CAPE YORK TRIP DAY 19

4 July 2014

Karumba – 40 km South of Dunbar (229km)

Another beautiful morning.  After a leaisurely start we refueled and went to the bakery.  All of a sudden we heard a car alarm go off.  It was Bob and Žydre’s vehicle.  Just before a refrigeration truck had pulled up and apparently he scraped the side of their car and bent the mirrors.  Nothing serious but some time was spent exchanging details.  After morning tea we set of with some trepidation northward bound.  We had been advised to talk to the road crews along the way to get up to date information on road conditions.

So 38km out of Karuma we turned north east towards Dunbar and deflated the tyres for the dirt roads ahead as cows watched from the side.  We were surprised with the rubbish near this intersection. 

We continued on past thick scrub, termite mounds that were getting bigger and more dramatic and past hoards of cattle at waterholes.  As we went over one large creek crossing on a bridge Žydre and Bob spotted some fresh crocodiles. 

The dust from the road trains coming the other way was phenomenal.  Four such road trains passed us.  

For a road that is not a major road and so outback there was an amazing amount of traffic in both directions.  At times it felt like Pitt street. 

We camped in a lovely spot near a lagoon – maybe it was a creek – with white water lilies flowering in the water and blue and white flowers along its edge.  It was about 40km south of Dunbar. 

CAPE YORK TRIP DAY 18

3 July 2014

Normanton – Karumba (94km)

It was a beautiful morning.  It seems that the emu had adopted us.  It was waiting for us in the morning watching our every move.  As we left it even chased us.  We broke all records as we were on our way by 8:30am. 

Normanton was an interesting place.  It is small, established in 1867 and there is not much here.  They have about a dozen police to keep their residents in check. 

Our first port of call was the Information Centre.  Min then called several places to get road updates on the road to Cape York.  They have had rain out there two weeks ago so some roads are closed as even 4 wheel drives cannot get through the river crossings.  We will see how we go as we head north tomorrow.

We walked around Normaton seeing the old buildings including the Railway Station.  

The replica of the largest caught crocodile, Krys, is very imposing.  It was killed by a woman and by chance we are staying in the caravan park owned by her and her husband. 

It was strange seeing the old town well in the middle of the main street.

After lunch we made our way past the dryish wetlands – here the rain has been scarce but we still saw quite a few birds including brolgas and jabiru.

I was pleasantly surprised by Karumba.  

We are staying in very pleasant caravan park that is not crowded and the toilet facilities are just great.  We familiarized ourselves with the town, stocked up on barramundi and prawns then went to enjoy the sunset from the front of the Sunset Hotel in front of the coastline.

A dinner of barra kept us all happy and the sunset was like the icing on a cake.  A glorious day.

On returning to our campsite we were entertained by the green frogs in the toilet block.

CAPE YORK TRIP DAY 17

2 July 2014

Adel’s Grove – 17km West of Normanton via Gregory Downs and Leichthardt Falls (357km)

I woke a little earlier this morning so that Flora and I could fit in the lookout walk at Adels Grove before leaving.  We set out at a brisk pace for the walk up the hill with 360 degree panoramic views.  It was well worth the walk.  We saw some wallabies and lots of birds. 

We got back just in time for breakfast of French toast.  After we had packed the two of us set out for a nearby creek outside the park to watch for birds whilst the rest of the group finished up packing and joined us.  

We had quite a bit of time at the creek observing the birds and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then we were on our way heading north east along the Wills Road. 

Road trains and dust just go hand in hand.

The dust creates a mist over the surrounding landscape.

This is cattle country.  How the cattle survive in these harsh conditions is hard to comprehend.

Gregory Downs was our first stop.  An old pub is the centre of activity here.  We refueled and had morning tea here.  The coffee drinkers in our group were surprised with the quality of coffee here.

From here we headed east to Leichhardt Falls on Savannah Way past many termite mounds, and heaps of cattle often walking in a line to some destination.  We saw a bull salivating by the side of the road as he ate a piece of bread.  There was a pelican sitting in a creek that we crossed and wattle were flowering along the road in places.  Brolgas were often to be seen in pairs or groups.  

Euros were also to be seen along the way.

In some places the grey termite mounds looked like old overgrown cemeteries in the distance.

We stopped for lunch along the way.  It has been a dry wet season and most creek beds we crossed were absolutely dry.  When we got to Leichhardt Falls it was so disappointing to see the falls absolutely dry.  There was water in the river above the falls but not enough for the falls.  There was a little water around but nowhere near what I expected from pictures seen.  Someone camping there said they had never seen it that low with water.  

We also heard that when it floods here during a good wet season the water is above the trees.  We walked around and then decided to keep going.

We were heading for a campsite 31km out of Normanton but there was no sign of it when we got there.  So finally, after some discussion and a call to Normanton Station to find out when the train goes to Croydon we camped by the road.  The train only goes once a week so we will be giving it a miss as it went this morning. 

We couldn’t believe how good the roads have been so far.  The dirt road we were on today had just been graded.  How lucky were we. Secondly we have seen thousands of cattle along the road today – it really is cattle country.

You would have thought that tonight we had the worst campsite of the trip as we were camped just off the road.  However we will probably remember it as one of the best as we had the most entertaining evening.  Just as we started to set up an emu showed up and stayed with us till the evening.  He was taken with the Skoda and the purple dots on the tablecloth and kept making a beeline for the glass with the red wine.  This was better than any TV show. 

After dinner we all decided it was time to retire.