From To the 'Home of the Bushman's Ball'

 Wednesday 23^rd June

Already refuelled at $1.38 we were ready early to move on. Libby made the first of her bold statements for the day. ‘We’ve been parked in a good position these last few days to survey the people who empty the toilet cassettes at the dump point. To a man, they have all been men. You see, it’s your job Eric, that’s evolution for you’. So this morning what happens? We both see a woman doing the task. Immediately I decided she must have been genetically modified.

Eric drove to Cloncurry which sits on the banks of the Cloncurry River. These rivers must be a sight after rains. As the passenger my mind wandered, and I considered if she could have been an avatar at the dump point.  Perhaps sent to upset the natural balance of our universe. Maybe it’s time I got behind the wheel to occupy my mind!

After a quick fuel top-up ($1.50) we turned off the Barkly and north onto the Burke Developmental Rd which forms the northern end of the Matilda Way. We noticed immediately the drop in travellers, though there were still plenty. Halfway between Cloncurry and Karumba on the gulf sits Burke and Wills Roadhouse. We set up camp in the grounds where for $10, they provide toilets and showers with firepits and wood. The place is popular with apostlebirds but also brolga within eyesight as we ate a late lunch.

Friendly staff allowed us to wander beyond the rodeo grounds opposite and onto the property where the dams are located to go birding. We didn’t stay long as we heard the distinct sound of a wild pig close at hand and figured we would be no match; especially in thongs. Happily, we did get our first sighting of a great crested grebe. We pondered our fate as we sat on the roadhouse veranda with an ice cream and a Toohey’s old.

In the evening we lit a small fire and had a yarn with the other campers who pulled up alongside and soon the sun went down on another day.

Thursday 24^th June

You know you’re staying on a cattle station when the chopper fires up and takes flight at first light. We packed up and filled up ($1.74) then took the left-hand turn onto Wills Developmental Rd at the crossroad. Today is a short trip out to Gregory Downs. This was once the station store but is now a designated town with a population of 40 according to the info board, but I’m not sure where you would find them. There’s a pub which serves beer and fuel, a café that serves coffee and public conveniences. The road this morning was mostly single lane in both directions but there were some sections that were single lane only, whereby you get right off the road if you are towing. Fortunately, traffic was very light. We could free camp by the river at Gregory but decided that behind the pub was good for us as we will be leaving the van here all day tomorrow while we visit Lawn Hill.

After settling-in I took a wander through the cemetery beside the pub, forgot to mention the existence of that. It has 6 graves, the earliest of which was dug in 1918. Gregory Downs Hotel was a coach house and changing station on the Cobb & Co route to Burketown. In the 1870’s three Watson brothers from the Upper Murray bought 900 cattle from Dotswood Station (around Muttaburra) and drove them north heading for the Upper Diamantina, around Longreach. A tedious trip, once they found the flowing Gregory River, they turned the cattle out and settled, building a hut on the present hotel site and stockyards across the river. Burketown had been abandoned due to Gulf Fever, so supplies had to come from Normanton. Entrepreneurial types, these lads bought a schooner and arranged for goods to be sent from Townsville to Burketown where they established a general store and the town began to re-establish. Then they built a store at Gregory.

After lunch we went birding along the river and were staggered by the number of vans camping on the riverbed. Glad we’re not in that throng. We arrived in time to see ‘a number of experts’ helping one stricken driver who had bottomed-out in the stream. So embarrassing for them, but lucky also to have plenty of muscles on shovels to lend a hand.  Bay 13 was full, standing room only for the best entertainment of the day. We briefly joined them!

 

We then wandered further upstream to find birds; varied lorikeet, rufous whistler and purple-crowned fairy-wrens among them. Back at the pub we had a refreshing ale on the veranda and then I fuelled up ($1.74) while Eric got dinner started. We’ve had a chance this afternoon to talk to a number of people who have driven to Lawn Hill NP from here, so have a good idea how rough the road is and advised just to take it slowly, especially at the cattle grids where there can be unexpected humps which leave you airborne if you are not cautious enough.

Dinner smells delicious! Eric is cooking in the pressure cooker and I’ve lit the fire. Unfortunately, as I struggled to open a sticky cupboard to get the old newspaper stash out, I inadvertently crashed the door into the side of my face. Silly mistake, need to take more care. We enjoyed beef stew with a chianti as the flames danced and the smoke curled. We were in bed only a short time when we heard rain on the roof. Rain at this time of the year?

Friday 25^th

And the rain continued. We woke to a very cold morning, back to flannelette shirts and long pants after shorts and thongs just yesterday. We had planned to be on our way early but the forecast looks so gloomy we have decided to stay another day here and hope the rain passes so we can enjoy the gorge at Lawn Hill. Today it would be just miserable. Reminds me of the one day we chose to drive all the way out to the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, only to have thick fog descend and hang around the whole time we were there.

Eric has retreated to the underside of the doona and I am nursing a bruise; too embarrassed to go outside. All our neighbours left in the morning but in no time a good number arrived. Do I just smile and pretend its not there or go to the trouble of explaining it away? Certainly don’t need to wear sunglasses on such a gloomy day.

Sitting indoors I have read a bit more about Gulf Fever. Typhoid fever was an early explanation, but latest thinking is that it was probably a virulent form of malaria which arrived on a ship which had recently arrived via Thursday Is. Accounts on record show that up to 100 people died and were buried in mass graves before the few survivors were rounded up by the local policeman and left in a boat for an island about 30 miles offshore.

The weather brightened up a little in the afternoon, gave us a chance to walk through the town relics and return to the river, this time wandering down through the back gate and following the eroded gullies to the water. No sign of pigs on this occasion. Lots of birds though. 

We sat inside for the evening as it was chilly again and Eric beat me at Yatzee.

Saturday 26^th June

We packed a picnic and drove to Lawn Hill NP, about 100 kms, mostly on dirt but with intermittent sealed road. Sometimes those stretches were no better than the unsealed, but generally the road was better than expected and there were a lot of vans at both Adele’s Grove and Lawn Hill campgrounds. Anyone we know who has been here has always raved about it. A must do, and here we are.

Our first walk was to Duwadarri Lookout 

and then to Indarri Lookout.  The trails were really well marked and formed which made it easy going even in the quite steep sections. Both lookouts provided panoramic views of the emerald waters cutting through the gorge. This must be an amazing site in the wet season.

And then on to Indarri Falls which were actually more like cascades, very beautiful.

Then we looped back through the grassy plateau to the carpark for an early lunch. The whole place is magnificent with towering sandstone cliffs that reflect the sunlight contrasting with the bottom of the gorge filled with paperbark and livistonia palms. 

While we were sitting in the shade a family of variegated wrens came to join us. Then we set off to do Island Stack, Botanical and Wild Dog Dreaming walks but discovered the bridge to cross Lawn Creek had been washed away and we couldn’t continue. We clambered along for awhile, following the creek but it was pretty heavy going between the buttress roots of figs, around spinifex and over uneven tufa rock. We were very disappointed as we expected to see lots of wildlife on those trails. We would still recommend anyone come here, it is equally as good as Katherine Gorge, just a pity much of it is inaccessible to walkers at this time.

On the way back to Gregory we watched wild pigs cross in front of us, a timely reminder to be wary of wildlife. Also, roos and wallabies. There are plenty of unfenced properties as well, so sometimes it’s cows and horses you pass or see evidence of as roadkill. We have moved on to C in the music chart. C.C. Rider by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs. Remember that era?

We decided to have dinner at the pub. A night out in Gregory. About 60 other people thought that was a good idea too. We offered to share our table on the veranda with another couple and had a very interesting evening chatting with these two Poms from Sydney doing ‘the lap’ for about 12 months. First timers, they only owned the van for 2 weeks before setting off. She is a forensic investigator and full of interesting stories. He has also been involved with crime but has quit now and is enjoying driving his precious Land Drover all over. Such a fan of the brand, he noticed one in Longreach that was a bit out of the ordinary and asked the owner if he could take a picture. By coincidence the owner of the ex SAS vehicle, one of only 36 assembled in Tamworth (dropped into Afghanistan from a Hercules by parachute), also happens to be the partner of this pub’s cook. His name is Swampy, hers is Callay. So once the kitchen has been tidied up there were 6 of us at the table. Next thing you know we’re all over at Swampy’s house across the road………………Even Eric had to show interest in the special car.

Sunday 27^th June

I drove the road back to Burke and Wills Roadhouse and needed a sugar fix there after the night before. Minties. Our conversation is not so animated this morning. We kept asking ourselves what the chances were, that those two car enthusiasts would bump into each other out here and what an unusual night we had had. Eric drove the new stretch to Normanton, new to us but far from new road. We pulled the van into BJ‘s place just by the School Dam. BJ is a friend of Luke and Tahlia’s and a teacher here, but away on holidays right now.  

He was happy for us to park in his driveway, then we took a quick look around town.  First stop was the well preserved railway station built in 1889, the terminus for the Gulflander Train which carried gold found in Croydon to the Normanton Port. It still runs once a week to and from Croydon and takes about 5 hrs. 

We also found a beautiful great bowerbird’s bower in the lovely station gardens, complete with lots of shiny bits and pieces.

Normanton is also home to a life-sized replica of the largest crocodile ever caught and killed in Australia. At 8.64m it easily beats the NTs Sweetheart. This one was shot here in the Norman River by the country’s first full-time female crocodile hunter.

Then we crossed the river and took a side trip to Karumba.  Mutton Hole Wetlands are part of the largest continuous wetland in Northern Australia and they begin just beyond the river.  Most of the way to Karumba we were spotting brolga, quite a thrill for us to see them so constantly as they are a pretty rare sight in the Top End of NT. Arriving in town, we noted all the caravan parks look full, so we are very lucky not to have chanced it. At the Point we took a rest and pondered the view across the Gulf of Carpentaria to the horizon. This is the only beach accessible by bitumen where you can do that. 

Many people will assemble here every evening to watch the sunset, but we can do that any day of the week from the shore in Darwin. Instead we used remaining light to spot birds in the wetlands and on School Dam. It seems everyone owns a boat and many call this ‘barradise’ as the waters are teeming with barramundi, threadfin salmon, grunter and many more.

Back in Normanton we realise it's round 2 of State of Origin tonight and there’s a raucous crowd in one of the houses on the street. All quiet once the game was over thankfully. This evening we have checked in with family and our house sitters who were to arrive in Darwin today. Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield shire have been placed on lockdown for the first time, after a miner from Bendigo has tested positive for covid19 and there were hundreds of other workers at the Tanami mine with him. They now all have to be tested but many are not traceable. They are most likely out of range fishing, hunting or camping. Denise and Col managed to get to our house thank goodness but are in lockdown. The family are all fine.

Monday 28^th June

On the road again we have left the Matilda Way and turned left onto Savannah Way. The road to Croydon was excellent, for much of it we followed the original train line, and as we arrived a bustard walked unfussed across the road, just metres from us. This old gold town was once the third largest town in Qld, a bustling and decadent centre in its heyday apparently. Much quieter these days, we topped up the fuel ($1.61) then continued on to Georgetown.

The road deteriorated to single lane but fortunately the traffic was light. It was hot driving and we try to avoid using air-con when towing to reduce fuel consumption but sometimes you just have to be sensible. In town we were lucky to jag one of the last two vacant sites. We have been off grid for the last 5 nights and felt it was time to have a few extras. 

First established because of gold, the town now houses the Ted Elliot Mineral Collection, displayed in the TerrEstrial Centre. Considered the most comprehensive privately owned collection in Australia with over 4,500 specimens, it includes locally sourced fossils, agates, gold and petrified wood as well as many other gems from all over the world. This was our first stop, then we got some groceries and a fossicking license. I’m keen to fine some agates.

Once it cooled down somewhat we drove out to the site of the  Cumberland Historic Mine Site. All that remains are the dam and a chimney from the crushing plant. In 1878 it was one of the major producers of gold in the wider Etheridge goldfield. The Cumberland Company dammed nearby Cumberland Creek to create a permanent water supply for the township and it supports a wonderful array of birdlife. It is a very pleasant free camp and there are many making good use of it. As I am walking I can't decide whether to watch the ground for thunder eggs or the tree tops for birds. 

Back in town we had earned a drink and our friend Colin had recommended we visit the hotel in town because he had stayed there years before and discovered that to keep the place cool they had a 6 inch gap between the wall and floor. This lead to some surprising outcomes, but that's Col's story. Of course over time, and with the advent of air-con, much has changed but we still felt at ease with the locals on the shady veranda. Don't mention the State of Origin!

Tuesday 29th June

A lazier morning than we've had in awhile, there was no need to move except we wanted to walk the 6km Riverwalk around town; and the later we leave it, the hotter it will get. The trail needs some upgrading in places and better signage but it was worth the effort as we found new sightings for the trip of pheasant coucal, scaly breasted lorikeet and the red-backed fairy wren. 

Back at the van I discovered there was a park wifi connection, something I haven't had since Mt Isa, so I spent the heat of the day uploading pics and finishing this post. Eric was happy relaxing. We did venture out to see the Peace Park, a dedication to the most notable peacemakers of the globe and an adobe house built entirely of ant bed. Then it was home to plan the next few days on the itinerary.