19 July 2011 - Atherton to Townsville, Nth QLD, Australia

Millaa Millaa Falls



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 Here we go,  'On the road again', leaving Atherton en route to Townsville via the scenic route, which means hilly, winding roads, wonderfully green & very like Northland.  The farms look very prosperous & well cared for & the surrounding hills are not called 'The Misty Mountains' for nothing.  First stop is Milla Milla Falls - yes, another waterfall, one of three along this route.  It is a really lovely waterfall,  though since I last saw it about 15 years ago it's surroundings have been manicured somewhat  making  the access easier.  Second on the list is Zillee Falls, also quite nice, with Ellinjaa Falls the last & also the least interesting.  Back onto the main route which is quite tropical now, & where they are so protective of the fauna in the area that they even provide a special crossing over the highway for them.  There are several  'high wire overhead routes' which stretch right across the highway from trees on one side to the other side, enabling possums & other small creatures to cross without incidence.  Quite clever & apparently successful.  Cane fields become more numerous now, & also tea plantations.  Australia certainly is a land of many faces & industries.  The next town we enter is Innisfail which reminds us of Napier, in that it has a distinct art deco touch in the buildings.  A nice town, right on the reasonably large Johnstones River, so we amble around for a while & have a cuppa in the van before setting off again to Bramston Beach, about halfway between Cairns & Townsville.  There are still misty mountains quite close by & big fluffy 'candy floss' clouds hang over the highest peaks.  Council managed, the van park  though cheap has no power sites though there are toilets & hot showers if required.  We are lucky to get one of the two remaining sites & although we may have liked to stay longer, that is not possible due to a large group booked in for the weekend.  The lady manager turns out to be a 'repat' kiwi from Christchurch so naturally we chat about that.  She has visited since the quake & also has a sister in Warkworth.  Small world.  Anyway, the camp was very friendly & clean & our neighbouring vanners (from Tasmania) were very helpful with information of free sites to try on our way down the coast.  Always pays to talk to folk, as they are often a mine of information.  The beach proved to be quite long, so we explored one end in the afternoon, & the other end next morning, returning back along the road looking at all the variety of little houses, some permanent residences others obviously weekenders.  It would actually be quite a nice little place to retire, (no, not us), only about 30 minutes from Innisfail & 60 minutes from Cairns.  Could be a bit prone to cyclones though.  And after a lot of procrastination, I decided to start a painting!!!  Can't say I got very far, but do intend to do more next opportunity.  
Next day it's  Hi Ho, off again we Go.   Along the way it was cane, cane, & more cane  fields.  We saw a sign advertising Mission Beach which stated 'Get High, Get Wet, Get Laid'???  Kept us wondering for ages instead of looking at cane fields.    At the small town of Tulley we stopped at the i centre which was one of the nicest I have seen & a real credit to this little town which was one of those  hardest hit  by the cyclone,  & there are still houses & buildings having their roofs'  replaced & trees which suffered are very much in evidence.   It is a sugar town, with a large sugar mill which does tourist tours.  Stu would have loved to go through but will  leave it till next time.   Throughout QLD there are numerous roadworks, some entire new highways being built next to the old ones - often that appears to be the case, the original one becoming redundant or turning into a dual highway.  I must say that when they do it, they do it properly.  So many roads have been damaged by the floods,  so it has created a lot of employment if nothing else.

Continuing on we reach Cardwell, a very nice coastal town built  right along the beachfront.  We have since learned that the beach had wonderful palms & other trees along it before the last cyclone but is now bare & rather open.  Pity.    It looks out to Hinchinbrook Island, a very upmarket tourist resort.  Further on is Ingham, a very nice, larger cane town which looks quite prosperous.  They also grow pineapples in this area, & no doubt mangos as well.  I'm tempted by the 'Frosty Mango', selling their own manufactured ice-cream of all flavours, & thought we should have a treat.  However there was such a queue I didn't bother. We are heading for our next freebie rest stop at a place called Balgal Beach, but on arrival find it very small & it is already packed with vans.  Personally I was relieved as I didn't like the place anyhow.  We have several others to look at, & the next one at Toomulla Beach is fine, again on the beach, so we stay two nights.  A nice couple we had met before turned up at almost the same time, & it was nice to have a bit of conversation & company for a change.  They are from Warwick much further down & inland a little, actually near Toowoomba which was another town hit by the floods.  Actually, Fiona's  (ex Sahara) mother lives there, & now these nice folk have invited us to stay on their property if we wish.  Obviously if we make it there we will have two lots of people to visit.  Great!


Tropical Townsville




Castle Hill from waterfront




Northern beaches from Castle Hill


Further down the coast just north of Townsville, it's into an actual caravan park for a couple of nights to catch up with laundry & recharge the caravan batteries.  We seem to be able to go without power for about a week if we are careful,  which is really great.  Most occupants of the park seem to be semi or fully permanent, I suspect working in the area.  It appears that there is plenty of industry & therefore plenty of employment.  Townsville proves to be huge, though the business centre of the city is quite small.  There has been, & still is, huge money being  spent in the area & it will be a very nice city when completed.   I visited here about 14 years ago, & it has come a long way since then.  It lays claim to being the capital of Nth QLD, & I can see why.  There are huge subdivisions, obviously fairly recent, (before the recession I would guess).  A nice place to live I imagine, as it is on the coast, looks out to Magnetic Island just off the mainland & reached by ferry.  The city is surrounded by a large  range of hills, , has numerous wetland areas, & also national park bush areas.  Overlooking the city centre is Castle Hill,  a very prominent, large rock with the most amazing view of the whole area,  great for photos.  Unfortunately there is a lot of burning in the area, so a lot of haze in the air.  The road to the top is extremely steep & rather daunting coming down from the passenger side of the car.  The southern, newer suburbs looked very nice, with lots of palms, & bouganvilleas of amazing colours everywhere, accompanied by beautiful blossom trees of some description.  The temperature is nice in the winter, but far too humid for me in summer.  There is a wonderful esplanade right along the beach front with cycling track, - time for some overdue exercise one afternoon, which filled in a couple of hours.  Another afternoon we took another track along the river, but it proved to be disappointing & very difficult to follow, though we did get to see some of the suburbs, not by choice.  The southern suburbs looked quite impressive, with lovely palm trees, bouganvilleas of amazing colours, accompanied by beautiful blossom trees of some description.      Sunday morning was market day, so we mooched around a couple of those.  Saw some gorgeous things but couldn't be tempted to buy being restricted in getting them back to NZ.  What a pity???  Spent an afternoon on Saunders Beach where my son lived for a time  & walking along the beachfront I was able to find the house he rented.  Not a bad memory for an old 'lady' pensioner who had only visited once.  We had been told about a  wetland area on the Town Common, a large conservation area, so took a drive there - what a road.  I thought we were going to disappear completely down some of the holes & ruts.  Unfortunately it was a futile trip anyway, as there was very little to see once again but  we were there at the wrong time of day.  There were hordes of magpie geese, white egrets, & black darters, but no brolgas or jabiru storks as I had hoped.  Met a young local couple in one of the bird hides who were frequent visitors there, & she informed us that a lot of the birds had disappeared since the cyclone, many unfortunately killed, others to other safer wetlands.  I'm sure they will return in due course.

11 July 2011 - Atherton Tablelands QLD, Australia



Platypus at Yungaburra




Curtain Fig Tree



Off to another destination, travelling from Georgetown on a sealed road with many surprises.  Sometimes single lane, sometimes two lanes, mostly in poor condition & badly patched which reminds me of our roads around home.  We have left the flat lands & into hills with large sandstone escarpments & views of the Newcastle Ranges, through the tiny, neat  little village of Mt Surprise.  Shortly after we turn onto the Kennedy Highway (?) - at one stage a beautiful black & white horse slows the traffic ahead as it hovers near the road.  May have been a wild one as there didn't appear to be any houses in the area.  The laugh of the day was a roadside sign at one stage depicting a great big bull pushing a car over, presumably  meant to be a warning of cattle on the side of the road.  Unfortunately couldn't get a photo.  We wanted a short day after our busy one yesterday, so found an excellent freebie stopover again which was great till it turned to 2deg  overnight.  We were saved by some vanners next to us who had a lovely fire in a brazier going at breakfast time, so there was quite a little group huddled around including me for a while.  Thankfully it was a nice sunny morning, so we didn't take long to thaw out.  We have seen some amazing old characters along the way, like a very elderly old gent in a very small tent in that cold, cold night air.  Also another gentleman on his own, also not so young, who had a tiny trailer which had been built into his sleeping accommodation.  They were both very respectable & obviously enjoying their later years.  Another surprise that morning was when we saw  one of those great big 'bendy' buses parked among us selling all manner of goods including books.  Again it was a man on his own, though he did have a sign on the back 'woman wanted'  Apparently he goes to all the big mining camps selling stuff.  He is not the first we have seen with the same advertisement for a woman - the last one had a woman with him so we're not sure if he was greedy or wanted a change!!!

After leaving the camp we called into Millstream Falls a km or two along the road.  It is the widest waterfall in Australia but is not very high at all.  Still, we like to visit ALL the waterfalls.

Next stop is Ravenhoe, the highest town in QLD & part of the Atherton Tablelands inland from Cairns.  It is surrounded by rather misty mountains.  Because of its height it is the ideal spot for wind turbines, & the day being rather windy, we found it rather eerie standing right beneath them.  We also discover at the Info centre that there are 12 species of possum within a 10km radius of the town.  Some of them are most unusual & cute but nevertheless they can keep them here.  Stu finds an old steam train to photograph, much more his thing than mine.  After Ravenshoe the drive is through tropical forest which form large shady tunnels of trees over the road, & rolling hills of good farming land, much like NZ.  We soon reach Atherton which is quite a large town & is a large horticultural area, growing crops such as peanuts, coffee, mango, bananas, & vegetables & has wonderful red soil like Pukekohe.  Speaking of bananas, they do not import bananas into Australia, & because of the floods & a shortage of Australian ones, the price is $12.98 per kilo, sometimes even up to $14.98.  I am amazed that they sell any at all!  We stop to stock up the larder again before heading to another recommended 'freebie' which is HUGE!  It is a memorial park owned by the local council & can contain about 100 caravans if everyone parks sensibly.  There is a small toilet block & water which is not drinkable so only useful for showers etc.  Parking time is for 72 hours only to try & stop people staying permanently or long term.  Because there are so many vans there, it is quite safe to unhook the caravan & take off for the day to explore.  There are always some vanners who stay around all day, but most people put a very secure lock on the tow balls of the caravans so that they can't be towed away. We make the most of it by visiting Lake Tinaroo, a large man-made dam not far out of Atherton, which has an amazing canal system  irrigating the surrounding agricultural area.  We also visited some wetlands at Hastie Swamp which had 1000's of ducks of many varieties.  I'm sure there are other birds at other times but not at present unfortunately.    Stu wanted to visit the old heritage mining town of Herberton, which proved to be very interesting & well done.  We learned that it was because of the miners vote that Australia became the Commonwealth of Australia & not separate countries like Europe.  That was completely new to me. Many of the buildings in this village have been transported there from other places as well, to make quite an authentic mix of buildings from those times.  My favourite was the old school, not because of the building, but the lessons on the blackboards.  They had maths problems there that I still couldn't answer, & even the english grammer had me thinking hard.  In fact I realised one grammatical error I make quite often & I thought I was quite good at english.  Never too late to learn!  Also at Herberton is a Spy Camera Museum - I kid you not.  We didn't indulge in that one.
Itinerary next day was to visit the small town of Yungaburra & its attractions.  Firstly a large Strangler Fig Tree known as 'The Curtain Fig'.  Strangler Fig's start as a small seed in the fork of a tree & like a rata vine gradually send down their roots to the ground & gradually strange the host tree until it dies.  This one must be extremely old as it really is like a curtain of roots.  Had a short stop at Lake Eacham which proved to be rather boring, but the highlight of the day was to see if we could find some platypus at Petersons Creek in the centre of Yungaburra.   There is viewing platform right alongside the main road, but we were not aware of that, so took a walk along a small track by the creek itself.  To be honest I wasn't hopeful, but I was like a big kid, full of excitement when we actually spotted one.  They are the cutest little mammals & we soon learned how to spot them by the bubbles in the water now & again.  The creek is a bit murky (like Paparoa Creek), so apart from that & the way they hide under the banks, its not easy to find them.  After watching the first one for some time & managing a few shots, we continued on & saw a total of 5.  Finally arriving at the viewing platform we couldn't see any, so felt extremely proud of ourselves & directed some other couples to 'our' spots for which they were extremely grateful.  A great day completed.



Sunset at Walkamin

 Our 72hr stop completed, we moved onto a caravan park towards Mareeba.  It is only $22 per night, is the friendliest camp we have been in & spotlessly clean.  Even the grounds are immaculate with little gardens & nice flowering trees.  In the centre of the camp is a large outdoor kitchen, community area with comfortable lounge chairs, a very large fireplace, a 'freebie' table to put anything you no longer need (was even a cask of fruit wine there).  Also a jigsaw table with large easel board, books, videos, games etc.  They even had one of those great Ezy Cook ovens for anyone to use, & electric frypans etc.  Each evening the group of 'over winterers' get together for happy hour which we never attended only being here for two nights.

Our next  attraction to visit was  Granite Gorge which to be honest, we didn't know much about.  On arrival after quite a long drive out, we discovered that we had to pay  in order to do the walks through the gorge & Stu's first reaction was 'No'.  However, from the information site we could see lots of tiny rock wallabies being fed by people & I just had to do it too.  So armed with the appropriate feed supplied, down we went.  They are the most adorable little creatures who will come & eat from your hands with their little front paws holding on .  Naturally they all flock towards the person with the food & sometimes there is a bit of 'argy bargy' between them if one is a bit greedy.  There is always a little shy one who misses out so I tried to concentrate on those.  The most gorgeous of all was the little mother with her adorable little joey in her pouch who kept poking his head out to try & eat too.  Mother obviously didn't think that a good idea so kept stuffing it back in but we managed to get several photos.  When you stop feeding them they stand up on their little back legs & gaze up at you with their pleading little eyes.  They must have very full tummies by the end of the day, but the owner informed me that the food is good for them because they don't get enough carbohydrates???  Personally I am not usually a fan for feeding wild animals  but couldn't help myself on this occasion.  Stu reckoned they looked like big rats but they were amazingly cute.  Anyway, the feeding frenzy over, we set out to walk the gorge armed with map.  The rocks are huge granite boulders & I could imagine them polished into a kitchen bench or nice coffee table.  Actually although it was only a couple of kms, the 'walk' turned out to be a rockhopping operation, but lots of fun.  By the time we were finished we were quite hot & sweaty & glad to be heading back.   Called into Mareeba wetlands further on hoping to see Jancana & Jabiru.  Again we discovered it was a paying proposition, even to walk around the lagoons though they did have little boat cruises too.  However it was all too late in the day - 4pm, & they closed at 4.30pm.  Did see one little Jacana tripping around on the water lily leaves so that was a bonus.  Revisited the next day, paid to do the walks ($10 each) & again saw nothing, in fact there were only a couple of egrets on the main lagoon & swans, egrets, shags on the other, so a big dissapointment.  Photographed a few bush birds, yet to identify from our bird book.  Visited 'Coffee Works' thinking we would learn a lot about coffee, but it is mainly a cafe, gift shop etc, most items from overseas.  If you want to taste all the different coffees & chocolates it costs $19 per person!!!  Needless to say we didn't bother.  We did however treat ourselves to a coffee & cake (Stu's idea not mine),  & Stu chose chocolate cheesecake (very rich), which he regretted for the rest of the day, while I opted for Pumpkin & Ginger Cake (light & delicious).  & had no problem at all.  All in all it was a bit of a 'fizzer', but on the way back to camp decided it was time to do some painting at last, (much persuasion from me), so bought a canvas each & intend to go back to the last large freebie site just a few kms down the road & just paint for a day or two & plan our next move.  Are now at the stage where we are not sure where to go or what to see as we head down towards the Sunshine Coast on our last lap.  The weather is not so nice at present, overcast in the mornings, & windy, improving a bit through the day.  Luckily  at the wetlands yesterday it was lovely & actually quite hot but it is much more sheltered than where we are situated.    Mareeba boasts of having 300 sunny days per year so is a popular winter escape for the 'seniors'.  Incidentally, seniors do get a discounts at a lot more places here than at home & as they very rarely ask for cards, we have managed to get the advantage of that too although I'm sure it doesn't apply to 'foreigners'.



Rock wallaby with Joey



09 July 2011 - Cobbald Gorge, QLD Australia



Entering the Gorge





The Gorge

 En route to Georgetown & again on single lane highway,  & many dry riverbeds where signs state 'subject to flooding' - hard to imagine seeing their present state.  Georgetown is a very tidy little town, very quiet as it is the weekend.  Apart from pub & 'servos' nothing else is open.  We find the cheapest camp & settle in, basic but OK for a couple of nights & enables me to catch up on blog, laundry etc., & Stu gets permission to change the oil in the landcruiser which he has been worrying about.   Next day we head for the Cobbald Gorge on a rather rough road, glad we have been able to leave the van behind.  We call into the tiny 'township' of Forsayth, even smaller than Paparoa, & ate our picnic lunch.   It's only reason for being is that the Savannahlander train comes out from Cairns with tourists & finishes here.  There is the tiniest little railway station & a beautiful old Stationmasters house set in lovely gardens which is a B&B & tearooms, though I suspect it only operates when the train comes in.  Naturally there is also a small tavern, a few residences, a police station (can't imagine why)  & that's it.  In the past it was a gold mining town.  If we thought the first half of the road was rough, the second half was terrible, with deep ruts, corrugations & dust, dust, dust.  Thank goodness for a sturdy vehicle & no van on the back. 



Freshwater Croc


Cobbald Gorge is on a privately owned cattle station of a mere 335,000 acres!  Owned by 3 brothers, each running his own acreage, the gorge was only discovered about 20 years ago by the youngest.  No one seemed to know it was there, not unlikely in an area of that size & hidden by bush.  However it's potential as a tourist venture attracted the youngest, &  since then he has slowly been developing it.  It now has  motel rooms, camping & caravan parking, swimming pool, a  visitor information  building & very friendly staff.  There a two tours available, one  is an 'Outback Adventure' on the cattle station,  & our choice  the boat cruise through the gorge.  Initially we are taken by a humungous 4WD vehicle through rugged tracks into the bush for an informative walk/talk on flora & fauna,  history of the area etc by a very colourful, & likeable grass roots character who also becomes our boatman.  The gorge is hidden away with rugged sandstone formation, is extremely narrow, closing to a mere two metres wide in places, with spectacular 30 metre high cliffs on either side.  The overall lenght is about 6 kms consisting of a series of water-holes & rock falls.  Unfortunately only  the last 500 mtrs is accessible by flat bottom boat with a very small electric motor which avoids disturbing the tranquility.  It is fed by several springs which keep the water level constant allowing boat access all year round.  The water is clear & enables us to watch the little native fish darting here & there, & we spot a turtle sunning itself on a rock plus two freshwater crocs at very close quarters.  They are so much nicer & less threatening than those horrible 'salties'.  The whole experience is tranquil, the rock formations different from the other gorges we have seen, but unfortunately because of the narrowness, it is not easy to photograph & gain the real essence of the place.  On our return to the little boarding pontoon, I manage to photograh a beautiful Azure kingfisher, very bright blue head & wings, & apricot breast.  There was  a flock of black, redtailed cockatoos around,  quite magnificent in flight with their red undertail feathers, but exceptionally hard to photograph so sadly I missed out again.  Will continue to stalk them as we continue our journey.  The other animal which has fascinated me is the Brahman cattle with their big ears which hang down making them look quite miserable.  I did manage to snap those but they always seem to lift their ears when you get near.  They remind me a bit of donkeys - there are feral ones of those here too beside the feral camels (we've not seen latter yet).


Brahman Cutie



07 July 2011 - Gulf of Carpentaria, QLD Australia

Gulflander train



Purple Pub at Normanton

 Caravan Park at Normanton for two nights, a tiny little town just a 45 minute drive to the Gulf.  Has a couple of very old pubs, a couple of  stores which sell general goods including food (neither very good), a doctor's surgery,  a  government health clinic, very nice schools, both primary & college, a couple of fuel stops ( fuel back to $1.55 now) & the widest roads imagineable, not uncommon in these little old towns.  A fairly large aboriginal population all welldressed & clean. This area has a lot of artesian bore water which was established in 1896 & used to supply the town with up to 300,000 gallons of water per day.  Some experts  believe it takes 100 years for it to reach the surface, arriving at a scolding temperature of 66 deg Celsius.   There is still a town well in the middle of the main street which was the main source of water before reticulated water was introduced in 1965.  It still has the original gas light next to it.  The towns biggest attraction now is a crocodile named 'Krys', after one Krystina Pawlowski, a well known crocodile hunter in the Gulf region, who shot this largest of estuarine crocodiles in the world, measuring 8.6mtrs long.  The life-sized replica on display in the main street is enormous & unimagineably large - a real monster from the deep!


Krys the famous croc




Toe dip in the Gulf of Carpenteria

 We took an afternoon's drive out to the town of Kurumba, on the Gulf of Carpentaria where the aforementioned croc hunter & her husband were based for many years.   Several little wetlands on the way at which we spied more brolgas.  It is the only sealed access to the Gulf & is a commercial fishing base & very popular with recreational fisherman after the famed 'Barramundi', Australia's favourite fish.  The 3 caravan parks were jam-packed like sardines (don't know if jam & sardines go too well together)???  All for the fishing as there isn't anything else of interest in the area at all.  They go out there in little  tin dinghys etc among the crocs - don't like their chances if a large croc comes up under their boat.  There are signs all along the beachfront warning not to swim or even stand on the waters edge, but there are fisherman doing just that!  Must admit we took a photo of each other just dipping our big toe in the water extremely quickly.  I got stuck in the mud a little with my jandals so a quick takeoff would have been very difficult if a croc came up, but to be honest, the water was not deep there & was so clear you would see it coming.  Nevertheless we didn't hang about.  For a treat we had a beautiful but cheap  meal of freshly caught 'barra' on the waterfront then adjourned to the 'beach' to watch the sunset before driving back to Normanton, 45 minutes away.  It is the first time we have driven anywhere at night & were both too aware by the number of dead wallabies on the roads of what can happen in the dark.  Luckily we have an extra set of lights on the Landcruiser which gives a much longer beam than normal, so with that & extreme care, we managed not to hit anything though we saw many tiny wallabies on the side.  Because of the long beam I think the light hit them much sooner & they were stunned enough to stay still or turn the other way.  I'm not sure what type of wallaby they were as they were a lot smaller than I had seen before.

Next day, next little town is Croydon, where the general store has been running continuously since 1894 in the same building.  It is still set up with the shelves of goods behind the counter & lollies in jars etc.  Was really neat.  Of course it had a pub, though not much else.    The roads have been extremely good, but do have some more patches of one lane seal which is still to be widened.  Not much traffic here so it's fine as everyone does the right thing so the only problem is dust when you have to go off to the side, & also some of the edges of the seal are quite high & sharp so it's necessary to be choosy where you go off & on that you don't damage your tyres.  Road trains have the right to stay on the seal & make sure that you know it!

01 July 2011 - Barkly Highway, N.T. Australia.

The endless Highway



Brolgas at Camooweal Billabong

 Leaving Katherine we finally got to see what the annual migration of nomads was really like.  July 1st seems to be the opening of the real season even though many are already ensconced in their chosen area in the Top End long before.  Most of the caravan parks in Darwin are fully booked through till August now - unbelievable!  Anyway, we set off down the Stuart Highway once again, & were absolutely amazed at the number of vans coming north.  Some will head for W.A. from Katherine, some to Darwin & others will be heading to QLD.  We stopped at Bitter Springs once again for another lovely swim in the thermal pools, then again at Daley Waters for lunch.  The caravan park there was absolutely jammed with a queue of vans waiting to get in even at that time of day, unlike our previous visit heading up when it was pretty quiet.  We decided to count the caravans going north, & incredibly there were 62 in the first hour, not counting motorhomes & camper trailers etc.  In the afternoon there were 82.  It at least gave me something to do as it's pretty boring retracing steps down a highway you have already done.  We aimed for Newcastle Waters hoping that the road to the old town had now been opened as it sounded rather interesting.  It was opened, but was a total waste of time, so we headed for the overnighr rest area which was jam packed.  Luckily we knew of another unsigned area 2 kms further on, which we are sure must have been the original rest stop.  Obviously no one else knew about it as it is very hard to see from the road, so we snuggled ourselves in there for the night - great!  UNTIL it went dark & we were besieged with every insect imaginable.  Stu is very sensitive to mozzies, so he was going out of his mind trying to get these things out of the van, then crickets started to come in too.  We had no idea where they were getting in with all the flyscreens, but suddenly found it, & managed to settle down again to a good night's sleep.  If that wasn't enough, the


Dusk at Camooweal Bilabong





Clem Walton Dam Rest Area

 next morning turned out to be one of frustration.  Calling into Elliot for refuelling, we found that the tanker was refilling their pumps & we couldn't get access from that direction, so Stu had to do several circles with very little room & was becoming quite cross.  Eventually we got the fuel & headed on.   On arrival at 3 Ways later on, we  had to turn off onto the Barkley Highway  & knew there were few service stations, so Stu decided to top up again. You would NOT believe it, but just as he was about to drive in, there was the tanker again,  & again he had to drive round in circles to gain access.  You can imagine his mood?  Finally on the Barkly Highway &  the landscape is really flat & so easy to drive.   The roadside has lots of golden wattle which has deepened it's colour even more & looks truly beautiful.   From a distance it looks a lot like kowhai in flower but a lot more bloom.  Beside it the lovely Mistletoe Grevillia is showing off it's red flowers too.  Eventually even that dies out & the landscape is covered in light honey coloured grasses (Mitchell Grass), just begging to be cut for hay.  We laughingly decided that it was even too  boring to play I spy as it was all the same.  In actual fact it was quite nice but never ending.    It is scenery in which you feel minute.  The sky isn't so blue down here & I think because of the flatness the clouds seem to be really low & are huge, big, fluffy strata cumulus.  Some are quite dark & obviously dropping a little localised rain, but when we drove through it, the windscreen didn't even get a wash (unfortunately).  After a frustrating start to the day it seemed a good idea to stop earlier than usual, so we found a nice rest area at 41 mile Bore about 2.30pm & relaxed in the shade for the afternoon.  On arrival there were probably about 7 vans, but by the end of the day there were about 50!  Unbeknown to us, the area was much larger than we realised & had several entries & there were vans snuggled in everywhere.  We had found a nice secluded bit, so it was great for us.  There were lots of birds, mainly I think because there was a small waterhole there.  Many of them little finches, which were very hard to photograph, but also honeyeaters, willy wagtails & of course the inevitable black crows which seem to be anywhere & everywhere we go.
Although next morning we are away smartly, we discover lots have beaten us to it, & we have to follow along in a bit of a convoy behind some rather slow vans.  Today I see lots of trees with off-white fluffy flowers, which I think MAY be woolly butt trees.     They are rather lovely so I must find out if I am correct.
The Barkly is cattle country, where the stations are gargantuan in size, where the cattle are mustered by helicopters & aeroplanes, & is abundant in legends of ringers & drovers.  Along the highway we spot a rather large striped snake a python of some description),  not sure if it was basking on the warmth of the road, or had been run over during the night.  Either way, we couldn't stop to even take a photo.  Later on we were to see another one, though not sure it was the same variety.  The wind has whipped up a bit which is apparently quite common along here & there are signs warning of crosswinds.  Luckily it's not too bad & we are soon out of it.  Our next overnight rest stop is a much smaller one & opposite a Police Station out in the middle of nowhere.  At least we felt safe.  Nice sunset though not up to Mindil Beach standards.
Again we set off early & again we are in a convoy of 6 vans for some time.  At 8.30am we cross the border into Queensland & enter the little town of Camooweal for another fuel stop.  Stu had already chosen our next overnighter some 300kms away, but we happened to get into conversation with another couple who had just stayed the night in what they described as 'the most beautiful free camp'.  Although we had seen it in our 'bible' it sounded as if it was difficult to get to, but remarkably we had just passed the unsigned entrance a few minutes before.  Being told the birdlife was fantastic & even included brolgas, I persuaded Stu to turn around so that we could at least get some photos.    I was so excited when we arrived there & was running around like a chook with no head.  There were lots of beautiful brolgas, herons, whistling kites, ducks of many varieties, egrets large & small & all in a beautiful  river billabong setting .  Result was an overnight stay.We were able to park the van right alongside the river so we could sit there all day on the bank watching the birdlife come & go.  It was better than Kakadu in that respect.  Couldn't wait for sunrise next morning to see what eventuated.  Sadly the sunrise was mediocre & the birds nowhere near as plentiful as we had thought, apart from the most amazing aerial acrobatic display by two white necked herons.  Hopeless to try & photograph but Stu suddenly reminded me I had a video option on my camera, but all too late as they disappeared as if they knew.
On the road again towards Mt Isa which is a fairly large mining town whose population is an exuberant mix of people from many cultures.  The town began rising out of the desert in the 1920's & today is one of the biggest cities (in area), with 41,000 sq kms.  The population is 23,000, & they consider themselves the unofficial capital of the outback.  It is  one of the fastest growing areas in  QLD, now attracting 1000's of tourists throughout the year.  Apart from the mining associated attractions, one of the most interesting to me was the underground hospital which was built during the war in 1942 just after Darwin had been bombed.  Fortunately it never had to be used for that purpose, but did  provide  a cool, quiet place for nurses to use on night shift throughout the rest of the war as well as being a storehouse for the above-ground hospital.  We had decided not to stay in Mt Isa, as that means a caravan park which costs, so we travelled further along to another recommended free campsite.  If we hadn't been told about it we probably would not have found it as once again it was unsigned & there was a gate which at first appeared locked.  Fortuntely it wasn't so we drove down the dirt road, over a dry, rocky riverbed which turned out to be the spillway for the dam - wouldn't  want to get caught in it when the dam was overflowing!  On arrival there were already quite a few vans parked but we were able to find a great spot overlooking the dam itself which was like a lovely large blue lake & wetland area.  There is another campsite further in along the road, but it is not recommended for larger vans, but Stu & I took a walk along there after we were settled in & the road condition got worse as we got further along.  We were glad we hadn't risked it, but it was indeed a lovely site, with shady trees & a lovely clear, running river.  Serveral men were trying their luck at fishing & it was a most peaceful setting.  It had been nice to get a walk for an hour & stretch our legs before returning to relax back at the dam.  The sunset was not one to rave about, but with it's gentle colours & cloud formations was a lovely way to finish the day.  The following morning we were woken by the tuneful song of a little black & white magpie lark with a marvellous repoirtre. 
tIt was time to continue along the Barkly Highway to Cloncurry, which was named by the explorer Burke during his illfated journey in 1861.  However, the town was not founded tilll 1867 when copper was discovered in the area.  It has really large wide streets & the heritage buildings are all in beautiful condition .Today it's main industries include grazing, copper, gold mining & transport.  It was here that Qantas  was conceived & the original hanger is still in use at the aerodrome.   Also the Flying Doctor service began here in 1928.   Leaving Cloncurry the landscape changes & becomes undulating with rocky hills which seem to have erupted like pimples, surrounded by a large escarpment.  Needless to say it is lovely & sunny with blue skies AGAIN.  We do our usual 300+ kms & another free rest area, the 6th in a row which is a record for us & extremely helpful for the coffers.  This time it is a roadside one but still quite large & we tucked ourselves in as far from the road as possible in case of road noise, but we need not have worried anyway.
Along the road towards Normanton there are still lots of  small termite mounds, some like a community of red gnomes, & others like grey tombstones .  The conditions of the highway deteriorate & it becomes a single lane, sealed road which meant that when we met oncoming traffic, both vehicles had to have one wheel off the seal.    It is called a 'developmental' highway & now & then we are lucky to come across a length which had been widened.  Fortunately it is not as busy as most of the roads we have travelled, but we are glad to reach Normanton & a caravan park for two nights where we can catch up on washing etc.

29 June 2011 - Katherine, N.T. Australia

Flying Foxes



Jan at Lily Pond falls

 An early awakening by lots of birds on our last morning at Mary River, so I was out with the camera anxious to photograph & identify some new ones.  The very raucous cries of a flock of  blue-winged kookaburras, plus the red-tailed black cockatoos is not what one would call musical.  For all that it is marvellous to see them flying over even though they are  far too quick to snap.  Thankfully they weren't the only bird life around, & the trees around the caravans were filled with small birds singing & chirruping to their hearts consent.  Managed to snap a few in order to identify, but sadly they are not good enough photographs to display.  Among them one which sounded not unlike our Tui , but  I think was smaller,  & black, white & blue.  Also a blue-faced honeyeater.  I'm sure lots of them were honeyeaters of one variety or another as there are so many different ones.  Most I still have not managed to identify even with our trusty  Field Guide of Australian Birds, so I will be kept in suspense until I can find someone more expert than I.

The highway is now extremely busy with  caravans as the official ' season' starts 1st July.  We believe in the time we left Darwin a week ago, the caravan parks have filled up to capacity & will probably stay that way till August.  Thank goodness it wasn't like that when we were there.    As we were returning down the Stuart Highway the way we originally went north, it was a bit of  'je da vous', however it was only a two hour drive to Katherine.  The first time we came through & simply shopped for food & visited the Visitor Centre.  At that time it was still a bit cold & Stu thought it better to wait & do any sightseeing on the way back down, so this time we will stay two nights.  Katherine is a very tidy little town equipped with all that one would need.  It is the turnoff to Western Australia, so naturally is a halfway point for those going west or east to Queensland as we are, though we have to continue  further south first.  After settling into the caravan park & having lunch, we walked to the hot springs just 10 minutes down the road.  Not hot but a nice temperature & very busy as it is school holidays.  I think we must have forgotten our deodorant or something as a lot of people left just after we arrived.  We were not complaining about that. 

Early morning 4 hour cruise up the Kathryn Gorge today.  There are actually 13 gorges, all divided by little rapids & rocks.  The boats are only able to access the first 3, but it is necessary to disembark at each one & take a short stroll along a boardwalk or footpath to the next jetty where there is yet another boat awaiting us.The boatman/guide was a very nice young aboriginal from the local Jawoyn tribe, who now own this National Park 100%.  Since Stu's last visit here & since the takeover, the Jawoyn people have put in a lot of work & spent a considerable sum on improvements so it is very organised & tourist friendly.  Good to see the local people working it in many roles.  While we are waiting to board we are kept interested by 1000's of flying foxes in all the dead trees by the river.  They look as if they have been hung up to dry & there is a great deal of jostling for a place in so much as one has to occasionally fly off to another tree or branch.  They have the cutest little faces with quite bulging eyes, but also have a very musky smell which becomes quite overpowering with so many of them present.  I did hear someone say that they serve no purpose whatever in the scheme of things, but I will have to research that myself.

The leisurely trip up gorge No 1 we are given an informative commentary.  The sides of the gorge are extremely high & at this time of the morning many are in shadow so the better photos will be taken on the return journey.  Disembarking at the end of this gorge we have time to study some very good rock art on the massive cliffs - some of the drawings are quite high & several of us wonder how they would have reached that level.  Some are little handmarks, no doubt children, so I guess it's possible they were hoisted up on their dad's shoulders.  Also it was explained there could have been trees there & they would have climbed them, & possibly there were more lower rocks to climb on at that time, long disintegrated away.  Although the paintings have originally done in yellow, white, black & ochre, it is the ochre colour which survives the longest as it stains the rock.

Safely installed into boat No 2, we continue up the gorge, the scenery becoming more spectacular.  It is such a beautiful, sunny morning with a blue, blue sky, so naturally the water looks very blue too.  There a lots of small sandy 'beaches' in places & the trees are very green.  We see a freshwater crocodile or 'freshie'  lazing on the side but are told we will see more on the return journey as it gets warmer.  Gorge No 3 & another change to yet another boat.  At the end of this gorge we disembark for an hours break & climb to the Lily Pond Falls with a lovely swimming hole for those who feel like a very cold dip.  Morning tea is provided, fruit cake, muesli bars, fresh mandarins & plenty of nice cold water which is very welcome.   It's nice to take a wander around the area & snap a few photos, then it's time to repeat the whole journey in reverse.  We are lucky & see another 2 'freshies' & get good photos thanks to the boatman easing closer for us.  Freshwater crocs are apparently pretty harmless unless they, or their nests are threatened.  It is nesting time now & we see a couple of nests in the sand - just slight mounds where they have buried their eggs.  They lay them when the kapok tree flowers & return when they are due to hatch, Take them to the water in their mouths, & crunch them slightly to allow the little ones to escape, then they are on their own.  Great how nature has it all worked out!



Katherine Gorge




Freshwater Croc

 We had intended to do a bike ride in the afternoon when we got back, but by the time we had lunch it was 2pm & a bit too hot, so spent it finishing off the washing & a pleasant read in the shade, as tomorrow we hit the road en route to Queensland via Mt Isa, which will be very boring by all accounts.  Oh well, can't have excitement all the time, CAN WE???