Hey everyone. It's Mingo your Camping Flamingo here again.
Our exciting trip this time is around the Goldfields area around Palmer River and Maytown. We will also be stopping at the beautiful Cobbold Gorge and Chillagoe.
So strap yourself in and come with us on our latest adventure!
Day 1. Townsville to Cobbold Gorge
We were all packed up and ready to go by 7am, (including our new porta potty), with the aim of hitting Cobbold Gorge in the early afternoon. Even Sunshine was sporting a very short Camping haircut!
We stopped off at Hungry Jacks for brekkie and at 7.30am we took Herveys Range Road west of Townsville.
The weather was perfect; clear blue skies, and low 20s. There was zero traffic, as we wound our way easily along, up and over the Great Dividing Range. Every time we do this, we are struck straight to the heart at the raw beauty of the landscape. There is something about this land that makes you feel glad to be alive. The way the sun hits the gums, the millions of acres of bushland, stretching to the horizon and the arid, orange earth, which still manages to support life. It feels miraculous and ancient. It really feels like the lucky country.
As we trundled along, the familiar outback flora and fauna unfolded around us. We saw wallabies and eagles, parrots and black cockatoos. The usual small termite mounds were dotted around everywhere and for the first time we noticed how much Chinee Apple was choking the indigenous growth. Since we are thinking of purchasing a decent sized acreage, we started to see things in a different light. Chinee Apple is a nasty weed, originally introduced from India. It takes over, competing with local plants for scarce water and nutrients. It is also very prickly and scratchy and difficult to remove. Plus it is an ugly, straggly looking bush. Not much good about it really!
We hit the Gregory Developmental Road intersection at 9am and headed North.
It was an easy drive with no traffic as we sped along. The road became the John McEwan Beef Road about 100km along as the land flattened out into a vast plain.
You know you're truly in the outback when the driver of the odd car you do see, waves a friendly finger as you pass and you see signs telling you to drive on the nature strip to avoid being hit by road trains!
Shortly before Greenvale, the road narrowed down to one lane. There were lots of flat topped rock formations - mesas - scattered across the landscape caused by millions of years of erosion. It was bone dry. Not a drop in any of the creeks we crossed.
We stopped for a break at 10am in Greenvale. It was once a thriving little town but now is very tired and rundown. We could foresee it becoming a ghost town before too long. Very sad but a fact of life out here. Life is very very hard and the youngsters leave and are not replaced. We felt we were witnessing history in the making in a way. The name of a cattle station we passed said it all, "Upsan Downs"!
We chatted to a lady who was travelling to Charters Towers with her horses to compete in the Rodeo Finals. "It's a really big deal!" She told us with a grin.
We headed back out on the Gregory, towards the Lynd. It was now 27 degrees and very very dry. We saw a number of dead cattle beside the road as well as the usual roadkill.
We waved to a bloke on a quad bike with a Kelpie on his lap, as he zoomed past us on the main road...!
We hit the Lynd junction at 10.45am and turned briefly south away from the Savannah Way and Undara, until we turned west opposite the infamous Oasis Roadhouse, with the "smallest bar in Australia", and the last fuel for 300km, towards Einasleigh and Cobbold Gorge.
Immediately, the bitumen ended and was replaced by hard-based gravel. We put the Triton into high range 4WD for extra grip and continued on.
There were some minor corrugations but not enough to lower the tyre pressures.
The road was in good condition; easily passable with a 2WD vehicle, and so we bowled along quite happily and safely at 60-70kph.
We made it to Einasleigh River camp at 11.15am. It was amazing to see so much water still in the river - there were even people fishing out of their boat! It looked a great little camp spot, with good shady sites right along the river bank. We'd heard there were a number of crocs living in it but still, definitely one to come back to! After all, they'd only be freshies!
There were quite a few vehicles coming the other way as we continued on. Most of them driving like morons, in the middle of the road, at speeds in excess of 80 kph plus. What is it about dirt roads that brings out the idiots?!
We would drive rather 10kph slower and get to where we're going and arrive in one piece than not arrive at all or with a shot suspension!!
We rolled into Einasleigh at midday and were lucky enough to see the vintage Savannah Lander train which runs from Forsayth to Cairns.
The road out was sealed and although we were getting peckish. we decided to crack on for Forsayth and have a pub lunch there.
The road to Forsayth got more winding and hilly as we entered the Canyon Regional Park and started to climb. The views were awesome, although not easy to get a picture due to the thick eucalypt forests lining the road.
About halfway to Forsayth, the bitumen ended and it was back to gravel, with some fairly decent corrugations, so we put it back into 4WD and carried on.
Once we descended, the land became totally flat again and we drove across a wide grassy plain punctuated by vast cleared sections.
We hit sealed road again about 20km out of Forsayth and for a while the road followed the train tracks until we swung away. Due to the mountainous terrain, the road does a 190km hairpin when Conbold Gorge is only about 50km as the crow flies!
We passed a sign to Stoney Etheridge... Steve wondered aloud wether it was Melissa's druggy sister...?! Definitely time to stop for a bite!!
We reached the Goldfields Hotel/Post Office/General Store at Forsayth at 1pm and stopped for lunch.
After an awesome spread of homemade burgers, we took a walk around the small but apparently thriving little township. There was a little park across from the hotel with lots of old relics from the gold rush, including a train!
We then started on the final 45km out to Cobbold Gorge just after 2pm. We then realized Laura had left her bag in the park so we quickly doubled back and luckily it was still there!
The road to Cobbold Gorge was another gravel road, but again, in pretty good condition and we rumbled along at about 60kph as the road wound up and down and around the hilly landscape.
We arrived at 3pm into Cobbold Gorge resort. And WOW!!!!! in the middle of absolutely nowhere, in the driest, most dusty landscape was a total oasis.... The pictures tell the story!
We swam til dark in the infinity pool and enjoyed beautiful cold drinks until we sauntered home. We munched on snacks while we watched The Last King of Scotland on the laptop. We then discovered we had forgotten one of our toothbrushes, but of course Steve had a spare. We fell into bed about 9.30pm. What a totally awesome place.
Day 2. Cobbold Gorge
We got up late, had a quick brekkie and then Dan realized he'd forgotten his tablets. Again, Steve saved the day and magically produced a spare pack! All was well and then we went off on the Gorge Tour! Yep it was $80 each but SO worth it!
First of all we got in the bus and drove across the Robin Hood property, whilst listening to the tour guide tell us the fascinating story of how Cobbold Gorge was discovered by accident by the owner's youngest son Simon and some school mates in 1992.
We then went for an incredibly informative Bush Tucker walk. We learned all about how the weeping melaleuca are so vital in stopping erosion around the creeks. We stroked the soft leaves of the velvet wattle and heard how they were used as fish poison and also as a hangover cure! We learned to identify black orchid which is used in place of aloe vera and how deadly poisons the fruit of the gidgee gidgee tree is. We learned how the wild cherry bush can be used to keep mozzies away and how the fruit of the local grapevine can be used for death adder bite - although it's effectiveness is not guaranteed!
We chewed on a scrubby looking twig and were amazed at its sweet licorice taste. Further along, we saw the infamous Cooktown ironwood tree, which is highly toxic. We learned how the wild hibiscus was used to make string for spears, together with the sticky sap from the spinifex grass which acted as glue and hardened over the fire.
We walked over the huge sandstone slabs which were once an inland seabed and the massive outcrops which dominated the edges of the Gorge.
It was a truly fascinating walk and something we would love to repeat on our own property one day.
After the walk, we gingerly clambered into specially designed boats which are super skinny and have whisper quiet electric motors. We slid silently into the quiet shady water and suddenly we were at the mouth of the Gorge. The Gorge always has water in it because it leaches out of the sandstone gradually over years and years.
It was totally the most beautiful and amazing place. The silence down deep in the Gorge was absolute. Very very calming and tranquil. We were in awe of the power of nature and how insignificant we are as humans.
Oh and did I mention we also saw 7 crocs (yup, freshies!)
After the tour we spent the rest of the day mucking about in the pool. Steve and Dan went kayaking in the dam while Sunshine and Laura relaxed in the bar.
Dinner was awesome! Steve had bought a side of local beef from Forsayth and he made a special marinade in secret, on the tailgate of the Triton... He then wrapped it in foil and placed it into the super hot coals of the fire he'd been prepping for hours! An hour and a half later we couldn't resist the delicious aroma any more and he unwrapped it and carved it - on the tailgate!
Some potatoes and veggies were added and we had the most succulent, delicious Tailgate Roast Beef we'd ever had! Yum!
We turned in early, just after we put our yabbie nets in the dam. We felt like very happy Glampers 😀. We had a bit of a giggle watching our neighbors arrive in the dark and instead of reversing in, they just drove nose in and stopped, with their caravan listing to one side quite considerably. They mustn't have had a very comfortable sleep at all!
Day 3: Cobbold Gorge to Chillagoe
We had a wonderful sleep and woke early. Whilst packing up we found a tiny scorpion - the small ones pack a punch, so we gave him a wide berth!
We noticed our neighbours had scavenged some rocks and had managed to prop up their van so it was now level. We were very glad we have a set of levellers, since we use them pretty much every time we stop.
After a light brekkie, we headed out about 8.40am. It was a glorious blue sky day and as we drove back down the dirt road, we just looked around at the magnificence of the Australian outback - man we love it out here. It was then that we discovered we'd forgotten our yabbie nets!! Oh dear, this was the trip where we were so relaxed, we kept forgetting everything! Ah well, we'd gone too far to turn back. Never mind, we'd gift them to the next campers at our spot.
We were thoroughly impressed at Cobbold Gorge and happily gave the campsite a 5 out of 5! The tour was fantastic; we have it a 4 out of 5, simply because we thought lunch should've been included for the price.
We would definitely be back!
We arrived back into Forsayth about 9.30am and restocked a few perishables, then headed out on another dirt road for Georgetown.
Again the road was hard gravel and in great condition, so we were able to do 60-70kph safely. About 20km out of Georgetown the road was sealed too, so it was an easy and enjoyable drive through the bone-dry Savannah country.
We rolled into Georgetown about 10.20am and filled up with diesel. It is a classic outback town, very well looked after and with heaps of character. We could easily have stayed there and done some fossicking but we were on a mission to get to Maytown.
We headed east on the Savannah Way. The road was sealed, but had stretches where it was only one lane wide. Fine if there's nothing coming the other way, but a bit hairy when you see a road train rumbling towards you at 110kph, with zero intention of sharing the road!
Pretty soon, the road wound up and around the sandstone hills as far as the eye could see.
We pulled through the little township of Mt Surprise and then turned due north onto the "alternate" Savannah Way, which is 171km of dirt road to Chillagoe via Almaden.
The road was good, hard gravel, but it was very slow going due to the many hills and gullies plus tight corners. We stopped about halfway along, at Fossil Brook, which amazingly was fast flowing and about half a metre deep.
We all got out into the searing 38 degree heat and cooled ourselves off in the crystal warm water. Even Sunshine decided to go for a swim!
A bit further on, we crossed Saltwater Ck and The Lynd River, both of which also had quite a bit of water in them.
It never ceases to amaze us how, even on the driest of the dry areas of Australia, you can still come upon flowing water.
Shortly before we hit the Burke Developmental Rd, we pulled over to let a road train carrying army vehicles pass us. We realized as we watched that it was the army returning from Laura. We had seen them there, constructing a new Sports Centre, last time we went up
TomThe Tip. Steve recognized the 17 Constriction Squadron bear badges on the trucks. Cool!
It was about 2pm when we turned left onto the BDR. We were now in the Atherton Tablelands although this far inland, it was so much more dry and rough than the usual rolling lush paddocks you normally associate with the area.
The landscape became more and more volcanic until we could see huge mounds of basalt lining the road. The road wasn't sealed but it was pretty good and we arrived into Chillagoe about 2.30pm.
The campsite was old and quiet, with beautiful old shade trees and an old-style swimming pool. There was hardly anyone there and we were told to "set up anywhere you like". So we got the best spot, under the shade trees, close to the pool and amenities plus it had power!
We spent a while in the pool and then just chilled out in the shade pottering around and reading. It was just perfect :)
We were all tuckered out, so after a beautiful swim and a feast of chips n gravy at the campsite cafe, we fell into our beds.
Day 4. Chillagoe
Dan woke with a headache and Laura and Steve were also happy to spend a quiet day around the campsite and exploring the town. Sunshine had also made a new friend; the ginger tom!
So after a very late pancake brekkie, we sauntered down the road to the tourist information centre - The Hub - where we read about Chillagoe's history of a boom and bust mining town and the early troubles between the indigenous tribes. It was all very interesting and then the lovely host Amanda offered to look after Sunshine, so we could go on the Caves Tour the following day! We of course jumped at the chance, and Sunshine bought a Chillagoe tee shirt to celebrate.
After that, we sauntered down to the Post Office Hotel for a cooling beverage. It stated No Animals, but they let us bring Sunshine in no problem :)
Chillagoe is a very hot, dusty outback little town but it has a feeling of a really strong community spirit. You can tell life is really tough, but the people came over as real survivors. It was easy to imagine what life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s during and after the mining boom and how the town managed to survive where others became abandoned. We were pleased to see a new mine had just opened up about -5 minutes north, which was going to bring much needed money into the town.
We chatted to Beth the barmaid at the Post Office hotel for a while and bought a local calendar, which features various middle aged Chillagoans in discreet nude poses...!
Beth told us where the locals go to swim, in Chillagoe Creek, so we went and had a look. Wow was it worth it! It was a beautiful swimming hole, with a sandy bottom and nice and shady. We spent the rest of the day just staying cool. It was between 36 and 38 degrees, without a breath of wind, so it was the smart choice. Even Sunshine joined in!
Dinner was burgers at the Roadhouse and an early night again.
Day 5. Chillagoe
We were up early to do laundry and clean the van up before we dropped Sunshine to "Aunty" Amanda at the Hub and went on the tours to the Donna, Trezkinn and Royal Arch caves.
The Donna and Royal Arch caves were discovered back in 1891, whereas the Trezkinn wasn't discovered til the 1960s. All were formed after the waters of an inland sea receded, leaving behind coral, shells and sand. About 400 million years ago, grey limestone was formed, making the immense chambers we see today.
They're are full of stalactites and stalagmites which grow at a maximum rate of 3cm every 100 years! Each cave had its only special formations and was both stunning and yet immensely hellish at the same time. The formations are incredibly eerie and look like screaming, disfigured ghouls but are awe-inspiringly beautiful as well. The pictures tell it better than I can.
The tours were fantastic. Bob, our guide, was outstanding, the way the caves had been lit and had suspended boardwalks and stairs carefully placed, was amazing - especially when we learned that it all had to be constructed outside and then squeezed into place and bolted together, like giant meccano, once inside. No welding or grinding was allowed inside the caves, so each piece had to be bolted into place individually. It was a feat of engineering almost as impressive as the natural formation of the caves themselves!
After the tours, we visited Tom Prior's incredible collection of vintage and modern Ford vehicles. Wow, talk about amazing. He had cars in there from the 1900s - Model T and A Fords, army vehicles and trucks, a Shelby Mustang from 1965 and, inside its own protective "bubble", a 1970 XE GT Falcon GT Sedan Phase II, fitted with Cleveland 351 cubic inch V8 engine, in absolute pristine condition, never driven and worth in excess of $500,000! The Ford museum in the US want to buy it but it's not for sale. Not a bad price for a mint condition vehicle that delivers over 400 horsepower!!
Tommy himself was such a character and had the most infectious sense of humor. He turned the key in the ignition of a few of his cars and each engine roared into life as though it was brand new, instead of 50 years old. Amazing. Oh and he sells diesel at at about 12c less than the Roadhouse, so we filled up!
Suffice it to say, we were thoroughly impressed by the caves and by Chillagoe as a whole and planned to go back another time as there was still much to see.
Day 6. Chillagoe to Maytown
We were up and packed early ish for a change and left town at 9am, ready for the 250km dirt road trip to Maytown along the Burke Developmental Road.
Steve had already let all the tyres down to 25psi and we put our UHF radio onto channel 40 in readiness for the road trains. We were pretty excited at leaving civilization to tell the truth - Sunshine didn't really care either way!
Our fridge had decided to blow a circuit for some reason so we were basically just using it as a cupboard while we travelled, whereas normally it would stay cool as we drove, being charged from the car alternator. It didn't really matter, since we were gonna be running it on gas for the next four days anyway.
We made good use of the Call Points as the road narrowed across many bridges and safely avoided a number of large mining trucks. We did notice the local cops didn't bother though, which was somewhat disappointing.
As we drove we chatted about Chillagoe and the few people we had met who were less than friendly. We put it down to the fact that the sometimes the older generation seem unable to accept the fact that tourism is now the biggest industry in their town and mining, only secondary. We also felt that perhaps there was some of the old, ingrained suspicion of strangers that you would've felt at the height of the gold rush, when everyone fiercely protected their mining lease!
There were also a lot of road signs warning you off camping at the roadside, which we hadn't really seen elsewhere. All in all we definitely felt there was an undercurrent of defensiveness and possibly slight paranoia, which came from the dangerous mining days, when people would just go missing ... Or maybe we just thrilling ourselves with scary stories...
Then again, it wasn't that long ago - 2011?- that a group of 3 prospectors ignored a warning to leave Palmerville Station and then one of them disappeared in unexplained circumstances? The pastoral lease-holder and his wife were subsequently charged with murder and are currently serving time....
Steve had done extensive research on various 4WD forums and we were confident we wouldn't have any dramas...but it was something we had in the back of our minds.
We passed several herds of Brahman cattle and spotted a few pairs of leggy Sarus Crane close to the road with their distinctive pinky red heads and necks.
It was a great easy drive and we were loving it more and more as we headed further north.
At 10.20am we turned off the BDR towards Palmerville Station (yikes!) on the Palmerville Rd.
The road immediately became narrower but was still very good and we were able to do 70kph an hour, bearing in mind there was a lot of livestock roaming around.
The landscape changed as we drive north:
20 minutes in, we went through a gate that crossed the Mitchell River at Mt Mulgrave. The view just before the ford, was magnificent.
There was plenty of water still running in it and we could see how much flooding there would be in the wet.
We spotted our favourite bird on the other side - a huge Bustard!
We were really enjoying this drive; much more so than the route from Palmer River, even though, because we were driving through private land (on a public access road), there were quite a lot of gates to open and close.
The scenery was really classic outback. We were loving it.
The road narrowed as we went further on, but was still good and hard, enabling us to do about 60kph.
About 30km south of Palmerville Station, the road started to become very winding and hilly, so we dropped down to 40-50kph. It was still good driving and quite fun though!
We passed Mt Mulgrave and the Bald Hills to the east.
At 11.30am we passed the McGrath Station and the road suddenly quadrupled in width.
5 mins later we went through the gate to Palmerville Station and looked at the odometer; as about 9-10km along, there should be a turnoff to Maytown.
At 11.45am we could see a cluster of sheds and a homestead, with a sign pointing to Laura straight on. Just before, there was a road veering off to the right; we made an educated guess and thinking that was our turnoff, we turned off to the right.
The track started off well enough and there were recent tyre tracks.
We followed the track for a couple of kms and crossed a dry, rocky creek bed, before the track petered out completely and became impassable.
Ok, so Plan B; we retraced our steps back to the Palmerville Road and decided to head back south a couple of kms, just in case we had missed another track going east. Nope. Nothing there. We pored over our maps and GPS to no avail.
We soon realized there was no other way around it. We would have to ask for directions... And the only place we could do that, was... you guessed it... The Palmerville Station!!
We drive silently up to the house; it sure didn't look too welcoming...!
Steve and Laura got out, took a deep breath and knocked on the door... The tension mounted, we heard slow footsteps... we started to tremble ...and then...!!!!
A small white fluffy dog ran out, followed by a little old man in an Akubra and a big toothless grin! He told us he'd seen us go back and forth with great merriment! When he stopped chuckling, he told us the HEMA map was 30 years out of date and the new road to Maytown was 5km to the North of the Starion, just over the 2nd creek.
Phew were we glad!!!! Hahahaha!!! What a great story though!!!
At just 1.19pm, we saw the well signed turn off and headed east up a nicely graded road! Only 20kms to go 😀
As we neared Maytown we could see the Range in the distance and the original telegraph poles lining the road.
It got more hilly the closer we got, and it was 2.10pm by the time we arrived at our secret spot by the Palmer River. We were so hoping nobody else had got there before us!
And then - a mini disaster! The brand new back window in the new ARB canopy spontaneously shattered. Must've been a stone flicked up but the whole thing just dropped out! Uh oh! Another repair to get done when we got home 😞
Bugger! Ah well, what can you do?!
And anyway we arrived at our beautiful spot on the river and there was nobody else there!
We set up pretty quickly, put up our new ensuite up for the first time and then Laura, Dan and Sunshine went for a walk around the river bank for about an hour. It was just magic. We were checking for crocs and didn't see any at all.
We then put our brand new yabbie net into the river (courtesy of the wonderful hardware store in Chillagoe), lit a great fire and settled in.
Laura rigged up a 12v shower and had a great sluice off. We laughed our heads off at Steve's dust tan and Dan created some "ancient" rock art. It was a really great afternoon.
We had tacos for dinner and then went cherubin hunting with the torch and net once it got dark. We caught a decent sized one pretty much straightaway!
Day 6 Maytown
We had a bit of a disturbed night because Sunshine (who'd been scavenging as usual) had an upset stomach and had to go out in the middle of the night. She disappeared behind a bush for about 5 seconds and then out hopped a cane toad, with Sunshine in hot pursuit! She obviously hadn't read her bush survival manual, because she then proceeded to lick it before we could stop her ... It obviously tasted vile as it hopped away unscathed while Sunshine grimaced and curled her lip.
Steve did a great job of taping the back window of the Triton - yet another use for a tarp!
We spent a lazy morning feeding the Archer fish in the river and checking the net. We caught another fair sized cherubin and a couple of crabs.
Sadly, the cherubin we had caught the evening before and put in a bucket of creek water had done a leap of death and didn't make it back to the creek before the meat ants got him 😢
Laura did some washing while Dan made spears and a knife out of rock.
We signed the Visitors book and read some of interesting news clippings and maps in the replica Miner's Hut. Turns out, the original owner of Palmerville Station waged a vendetta against virtually everybody for about 20 years before he was finally convicted of murder in 2011.... Creepy!!
We then hopped back in the Triton and followed some of the dozens of little dirt tracks which led to the Comet, Louisa and King of the Ranges mines.
We also found the European and Chinese cemeteries. The Chinese one was just piles of unmarked rocks but the European one was really interesting with lots of headstones. There were also several unmarked graves with just numbers on them. It was a really good indicator of the harsh lives the mining folk led back 120 years ago.
We checked out the Chinese Palace which had a For Sale sign outside!
It was really good fun, bumping around in the 4WD tracks and getting out to take a look around on foot at the massive machinery just left behind. We marvelled at the ingenuity getting it all out here and the back breaking effort that must have been put in by those that did it.
The rest of the day we just chilled out at the campsite, had bush showers beside the river and just chatted about all kinds of nothing.
Sunshine was much better after sleeping most of the day and we all felt it was just damn good to be alive 😀
Dinner was Beef Rissoles made with our fave dehydrated mince, garlic, herbs, eggs and coated in potato flakes, served with baby carrots smash Yummo!!
We baited our net after dinner and watched Groundhog Day on the laptop before retiring for the night.
Day 7. Maytown
There was a big thunderstorm in the night and we put containers under all the drips outside. When we got up about 8.30am the next morning, there was a beautiful smell of eucalypt in the air and we had captured about 40L of soft, fresh rainwater!
We made good use of it to wash ourselves, our clothes and Sunshine, who was now completely back to normal.
We then checked our net and we had caught about 10 little freshwater crabs plus one lobster-size cherubin! We decided to throw him back since one cherubin, even a monster one, wasn't going to feed all of us and it didn't seem fair to keep him when we'd thrown back all the others! We rebaited the net with potatoes and threw it back into the river.
It was just so quiet and peaceful. The whole time we'd been here, we'd only seen 3 other people and they were just passing through; none of them stopped to camp, at least not anywhere near us. It was so relaxing, having this beautiful spot all to ourselves.
We decided, however, that when it cooled down a bit (it was already 36 degrees at 9.30am), that we'd go on a reccy to suss out alternative campsites, in case next time we came, this one was taken.
We spent a slow-paced day, just chatting and resting in the shady riverbank while Dan climbed trees.
We drove back into Maytown and drove North up Leslie Street, but this time, we kept on going, towards North Palmer River. We had a great time, following all the 4WD tracks to various places, including the old Native Police camp and horse yards.
We saw a funny sign which confirmed we really were in the middle of nowhere!
We also checked out the original river crossing, which hadn't been used for years and was completely impassable.
The National Park campsite was very disappointing - just a dried out turning circle, on the bone dry creek bank, with hardly any shade.
After a few hours of exploring, we came back to camp and spent a great afternoon swimming in the river and larking around on the rope swing.
At 3pm, the thunderclouds rolled in and the rain started to fall softly. It was a reprieve from the hot afternoon sun and we were quite happy to just sit under the awning and chat about nothing in particular.
We made camping pizza for dinner (yay!) and then the rain stopped so Steve got out his fave toy (the chainsaw) and cut up some dead wood for our last campfire at Maytown.
Just before dark, we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow. A wonderful end to a wonderful few days.
Day 8 Maytown to Mt Carbine
It had rained heavily during the night and we were very happy to see the river had risen about a foot. We had no leaks whatsoever so we were stoked.
Steve folded up the new ensuite tent and provided Laura and Dan with about 20 minutes of hilarity before he finally conquered it! He then put some fuel into the Triton - we always bring 3 extra jerries of fuel to Maytown, as all the 4WDing around chews through it like nobody's business, and the nearest Servo is 3 hours away!
Just before we hooked up, Steve went down to the river to wash his hands and suddenly Laura heard him yell out. She ran over and he was excitedly pointing at a 6ft freshwater croc who had just exploded out of his hiding place and dived under! Wow - and we'd only just been swimming in there!!! Lucky Schnappy was only a freshie and extremely shy!
After that bit of a heart-stopper, we headed out at 9.45am, heading towards Palmer River Roadhouse and the Mulligan Hwy.
The road was wide, gravelly and VERY hilly, so we could only average 40kph - just as we remembered it! Last time it took us over 2 hours to reach the Mylligan Hwy, even though it was only 85km. So we just took it easy and enjoyed the drive.
The rain that had fallen over the past two nights had put a few trickles of water in the little creeks, which was good to see.
About 7km out of Maytown, we crossed the Palmer River at 10am and noted a few good shady campsites on the SE side.
3km further along, we passed Horseshoe Lagoon. which is another top camping spot, green and shady with good fishing or boating on the lake. Just the other side of the lagoon is the intersection telling you it's 65km to the PDR (Mulligan Hwy).
About 14km further along, we passed the Sam Elliott Lookout Cairn at 10.20am.
20 mins later, we crossed the old airstrip, just west of Granite Ck and then some roadworks a little further on - maybe they'd graded it just for us!
By about 11am we judged we were just over halfway, having done about 40km since we crossed the Palmer River.
The road wound endlessly through some spectacular scenery; millions of acres of pristine bush with distant hills as a backdrop. We again thought how much of a back-breaking slog it must've been for those pioneers over 100 years ago. If it felt remote to us, it must've felt like another planet to them. They really must've had indomitable spirits and guts to do what they did; especially for the ones who came from the other side of the world to start with. It made us feel more determined to tell their story. Watch this space!
10kms on, we passed Bones Lake at 11.15am. It was looking pretty full, with plenty of bird life in and around it.
As we headed further east, there was increasing evidence of decent rainfall around; a lot of the dams were full and the creeks had at least some water in them. Some parts of the road were also eroded where there had obviously been water running across it.
We swapped drivers and drove the 80km to Mt Carbone Roadhouse, which is still for sale and sells the best pies in the world!
Just down the road, we pulled into Bustard Downs about 1pm. It was a great set-up; with powered and un-powered sites, some with drive-thru shade structures. They also have a Farmhouse and a Cottage for rent for families/groups. They make and sell their own organic chutnies and jams, as well as fresh fruit and there's a shady, wide verandah where you can curl up and read a book. Very nice indeed.
We opened up the van very gingerly - we were worried about our new porta potty having leaked after the rough road from Maytown! We crossed our fingers and hoped the "shit hadn't hit the van", so to speak!!
We'd wedged it in really tightly and although it had tipped a little bit, only a couple of splashes of the chemicals from the top cistern had leaked out. Phew!
As we took it out and set it on the ground, we noticed that it was wobbly and then that the bottom was rounded. All the shaking around, combined with the extreme heat, had caused the gases to expand! Officer Merchant spring into action and quickly released the pressure by opening and shutting the valve between the two tanks! Just in time; the poo bomb was diffused and we all heaved a sigh of relief!!
We set up under a shade structure and then took a stroll down to the pretty little sandy-bottomed creek - absolutely perfect for kids, people with tired feet and dogs with short legs!
It was a great little place with nobody else there, so we just took the weight off and relaxed, just as the rain began to fall again. It was just a sun shower, but the thirsty grass soaked it up gratefully.
A bit later we chatted to Jo, the owner, when she arrived on her quaddie. She showed us around the Farmhouse, which was lovely inside. She then shared some bush lemons with us, which were really tangy and juicy.
We bought some homemade marmalade and chilli sauce from her, made from plants she had grown in her own garden.
Laura made Spag Bol using some of the chilli sauce and it was very tasty!
After dinner, Laura went to have a shower and came face to face with not one, but two snakes! They were curled up in the rafters of the toilet block; laying in wait for a tasty frog or bat... We took some photos and were pretty sure they were harmless Brown Tree Snakes, but as we weren't able to positively identify them, we decided to put off our showers til the morning!
Day 9. Mt Carbine to Mena Ck
After a very good night's sleep (12 hours!), we hit the road at 9.15am. Our first stop was the porta potty dump point about 20km away, at Mt Molloy. Being Virgin dumpers, we approached the point with some trepidation... We had baby wipes and hand sanitizer on standby...
After yesterday's near disaster, we wedged the toilet into the van doorway as tightly as we possibly could, taped the lid down and hoped for the best!!
We arrived at the dump point and the toilet was still upright which was a good start!
We unclipped the cassette from the cistern, carefully upended the valve into the drain and then held our breath (quite literally!), as Steve bravely pulled the handle! There were some revolting sloshing and gurgling noises as the contents disappeared, unseen, down the hole.
We suddenly realized there was no smell either - not even a whiff! So we felt very pleased with ourselves!! So much easier than we thought it would be! We washed the cassette out with some water from the tap provided and then with some of the chemicals in the cistern. We flushed the drain as instructed, put the clean empty toilet back together and we were on our way within 5 minutes. It was noted that it was much quicker than folding the stupid toilet tent down!!
We rewarded ourselves with morning tea at Mareeba at 10am, and pumped the tyres back up to 35 psi.
For our last night, we decided to check out another place we hadn't stayed at before, called the Old School RV Campground, in East Palmerston. It was on the way to Mena Creek, so we figured if we didn't like it, we could always carry on and stay behind the Mena Creek hotel, which we knew well, and which had recently been taken over by the owners of Paronella Park.
So we headed on South, down the Kennedy Hwy, towards Atherton and past the infamous Nut World, which has been the subject of countless stupid Merchant- Rose photos over the years!
It was at least 10 degrees cooler thN Maytown and the evidence of the higher rainfall was all around us as we drove through the green, dairy country of the Tablelands. Such a stark contrast from the inland section.
We drove through Atherton, a bustling touristy little town, about 11am and then immediately turned southeast towards Malanda. We didn't stop to see the waterfalls as they're not dog friendly and carried on towards Millaa Millaa instead.
At 11.15am we stopped off at the Tarzali Platypus Park, a beautifully laid out, private nature reserve, with fishing, camping and a fantastic, licensed cafe to boot. We were allowed to take Sunshine into the cafe and into the dog-friendly camping area.
The talk was really interesting and we all learned a lot. We found out that the platypus have to eat one third to one half of their body weight every 24 hours or they starve to death. Their eggs are laid soft, without shells and the mother tucks them under her tail for 10 days until they hatch into jelly bean sized babies. They don't suckle from a teat either; they just rub themselves on the mother and she secretes milk through a special gland so the baby can just lick it up.
We then walked through the beautiful grounds to the Platypus dam where we spotted half a dozen swimming and diving under the lily pads and about 4 turtles as well.
It was a great place and would be a great group camp too, especially with the fishing and pub, oops I mean cafe, on site!
We headed onwards about 12.45pm, through Millaa Millaa, which is basically a fuel stop and a pub and then about 25km further on, we pulled into the Old School RV Stop. Unfortunately, it wasn't really our taste - really just being someone's backyard and having two massive dogs in chains at the entrance...
So we drove down the hill to the Mena Ck Hotel, which had recently been taken over by Paronella Park. They were in the middle of constructing a caravan park behind it but the manager graciously allowed us to camp on their side lawn - for free!!
We didn't take any persuading, in fact we were inside having a cold ale before we even set the van up!!
We had a great night; there was live music from Miss Tee and Dan even got asked to play a DJ set afterwards!
The food was spot on and we watched the NRL Grand Final on the big screen before rolling across the lawn to the van for some shut eye 😀
Day 10. Mena Ck to Townsville
We were up dressed, showered and breakfasted and on the road by 8.30am. It was a glorious day and we followed the Cane Cutters way through still misty hills and cane fields in full harvest mode.
We joined the Bruce Highway just before 9am north of the Mission Beach / El Arish turnnoff and headed for the familiar sugar crushing smoke stacks of Tully.
We got stuck in the endless roadworks north of Townsville for a while but we still walked in our front door at 11.45am.
Time for a siesta and to plan our next trip - the washing can wait!!
See y'all next time!
Love Mingo xx
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