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| Alice Springs to Mataranka via the Savannah Way |
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| Doug holding up the Devils Marbles |
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| Sunset at Karumba |
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| The Big Croc at Normanton |
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| The GulfLander train |
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| 1000 head of cattle crossing our path |
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| Last remaining water over the Leichardt Falls |
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| Palm trees at Adels Grove, Lawn Hill |
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| Canoeing at Lawn Hill Gorge |
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| Freshwater crocodile at Lawn Hill Gorge |
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| Fossils at Riversleigh Fossil Site D |
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| Riversleigh |
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| Water crossing |
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| Waterlillies |
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| Southern Lost City limestone formations |
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| Trailer on side after crash |
We left Alice Springs after 5 days of running around after mechanics and headed north along the Stuart Highway. After much deliberation we decided to follow the bitumen and headed for the Barkly Highway which would take us through to Mt Isa and on to the start of the Gulf Track (part of the Savannah Way) at Normanton. We passed through Ti Tree and Barrow Creek and spent a lovely sunset at the Devil’s Marbles south of Tennant Creek. One of the many sandstone formations we have visited on this trip. We decided to drive all night and passed through Tennant Creek and on to the Three Ways which takes you either north to Darwin or east to Mt Isa.
We passed through Mt Isa and camped at Mary Kathleen. A ghost town that was built in the 70s as a support town for the Uranium mine that was in operation. However, the mine was closed down and the town dismantled. All that is left are the streets and concrete pads where houses and shops once stood. Nature and cows have taken over, but it was a great place to camp for free for a couple of days. We headed on to Cloncurry and restocked the larder for the trip north. We took what we thought would be a deserted dirt track, however, it was quite a busy bitumen road with many grey nomads also taking the trip north. After a sleep over on the track just outside a station called Bang Bang, we arrived in Normanton early in the afternoon and took a small tour around town, then headed 70 kms north to Karumba, where fishing was one of the major tourist attractions. Not being “fisher people” a lot of this area was wasted on us and many of our fishing friends would be devastated at missing out on such places. Karumba is one of the only places on the Gulf of Carpentaria that can be accessed by bitumen road, thus a very busy place and part of the grey nomad trek. It is also one of the few places in Queensland where the sun sets over the water and so sitting at the local bar and watching the sunset is a must do in Karumba.
After leaving Karumba we headed back to Normanton for a photo opportunity with The Big Croc. This is a replica of an actual saltwater crocodile (to scale) that was shot and killed in the local area. Sue is of course very crocodile phobic, so many small creeks and water holes were treated with major caution no matter how hot the weather was and how inviting the water! Unfortunately we missed out on a train trip on the Gulflander, which runs once a week from Normanton to Croydon and does weekend tourist trips. But Doug was very happy to visit the museum.
We left Normanton and headed west to Burketown along the Gulf Track. Along the way we stopped for about 15 minutes as at least a thousand head of cattle were mustered from one paddock to another across the road. We could not believe how many cows there were, but the north of Queensland and the Northern Territory is so lush that cattle have so much feed and are in such good condition. We also passed through one of the Burke and Wills camps as part of their epic but fatal trek north from the Cooper Creek at Innaminka to the Gulf of Carpentaria. We are amazed at how these people trekked without any of the modern conveniences we take for granted. We continued on to Leichardt Falls on the Leichardt River (also named after one of the northern explorers) and enjoyed a camp fire and a clear night under millions of stars. At the falls there aren’t any crocs, however in the river above there are warnings and there was a dead body of a baby crocodile found around the water crossing. We took note and didn’t take a dip in the water. The next day we were back on bitumen and headed for Burketown. It seems this was the start of many small and annoying problems with the car and camper trailer. The corrugations on the previous part of the track had jiggled a few things loose and we had to bolt down batteries and gearbox coolers as well as tighten every loose nut we came across.
After leaving Burketown we headed for Lawn Hill National Park. We had been told by travellers that it was worth the detour, plus Sue had wanted to visit the Riversleigh Fossil site south of the Lawn Hill Gorge. Both places were well worth the trip and we spent 3 lovely days camping at Adels Grove just outside the National Park. The Grove is covered with trees and provides a shady respite and a swimming area free of Saltwater Crocodiles. Not necessarily free of Freshwater Crocs though, but we were assured they were not interested in eating us. Although we would make a banquet for quite a few of them I am sure…not much dieting going on between us! Anyway the thing to do at Lawn Hill Gorge is to hire canoes and paddle to the waterfalls upstream. We had a great time slowly paddling up this beautiful gorge and along the way came across a small freshwater croc sunning itself on a log. Doug was able to get out the video camera while Sue paddled backwards to get a good picture, but the croc had had enough of us and jumped into the water before the camera could be got out as well. We spent a leisurely paddle back down looking for crocs, but the closest we came was a big splash into the water before we could sight the croc.
We headed north to Doomadgee and back onto the Gulf Track and stopped at the roadhouse for an ice cream and cold drink. Entry to the community is by permit only so we headed via Hells Gate (another rocky formation) on to Borroloola in the Northern Territory, bush camping along the way.
The Gulf Track was quite rough and rugged along the way and many corrugations made the journey a bit tedious, but every now and then we come to a water crossing with such lovely scenery that made the trip worth the effort. At Borroloola we were told that camping at King Ash Bay was lovely, so we took a 40 km detour to have a look. Once again we apologise to the fisher folk, but there was nothing but fishing to do here. Some people come here to sit and fish and that’s it, so we got on our way and headed for the Lost City formations that were in the area. But not before another minor irritation with the car with the loss of one of our mud flaps and the wearing out of a fan belt. While Doug was able to do the repairs, it took a couple of hours without the right tools at hand, and none of the mechanics were interested in such a small job. But we got to spend a bit of time watching the locals at this busy community and stocked up on fresh fruit and vegies since the once a week delivery arrived that day.
From here the Gulf Track heads north to the Nathan River and Roper Bar. By now we had had enough of the Savannah Way and decided to drive through the night to Mataranka and the thermal pools for a relaxing rest.
But disaster struck!
In the wee hours after many, many, many corrugations, dips and water crossings we hit an unmarked washout in the road and crashed the trailer onto its side. There are many pictures attached. Our detective work on what happened and what we saw in the rear vision mirrors is this…
We hit the washout and broke the suspension springs on the passenger side of the trailer. The collapse of the springs caused the wheel to jam into the guard, effectively stopping that side and caused it to flip right over and gouge a track into the ground. It completely flipped 1 ½ times and ended up on its side with the safety chain completely wrapped around the tow hitch. The only reason it was able to flip over was because of the 4WD swivel hitch we had attached to the troopy. And this probably saved us from also flipping the troopy and causing us injury.
Anyway we couldn’t unhitch the trailer because of the chain wrapped around the tow hitch and the tension on it. So we were stuck in the middle of nowhere unable to move forward and get help. Luckily our mapping system, GPS and the foresight of Doug to add a booster aerial to the bullbar meant we knew where we were and could contact help on the mobile phone. Once again RACQ came to the rescue and contacted a local tow company for us (and by local…200 kms away). While they didn’t pay for the tow they did arrange for everything and were such a comfort to us at the time. We would like to thank all the people who came across us during the day as we waited for the tow truck. Everyone offered assistance where they could and made sure we had enough water. But we are especially grateful to the couple of Queensland lads with bolt cutters and brute strength who cut the trailer loose and righted it for us.
Our insurance company have assured us they will pay for the recovery, but we won’t know until Monday when they find out that a 200 km tow will cost around $1300. Anyway the troopy is fine and so we drove to Mataranka as per our original plan and are awaiting what is to be done with the trailer repairs, how much it will cost and what to do next. But we are happy, safe and splurging on a motel stay in air conditioned comfort for a few days. And will be heading to Perth for the 50th wedding anniversary of Doug’s parents on September 3rd.
