Purposeful Meandering- Savannah Way Week 3

Week 3 started with us having a few days in Karumba. We were up early Sunday morning as we had a croc spotting tour along the Norman River booked. With everything being within walking distance, that was our preferred method of transport. It probably wasn’t the best for an ankle the size of a small grapefruit but nothing a bit of cement wouldn’t fix. The croc/nature tour was a good way to see more of the area and while we didn’t see an abundance of crocs we did get up close to a 3.5m salty. We were back on dry land by lunchtime and headed straight to the pub for lunch with a view. By early afternoon we were back at our campsite relaxing in the shade and by the pool as the temps nudged into the low 30’s. With good phone reception and Kayo on hand we had a good happy-hour glued to the footy and some liquid refreshments. As dusk fell and with dinner consumed we headed back to the foreshore to witness another magical sunset across the ocean.

Monday must have been communal moving day for half the van-park and no-one seemed to care what noise they made or who they woke. Needless to say there were no sleep-ins for us. What did ensue was a lazy morning for us with a good dose of bacon n eggs and coffee, this was the perfect way to start the day. We caught up on our domestics chores and enjoyed a morning swim before jumping in the car to do some exploring of the area. Karumba port area is the home to a once booming fishing industry that has recently fallen on hard times, similar to that of live cattle exports which use to happen from the same port. It has a hotel with a stigma as once being renowned as the roughest in northern QLD, its front bar is called the “animal bar” so you can understand why. The town now seems to survive on tourism and those that love their fish. A Barramundi hatchery ensures there are plenty of barra for everyone. By mid-afternoon one of our families had returned from their chartered fishing trip, they were sporting a nice haul of 14 fish, ranging from brim, grunter and some blue nose salmon. While they cleaned and prepped their fish we enjoyed another beautiful sunset over the ocean. Returning to the park we all enjoyed a hearty meal of fresh fish.

Tuesday, was time to say goodbye to Karumba, certainly a place we’d return to again. We made the short trek down to Normanton again where we all took advantage of the larger supermarket for some fresh produce. Heading east, despite the road being called a development road, it was in pretty good condition with it being 2 tarred lanes the whole way. We soon found ourselves in the small township of Croydon, this is the other end of the Gulf-lander rail train and a spot that was once founded on gold. We took a quick break before continuing further eastward. The road conditions deteriorated in parts to the single lane of tar and a wheel track either side. It was at one of the these shared road sections where we paid a hefty price for an overzealous driver. We copped a nice stone chip to the windscreen which had us singing the praises of impatient drivers. We stopped at Georgetown for lunch and fuel, a short distance out of town we were back on the dirt with lower tire pressures as we headed to Copperfield Gorge. After a couple of hours of good dirt driving we arrived in Einsleigh which sits atop of the gorge. We found a great privately run property called “Silk Rest” to stay the night. Soon afterwards, we headed for a walk down into Copperfield Gorge where we found remnants of the old mining era. The water was inviting enough that we paddled our feet for an hour or so. The area is still recovering from some major flooding back in January. By nightfall we found ourselves around a communal campfire where we mingled with other likeminded travellers.

Despite being in a remote rural town, we were awake well before sunrise as competing roosters tried to out-sing each other. Soon afterwards a gaggle of 30+ water-fowl wandered through camp in full voice. These guys sounded like rusty bed springs getting a good workout, this had us in stitches of laughter as our minds drifted into the gutter. By 9am we were on the road (dirt) again. Thankfully the dirt was short lived and we were back on the bitumen again. Continuing south, we arrived at Porcupine Gorge around lunchtime. We found our pre-booked campsites and had lunch before heading off to explore the area. One of the walks we did, took us deep down into the gorge where we enjoyed a swim and marvelled at the amazing rock colours. As evening fell, we gathered for our usual campfire. This one was a little more special than others as it was our last night with everyone together. As a way of celebrating our time together we enjoyed some toasty port, butterscotch schnapps and marshmallow s’mores around the fire.

Thursday started early for all of us, we said our farewells to one family while the rest of us grabbed a few final shots of the gorge before we headed to Hughenden for coffee and a bakery. This outback town has links to the dinosaur era and has lots of interactive displays around the town. Pressing further east we made tough work of the headwind that we pushed into for much of the day. By lunchtime we’d reached Charters Towers and the sad news of the search in the southern highlands filtered through, being all SES members ourselves we felt for all those involved. We used Charters Towers as a place to replenish food and other supplies. By mid-afternoon we started heading southward with no real destination in mind. It was too far to make it to our next highlight so by 4:30pm we found a suitable roadside camp for the night. With no facilities and nothing for miles our 1 star accommodation was worth the millions of stars above us.

Friday was another early start, surprisingly the highway noise throughout the night for our gravel pit stay wasn’t that bad. We packed up and headed down the road to Belyando Crossing which at the time of day we arrived was like a ghost town. Continuing south the most prominent thing we noticed was the lack of heat in the day. As expected the further southwest you go the cooler it gets. We chugged through the small country towns of Clermont and Capella before arriving in Emerald just before midday, we’d even managed to cross the “Tropic of Capricorn”. Once again we used the size of the town (the biggest we’d seen since Alice Springs) to stock up on a few “nice to have” items. An hour or so later we were back on the road headed south towards Carnarvon Gorge. Just before 3pm we arrived at our diggings which would be home for the next 3 nights. We were greeted by the amazing cliffs that surround the gorge. With no plans for the rest of the day we leisurely setup camp and watched a spectacular sunset over the cliffs. The remainder of our night was spent around the fire listening to Friday night footy….. Don’t talk to me about the Eels.

Long exposure shot as a Road-train went past

Saturday started at a relaxed pace, the plan was pretty simple, walk into Carnarvon Gorge as far as Leonie’s knee would hold out. Mike had an hours head-start on us and he was planning to head for the end of the gorge. We set off at 9am with a few other likeminded people. The gorge walk is relatively flat with a number of in-out off shoots to various natural attractions. Our first stop was Moss Garden which wet the whistle for what lie ahead. Next was the Amphitheater, I opted to do this side chute by myself as the terrain appeared much harder. After negotiating a few ladders and walking through a tight slot, it opened to an amazing conical hole with one way in and one way out. I took a heap of photos and vowed to bring Leonie back to here as we walked out. Back on the main trail we traversed a number of wide creek crossings using the stepping stones provided. We both laughed as we nearly each took a swim at one point or another. Unfortunately Wards Canyon was closed following a recent rock fall, so we continued onto the Art Gallery where we stood in awe of the ancient story-time told on the rocks. It was at this point we decided to head back to camp. As we returned, we detoured into the Amphitheater again where I could show Leonie the amazing formation that had been carved into the rock. By the time we returned to the car, Leonie’s knee had held up to a credible 15km walk. Once back at camp we enjoyed a warm bush shower before starting the fire. We’d restocked our wood supplies but for the first time on this trip we had to retreat to under the awning as we got our first serious downpour of rain. What a way to finish week 3 of our trip. Fingers crossed the rain doesn’t persist, there are more walks planned for tomorrow.