Gulf of Carpentaria

23/7/2018 Monday R & R woke at 7:15am and all was quiet.  It was until a little later that the birds began darting around near the tree and the water bowl.  The finches and silver eyes were intimated when a quail hopped into the middle.  Other birds seen were the whistling kites and willy wag tails.  By 8:40am all was packed down and RL set off for Burke and Wills Roadhouse at Threeways Junction in a northerly direction on the Burke Developmental Highway about 100kms away.  The road ran in a line that followed the Leichhardt River loosely on its eastern side.  The road was in good condition and for the most part fenced and through country side that was well wooded with different trees and good growth of grasses.  R & R passed Coolullah Stn about half way between Cloncurry (200m) and Burke & Wills Roadhouse before passing through a little range of hills including Mt Dromedary 228m and Black Mountain 215m.  Coolullah homestead backs on to the Leichhardt River and features in one of Slim Dusty’s songs … “down the Leichhardt, to my old Coolullah home”.  There were sections were the grasses were greener and some cattle could be seen feeding especially near water tanks.  RL actually had to slow down for a couple of emus and a kangaroo even though it was no longer early morning.  R & R listened to more of “The Potato Factory” as they drove.  It was about 10:00am as they arrived at Burke and Wills Roadhouse so it was time for a break and a photo shoot.  A tour bus of over 50s had pulled up just in front of them so it took a while to have their turn at the conveniences.  After the break, R & R were ready for the next stage, 145kms to Gregory along the Wills Developmental Road in a north westerly direction.   The last section of this road between Nardoo and Gregory Stations was only completed in 1998 and there were still a couple of short sections which were just a single lane strip.  One section of 1.5km was sign posted as an airstrip and advised that there was to be no stopping.  Immediately, R & R noticed that the soil was more yellow brown and that there were different trees.  In the later section there were fewer trees and the grasses were so tall that they hid the fence from sight. R & R saw several trucks and utilities coming and going into station properties and the Brahman cattle looked in good condition.  Increasing, RA had noticed on the Navigator, and gave RL a running commentary, that the height above sea level was dropping: 64m, 45m.  R & R saw a burnt-out car body that had started a fire along the verge and a pair of jabiru in a water hole by the side of the road.  It was noon as they stopped at Gregory with not a clue as to whether or not they would stay or move on.  R & R had coffee and walked up and down the road taking photos of signs and the hotel.  Gregory is a cattle station and beside the hotel there are several buildings including a new building, dedicated to a doctor who served the community for a long time, a pop-up shop/café, public facilities, a race track and a free camping area.  It sits on the Gregory River and is the gateway to Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park and the Riversleigh Fossil Site about 100kms to the west near the NT border.  R & R walked over to the bridge to the Gregory River and were amazed to see, not only that it had water in it, but that it was clear, fast flowing and picture postcard pretty. R & R had lunch in the Ute that had been parked under a tree and agreed that they would set up right then and there and have a quiet afternoon.  By 2:00pm the camper was set up and they were cat napping in the shade.  But it was warm, with the temperature having risen to 29*C as they rested, then read, so they donned their bathers and walked down to the river.  It water was cold and relatively shallow but very fast moving.  It did not matter too much as they both just lay like stranded whales in the shallows on the pebbled floor of the river and allowed the current to act like a massage.  It was wonderful for the body and the spirits and well worth the effort.  They walked over the bridge and along the river a way and across the old bridge which had been closed off with bollards.  R & R returned for a read before going for another walk along the highway in the northerly direction for a little way.  They helped each other cook dinner before RL read and RA wrote the diary.  There had been no reception on their Optus phone but RA tested the dongle in the computer and there was Telstra reception so she sorted some emails.  Together R & R put RL’s photos on the laptop and deleted some of the worst or doubles.  It was lovely to have a body so warm right through … and to be able to refresh it in the cool waters of the Gregory.

24/7/2018 Tuesday.  R & R slept well, for though the camper was right near the road there was little or no traffic.  The forecast for the day was 8*C-32*C. They got out shortly before 7:00am and, while preparing and eating breakfast, watched the way of dawning.  At first there was an orange glow in the east, then a warm pink all around the horizon before the sun, peeping up, cast long golden shards in between the shadows created by trees.  Soon after all was bathed in the clear, yellow light of day.  It was 8:30am when RL headed north towards Burketown 120kms away.  Immediately out of Gregory, there was a grid on the road and R & R noticed that there was an Aboriginal Reserve to the east. The height above sea level was 60m.  About 20kms north, the Gregory Homestead was proudly presented with horses in the front paddock and handsome Brahman cattle nearby.  The road runs more or less closely to the Gregory River most of the way and the Navigator indicated that the homestead backed on to the river.  It was quite obvious from the road how close the river was or was not for a belt of tall trees and palms, even taller, grew along-side it.  When close to the road the palms and trees could be clearly visible; at other times it was just a green line in the distance.  The road appeared fenced most of the way on both sides, or sometimes on only one, and there were cattle on the verge.  RL had to slow for a few wallabies and a couple of emus.  R & R were delighted to see many brolgas, sulphur crested cockatoos and some brahminy kites (big kites like eagles but grey with the white underbelly).  As it was a long journey, RA put “The Potato Factory” on for a while.  It was right on 10:00am when R & R arrived at Burketown information centre.  There they sought information, had a cup and snack under the trees, took some photos and chatted a while with some campers.  RL headed north out to the long-abandoned Boiling Down works which as a meat processing operation had a checked career beginning in 1867 until 1911.  Near that, nothing remains of the Landsborough Tree which marks the spot where a depot was set up in the search for the missing Burke and Wills.  From there, it was only a couple more kilometres to a free camp sit on the side of the Albert River at its boat ramp and new pontoon facility.  Truganini Landing really was a lovely spot with its green water, probably a reflection of its tall green mangrove vegetation, and its yellow white sand.  The Navigator indicted approximately 5m above sea level as Burketown is about 25kms from the coastline.  R & R had heard that there were showers at the other free camp at the rodeo grounds so they enjoy a refreshing shower before heading to the artesian bore on the eastern edge of town.  A traveller would be excused for overlooking this site.  There appears to be a rock with water coming out the top and not much else.  The water is about 60*C, that’s hot, and the rock and surrounding area is a build-up of minerals that have come up with the water and formed over the last 100 years.  The marbled colours on the rock and ground need to be seen to be believed.  RA found it almost inconceivable that it has released steaming hot water continuously 24/7 for 100 years!  The Burketown area has recently been given back to the Aboriginal community, who run tours over and around the saltpans, and a great deal of energy and money appears to be making an impact, like the pontoon and a proposed spa for the artesian bore.  So, it was about 12:30pm as RL drove south east out of Bourketown on the Nardoo-Burketown Rd for Leichhardt Falls 80kms away.  R & R had intended to stop under a tree somewhere along the way to have lunch but the road, though sealed had no shoulders and there were no large trees casting shade. There was very little traffic so RL took his time and enjoyed the scenery.  Again, there were grids and cattle at water or yards, homesteads, flat open areas where the grasses were person high and sections were corridors of green indicated a river or creek.  Again, R & R saw wallabies, eagles, kites, brolgas and one dead black pig.  The level above sea rose steadily to 15m. Just before 2:00pm R & R arrived at the Falls free camp site.  The drive into the camping area was deep soft yellow sand and became rocky on the edge of the falls.  It took a while to pick a sound, level spot but before long R & R were set up and sitting on the step of the camper enjoying the cool breeze in the shade the camper had created.  After a while R & R decided to go for a walk over the rocks at the top of the falls to the other side.  There was no water falling, only water down below the falls and further back up stream in deep puddles.  RA was cross with herself.  She had thought they may just go as far as the falls, a little further, maybe, and was not adequately prepared for a longer walk.  She had only a singlet on and was not carrying water or a snack.  Just as well she was wearing a hat.  It was hot out in the open and R & R walked a long way on the opposite side of the river, under the understanding that they would be able to cross back over further down.  Not so!  They had to walk back which was not as easy as one might have thought.  Eventually, they found themselves back at the causeway and able to return,, over the rocks to the camper.  RL read a while and RA wrote diary both before and after dinner.  There was absolutely no way of connecting with the world outside with no reception or wifi so R & R had no way of knowing how any of their family was going.  RA went to sleep with the image of lovely olive green, sienna, ochre and rusty brown colours of the bore … nature’s own piece of abstract art.

25/7/2018 Wednesday  R & R slept well since RA was determined not to stress and lose sleep about the sandy track that they would need to navigate their way along to get back out of the camping area.  As they breakfasted she could see other vans much larger leaving without any trouble.  About 8:15am, R & R were on their way with RL quite capable of negotiating the track and on their way to Normanton about 158kms to the east on the Burketown Normanton Rd.  As soon as they had crossed the Leichhardt River causeway, they were on unsealed road with small wallabies feeding and evidence of fire having burnt bush recently.  They crossed the Alexandra River causeway which had black rocks.  The countryside was similar to what R & R had seen the day before only minus the blue ribbon of asphalt in front of them.  It was between 30-40m above sea level.  There were stock grids, single lane causeways and bridges (some deserving of being sealed), brolgas, ant hills and cattle near waterholes and tanks.  R & R were excited to see one only herd of long horned cattle near Inverleigh West station while others in the area were all brahman.  One herd of brahman had calves with them.  Again, it was obvious where creeks and rivers were, as they were lined by green groves of taller vegetation and there were sections with more or less grasses and trees.  Some sections of the road surface were quite corrugated and there was a works team with many trucks, utilities and machinery working on it.  R & R listened to some more from ”The Potato Factory” and were glad that Mary Abacus had arrived in Van Diemen’s Land with a new found confidence and determination.  RL had been able to drive at a comfortable 80kms to take in the view and story and though there were more vehicles on the road than the previous day, they were few and far between.  As he had been driving more than an hour, they stopped for a cup of coffee. The drive had been undulating but it dropped level, back down to 10m and became flat.  There was much vegetation as R & R crossed the Flinders River where they saw a pair of Jabiru flying.  RL crossed the causeway of the Bynoe River which was sealed and to RA’s relief, after 112kms of unsealed road, the road remained surfaced.  The Navigator indicated that at this point the Bynoe River is almost a circle created by two branches that join a couple of kilometres north and south of the road.  RL turned south for 2kms towards Burke and Wills Camp 119 where, in the grey soil by the Bynoe River and waterhole, there are the remains of several blazed trees where the ill-fated explorers had camped at the most northern part of their expedition in 1861.  After a little break there, it was only 34kms to Normanton on sealed road and about 5kms out the phone went  ”Ting” indicating that R & R had come into reception.  It was a warm 28*C just before noon when R & R went into the Burns Philp building which is now the library, museum and information centre.  Originally it was a one of Australia’s most successful businesses with Burns being referred to as the “octopus of the north” in 1894 as the business was large and widespread.  RA was particularly interested about the triple murders by a Malay, Sedin, in 1888 with kris swords in an episode of running amok, much like the event referred to by her grandfather FEH. R & R wandered around taking photos.  Normanton was established in 1867 on the Norman River and when the main street was developed in 1880s, they made the gutters with stone and covered them with cast iron plates.  Besides these, R & R took photos of the model of the world’s largest estuarine crocodile that was shot by Krystina Pawlowski, the old goal and trackers quarters, and the monument to Nardoo Burns.  Nardoo Burns was a highly proficient and celebrated aboriginal tracker and his story is immortalised in song by Slim Dusty.  Slim also sings another song called “From the Gulf to Adelaide” which is a tall tale about droving a herd of crocodiles!  About 12:30pm, RL shifted the Ute into the shade and R & R had a cup of coffee while chatting to their daughter, S.  RL set off north towards Karumba while RA continued to chat to S.  Immediately out of Normanton, they drove over the Norman River and past the wetlands with water lilies and brolgas and determined that they would stop when they returned the next day.  The first 30kms north was not dissimilar to the countryside they had travelled through in the morning but as the road veered west near Maggieville Station, the level dropped and the land was flat and more open and low lying like salt pans with more or less grass.   The road was much like that for about 40kms to Kurumba where RA directed RL to the Sunset Caravan Park.  About 2:00pm, RA stepped out of the Ute and immediately she could smell the sea and fish on her way to booking in and within half an hour they were having late lunch.  The park of nearly 200 sites was crammed full, every other site having not only a vehicle but also a boat.  After lunch, about 3:00pm, R & R walked down to the boat ramp.  RA picked up a few shells in between the sticky grey clay that stuck to her thongs and they both washed their feet (and thongs) in the waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria.  When they returned R & R had showers and hung some washing.  RL read while RA sorted out her shells and tried to remove some of the dust that had come in during the mornings drive.  Between 5:30pm and 6:30pm, R & R were sitting on a park bench looking westward at the sun setting over the waters of the Gulf.  Lots of people were there and there was a real buzz of excitement.  That meant a late dinner.  After dinner, R & R went to the shed which was the communal place for recreation and activity, near reception, so that RL could get the free wifi and read some of the 4 X 4 emails.  RA wrote her diary.  It had been a memorable day, finding Nardoo Burns in Normanton … and viewing sunset from the Gulf at Karumba.

26/7/2018 Thursday R & R woke just before sunrise, about 7:00am, and headed straight for the showers.  It was already 15*C though the washing from the day before was laden with dew still on the line.  RL suggested that there would be an hour spare in which they could check through the draft of a post.  They did just that and then RL suggested that RA pick the photos to go with it while he start packing up jobs like filling the tank with water and boiling the kettle for the flasks.  At 9:00am, it was time to get serious about packing up, fetching the washing off the line and being out of the park by 10:00am.  Immediately outside, RL put one of the three 20lt jerry cans of fuel in the Ute before driving away from Karumba Point (and the End of the Road Motel) to Karumba township.  Originally named Norman Mouth, as it was the mouth of the Norman River, its name was changed to Kimberley, only to be changed to Karumba to avoid confusion with other states.  Karumba means “Spirit of an Old Man”. R & R drove down to the export wharf and the Barramundi Discovery Centre and then spent the next hour wandering round downtown Karumba: its thrift shop, the wharf and buildings associated with Karumba’s connection to being used for a radio communications base for the RAAF and its Sunderland Flying Ships during WWII, its past and current association with commercial and recreational fishing.  It was just after 11:00am as R & R left to return to Normanton back along the same road they had driven the day before,  so RA though it might be fun to play an Australian trivia CD.  It certainly was entertaining and kept them on their toes.  RL had to put it on pause (for later in the day) when they drove into Normanton.  Luckily, the only trees casting shade in the noonday sun at 31*C was free so RL parked there.  It was important to send and respond to some emails and to chat with their daughter, H, for a while.  RL suggested that RA post the newest content while he put the other two 20lt jerry cans in and went to get a photo of the Nardoo Burns monument which he had missed the morning before.  It took RA only 20 minutes to upload the text and photos so she began to prepared lunch while she waited for her husband.  After lunch, and shortly after 2:00pm, R & R went for a drive just to the northern edge of Normanton to look at the jetty (where in the late 1880s a winch type punt operated to ferry people, goods and stock over the Norman River), the Corduroy Bridge (logs were placed side by side, looking like the ripples in the cloth called corduroy, as a crossing for the shallow sections of the Norman River), and the wetlands which surrounded them.  It was here that the day before R & R had seen so many brolga and yet on this occasion, there were none.  RA was, however, delighted to take photo of the water lilies in bloom.  So, it was that about 3:00pm, R & R headed south a few kilometres before turning east on the Savanah Developmental Road which eventually leads to Cairns.  They resumed the trivia CD and had to accept a final score of 66%, knowing full well that their lack of knowledge of popular music and film was their down fall.  The road was exceptional in that it was smooth.  Apparently, the section from Normanton to Croydon was only completed in 1999.  It was fenced cattle station country with lots of anthills, very good vegetation, sometimes so much tree and shrub that there was less grass, and waterholes and creek lines. At first the soil was more yellow but later it became red, while the level above sea rose to nearly 25m.  The country side and its vegetation reminded R & R of Elsey near Mataranka in NT.  At the point where the Norman River flowed under the bridge toward Normanton, the railway came to the road on its northern side.  The rail continued to run close to the road and it was not long before R & R arrived at Blackbull Siding where free camping is allowed.  The siding is part of the line between Normanton and Croydon and was developed in the 1880s to link the gold rush at Croydon with the port at Normanton.  At the time of its construction it was revolutionary in that the sleepers were made of steel, not wood, to combat inevitable destruction by white ants.  R & R walked round the siding and its old buildings and water tower and chatted with fellow campers for quite a while before having a coffee and setting up.  The siding is still in use today as a stopover for the tourist trippers on the Gulflander from Croydon to Normanton which runs a couple of times each week.  Additional trips are “Billy Tea and Damper” and “Sunset BBQ” which go as far as Critters Camp, about half the journey.  Eventually, R & R set up the camper but it was still very warm so they took a walk and some photos at sunset before dinner.  After dinner RL read and RA wrote her diary.  It had been such a warm day that R & R were able to really appreciate … the coolness brought on by darkness.