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.