Tuesday 7th May

Firstly I must apologise to all Queenslanders for my incorrect spelling of Camooweal, I seriously beg it’s pardon.

Also NB!  The photos are smaller this time because I believe that you can click on them in the blog and they go to full screen.  If this doesn’t work please let me know.

We did not pick a very good spot last night, it was too close to the road and too close to Mt Isa and the ore trucks were operating for most of the night.    Another Bushtracker was parked nearby and as tradition expects we invited the owner over for drinks.  His name was Dave and he was travelling alone, his wife doesn’t accompany him on all his trips.  We weren’t surprised as he said he travelled 600-800ks a day!

This morning was a record start and we were all ready by 0830!

The drive into Mt Isa was uneventful, we even managed to avoid any roadtrains, we travel at roughly the same speed in this area so they have to be exceeding the speed limit to catch us up.

Mt Isa is and always has been a mining town and it the town is dominated by the mines and refineries.

   

Mt Isa is a very important regional town as well as being a mining centre, it is quite a pleasant place that has most of the major stores or local variants so it is possible to get most things here.  During the second world war, with the Japanese bombing Darwin, an underground shelter was built as a bolthole for the patients and staff of the hospital.  There were three tunnels which served as the men’s, women’s and delivery  wards, connected across the end by another tunnel at right angles. this housed the dispensary and operating table amongst other things. It never had to be used but up to the early 1950s it was used by the nurses on night shift as it was cool down there. Then the entrance was filled in and it was forgotten about until in 1970s when a tunnel had collapsed and it was opened up again to reveal everything as it was left.

     

The old tunnels were reputedly discovered by a front end loader cleaning up the area!

Tonight we stopped at another very nice spot called Corella Dam.  

   

We found another BT and invited them over for a drink.   A lovely couple a bit older than us but still exploring, good for them.   Their names were Ian and Jenny and the hailed from Toowoomba.

Wednesday 8th May

In contrast to yesterday, this morning was a bit of a sluggish start and by the time we got to Cloncurry and had emptied the cassettes and filled our water tanks it we were well past morning tea and decided to make it a lunch break in the café in in the main drag.   Cloncurry is a nice tidy little place that the inhabitants obviously take a pride in. Again, mining support is its main raison d’etre.   

We’re heading north now for the first time since Three Ways and we don’t have a headwind!   Fuel consumption improves quite dramatically and only one roadtrain has to get round us so it is fairly easy driving and we get to the Burke & Wills Roadhouse in good time.   There are few good free camping options on this section of road so the Roadhouse is the best we can do.   We don’t need power or water so we can just get ourselves organised with the van doors facing each other.   Tonight is a good night for satellites 10 seen, our best yet!

Thursday 9th May

Another day of northbound travelling on a good road (to begin with!) and no roadtrains.  After morning tea we drop down onto the savannah plains and the scenery changes quite dramatically to short scrubby trees, tall grass and termite mounds.   I thought we had these on the dash cam but for some reason it has gaps between recordings so we don’t have the scene that looks like a huge graveyard, ie; 100’s of hectares, of termite mounds.

Later in the morning we have got even nearer to sea level at around 10-20 metres and it’s clear that water level is pretty close to the surface.

By lunchtime we we have got to Normanton our next stopping point.   The caravan park is pretty empty compared with the last time we were here and we can choose our own sites.   Having settled in the swimming pool looks very inviting and we make the most of it.

I talked to a few people on HF tonight, the reception was pretty good but I was by far the furthest north in the conversation

Friday 10th May

75 ks up the road is the port of Karumba, this is a fishing mecca, there are more boats than cars in this small town, most houses have one car but two boats at the very least.  It is a centre for prawn fishing and of course, barramundi, the magnificent game fish which tastes beautiful.  

Unfortunately, it was blowing a gale to the point of discomfort, so there were lots of fishermen moping around kicking their heels!

    A flock of white cockatoos were circling and decided to stop here.

It is almost impossible to find decaf coffee in this neck of the woods, so we have withdrawal systems!!   We had lunch at the local fish ‘n’ chip shop, barramundi, of course, at Ash’s where we had the same meal nearly five years ago.   We also bought some more barra for the freezer.

Roger had a quick swim when we got back but the wind spoilt it.   The wind was still blowing when we had wine at 1730.

Spoke on HF again tonight, it’s quite fun but I’m also getting the hang of a new system, useful in case of emergencies.

Saturday 11th May

A noisy night with the wind in the awning, sounds worse than it is but it has to be checked, that was about 0330!

A leisurely start and a walk round town for a look at the sights!   This is crocodile country…………………….

This a model of the biggest crocodile, at approximately 10m, ever (captured!), shot by a lady called Krys Polowski who apparently with her husband Ron, shot in the region of 10,000 crocs before they became conservationists and started a croc breeding project!!

Normanton doesn’t have a great deal going for it, ie; it is a typical gulf town, you will see more as we travel across the gulf.   Pubs feature quite prominently in this town as they do in most.

   

There are some other buildings of interest, namely the old Burns Philp store from the late 19th c, the Westpac Bank and of course, the public toilets.

   

The town is essentially surrounded by wetlands, composed of creeks and billabongs, all potential homes for the saltwater crocs, so caution when walking by the water is prudent.

       

Today we decided that we needed to change our route to the Cape as there are a couple of roads still closed the way we had planned to go.   It’s no real problem, we’ll do the Cape trip backwards, ie; up the east side and down the west, which will bring us back to Normanton anyway.

Sunday 12th May

We say goodbye to Normanton this morning and head for Croydon, morning tea is taken at Black Bull Sidings, which is the morning tea break spot for the Gulflander, the little train that used to carry the gold from Croydon up to the port at Normanton.   We had a ride on it last time we were here but it only runs on Wednesdays, so not this time but maybe it it’ll be a Wednesday when we come back through here on our way down the Cape.   Croydon was a gold mining town at the end of the 19th century and boasted the longest continuously operating store in Australia.   When we were here last (2014) it was still standing but we understand it was destroyed in a cyclone.   We had lunch at the Club Hotel, which is looking very sad now.   There is an interesting Heritage Precinct which we looked at last time we were here.

On the way to Croydon we have to cross the Gilbert River

From Croydon it’s about 110ks to our planned night stop at Cumberland Dam. This is now a nature reserve with a large number of birds and some lovely butterflies but, like Croydon, Cumberland Dam was a very active place in the last decade of the 19th c when over 400 people called it home.  A school opened in 1891 and a bank in 1893 and in 1984 there were four hotels.    The gold production decreased to 4,000 ounces from 11,500 in the late 1890s and the place gradually declined.   Now all that is left is the chimney from the steam engines that pumped water for the stamp mills, etc.

     

Five satellites tonight.

Monday 13th May

A fairly short drive today to Undara via Georgetown and Mt Surprise.   The scenery for part of the way is through the ranges which is spectacular but this changes to low trees and scrub.  We came to Undara in 2014 to see the lava tubes and we look forward to having another look at these very interesting geological features.    We got to the camping ground about 1430 and booked some tours for tomorrow.

Eight satellites tonight.