’s are very impressive as well. We went on a guided walk today, Saturday, and learned some of the culture of the local aboriginals as well as an insite to the geology of the area which really interested us.  After the walk we then did the walk around the base of Uluru which took about 3 hours.  Uluru was closed this morning because of the winds at the summit then closed again later this afternoon for the same reason.  John was hoping to do the climb but maybe next time the weather will be kinder to him.

It is after 9pm and we have to depart in the morning so we will not have time to add the photos to this post but when we get to Broken Hill we will post the photos.  We have so many it is time consuming sorting them out.  Doesn’t help that the computer battery has died on us so we can only do this when we have power which is not that often and since we have been here we have not had much free time.  Internet is also a long way between connections so by the time we have power and internet it gets to be a bit of a marathon.

Leaving Derby, Heading South

During our extened time in Derby we found a very nice Cafe/Gallery.......... Jila Gallery Cafe, which served good coffee, cakes and slices which was a welcome diversion from the heat.

Sunset over the Derby Pier

Sun still setting

 

While we were in Derby we went to visit the Boab Prison tree, where the indigenous people who had been captured were imprisoned while on their way to Broome to be used for pearl diving. We also saw the long trough which was built in the late 1880’s to provide water for stock being taken to the ships at Derby for export. I measured this trough and it was approximately 150metres long and apparently could water 500 bullocks at the same time. 

On Wednesday we went for a day trip to Broome, we only had a few hours there did the usual look at shops then a visit to Cable Beach, the caravan parks there are very busy with 3 overflow parks all full.  I wouldn’t like to go there during the season without a booking unless you're not fussed on where you stay

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Not sure if I mentioned that we ran into a family in Cloncurry who are from Caboolture.  We have now seen them in Mt Isa, Darwin and again in Broom.  They did the head on their vehicle so it made our problems with the springs seem like a minor bother.

Other repairs have included loads of tyre repairs/replacement, wheels falling off cars and trailers, a gear box replacement, broken windscreens and back windows, spare tyres on the back door parting company with the door.  These are just the ones we have heard about.

Maybe next time we will be able to have more time in Broome and see what it is really like.  John wasn’t impressed.

We noticed that the Victorian number plates say “Victoria – the place to be”, well why are they all in caravans in Western Australia. Mind you just about everyone else is up here as well.

When the springs had not arrived from Perth on the Friday and would not be there until Monday we decided to leave Derby to camp out at Birdwood Downs 13 Kms back out towards the Gibb Road.  The lady there suggested we contact another guy in Derby who may be able to help us, a phone call later and he was confident he could fix our problem if we were at his workshop on Saturday morning (July 30), which we did, 2 hours later and $200 poorer we were on our way again.

We travelled back along the Gibb River Road to Windjana Gorge, only about 150Kms and mainly bitumen with about 30% dirt road.

Windjana Gorge was really impressive with walks along the gorge with dozens of freshwater crocs sunning themselves along the bank. These crocs were so used to tourists that you could walk up close and take photos without them taking any notice of you.  Well we weren’t getting to close but there were lots of other people who did.  A sudden movement on the part of a croc would have seen a fast retreat by some.

There are so many caravans on the road, along the way at the free stops with loos and fire places where you can bunk up for the night, but to get a spot you have to be there at lunchtime. 

Anyway, back to the trip, while we were at Windjana we went for a drive down to Tunnel Creek, where the creek runs through a mountain and you can walk/wade through which I did but Kath reneged as she had managed to have unsuitable footware and a camera that she wasn't prepared to get wet which was likely to happen as she is pretty bumble footed at times.  The walk was quite interesting and walkers are monitored by a number of freshwater crocs along the way, you can see their red eyes as you walk. 

The history of these places, Windjana and Tunnel Creek have been part of a stage show doing the rounds up here and we just missed the show at Windjana. The play is about an aboriginal guy Jandumurra, who in the late 1800’s killed a white person so to avoid capture lived in Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. He was eventually killed at the entrance to Tunnel Creek after about three years avoiding the police.

We left Windjana heading for the Bungle Bungle (Purnululu) National Park. The road from Windjana to the Great Northern Highway was pretty ordinary and it took in excess of 2 hours to travel the 120Kms.

Demise of the Stone Guard

There have been a few places where they have run out of diesel and Fitzroy Crossing was one of them, we got there just after the tanker arrived which was lucky for us.  Not a place where you want to stay.

Ran in to a couple at Halls Creek who had done the Tanami and had done quite a bit of damage to their camper and had a forced stay of a week in Halls Creek.  We not sorry we had decided to not do the Tanami.  Maybe another time.

We stayed 2 nights at one of the freebie sites called Mary Pool, where, on the second night there must have been 200 caravans, and for that many people 2 toilets did not really cut it. We had an interesting interaction with the landowner of the surrounding property but too long a story to tell here, the short version is don’t put your generator on someone’s property in amongst long grass if you don’t want a bullet put through it.  Suffice to say we gained permission to go on to his property to take some photos of a disused cattle yard.

On Wednesday (August 3) we went in to the Bungle Bungles. If you Google Bungle Bungle Road Conditions they say the following – “To visit Western Australia's Bungle Bungles National Park takes some time and dedication.   -  From the turn off it is 53 km to the park entrance. This last stretch of road is strictly four wheel drives and single axle off-road trailers/caravans only. Don't even think about taking anything else. Dual axle and standard caravans/trailers are not allowed.”  It takes approximately 2 – 2.5 hours to do the 53Kms and that is after some of the road has been graded. 

There are currently 18 river/creek crossings with water in them, of varying depths and widths, and just as many dry crossings. I estimate that 50% of the journey was in second gear. The camper trailer, equipped with the new springs survived really well, although the Anderson plug for the camper battery did not, so I had to install the third plug for the trip. I am about to buy a couple of spares.

The Bungle Bungles were, in a word, unbelievable, and we had a helicopter ride over them on Friday which really set the visit off.

Bungle Bungles from the air.

Echidna Chasm.

Cathedral Gorge

 

Probably the most interesting part for me was a gorge named Cathedral Gorge, which was fantastic. Some people were telling us that when they visited people just stood there and sang and the acoustics were great. Would have liked to see that but didn’t happen when we were there.

The camp sites were pretty good there was a choice of two and areas where you could run a generator.  Drop loos and water on tap, a sign suggested boiling it but we found it OK.  The park supplied fire wood as you are not allowed to bring any in from outside, the wood they supplied came in from Perth.......go figure.

There are only four walks in the park and you have to drive to them all so it is a bit of a trap if you don’t have enough fuel, the furtherest we had to drive was 25km.  The walks weren’t that long but it was as hot as.

Up this way we have not seen much in the line of kangaroos and wallabies but heaps of birds and at the Bungles could hear lots of dingos though only saw one.  Every night that put on a real show with their singing, one of those nights they performed next to the car.  Thankful there was no need to get up and go to the loo.

We have been told all the roos are in the Flinders Ranges.  We’ll see.

On Sunday we started the long drive out and arrived back in Kununurra but could only get a powered site for one night, but allowed us to get the new Anderson plug and moved on to Victoria River to a powered site to fix another plug.

Somewhere along the way the zip on the gauze door broke which proved to be a nuisance because we had to keep the canvas door zipped up to deter any wild life that might fancy spending some time in the tent but also made the tent very hot. We had resigned ourselves to the fact we would not be able to get it fixed till we got home and it would involve taking the canvas off the trailer which we have had to do before.  Also as we are starting to head south it won’t be as hot so wouldn’t matter if the gauze door didn’t work.  On spec we went to a canvas place in Kununurra and they made a couple of suggestions of which cost us $2.50 (new slider for the zip) and after much holding your tongue right we managed to change the slider over and now we have a fully operational gauze door.

Spent Monday night in Kununurra and arrived back in Katherine on Tuesday.

Turtles at Springvale Homestead Camp Ground.

We are staying at the Springvale Homestead caravan park, which is interesting. Bush setting and we have a very nice site around a billabong with friendly geese, turtles and some freshies to keep us company.

The amount of families we are meeting who are on the road for 6 – 12 months with their kids and home schooling them as they go.   Some have sold up their homes others have rented them out.  Everyone is the same where you don’t notice how dirty things are or how dirty and dusty you are.  I am sure clothes will never come clean and it will likely take us a couple of weeks to clean the camper. 

Dust in the kitchen aftetr the Bungles.

The dust in it used to get on my nerves now I don’t even notice it.  John washed the car in Kununurra and the red was so bright it made everyone take notice.

Places with swimming pools are good for kids as it is the best way to get out some of the in ground dirt and I have found they are good places to sit around (water is too cold to get in) and put your feet in for a soak, the end result are nice clean feet, the next couple of days you wear sandshoes to keep the clean feet thing happening for a bit longer.

We are heading south towards Alice Springs in the next couple of days looking for some cooler weather and will update as soon as we have power and mobile coverage hopefully won't be as long.

Darwin to Derby

The link to the SPOT is http://whitlowaussietravels.blogspot.com 

Got away from Darwin on the 13^th July after some last minute modifications to the Toyota.  John decided to make a rock guard for the back of the Toyota hoping to minimise any damage that rocks might do on the Gibb River Road.  

We were only going as far as Litchfield National Park but wanted an early start as if you start arriving at the national parks after about lunch there is not much to choose from in the line of camping spots and shade is very desirable.  Once we turned off the highway and headed into Batchelor the park appeared to be covered in a smoke haze so we were not sure what it was going to be like.

We headed to Wangi Falls camping grounds and decided to use this as a base to look around.    The falls were stunning as was the swimming hole the only problem it was closed to swimming because of a salt water crocodile.

There were two waterfalls there, one was small the other one had a hugh amount of water coming down which you noticed it more at night because of the noise it made and the spray it left all over everything.  There was a walk you could do up and around the falls that made for a nice start to the day.

There are a few old tin mime ruins around the place, Mt Tolmer Tin Mine which was attached to Blythe Homestead and the Bamboo Creek Tin Mine.

At Mt Tolmer the old Blythe Homestead was still standing and had quite a bit of information about the lives of the people who lived there.  It stands as a reminder of the tough conditions faced by the pioneers in these remote areas.  It was built in 1929 as an outstation on Stapleton Station to be used for both pastoral and tin mining and was abandoned in the early 1960s.

The Bamboo Creek tin mine still have a lot of equipment left insitu and was really interesting walking around looking at it all in most places there was an information board giving you some idea on what it was all about.  The mine opened in the early 1900s and closed in the 1950s. The initial owners of the mine apparently died from respiratory issues due to the type of mining conducted, and with the heat, wet in the wet season, and the transport issues, the mine was closed and abandoned.  

There was no shortage of creeks and water falls to look at and as luck would have it we found a cafe in the middle of nowhere which had pretty good coffees and smoothies.

 After a couple of days we moved on as we had finally decided to do the Gibb River Road.

Next stop was Adelaide River north of Katherine.  What we found there was a really big beautifully maintained war cemetery.  It is the resting place of 63 civilians and 434 Australian, British and Canadian service men and women killed in the top end in World War 2.  Definitely worth a visit when going through Adelaide River.

Short stop in Katherine to get fuel and some groceries and kept moving to a camp spot out of town on the Victoria Hwy.

Travelling west on the Victoria Hwy there are awe-inspiring land forms and colours which just seem impossible to catch with a camera.

With a diversion to Lake Argyle we stopped briefly to view the lake which is the largest constructed lake in Australia and is classed as an inland sea.  On one bank of the spillway were a couple of very large fresh water crocodiles having a snooze and on the other bank lots of people wanting to throw a rock to see what sort of photo opportunity it would create.

Crossed the border at WA and had to pass over what fruit and vege we had left and also some very nice Byron Bay honey.

Arrived in Kununurra on the 16^th July for a stay of a couple of days, gives us a chance to get the washing done and make the most of hot showers.  Just remember when in Kununurra you can’t buy grog on Sundays.

We had a day in Wyndham though there is really not much there to see there is a very real sense of the history in the place.  We went up to the summit of the Bastion Range to the Rivers Lookout which gives you a view of the Ord, Forrest, King, Durack and Pentecost Rivers which enter the Cambridge Gulf.  Once again we took lots of photos but nothing showed just how enormous the whole view is.

Back in Kununurra there was a steady stream of people coming into the caravan park who were about to do The Gibb River Road and those who had done it.  Tyres seem to have been the biggest causality on the road with some pretty impressive blowouts.  Also the dirt/dust on the vehicles and people was a big give away.

We stocked up on food supplies and made sure jerry cans, gas cylinders and water containers were topped up before heading off.

Once we turned off onto the Gibb River Road it was time to pull up and let the tyre pressure down to 32 psi.  We were the only ones there letting tyres down everyone else there were pumping tyres up.  All said the same thing watch the sharp rocks on the road, and they were spot on, the stones in the wheel tracks were a real issue and required constant surveillance.

The first 60km were the worst off the whole road with corrugation that had you crabbing across the road while at the same time looking out for the sharp rocks of where there were plenty.  Our first river crossing was the Pentecost River which was about knee deep and approx. 100 metres wide with a very rocky bottom.  I’m assuming the rocks had been added for benefit for the tourists. The approaches on some crossings were a bit chopped up.

We spent the first night at Home Valley Station which even though is a working cattle station has also set up for the traveller with a couple of very big grassy areas, some with power for an extra $16.  There was a restaurant, bar and swimming pool.  The camping was pretty cosy and the photo will show.  It was a good stop for the first night, gave us the opportunity to see how the car and camper stood up to the relentless corrugation. All was good and no causalities in the food and beer department. 

Went down and had a look at the Pentecost River with a view to doing some fishing but the tide was out and some big salties were floating around.

Decided to move on due to the number of people that were there as it turned out it was school holidays in WA.

When we left Home Valley we had not made any decisions on where our next stop was going to be.

Crossed the Durack River which was uneventful all rocky bottom and easy out the other side.  The road was rocky and rough but nothing like the first 60km.  The scenery and colours were impressive so many photo opportunities but so far the photos we took did nothing justice.  I think it is something you keep in your head. 

After a couple of hours signs started appearing along the road to say you could get scones, jam and cream at Ellenbrae Station, the signs gave you a count down from 5km out right up to arriving at the station gate.  It was a very good marketing ploy by someone as there were heaps of people enjoying the scones and fresh cream.  The biggest problem was you only got one scone so we went back for seconds.  The only thing that made them better than the scones in the camp oven was the fact they had fresh cream.

The loo was a lime pit looking out over a dry creek bed.

The next stop was the Manning Gorge where we stayed for a couple of days.  John had some repairs on the trailers anderson plug and trailer lights which must have come to grief on some of the rather large rocks that are on the road.  

The gorge itself was pretty impressive once you got over the walk in, it was about a three hour round trip which included quite a bit of rock hopping.  The water fall and swimming hole there made the walk-in worthwhile.  Wish I could say nice things about the camping area but in a word it was crap.  It was a take or leave it attitude with the solar hot water system being out of action for years even though the sign in the showers would let you believe otherwise.  I think some of the wording on the sign was “be patient”.  They didn’t miss you with the dollars either. 

Mt Barnett roadhouse is the place to pay before going into the camping area it is also a known refuelling stop on the road and it was out of diesel.  The lack of diesel didn’t bother us but there were a few people having a forced stay at the gorge.

Next stop was Galvan’s Gorge which a 1km walk was in but no camping, it was a brief stop on the side of the road.

From here we moved on to Charnley River Station where we ended up staying for three nights due to the fact that we had broken springs on the trailer.  Charnley was a 43km diversion off the main road but was definitely worth the trip. 

Once again lots of gorges, lots of walks in to them.  The caretakers at Charnley were very friendly and very helpful.  The camp site was well maintained with plenty of fire places and wood supplied and a sausage sizzle on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

After Charnley we headed straight into Derby as we were not keen to go over any more rough roads than necessary.  We missed a couple of places that we had planned to go into but that will have to be a next time. 

The last stop for fuel at the west end of the Gibb Road – Imintji Road House was probable one of the busiest we have seen since leaving home and they had a queue up of about 10 vehicles waiting for tyre repairs and heaps of people waiting for fuel, food and loos.

The last range coming into Derby was the Leopold Ranges which weren’t the red that you associate with the Kimberley’s but none the less equally impressive.

The Gibb River Road was like Queen St there was just so much traffic.  More than one person overtook us in the dust and one of those people had a caravan on.  Scarey.  The road in some places was really good in other places it was lots of sharp rocks and corrugation. The dust was something else and it got in everywhere though thankfully not the bed.  Everyone looked the same, dirty.  

When you first start you dust off any dirt that gets on you then after a while you just don’t see it....well you see it but there is no point dusting it off because that just puts more dirt on you.  It pays to be self sufficient with fuel for the whole trip, some of the camping grounds have drinking water so we always made sure we topped up when we could, we also had a spare water container in case something happened to the one on the trailer. 

 

Basic food supplies were available in a couple of place but you paid for it so thankfully we had enough for the whole trip, you get used to UHT milk, no you don’t.  There were quite a few off road caravans, camper trailers but a look of people just had tents.  Most people drove to the conditions but some just didn’t slow down when passing which made you keep your fingers crossed that you didn’t end up with a broken windscreen.

Arrived in Derby and almost straight away decided Normanton was a far better looking town.  Got the trailer to the spring man first thing Monday morning hoping to get it fixed so we could get moving but as it turns out the springs can’t be sources locally or from Broome so we are waiting for them to come up by truck from Perth. Worst case they will be fixed on Friday.  

When we are mobile again we will head back towards the Gibb River road and go to Windjana National Park then Tunnel Creek and then on our way back to Kununurra via the Bungle Bungles which we are told will take us about 2 hours to drive in to the camping area.  Helicopter flights are operated out of the park so we are aiming to have a flight over and also spend about 3 days there.

From Kununurra we are going to spend a few days getting back to Katherine and then down to Alice Springs.

Mt Isa to Darwin

Mt Isa – Camooweal and onto Darwin 

An uneventful start to the day there was no need to rush so long as we were out of the caravan park by 10am (on the 2 July).

Made a brief stop at the shopping centre to get some cash not sure what the atm facilities will be like for the next little while.

On the way to Camooweal we past Lizzy still peddling and on her way to the Three Ways in the NT.

Decided to stay in Camooweal rather than camp out at the Camooweal Caves.  Before we set up we went for a drive out to the caves which are huge sinkholes we had hoped there would be some you could get a bit closer to rather than look down on but we had to settle for the looking down on.  All the photos I took out there are saved somewhere on this computer.......the question is where.

One night at Camooweal was enough between a party that went all night and someone in the camper trailer next door who snored all night.

Crossed the Queensland/Northern Territory border and turned our watches back 30 minutes and did the photo thing.

From here next stop was the Barkley Homestead where we lashed out and had a pie and ice coffee for lunch, it was too dusty to try and make lunch from the back of the camper.  After lunch we turned north towards Cape Crawford which is on the corner of the Tablelands and Carpentaria Hwy.

Even though Cape Crawford is 120 kilometres from the sea it got its name because it is at the northern extremity or ‘cape’ of the Abner Ranges which were first discovered by drover Lindsay Crawford in 1880.  Just a little bit of Australian history.

Mt Isa to the Gulf, part 2

Mt Isa   21 – 22 June 2011

A brief stop to stock up with supplies and get some washing done before heading out of Mt Isa on our way to Lawn Hill.  We were all keen to get an early start for Lawn Hill but ended up with a minor technical glitch on the camper trailer with the hose on the water tank deciding it was a good time to pack it in.

Finally got away and had a late breakfast just west of Mt Isa which was brief as it was cold.

We drove almost to Camooweal before hanging a right towards Boodjamullah (Lawn Hill) National Park via Riversleigh. 

With lunch stops and photo stops it was nearly 7 hours of sucking dust. 

The camper trailer was pretty good we only got a little bit of dust in the trailer but thankfully no dust in the bed.  The back of the Toyota wasn’t so lucky, dust was everywhere but they say it is part of the experience.......not so sure about that.  There was no shortage of caravans there but they came via the Burke and Wills Roadhouse which is north of Cloncurry and then out to Gregory which is all bitumen, Gregory to Lawn Hill is about 90km of dirt road.

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One of the river crossings to Lawn Hill.

The national park doesn’t accommodate many people and there were maybe 12 sites all up, loos, and cold showers available but no fires allowed which was a bit disappointing as a fire is part of the camping experience and the nights were pretty chilly.

Lawn Hill has plenty to do, canoeing up the fabulous red sandstone gorge, walking tracks and lookouts all over the gorge.  One morning we got up at 5am to walk up the Constance Range to watch the sun rise which was pretty spectacular.  It was one way to warm up though it didn’t take long to cool down once we reached the top.

There is no shortage o fish and fresh water crocs, you can hear the crocs calling out during the night. We saw a few sunning themselves on the logs around the edge of the gorge.

The gorge itself and surrounds have been affected by the recent floods trees pushed over and uprooted all over the place, the place has really been decimated. 

What is left in some areas after the last wet season.

After four days at Lawn Hill it was time to move onto Normanton via the small township of Gregory where we stopped for lunch and some expensive fuel.

Normanton  27 – 30 June 2011

Arrived in Normanton a small town on the south east coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria late in the afternoon and were lucky enough to get a shady camp site which meant we didn’t have to put the awning up.  The nights here are a nice change from the chill of Lawn Hill which called for track pants and jacket where in Normanton it was shorts and t-shirt.

Normanton is on the Norman River and was originally used as a shipping terminal for the coastal freighters and also played a big part in the gold rush days in Croydon. There are many historical points around the town, including the renowned Purple Pub, which has special significance for Kath.

It has taken quite a while to get anything done here as Kath has been busy catching up with people around town. 

On Tuesday morning we went to the Gulfland Souvenirs shop which is at at the train station and run by Barb and Mark.  It’s a good place to pick up some souvenir t-shirts that are just a bit different to the norm.  John Hunt if you’re reading this Barb said to say “Hello”. 

It was Barb’s late husband who got Mick interested in blacksmithing. 

Some of the funky mobiles that can be got at the Gulfland Souvenirs shop.

John you may also like to know that Jughead is yardman at the council caravan park where we stayed.  Other than his long grey hair and beard he is still the same......you’ll know what I mean.

After lunch we went up to Karumba to eat prawns and watch the sun set over the waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria, we managed to work our way through 2Kg of prawns, and a large packet of chips. In this case when I say we, it included Rick and Reena who ably who assisted in downing the said prawns.

On Wednesday we headed out to the wetlands which are just north of Normanton to see the myriad of birdlife and plants that are just off the side of road to Karumba. Because it is so close to the river there are also mudflats and saltpans which makes for an interesting contrast of wet and dry.  The wetlands are well known for being a habitat for some unusual birdlife.  We finished the day off with a couple of drinks at the Purple Pub for old times sake.

Mt Isa  30 June – 1 July 2011

Thursday morning was time to leave Normanton and head back to Mt Isa to stock up on groceries, charge all manner of batteries and give the car a sort of clean (till the next lot of dirt road), we have decided that a roof rack is the way to go as we are already sick of taking the spare tyres off the camper every night and what comes off has to go on the next morning.

Tomorrow, Saturday we will leave Mt Isa and head to the Camooweal Caves for a few days then on to the Barkley Homestead which is west of Camooweal on the Barkley Hwy.  Then it will be north onto the Tablelands Hwy to Cape Crawford then west along the Carpentaria Hwy.  Not sure what there is to see or what the country is like but watch this space.