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.