Saturday 22nd June

This morning we went to watch the ‘camp draft’ competition at the Gregory Rodeo.   This exercise involves a rider deciding on a cow out of six, cutting it out and then steering it round three pegs in a big arena.   Sounds simple, pity no-one explained it to the cows!   The horse riding skills required are phenomenal, it was very exciting to watch.   Outside the main arena was a competition for junior riders, in the youngest section there were children of five and six, handling their ponies like professionals, it was a joy to watch these kids and the rapport that they had with their horses.   It was awesome in the truest sense of the word.

Sadly we had to leave but we will remember these horsemen and women and kids for a long time, it was so good to see these people doing what they do every day, brilliant.

After some really poor roads we arrived in Adel’s Grove, which is the camping ground for Lawn Hill Gorge.   When we checked in the lady looked at the computer and said, “oh, you’ve been here before”!  We checked in for a couple of nights even though it is quite expensive, unfortunately, there aren’t any places you can free around here.

Lawn Hill Gorge is an oasis in the desert and the early explorers would have found it difficult to leave this spot!

After lunch we decided to go for a walk through the Grove and up to Lookout Hill, where apparently you can get three bars on your phone!   Adel’s Grove is the shortened version of Albert De Lestrang a French botanist who built a beautiful botanic garden, a storeroom, a shop and an office.   Between 1930 and 1939 he was commissioned by the government to experiment with growing tropical plants and fruits. Unfortunately his life’s work was destroyed by fire when he was 70 and he was a broken man who died 5 years later in Charters Towers. His legacy is a remembered in the name and the natural beauty of this place which is now a National Park.

     

Tomorrow we have a walk up to the top of the Gorge and a boat trip planned.

Sunday 23rd June

There a three parts to the Gorge, the Upper, Middle and Lower, the Upper is separated from the Middle by the Indirri Falls, the water is beautifully clear with water lillies and fish.

    The next part of the walk takes us up onto the limestone cliffs overlooking the Gorge and a spectacular view looking back down to Indirri Falls.

When we were here five years ago the water was coming nearly the full length of the falls but there have been 8 years of drought and the reduced rainfall has reduced the falls to the two flows, see the picture above.

   

Later this afternoon we went on the boat trip up the gorge.

The solar powered boat is ideal for the task, it maintains the peace and tranquillity of the Gorge.   The late afternoon light provided some interesting colours and reflections. The guide was very interesting and knowledgable about everything in the area. We didn’t see a croc but apparently there are one or two but the cane toads killed off 60% of them. The water in the gorge is also very calcified which deters water birds because the minerals effect their feathers. there are plenty of finches and wrens around the plants growing at the edge of the water. We also saw a huge catfish, a salmon catfish and archer fish.

         An altogether wonderful day.

Monday 24th June

Leaving Adel’s Grove we go on to Lawn Hill Station property, this is a gazetted road and in reasonably good condition, we see no traffic at all until we reach the ‘T’ junction and turn toward towards Doomadgee when we stopped for lunch several vehicles go by.   Doomadgee is an aboriginal community but the fuel is good and there is a well stocked super market, where most of the essentials are cheaper than in Mandurah!   There also seems to be a policy of keeping the price of proper food down and the fatty, salty, bad-for-you, ones up.   Someone is thinking!

The road is sealed for quite a long way out of Doomadgee but then becomes pretty bad so that by the time we find somewhere suitable for the night we are ready for a break.   There is a track that goes round the back of a pond scraped out for the cows or, for a water source for roadworks. We discover that someone is already there but he hasn’t got himself established and very kindly moves a little further in so that we can get both vans in.

It turns out his name is Russell and he is a bird photographer, so we immediately question him about some of the birds we’ve seen to get his experienced opinion.   Whilst we are having this discussion a little plover of some sort is spotted close by but keeps sitting down.   It soon becomes clear that it has a has very small chick that it is looking after.    I managed to get a shot with the chick looking out from under the adult’s wing.    There also a small group of Whistling Ducks.

   

Tuesday 25th June

Back on the road again, it is still a bad track but not far to Hell’s Gate Roadhouse and though it’s early we decide to stop for a coffee.   Pat and I are quite surprised because when we came through here five years ago it was an absolute tip but someone has really gone to town and now it looks good, the coffee good and the lady manager very helpful.   Ready for another session of corrugations we set off again but looking forward to a break for morning tea, yes, we’ll have two this morning.   So, we stop at a place which would make a very nice overnight spot beside another billabong, although it is drying out quickly.

       The scenery through here is spectacular with high sheer bluffs of red sandstone towering over the yellowy-greens of the savannah bushland.   Another shortish drive and it’s lunchtime this time at a designated camping area called Calvert Camp.    Our target destination for tonight is Calvert River, which is a bit confusing because the road crosses the river some 30 ks ahead (where they are currently constructing a new bridge) but we want to actually turn off and head for a different spot on the river 18ks to the south.   Eventually we find it and it is worth the effort, a lovely spot beside the river which we have all to ourselves.

  We get a good fire going, break out the wine and wait for the sun to go down so we can do some serious satellite spotting.   In fact we break our own record and see 14 tonight!!

Wednesday 26th June

We’re not looking forward to getting back on the road again today knowing that it isn’t going to be very good.   The going is tough, the corrugations are wide and deep so with four sets of wheels dropping into these ruts it can be pretty uncomfortable.   The NT Main Roads department have clearly not done any maintenance on this road for a while because it certainly wasn’t this bad five years ago.   This part of the journey is part of Route 1, Australia’s premier circuit, and there is nothing to warn the unsuspecting of its atrocious condition.    It is unrelenting and we look forward to the breaks. Our lunch stop is at another pleasant creek (see left photo).

There are reputed to be crocs in the creek but the water is quite low and we can’t see any signs of them.  

Tonight our stop is at Foelshe Creek and having negotiated the crossing we find a camping area up on the hill overlooking the creek where we can watch others crossing (see right photo). Another van draws in shortly after we have got ourselves established.   We have a chat with them and invite them over for a drink later.    There is plenty of firewood and we make a fire.    Time for a shower and a cup of tea before wine o’clock.    The fire is a good one and we have a lively chat with Peter and Betty, then an hour or so of satellite spotting, equalling the record of last night, before returning to the vans for a meal. 

Thursday 27th June

Again the condition of the road is atrocious and progress is slow, the whole day is spent cursing it!   Eventually we arrive at Borroloola and find the dump point and drinking water supply so we can top up our tanks.  The lunch stop is down at the boat ramp where the telstra signal is good but we decide to leave as a bush fire approaches across the river.   It’s probably a controlled burn but we decide not to take any chances.   Having refuelled we set out again, this time heading for Roper Bar about 350 ks to the northeast.   It gets to about three o’clock and we find a good spot at Ryan’s Bend and decide we’ve had enough for one day and make this our night stop.

Whilst cooking the dinner on the BarBQ Roger spots a pair of eyes in the billabong and then another pair in the light of his headlamp, we all take a look but not from too close to the water’s edge – crocodiles!

Friday 28th June

The road starts out reasonably well but it is not long before it deteriorates and whilst not as bad as the previous few days it is still hard work.   Early morning tea is a welcome relief and lunch at Batten Creek is a welcome break.   After reading about Lorella Springs we have decided not to go there.   Instead we go to the southern part of the Lost city, a range of limestone hills that have been eroded by water into shapes that could be imagined as tall city buildings.    The camp ground is in the Limmen NP and is a good camp with clean toilets, flat sites and drive throughs.

The expanse of the range makes photography  difficult but using the panorama function on Pat’s camera helps portray the scenery.

       

    The walk through the rock formations takes an hour and a half and we chose to go later in the afternoon so that we could catch the colours as the sun dropped.  As usual the photos do not really depict the magnificence of this scenery.   Russel the bird photographer is here and we catch up with him over drinks and he shows us some of his photos, Wow!   He does have $15,000 worth of equipment!

Saturday 29th June

Back on the road, which has not improved we head off again for Roper Bar.  Leaving the l\Lost City behind us. An airstrip in the middle of nowhere appears beside the road flanked by typical hills of stone where remarkably trees seems to grow through the rocks.

 

The highlight of the day is a fish!   When we stop for lunch and walk down to the creek, Brad spots a grouper, about 500mm long it is just ambling along just beneath the surface.

After lunch we have to endure more corrugations and at this stage we are beginning to be ‘over’ them.   Our night stop is at the Didi Baba campground, and once we drive in we realise that we camped here on our last trip  although the site has been revamped by NT Parks and Wildlife since then.  

Roger has decided to see if there are any mud crabs around in the river but when he checked the pots before it got dark there was nothing in it.   This is croc country so it is necessary to be careful!

Sunday 30th June

Checked the crab net again this morning, nothing in it, but the bone has been picked clean, fish probably!

Back on the corrugations again, we really are over them now but we probably have another 70 or so ks before we hit the blacktop.   Tomato Island campground has a dump point

and we decide to be Hobbitlike and have first morning tea here!   This quite a well served campground but the camp host (who is from WA!) tells us that it is very quiet this year.

The camp is situated on the Roper River which is quite wide at this point, some 30ks from the ocean.

     The scenery is spectacular along this route although it’s not often the drivers can take their eyes off the road to appreciate it.    Where we stop for lunch there is the makings of another ‘Lost City” but it will probably take few million years of erosion to reshape the terrain.

   

After lunch we’re heading for Roper Bar, a sort of iconic place, where the early explorer Leichardt crossed the Roper river in 1896.   Today it is aboriginal land on the other side but we take the opportunity to drive across the bar and back again to get some more video footage, Pat and I were here in 2014.

 

At last we hit the tar and have to put some air in the tyres.

We’re camping tonight at Mt Price Rest Area, it’s pretty reasonable and we have an area behind the rocks to ourselves. As the sun is setting later here (we are on NT time now) we have changed our routine to one glass of wine, meal, more wine with satellite watching.  A new satellite record – 15!

Mataranka and the hot springs tomorrow, hooray.