25/7/2013 Douglas River Hot Springs to Darwin

25/7/2013 Douglas River Hot Springs to Darwin

Before leaving Douglas River we walked around the hot spring area. Very hot water from springs and a creek joins the cool water of the Douglas River. People find a "just right temperature" area and enjoy wallowing in it. The warm water encourages the growth of bright green algae.

The usual burning off is in full swing in the north, with smokey skies and kites chasing the insects emerging from the flames. At the entrance to Darwin we were confronted with a wall of flames and smoke.

After settling into Lee Point Caravan Park we headed out to Mindil Beach for the night market. We bought our meal from the stalls and then sat on the beach to watch the sunset as we ate it. 

Some clever person had created a sand model of a dragon, complete with fire in its nostrils.

The smokey conditions enhanced the red sunset.

24/7/2013 - 25/7/2013 Pine Creek to Douglas River Hot Springs, Tjuwaliyn National Park

24/7/2013 Pine Creek to Douglas River Hot Springs, Tjuwaliyn National Park

At Pine Creek we walked up to the lookout to view the old gold mine workings which have been flooded.

We bought a mango smoothie from the local shop and went on our way, slurping happily as we drove.

We took the scenic route north which brought us to Douglas River Hot Springs. After setting up the caravan we headed out for Butterfly Gorge. The road was very rough with several creek crossings. After parking we headed up hill, following the trail markers to the gorge. 

If you only walk into the riverside area you miss the spectacular  gorge which is the point of the hard 4WD trip.

22/7/2013 - 23/7/2013 Edith Falls, Nitmiluk National Park

22/7/2013  Edith Falls

We left Mataranka early and arrived at Nitmiluk National Park campground about 11:00am - by mid afternoon the campground was full.  We found a good camp site, set up and had lunch.  When we went to walk the ridge route to the falls we found that it was closed so we did the shorter but steeper route from the car park directly up the side of the escarpment and then down the hillside to Edith Falls. Gerd had a long swim. I had a much shorter one and then spent my time taking pictures of the beautiful scenery.

There were brilliant red dragon flies flitting over the sand and hovering on their favourite grass stems.

When we went back to the plunge pool near the camp ground, at the bottom of the series of water falls, we found that it was different to our last visit. A big sand island arose in the middle of where previously there had only been deep water. Apparently the wet season floods of 2011 had not only washed away a lot of infrastructure but had also changed the topography of the area.   

23/7/2013 Edith Falls 

In the late morning we set out to hike along the Edith River to Sweet Water swimming hole. Along the way we met hikers doing the 60 km hike from Katherine Gorge to Edith Falls. About lunch time we arrived at a pretty area called Long Water Hole with a small water fall and lots of rocky outcrops running across the stream.  

The hikers told us that this was the nicest area along this section of the river so we decided to eat our lunch, have a swim, and head back to Edith Falls for more swimming (Gerd) and pictures (me). 

In the evening a National Parks ranger came to the campground and presented a slide show about the park,  its flora and fauna.

   

21/7/2013 Mataranka to Katherine

21/7/2013 Mataranka to Katherine

Before leaving Mataranka I took pictures of the lilies in the pool in the c.van park and watched the barramundi being fed.

 After arriving in Katherine we tried to get a seat on the 3 gorges boat tour  on the Katherine River but it was booked out. We will book early and do it on our return journey after visiting Darwin. Instead, we inspected the Rare Rocks shop and the historic Springvale Homestead.

In the grounds are ENORMOUS trees.

We listened to the tour guide's spiel and then ate scones with jam and cream.

20/7/2013 Dunmarra RH to Mataranka

20/7/2013 Dunmarra RH  to Mataranka

It was Sabbath. We drove from Dunmarra RH to Mataranka. On the way we listened to Pr Stephanie (Albury church 2002) preach about the Second Coming - that we must faithfully "occupy" without discouragement until Jesus comes. I listened, and Gerd sang along with our 50 Favourite Hymns CD. Since my stroke I have found that I can't sing,  even in my usual unmusical fashion.

We stopped at Larrimah to inspect the little zoo at the side of the Pink Panther Hotel. Some aboriginal people saw me with my camera and asked me to take their photos, which I did. When I get back home I will print the pictures and send copies to them. This also happened on our last trip.

After dropping the caravan at the c.van park in Mataranka we drove drove to Bitter Springs and Mataraka National Park to walk around the "hot" springs (34 centigrade). The area seemed to be quite a bit drier than when we were there 2 years ago.

18/7/2013 - 19/7/2013 Mt Isa to Camoweal to Barkly Homestead to Dunmarra Roadhouse

18/7/2013 Mt Isa to Camoweal, to Barkly Homestead, 

We left Mt Isa and drove to Camoweal. Last time we were there Gerd fed the Kites flying around the roadhouse with bread. We bought chips at the roadhouse and added them to our tomato and cheese rolls but this time Gerd ate his without sharing any with his feathered friends. After lunch we inspected the new Drovers Exhibition at the entrance to the town. It is free and worth inspecting to see the excellent crayon portraits of well known drovers. There is a free sausage sizzle for those who want the whole deal! Every outback town has its special tourist attraction!

From there we drove on to Barkley Road House. It was exactly 2 years ago to the day that we were there on our last visit.

This was a day of driving on a good, long, straight road through savannah type landscape towards a flat horizon. It didn't take much imagination to "see" the whole area covered in an immense shallow sea and ancient creatures such as dinosaurs wallowing along the banks.

19/7/2013 Barkly Homestead to Dunmarra Roadhouse

Once again we were travelling west and the road was straight and the horizon flat and far away. Finally we met the north-south Stuart Highway.

We stayed at Dunmarra Roadhouse. Dunmarra RH doesn't have mobile phone coverage and the facilities leave much to be desired.

Some road trains in the NT are 64 metres in length. Passing or being passed takes quite a while!

15/7/2013 to 17/7/2013 Karumba - Normanton - Cloncurry to Mt Isa

15/7/2013 to 17/7/2013 Karumba - Normanton - Cloncurry to Mt Isa

15/7/2013 We left Karumba and drove to Normanton where we spent an hour or two looking around the village. The bronze statue of the biggest croc ever shot, 8.63 metres in length, is interesting.

We passed Burke and Wills Roadhouse and headed for the 24hour stop for the night. When we got there at 4:45pm it was already crowded but we edged our way into a spot. With all the users the water tank was empty so the toilet wasn't flushing.  You had to take some water with you to complete the job.

16/7/2013 In the morning we passed through Cloncurry ("The Curry") again and enjoyed (again) the beautiful rugged hills and gorges all the way to Mt Isa.

17/7/2013 In the morning I took a punt on a hairdresser, and had my grey locks clipped. The cut is only medium short so it won't last too long.  We took a picnic lunch and headed halfway back towards Cloncurry to inspect the old Robin copper mine and Mary Kathleen uranium mine. We saw them on our last trip and they were so interesting and picturesque that I felt they warranted a second visit.

Roaming around in the desert was a lone camel.

11/7/2013 - 14/7/2013 Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria

11/7/2013 - 14/7/2013 Karumba 

After travelling the reverse journey from Lawn Hill to Burke and Wills Roadhouse and spending another night there we headed up through Normanton to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria. Karumba is at the mouth of the Norman River and is a fishing village. The fishing includes some commercial operations and lots and lots of enthusiastic tourists who are out to catch a "barra". It is also a port for exporting zinc products and shipping live cattle overseas.

Inspite of his confidence that they would be easy to catch Gerd's "barra", tonight, came from the local fish and chips  restaurant.

8/07/2013 - 10/7/2013 Lawn Hill

8/07/2013 - 10/7/2013 Lawn Hill


Lawn Hill is a beautiful oasis in the middle of dry savanna lands.
We spent our time walking every trail, and then canoeing the length of the gorge. It was a beautiful experience.

We saw several fresh water crocodiles and some some small lizards.

7/7/2013 Burke and Wills RH to Lawn Hill

7/7/2013 Burke & Wills RH to Lawn Hill

The road to Gregory Downs was good.

After Gregory Downs the next 70km were receiving a lot of TLC because the road leads into a zinc mine, the biggest in Australia.  BUT... then it deteriorated severely and we rattled around for another  70 or so kilometres over ruts and with severe dust.

Lawn Hill camping was unpowered, but there were hot showers, a real luxury at the end of the day.

6/07/2013 24 hour roadside stop to Burke and Wills Roadhouse

6/07/2013 24 hour roadside stop to Burke and Wills Roadhouse


It was Sabbath so we drove slowly and listened to Pr R. Stanley take the Sabbath School lesson on Daniel 2 from 2004 and Pr D. Duerksen take the service, from Camp 2004.

The roadside had some beautiful red rocky scenery.

We spent the night at Burke and Wills Roadhouse, a very busy staging post at the intersection of four roads. There were lots of road trains with three double decker trailers carrying cattle out of Queensland's dought area to market... and lots of grey nomads looking for a place to camp.

5/07/2013 Cloncurry to 24 hour camp site

5/07/2013 Cloncurry

Before driving into Cloncurry we inspected Chinaman's Waterhole.

 

There was a Rock an' Gem festival in the Cloncuury Visitore Centre. The  display was beautiful, but nothing was at give-away prices so we saved our money.

We stopped in a road side 24hour camping area overnight. It was good so we will probably stay there on the way back.    

3/07/2013 - 4/07/2013 Mt Isa

4/07/2013 Mt Isa

Today we bought a new i phone. It has so many functions that we dont know where to start.
I also treated myself to a new hat. I have misplaced the one I brought with me.

3/7/2013 Boulia to Mount Isa

3/7/2013 Boulia to Mount Isa

The country around Boulia is flat. Between Boulia and Dajarra the ground was covered with crushed white quartz with interesting granite boulders. There were hills on the horizon.

After Dajarra there were several interesting areas with piles and natural walls of large boulders.

We saw at least 15 or 16 wedge tail eagles eating road kill (cattle and kangaroos) but as our car approached they flew away before I could photograph them.

Kilometres before Mt Isa the country became hilly.

We stopped to photograph the bike tree.

1/7/2013 - 2/7/2013 Winton to Boulia

!/7/2013
After refuelling at Winton we set out for Boulia in the far west of Queensland.
The drive is said to have the best  western scenery in Australia.

We stopped at the Middleton pub and said hello to the owner and then we travelled on to a 24 hour stop for the night.

In the morning we continued through the gorgeous Lilydale Hills and Cawnpore Lookout area ...

... then it flattened out and we drove to Boulia.

Boulia's claim to fame is its Min Min Exhibition (great show for a small town) and the Stone House Museum which contains an interesting display of fossils from the ancient inland sea.

27/6/2013 - 1/7/2013 Carisbrooke Station near Winton

27/6/2013 - 1/7/2013 Winton - Caribrooke Station - Winton

We had another day in Winton on 27th which included washing, shopping, and getting a B12 injection at the hospital.

On 28th we set out for Carisbrooke Station but on the outskirts of Winton we encountered a man carrying a couple  of fan belts. When Gerd stopped and enquired about his problem the man told us that he had broken a fan belt on his car about 60km out on the Cloncurry road, and had left his wife and baby son there with his camper. Gerd drove him back to his vehicle and waited while the repair was completed (he was very grateful) and then we returned to Winton and refuelled, another $38. Once again we set out for Carisbrooke.

The road was corrugated and stony in a number of places.

When we got to Caribrooke we found that we had to pay $25 per night accommodation fee and as well as that $60 to access the 4WD tracks on the property.

We enjoyed  the western mesa type scenery for the next 3 days.