27/7/2018 Friday For some vague reason R & R were both restless and did not have the best night’s sleep and were glad to be out of bed at 7:00am. There being no hurry R & R chatted for ages to another couple, even though the camper was packed down and they were ready to go. Shortly after 9:00am RL headed for Croydon, south east on the Normanton-Croydon Road, a distance of about 60kms. At Blackbull the rail line had crossed the road so it ran more or less closely to the road the entire distance to Croydon. For the most part the road, which was in excellent condition and not busy, was flat, about 75m, and there were cattle (and a couple of brolgas) feeding near waterhole and depressions near the road. The soil was mostly yellow grey and there were lots of anthills, some more bulbous, for a little while. There was good tree, shrub and ground coverage. R & R saw, again, as they had several times recently, the web-like nests in the leaves and branches of trees and wondered if they were created by spiders or an insect. The last ten kilometres to Croydon became more undulating then hilly increasing to 100m and the Navigator showed many mines listed as abandoned. Mt Angus, the largest of the hills was 186m. At 10:00am, R & R went into the information centre and were immediately greeted by a girl who invited us to watch their 17-minute video about the Croydon. What is now Croydon, was part of a cattle station owned by a Brown family until gold was discovered in 1885 when a community grew so rapidly that it was, at one time, Queensland’s third largest town. Gold was its focal point for about 35 years before gold ran out as well as the manpower to work for it. The number of men who went to WWI and either didn’t return or were maimed in one way or another is a factor that contributed to the end of the golden era. Today the cattle industry continues as the areas main industry behind tourism. RA used the free wifi service to check on Mass times nearby for the coming weekend. While R & R were there they took in all the displays in the centre itself and in the gardens out the back before going back to the Ute to have a coffee and some Christmas in July fruit cake. Croydon had a historic precinct over the road from its central park with public art so R & R went to see it all including the lock up and the courtroom where a tourist is encouraged to press the button and take a seat in the jury and listen to a real trial proceeding from the days of the gold rush. All of these exhibits and displays were free. R & R walked to the Croydon General Store which, besides having a great display of historical memorabilia., is the oldest (longest running) store in Australia, having been built in 1894. Shortly after 12:30pm, RL headed out of town to lake Belmore about 4kms from town where R & R enjoyed lunch by the water, on green lawns, seated on a park bench in the shade. There was a sign warning the freshwater crocodiles can be aggressive but that did not matter to R & R as there were cold showers at the toilet block. It was great to feel fresh at the hottest time of the day. On the way back into town R & R stopped to walk around the protected site of the Chinese community that lived there at the time of the gold rush. The site protects the remnants of a temple and pig ovens and other artefacts that were significant to the Chinese community and their way of life. An old Chinese saying RL read in the displays downtown read, “Don’t wait until you are thirsty to dig a well.” R & R had noticed the kapok tree in bloom and had seen trees, while still in yellow bloom, carrying the green and dry seeds as well as seeing the open seeds and fluff on the ground. Before leaving Croydon, R & R refuelled at 160c/l. Needless to say, RL did not fill his jerry cans at that price! So, it was about 2:00pm when RL headed east towards Georgetown on the Gulf Developmental Road with the intention of free camping at Cumberland Chimney, a distance of about 130kms. It was hilly countryside with more abandoned mines. Cattle fed and there was good ground coverage of grasses and trees. The Jump Up indicated a height of between 175-225m and Littleton National Park bordered both sides of the road. Several of the creeks had some water in them while others were dry. The causeway over the Gilbert River was long and single lane and immediately RA saw a sign for fresh fruit and vegetable available from a farm as well as advertising for jobs for two farm hands. RL saw a very big dark grey kangaroo, not at all like the smaller wallabies they had been seeing lately. The soil varied back and forth from red to yellow grey which was most obvious by the colour of the anthills. At one point, red ant activity could be seen high up in some of the tree trunks. The road switched back and forth from double to single lane several times before it remained double about the same time as soft white sand could be seen in the creek lines. To help the journey pass, R & R listened to more of “The Potato Factory”. It was 3:40pm when R & R spotted the chimney. It stands tall and alone, a relic of Cumberland Mine gold crushing plant built by Cornish miners. The free camping area was between the chimney and a dam which teems with birdlife and water lilies and cattle grazed calmly though the area. It was a delight for the eyes! R & R set up immediately and had coffee before spending the next couple of hours walking around, talking to other campers, taking photos and walking some more before dinner. Besides a toilet, the camping area had picnic tables and a bird viewing shelter with a free, auto-focus 8x binocular set on a stand. After dinner RL read and RA wrote the diary. She was hoping to see one of the special birds that may be seen in the area … perhaps a Gouldian Finch … or a Rainbow Beat Eater!
28/7/2018 Saturday. R & R slept much better than the night before and were out of bed at 7:00am with cameras in hand to see if there were any good shots of the chimney or of birds as the sun was rising. The rest area is situated at the site of the Cumberland Mine which was the largest and most successful mine in the area with the claim first being registered in 1872; the size of the chimney and dam being a witness to that fact. By 1894 it was using the cyaniding process for extracting gold and the chimney was built in 1889 but shortly into the 1890s the boom went bust. As there was plenty of time after breakfast, RL helped his wife check a post draft before heading into Georgetown. They left the camper up and locked, and headed into Georgetown about 20kms east about 9:30am. The road alternated between single and double lane most of the way. The country side was undulating near 300m though there were some hills and Mt Turner, 411m, to the north and everywhere big boulders in the grasses and so many, many yellow grey anthills. There were several creeks on the way, Aurora, Chinaman, Durham and Four Mile Creek all of which had soft almost white sand in their dry beds. Latara Resort, with its green lawns and colourful, manicured gardens, on the western end of Georgetown was a welcome sight, like an oasis in the desert. Similarly, the eastern end of Georgetown was most attractive with the gardens along the river and near the pool. RL just happened to park the Ute under the shade of a tree, only metres away from the only op shop in town and RA was fortunate enough to find a note pad in a vinyl jacket for $1. Shortly after 10:00am, R & R were in the Terrestrial Centre looking for a town map and enquiring about points of interest. The centre which was built in 2013 is multipurpose housing the library, historical photographs and the Ted Elliott Mineral Collection of over 4500 specimens of rocks and gems. R & R walked round town taking in the Peace Monuments, which is a stone garden adorned with the profiles of some significant persons who have been leaders in the quest for world peace, and other buildings like the Antbed House, originally built in 1889 of bricks made at the Durham gold mine from ant beds. Georgetown had been and still is based on the cattle industry, but it like Croydon had a boomtime after gold was discovered. In 1897, Georgetown had a population of 1600, over half of that Chinese, and 14,000kg of gold was removed. Now the community is small and one of the notices in one of the shop windows says it all. Buy Local or Bye, Bye Local! Georgetown also relies on the tourist industry with amateur gold and gem fossicking the focus. R & R found the Catholic Church where a lady was preparing it for a Christening for 5:00pm so R & R thought that might be a good time to come back. When they returned to the Ute about 12:30pm, the shade had moved over so they shifted it to the Memorial gardens at the eastern end of town. There parked in the shade, overlooking the huge causeway over the dry sandy bed of the Etheridge River, R & R had coffee before going for a swim in the pool. R & R had enquired about the free swim at the information centre and, after RL signed an indemnity form, they were given a token. After putting the token into the slot at the entrance, the gate opened under automation and allowed entry. R & R had never seen that before! They really enjoyed the luxury of cooling off (the day was now a warm 27*C) in lovely clean water without the threat of any nasties in or near the water. Only when their skin became crinkly did they get out and head back to the Ute for lunch. About 2:00pm, R & R headed back to the camper at the Cumberland Chimney and found the camper as it had been left. The camper was warm but there was a little breeze so it was not unbearable. RL had quiet time while RA wrote the diary and fiddled with photos on her ipad. About 3:30pm R & R had a cup and prepared patties and meatball for a couple of nights so that dinner would be easily arranged after an evening Mass. They hurried quickly to the dam again to see if there were any other birds. Over the course of the previous twenty-four hours, R & R had been trying to notice and record all the different birds they had seen: brolga, bustard, whistling kite, crows, masked finch, mud larks, black faced cockatoo, black necked stork, green parrot, budgerigar, crested pigeon, little cuckoo-shrike, little egret, lap wing, black cormorant, pelican, willy wag tail, swamp hen, white throated honey eater, red tailed cockatoo, nankeen kestrel, kookaburra, red backed kingfisher, brown wood duck, grey teal, jacana, pied butcher bird and some others that they could not name. R & R knew they were not likely to see the rare Gouldian Finch as the lady who worked at Terrestrial had lived in the area all her life had never seen one. However, they had seen some different butterflies: a black and white one, an orange one and a small yellow one. R & R hurried to change and drove 20kms back into Georgetown to go to church. All was quiet when they arrived and having waited a few minutes, they agreed that there must have been a mix up and that it would be 5:00pm the next evening. RL took the daylight as an opportunity to drive up the lookout near the water tanks before driving home. RA now refers to the camper as home; partly, she supposed, for not knowing how else to refer to it. When they got back towards sunset, R & R took the opportunity to chat to some of the campers and look again for birds. Armed with binoculars and cameras, they sat quietly under one of the picnic shelters and waited. What joy! R & R saw several Rainbow Bee Eaters. They are beautifully coloured and have a particular flying habit – flit, flit, flit and glide – as they dart from one tree or branch to another. It became darker and R & R, hungry for dinner, retired to the camper. After a delicious concoction of tomato pasta and meatballs, RL read and RA finished the diary for the day. Who would ever have believed … since they first read about it at Cunnamulla more than a month ago … that they would see a Rainbow Bee Eater.
29/7/2018 Sunday R & R woke round about 7:00am and headed straight for the dam with binoculars to look out for birds again before starting the day with breakfast. RA has become quite possessive of the single lenses monocular that RL had given to his father, B, and which were now back in his possession. After breakfast, they were in no hurry so they spent a couple of hours lazing around, reading and bird watching. About 10:45am, R & R headed for Georgetown and had a cup of coffee and fruit cake sitting in the Ute in the shade before heading into the information centre. They paid $5 each to see the Ted Elliot Mineral Collection which is housed in themed rooms and contains a lifetime collection of over 4500 specimens. It was simply stunning! There were rocks from all over the world, a room focused entirely on gold and silver and another, where by switching the lights, showed the fluorescent colours of the rocks. By 1:00pm the Ute needed shifting to another shady spot and R & R needed lunch. Within half an hour R & R were back in the undercover area using the free wifi, RL on the ipad reading emails and browsing and RA on the laptop doing some diary. When the free session ran out an hour later, R & R went to the pool again using the token system. It was different from the day before because although it was warm enough, the sky had become very cloudy, and, dark clouds at that. For R & R, it looked like it might rain but, being Queensland at this time of year, it probably wouldn’t. It was slightly cooler in the pool so R & R did not stay in that long. Instead they dressed and sat in the lovely pool environment, with palms and shade cloth and the sounds of water moving. In the children’s pool there were two mushroom installations which dripped water from the top like a shower providing the most delightful background noise. A stranger came to the gate requesting to be let in and RA was not keen to let her in, having signed the indemnity form on receival of the token. Shortly after 4:00pm, R & R went back to the Ute for a quick cup and peanuts before driving round to the church to see if they would be lucky enough to get a Mass. RL pulled in behind a man who got out and opened the gate. RL got out and enquired if he knew if there was a Mass. Sure – he was the priest. Fr L is stationed Cairns as a chaplain in a school but he is part of the team that ministers to a vast area in the gulf. When on rounds, the priest will take in all communities from Cairns to Normanton to Gregory and back again, something like 2,500kms. Anyway, it was lovely to be a part of their little group with one of them receiving Holy Communion for the first time. The building itself was asbestos, a simple rectangle, on stilts, somewhat tired and very plain. Interestingly it had louvres, no glass, only tin. When closed the inside would be dark and stuffy but when open, light and bright and pleasantly cool with the breeze blowing right through. It was still daylight and still threatening rain when R & R returned to the camper. Quickly they sorted the day’s clothes, food, flasks and maps and put together the salad and patties for dinner. After dinner RL read while RA did some more diary. Truth be known RA was reading her first ever Louis L’Amour novel … and she wanted to finish it.
30/7/2018 Monday R & R got out of bed at 7:00am. The strong wind and dark cloudy sky that had threatened the night before amounted to nothing; for some time during the night RA noticed out of the camper netting that there were shadows created by the moon and all was still. First port of call was the toilet block and RA was cautious. Before bed, when they went the night before, there were several iridescent green frogs on the floor and in the sink and RL couldn’t be sure there would be no snakes hanging around. Daylight showed no traces of them having been there at all. Shortly before 9:00am, having packed down and chatted with a fellow camper, R & R were heading back into Georgetown (20kms) where RL refuelled before parking under the shade outside the information centre. There in the undercover area, RL went on to wifi on the ipad and read a couple of emails, while RA used the dongle in the laptop to publish the latest post. Within the hour, they were back on the Gulf Developmental Road heading east towards Mt Surprise about 90kms away. For most of that section of the road, the surface, which was all sealed, switched back and forward between being single and double lane but it was not too busy and RL was able to take in some of the scenery. Generally speaking the first half rose up from about 350m to hilly countryside at 400m+ with small mountains up to 530m, like Mt Red Knob to the north of the road and Mt Red Cap to the south where the soil was redder than it had been. R & R passed a truck bay where the toilet was built on the edge of a steep drop. RL commented, “That was an extra long drop!” but he had not been close enough to see how right he was. Below, RA had seen water in the space underneath. About half way RL stopped at another truck bay just before the Einasleigh River Bridge where there was a monument about the Jardine Expedition. While taking a break and having coffee they learned that Jardine and his two sons had set out with 250 cattle and 43 horses, leaving Rockhampton in 1864, bound for Somerset on the far north of Cape York, a distance of 1600miles. It took them 10 months, facing all kinds of hardship and deprivation to arrive with only 50 cattle and 12 horses. R & R saw no evidence of cattle farming in the Savanah country until just west of Mt Surprise where there were two big herds, one on each side of the road. R & R arrived at Mt Surprise about 11:30am and stopped to look into the Gem Den. It was delightful with different ways to indulge an interest in gems and fossicking. The shop will sell or hire equipment and assist with a fossicking license, or for the not so adventurous, a tourist can buy a bucket of gravel to sift in their back yard to see if it has any gems in it. They also sell rocks and polished gems in all sorts of quantities and sizes to suit almost every budget. RA was tempted! R & R looked round for about half an hour before heading east again to Undara National Park turnoff about 40kms away. The road which was sealed, remained as double lanes and was relatively flat Savanah countryside. There were many cattle and in places there was less grass as there were more cattle. The road ran along the top edge of granite and volcano hills and there were lots of big black boulders in behind the fences. About 12:20pm, RL turned south for the 15km drive into the Undara (from the Aboriginal word meaning “long way”) Resort. Back in 1862 the Collins family settled in the area at Spring Creek and discovered and explored the volcanic lava tube system underground. There are several walks around the area but access to the lava tubes is by tour guide only. These tubes were created when lava moved slowly and gently underground from one of the 164 craters in the area down the western side of the Great Dividing Range. These tubes (something like caves, at about 160kms, are the longest in the world. R & R were not inclined to stay an extra day overnight to go on a tour so they sought information about the Kalkani Crater Rim Walk via the Yarramulla Road. Yarramulla means “no water”. It required backtracking a little and heading onto a very corrugated unsealed road for 7kms. At the end there was a beautiful parking area with great facilities, ideal for R & R to have lunch under the shade and in the cool breeze. It was pleasant down on the ground but R & R knew it would be much warmer up the top of the crater rim so they made sure they were well prepared with hat, water and good shoes. The first part of the climb to get to the saddle was a little steep but thereafter it was just a matter of keeping to the rocky grey track around the eggcup-shaped rim, which was well defined and had interpretative panels and seats. From the top it was possible to see the different shapes that volcano mountains have according to the way they erupted or vented. From the top, looking southwards, it was incredible to see the line of distinctively darker vine thicket growing along the lava flow from the Undara Crater underground. The walk was only 2.5kms so R & R were back at the Ute within the hour. Inside the rim of the crater R & R could smell a lovely sweet flowering plant which had little maroon spots inside the bell shaped blossom. In the park they noticed Pandanus palms along a creek line as well as yellow and golden flowering varieties of Grevillea tree and a few different butterflies, including a black one. There were, noticeably, sections where controlled burning had been taking place to manage the environment. It was only about 15kms back onto the main road and then another 15 or so to the Junction Rest Area where R & R planned to set up for the night. By 4:00pm, they were seated having a cup, reading maps and trying to make some plans. RL read and RA wrote her diary for a while before dinner and then again after. Both R & R were a little tired … especially after all that swimming and walking.
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