Hi everyone!
Mingo your Camping Flamingo here!
It's time for the Merchant-Rose clan to hit the road - make that the dirt road! - again.
This time we are taking a 9 day return trip from Townsville to Laura for the annual Rodeo & Campdraft.
We will not be travelling there by road however; we will doing most of the trip via "the back way"... Whether that's across private land or public tracks, the bitumen will be avoided as much as possible.
The draft itinerary is published below - the return leg was a work in progress at the outset and just unfolded as we went.
Anyhow, buckle up, pack your (virtual) camper and follow us on our latest adventure!
Nights of:
Mon 19 June Camel Ck, Valley of Lagoons 4WD only
Head NW on Blue Range Rd & Lava Plains Rd. 4WD only. Townsville to Camel Creek station, Valley of Lagoons
3.5 hrs. 230km.
Tues 20 June Mt Garnet 4WD only
Head NW on Lava Plains Rd & then N on Wairuna Rd past Walters Plains Lake, then N on Gunnawarra Rd to Mt Garnet Travellers Park.
3.5 hrs. 177km
Weds 21 June Chillagoe 4WD only
Head N up Lappa Track then NW up Burke Developmental Rd to Chillagoe Roadhouse. Things to see/do: Classic Cars. Balancing rock. Swimming hole. Self guided caves. Smelter.
2.5 hrs. 110km
Thurs 22 & Fri 23 June Maytown 4WD only
Head NW on BDR 100km then NE on Palmerville Station Rd for 75km, then take Maytown Rd E for 36km. Free camp for 2 nights just outside Maytown.
4.5 hrs. 278km
Sat 24 & Sun 25 June Laura 4WD only
Head W 36km out of Maytown, then N on Palmerville Rd for 80km then S on PDR to Laura. Camp at Rodeo grounds or Quinkan campgrounds for 2 nights.
3hrs. 120km
Mon 26 June - Dimbulah via Mt Mulligan 4WD only
Head south down Mulligan Hwy for 150km then take dirt rd just after Bob's Lookout E to Mt Mulligan then 42km to Dimbulah.
Tues 27 June - Pinnarendi
S on BDR to Petford. Turn left onto Lappa Track to Mt Garnet. Turn right onto Kennedy Hwy to Pinnarendi Station.
Weds 28 June - Townsville
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Mon 19 June - Camel Creek
Well the fun started early - the night before to be exact. We had finished packing the van and Steve and Laura were in the process of packing it down when Laura managed to crack her shin bone on the metal steps and gave herself a nice bump. Luckily Steve was only seconds behind her with an ice pack and although it was pretty sore, it went down pretty quickly :)
You may recall from previous trips that Steve's first aid kit weighs about 30kg and has everything in it from simple band aids to remote area first-responder life saving items.
We've had so many questions about it that we will try to do an updated overview of it after this trip.
Monday morning we hit the road and met Simon a fellow Glamper Gone Wild at Rupertswood servo about 7.30am.
It was a beautiful bright 14 degree morning and as we headed west and climbed Herveys Range, we looked back over the city sparkling below us.
We wound our way up the range, through some early morning mist and past the Graffiti Boulder.
After about an hour of happily trundling along the open plains, we turned north onto the familiar pink Gregory Developmental Road towards Greenvale. The mercury had risen to a slightly less brisk 17 degrees and although cloudy, it was a pretty nice day.
Just after we crossed the Clarke River at 9.20am, we turned onto Blue Range Rd and finally got onto the dirt!
We crossed the Burdekin River just before the Blue Range Station; about 40km before the turnoff to the Valley of Lagoons Rd.
We did encounter a couple of natural hazards!
As usual, the road began to deteriorate the further we got away from civilization but was still pretty good despite some decent corrugations.
Poor Simon spent this leg inhaling our dust cloud! Windows up. Aircon on!
About an hour along the road we turned north towards Camel Ck Station.
As the road got progressively narrower we started to feel excited.
We were greeted with great warmth and hospitality by Keith and Alma and Daisy the dog.
They invited us in for delicious homemade cake and coffee! How lovely to be treated like royalty! We even got to meet their daughter Kim and son-in-law Bevan.
They regaled us with stories of the history of the area and the land that had been in the Atkinson family for generations. It was fascinating to learn that the Atkinsons are relatives of the Lansboroughs and the Cobbolds and back in the 1860's their family owned practically the whole of the interior of the Wet Tropics - pretty much everything west of the Great Dividing Range to the Gulf of Carpentaria. They were also instrumental in mapping the entire Undara lava fields.
It was very interesting but we thought we'd better set up camp as the clouds were drawing in.
Keith drove us a couple of kms down the road and showed us a great secluded spot to camp, on the crest of a hill but within a natural amphitheatre.
We were quickly set up and enjoying a relaxing chat around the fire by lunchtime.
After lunch, Steve and Laura went for a bush walk down to the dam and back. We came across some cattle and a very large bull. Rosie thought they were big dogs though and wanted to play with them. Sunshine of course ignored them completely.
We also found lots of kangaroo bones where there had obviously been a cull.
Steve made his famous camping pizza for dinner and we had a great evening around the campfire.
The skies were so crammed with stars it was almost impossible to separate them from one another. Absolutely beautiful.
After the usual hilarious (argumentative!) game of Charades we watched Wyatt Earp and then fell into bed.
Fuel usage - starting with a full tank from Townsville, we used about half a tank but we chucked 20L in from a jerry just to be on the safe side for the the next day.
Tuesday 20 June - Mt Garnet
It was a damp cold night but we were snug; the dogs had their pyjamas on but still wormed their way down to the bottom of Laura and Steve's sleeping bag.
We had lazy (instant!) porridge for brekky as it was a chilly 13 degrees and then hit the road about 9am as the sun was warming up the road and drying up all the dew.
We continued NW up Lava Plains Rd towards Rhonella Park.
The day was bright and clear and the road not too bad? although not as good as the day before, so we were doing an average of about 50kph. We had been forewarned by Keith that it was fairly twisty and not as well graded as his section.
We continued to climb through the magnificent eucalypt forest and hit 561m above sea level about 9.30am.
About 40km from Camel Ck we turned NE onto Wairuna Rd which was definitely the road less travelled but still pretty hard and flat with a few areas of erosion; quite winding and with lots of dips.
About 7.5km along we came to a girl with a sign declaring "No Trespassing. Valley of Lagoons will Prosecute".
However it wasn't clear which way was which. After a quick map check, we took the right hand fork and hoped for the best. We told Simon over the radio that if he saw bullet holes appearing in our rig, then he'd better reverse quick smart!!
We soon came across another "No Trespass" sign bit facing the other way, so we felt a little safer.
As we continued on, the landscape suddenly became very scrubby and the track very sandy and much softer. It was almost beachy in places.
We knew that Walters Plains Lake wasn't far off at this point and that it had a large river system surrounding it.
We were loving the drive as we wound along the floor of an ancient valley.
It became almost rainforest as we did a couple of small creek crossings in the cool shade of the mixed forest. It would be an idyllic place for a future camp - with permission of course.
The road we were on finally came up on the GPS as Gunnawarra Rd and just after, we came upon some old graves of the original Atkinsons and an old homestead with a wonderful lagoon full of bird life. Intrepid as ever, Steve decided to go and check the homestead out but we then realized it was occupied so cancelled that idea.
He did have a great idea of doing a tour of the whole area settled by the Atkinsons and following their movements as they spread out across the land. Maybe next trip.
We then entered the Girrigun National Park and straight into some hardworking blokes grading the road.
We had now climbed to 700m above sea level and were back into eucalypt forest as we passed the sign for Princess Hills - a campground on the National World Horse Trail.
Soon after, about 11.15am we caught glimpses of the massive Walter Plains Lagoon to the West; it did look somewhat empty.
The road was now super flat so we picked up a bit of speed, averaging about 60kph.
We passed Yammanie Station and cattle yards to our left which meant we probably has about another hour to drive before reaching Mt Garnet. Again our trip was an hour shorter than Google maps estimate.
It was an easy drive, punctuated by stock - most with young calves. We passed a few stations with great names, like Gun Dhu, Glen Harding and Wyoming.
With about 60km to go, we hit the blacktop just as we passed a huge wetlands over to the left.
We saw an emu cross in front of us and a giant Bustard almost the same size!
The bitumen ended, as it often does!, but it looked as if it was going to be paved pretty soon.
Just before midday we hit the T intersection with Blencoe Falls to the right and Mt Garnet and Undara to the left. Just 52km to go before Mt Garnet.
We passed immense cleared paddocks planted with some kind of cane or sorghum. It definitely felt like we were nearing civilization again.
More roadworks :)
The road was like a highway so we rattled among this section at around 70kph although there were a few small dips which caught Steve a little by surprise and gave everyone on board a free Chiropractic adjustment!
We crossed over what would be a beautiful campsite on the creek bank, alongside Vernon G Atkinson Bridge and the road started to look just like the PDR.
We hit pink hardtop again at Tirrabella Station, which stayed for the remainder of the drive to Mt Garnet.
We had booked into the Travellers Park as we had heard wonderful things about it and we wanted to see if we could add it to our ever-growing list of "hidden gems".
We arrived just after 12.30pm so it had been about 3.5 hrs. Again quicker than Google maps estimate.
Pam and Chris the managers were absolutely lovely and gave us the best site. The whole park was really pretty and all the sites were spaced out so nobody was on top of anybody else. It had a great camp kitchen and nice clean toilets and laundry.
We gave it 4 stars!
We made an awesome fire and put some big potatoes in to roast while Laura cooked up a pot of chili.
Meanwhile, Steve, Simon and Chris worked on repairing the bracket for the spare tyre which was loose. Steve came up with the brilliant idea of using half an old chopping board to brace the new bolt. Saved us about $500 too!
(Steve will give a more in-depth overview of the job on the Facebook page when we get back.)
Fuel usage - we filled up at the servo and put about 55L into our 65L tank. We also refilled the 20L jerry.
Weds 21 June - Chillagoe
Up late. Very late! Hit the road about 10.30am and the Lappa Track about half an hour later. Weather was cool and overcast.
We did the Lappa track at Easter this year, so we won't go into huge detail other than to say it's a really great drive with some beaut scenery. It used to be a railway line from the 1800s until 1960 and is quite narrow and has big drop offs! Heaps of fun and a huge time-saving shortcut.
We stopped briefly at the lagoon and discovered the remains of an old gold mine.
We arrived at the old Lappa Railway Station and Hotel about 12.30pm. We decided to stop and have a look this time - there were definitely people living there but we went and had a look around anyway and realized they were probably caretakers as it is now officially a museum.
It was fascinating. And then to top it off, the SavannahLander train made an appearance as though it had been scheduled!! Awesome. What a great drive.
It was bitumen from there to Almaden and then mostly bitumen with a bit of dirt road from there to Chillagoe.
We arrived about 1pm and headed straight to the Hub with literally only 2 minutes to spare, to get Simon and Daniel onto the Royal Arch Cave tour.
Steve and Laura went and set up at the Roadhouse; our fave spot under the shade tree was taken but we got another nice spot towards the front.
Daniel and Simon arrived back a bit later from their Cave Tour. They had both thoroughly enjoyed it and Daniel had also been very diligent and reported a sighting of two feral cats to the Ranger, who was very grateful.
We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon chatting in the sun at camp before Laura cooked up classic Devilled Sausages for tea, whilst Simon went off for a steak at the Post Office Hotel.
We watched the State of Origin 2nd match and the mighty maroons pip the Blues by 2 points! Laura trod on a couple of cane toads on the way back to camp and woke everyone up with her screaming!!
Fuel usage - we only used about 15L between Mt Garnet and Chillagoe.
Thursday 22 June - Maytown
We were up at 7am and on the road by 7.30am. It had definitely been warmer than the first night - and the morning was an almost balmy 17 degrees with a blue cloudless sky.
We headed out NW on the Burke Developmental Road past the interesting rock formations. The first section was bitumen so we made good time doing about 80kph.
We passed the new mining camp as the bitumen gave way to dirt. It had just been graded so we were still able to do a careful 65kph on the gravelly surface.
The temp soon got up to 20 degrees as we drove through the dry scrubby landscape.
We saw a pair of beautiful jabiru on a dam, lots of galahs and cattle plus a handful of trucks and a road train, all coming the other way. Thank goodness for two way radio and call points.
We turned off the BDR onto the Palmerville Rd at about 9am. The road was hard-packed earth and nicer to drive on than the gravel.
We drove through acre upon acre of copper coloured grass under a totally cloudless sky.
We stopped at the Gordon Arnold bridge over Mitchell River just before Mt Mulgrave Station for a break. The water looked cold but was actually surprisingly warm. Even Rosie had a paddle. A truly magical spot for camping (must have permission from owners).
We continued on; fairly hopeful that we would get to our special secret camping spot at Maytown before anyone else did. We decided if we did get it, we would stay 2 nights and arrive into Laura on the Saturday. Fingers crossed!
We went through a couple of gates and the track, although much narrower, was still good and hard, allowing us to keep up our speed to 65kph on average - except for the frequent encounters with cattle crossing in front of us.
About 10am the road started to wind up and around sone decent hills but it was still a stunning and fairly easy drive.
We saw a large Bustard as we went along, gradually getting higher into the hills, doing about 45kph.
We noticed some hazard reduction burning and a very large wild pig bolting across the road a bit further up.
Shortly afterwards, we passed the infamous Palmerville Station. We forded the Palmer River at 11am and then a few minutes later, we turned East on the Maytown road for the final 40 odd kms..
The Maytown road was super windy and had numerous hills. dips and small, dry creeks to cross, so we could only do about 35kph. Even so, the last 30 or so kms went very quickly. It was fun to drive and the views from the high points were spectacular.
We arrived at our 'secret' spot at midday - only to find somebody else was already there! Steve thought quickly and took us down a winding track a little further back and we were super thrilled to find the most spectacular riverside spot - all to ourselves! It was actually the southern site of the old Palmer River crossing which hadn't been used since about 2010.
We set up, started the fire (lamb roast) and then we all chilled out in the river. Blissful!
The lamb was moist and delicious - served with roasted veggies, gravy and mint sauce - yum!
Rosie managed to get fat dripped on her between the fire and the table and looked absolutely hilarious with her hair all spiked up! We did our best to get it off, but even the baby wipes admitted defeat. Somebody was getting a bath tomorrow...!
We were all feeling supremely relaxed and lucky to be able to enjoy such beautiful country and by 9pm we were all tucked up in our respective beds, under the Milky Way. It was a warm mid 20s night and we all had a great sleep.
Friday 23 June - Maytown
We had a very cruisy morning, pottering around cleaning and tidying camp - Rosie included. We then unhitched the Triton and we all took off, in two vehicles, to explore the area.
Since Steve and Laura had been twice before and had mapped out the area, they took Simon first to the European Cemetary, where he was able to locate the grave of his Great Uncle John Duff.
We then went to the King of the Range mine where Daniel gave us all a geology lesson abut the different types of rocks.
A bit further along, we walked through the tunnel at Louisa Battery - this time it was lined with hundreds of paper wasp nests and you could hear the humming as you approached.
We then took the newly created track around the "Wall of Death", past the new Lone Star Mining homestead (used to be the Chinese Palace) and wound our way down to the northern bank of the Palmer River - which of course was almost directly across from our new "hidden gem" camping spot.
Laura and Daniel decided to head back to camp on foot after grabbing a portable radio, and set off clambering over boulders in the massive dry riverbed. It only took them about 10 minutes and was a good little adventure.
Steve and Simon took off by themselves and visited the Native Police Camp and the Main Street of Maytown, before returning to camp via the original track.
We had lunch beside the creek and then spent the afternoon with our feet in the water - ah bliss.
Laura cooked up a big chicken laksa for dinner, using Steve's latest Prepper find - dehydrated chicken! It was absolutely delicious (if a bit spicy!) and everyone went back for seconds.
Steve went to get some firewood and discovered a large dog collar with the name Conan on it and a phone number. We decided to take it with us and call it when we got into Laura.
We discussed our route into Laura and it was decided that instead of heading out towards the Mulligan Hwy, we would try out a new shortcut... We would backtrack the 36km to the Palmerville Rd and then turn north for about 80km and hope that we hit the PDR about 20 kms north of Laura. Worst case scenario, we'd have to turn back and go the usual (much longer) way. Steve estimated this way would take us about 3 hours instead of 4.5 the other way. It was marked as a gazetted road on the HEMA map too, so seemed definitely doable.
We all agreed it was definitely worth a shot as we watched a beautiful sunset from around the fireplace.
Saturday 24 June - Laura
We hit the road at 7.30am. It was a beautiful, clear, 18 degree morning and we were looking forward to our new adventure!
We saw a female dingo as we passed the huge rock formations.
We were glad to be travelling due West, as the early morning sun was blinding.
We turned north onto Palmerville Rd at 8.30am, hopeful that in a couple of hours we'd be on the PDR.
The road looked pretty well maintained, so we were able to cruise along at 60kph. It was quite straight and flat as it followed the valley floor for the first part. We knew that the Old Coach Road into Laura was about 30kms East and presumably went over the hills to our right. We were perplexed as to why nobody had ever mentioned travelling this way instead. Anyway - we were up for the challenge!
It was quite beautiful driving through the morning light in the shade of the gums. We were feeling very relaxed and hopeful that we'd discovered yet another hidden gem - only this time it was a road.
We travelled quite happily along, through several gates, past water tanks and windmills, slowing down for the inevitable cattle. It was a truly magical drive.
About 9am we passed Fairlight Station. There seemed to be a lot of building work going on with lots of plant machinery and new fencing. We wondered if perhaps they might be getting into the tourist trade too. We made a note to follow up.
We stopped off briefly at 9.30am for a leg stretch. We all agreed this route was a fantastic alternative and would be more than happy to do it again. In fact, if we were coming back from the Tip we would make a point of coming back this way in future.
For the remaining 20km we sat on 70kph. We were feeling very pleased with our choice of route and excited to be so close to our destination.
We hit the PDR (and brand new bitumen!) just after 10am and turned right towards Laura. The hardtop ended at Little Laura River, about 11km before Laura, but the dirt was still wide and hard packed so we sat on 70kph.
We soon saw the signs for the Rodeo and decided to stop in about 11.20am, to gauge whether or not we wanted to camp there. We knew we could, but were unsure as to how crowded and rowdy it would be. The other option was to stay at the Quinkan campground in town which we knew was spacious and had good facilities.
The Rodeo Grounds were already heaving with thousands of campers, packed in like sardines. The staff at the gate told us it was good we'd come early as in a couple of hours it would be packed! I guess everyone's understanding of "packed" is different.
Simon decided to stay there and get among the atmosphere. We did a U turn and headed 5 mins down the road to the and Quinkan Remote Campground, where we found a lovely private grassed area at the back with plenty of shade and no neighbours. The facilities included hot showers and clean toilets, for $20 a family!
After setting up, a rest and a shower, we headed back to the Rodeo grounds and had a good look around. As it turned out, there were two distinct areas; the Rodeo Grounds, bar, good outlet, market stalls in one area and the Race Course, bar and food outlet in another.
In amongst all the dust and trampled grass, it was quite bizarre to see dozens of young women dressed up to the absolute 9's - complete with gigantic fascinators, skin tight mini frocks and 20cm heels!
Whilst those glamorous fillies were teetering through the mud to the Races, an equal sized drove of country girls clad in Western style shirts, Cowgirl jeans and Akubras, were trotting down the hill to the bull riding arena.
It made for a very interesting sight, with thousands of tents, campers, swags and Eskys in the background.
After a good look around and the obligatory chips & gravy lunch, we went back to the campground for a rest and a spruce up before returning at about 6.30pm for the evening entertainment of bull riding and local bush band.
We parked outside the grounds amongst dozens of campers dogs going nutso - howling and growling their faces off. It was a bit unsettling and as we walked in through the campgrounds, we were hit by a mishmash of heavy metal, Country and techno music all playing at deafening levels. The delightfully pretty youngsters of the afternoon had morphed into hundreds of inebriated, filthy, brawling, out of control ferals.
A fight spilled out only 2m from where we were walking (we later found out it had been brewing all day between the Weipa crew and the locals), and Steve had to physically protect Daniel from being hurt. Rather shaken, we decided to continue onto the Rodeo Arena, get away from the brawling campers and watch the entertainment.
From the top of the hill, the Arena lights looked fairyland pretty. However, as we got closer, a totally different image became clear.
The bar area was full of cops and security guards, dragging drunken young people out and yelling at them to leave. It was just a cesspool of alcohol and drug fueled violence between young adults who'd been drinking all day.
We tried to watch the Rodeo but it was just impossible. It was so packed we couldn't see anything and frankly it was just too scary.
As we tried to make our way out, we witnessed young women throwing bottles of water at the police. There were people with bloodied faces and yelling all over the place. It was absolutely horrendous.
We couldn't wait to get away.
Sunday 25 June - Laura
After the hellish experience of the night before, we did have some understandable trepidation about returning.
We were also worried about how Simon was. Thankfully he rang us to let us know he'd retreated to his swag at midnight as it was just a bit too rowdy for him too. He was heading home for work on Monday anyway, so we bid him farewell til next time :)
We decided we'd head into the Rodeo to see if was any calmer and friendlier in daylight.
We're so glad we did!
Most of the trouble makers appeared to have left or been arrested and the campgrounds were almost spotless. A far cry from the disaster zone of the night before. The day was bright and sunny with a great family vibe. Everyone looked fresh and happy; the horses were immaculately groomed and the saddlery magnificent.
Add in a sea of brightly coloured shirts and sparkly jeans, embellished sunnies and it was as pretty as a postcard. It was as if the night before hadn't happened!
We browsed the stalls, made a couple of purchases and then grabbed a nice shady spot in the bleachers from where we watched a couple of hours of kids bull riding, roping and hazing.
It was a really really great day.
Too bad about the pathetic and highly dangerous antics of the night before.
We had a long discussion about it. Steve came up with the inspired idea to make a mobile gaol out of a shipping container. We thought that at the very least a bigger police presence would've been useful and also better control on people bringing in alcohol. It was such a shame and really spoiled our enjoyment of what otherwise was a great weekend.
Back at camp we had yummy Asian chicken noodle soup and an early night.
Monday 26 June - Mt Mulligan
We had decided to head South and go the back roads around Mt Mulligan and stay at Dimbulah for the night.
We knew that Mt Mulligan station itself, together with Tyrconnell Mine, were currently unavailable for camping, as they were being redeveloped as a luxury resort by the new owners.
We left Laura about 8am and headed down the bitumen. It was a bright sunny morning of about 20 degrees. We turned right at Lakeland Roadhouse at 8.30am; it was already bustling with people, most likely leaving after the Rodeo.
We stopped off at Palmer River Roadhouse just before 9am for a coffee and some fuel. We also picked up a copy of the River of Gold book, which is all about the local gold rush. Some good bedtime reading!
We were back on the road at 9.15am and passed the Maytown turnoff 10 minutes later. We were absolutely elated that we'd found such a wonderful alternative route along the Palmerville Rd and we resolved to always use that route from now on!
Just before 10am we passed Bob's Lookout and a couple of minutes later we turned East onto the dirt, towards Hurricane and Karma Waters Stations. We put the Triton back into its favourite gear - 4WD - and happily headed inland away from the hardtop.
We saw more vehicles coming the other way than on the whole trip so far! We guessed they'd all been staying at Karma Waters and were heading out.
The road was hard and flat with some loose rocks but still good going, so we could do about 60kph quite safely.
The landscape was very dusty and dry, in stark contrast to where we'd been recently.
About 10 minutes in, we turned left at Cooktown Crossing. The first part was a dry, sandy but firm riverbed. We rounded the corner to see the Mitchell River running over a cement causeway.
We forded it without problems and saw a few campers set up on the opposite bank. It was a really nice little area. Definitely one to come back to and stay at another time.
We followed the gazetted road through a closed gate into the Brooklyn Wildlife Sanctuary and out the other side into Kondoparinga Station where the road could best be described as average.
To be technical, it was a hard, easily followed road, but with numerous dips, hills and corners, where you could do between 30-40kph on straighter sections, but would have to frequently slow down to a crawl to negotiate troughs, humps and/or bull dust.
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It was about now we decided to implement Mingo's Bone Shaking Road Grading Scale:
Any surface where you can do over 60kph whilst towing, with tyres let down appropriately is Excellent (minimal or no bone shaking)
Between 50-60kph is Good (slightly bone shaking)
Between 40-50kph is Average (fairly bone shaking)
Between 30-40kph is Poor (very bone shaking)
Under 30kph is Challenging (every bone in your body will be bruised and you'll be lucky if you have any cartilage left!)
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At 10.45am we passed Kondoparinga Station which although still operational, looked fairly rundown. A km further we passed Piggy's Lagoon which is a part of Kondopatinga Station and looked like a cluster of outbuildings on a dam. Not particularly pretty.
We carried on towards Mt Mulligan and as we crossed Hodgkinson River we stopped briefly to take in the stunning views of the escarpment to our right.
(Looking at the matching newly brown dogs and Swifty, we again wondered aloud why you can't buy caravans and cars in Colorbond colours! Quite obviously, white, is NOT a good choice for anything outback!)
It was a beautiful, if increasingly slower, drive as we continued south towards the ruins of the abandoned old Mt Mulligan coal mining township - the site of a terrible disaster in 1921 when an explosion killed 75 men. The mine continued operating until 1942 but now has a permanent population of just 1.
The road deteriorated somewhat as we headed further South and by the time we left Kondoparinga Station and entered Mulligan Station at 11.45am, it had downgraded to Poor by Mingo's scale - being extremely bone shaking and we only averaged about 35kph.
We arrived at Mt Mulligan cemetary 5 mins later. Walking around and counting so many graves of those who'd died on the same day - we were all overtaken by a great sadness as we imagined the terrible loss that had been suffered. The feeling was quite tangible.
Just a few hundred yards further was the site of the abandoned town of Mt Mulligan. All that's left is the chimney and derelict ruins of the power house. It was really quite eerie, even at midday, with the towering escarpment as the backdrop and the crumbling grey walls becoming overtaken by weeds. It would have once been a beautiful setting when the town was operating, but now it gave us the shivers as we tiptoed around in the silence.
We had a good look around and stopped for a quick picnic outside the town boundary before continuing onwards towards Dimbulah at 1pm.
The road had been graded fairly recently but was quite corrugated so we were only able to do an average of 55kph and our teeth were chattering incessantly.
25 mins later we passed the Hodgkinson Goldfield Cemetary, and turned right at the intersection of the Thornborough-Kingsborough Rd.
At about 1.45pm, just before Thisilldoo Station (another great Aussie name) - about 20km north of Dimbulah, we lost the UHF aerial due to the corrugations. Unfortunately it snapped clean off so couldn't be replaced straightaway. Ah well, looking on the bright side, at least it wouldn't be in any more photos!!
We knew we were nearing Dimbulah as mango farms started appearing along the road. By now we were actually in the back of the Atherton tablelands and richer, more fertile country.
We checked into the spacious little country caravan park just after 2pm and rather wearily set up camp. It had been a fantastic drive and we'd seen some awesome Aussie history, but perhaps the tragedy has got under our skin more than we'd anticipated.
We got a site at the back in the pine grove, amongst lovely gardens, with free firewood and a great fire pit all to ourselves! We did the laundry and then settled down to have a nice relaxing afternoon and a couple of beers.
Just as we settled down over a Cowboys Plate of bangers n beans, a mature aged lady walked into our campsite, reached into our firepit and removed two large, half burnt logs - which were left there from the previous campers. We just watched with our mouths open, as she proceeded to stack them into a trolley and started to trundle away.... She mumbled something about how they were hers. We apologised but explained they were already in the fireplace when we arrived. She then threw her arms in the air and muttered about them being from her stash.... We figured we'd just leave her to it!
We lit the fire and had a nice night under the stars before bed.
Tuesday 27 June - Pinnarendi
We rose about 7.30am and indulged in nice hot showers and a leisurely brekkie and packing up. Everything was going great until about 9.30am, when we tried to start the Triton. Nothing. Just a beep and a click. Hmm.... Ah well, we thought, no worries, we'll just use the jump starter pack. Tried it... Still nothing. Hmm... Curiouser and curiouser...
We thought about trying to jump start it off the campground owner's car or even off the house battery.
However, because we had absolutely no idea what had happened, we would have no way of stopping it from happening again. So we made the smart choice and called the RACQ in Mareeba.
By 11.45am we were back on the road with a new battery. Turns out the old battery was actually faulty and one of the cells had just spontaneously collapsed. Nothing we did - just one of those things.
We headed back towards Petford and 25 mins later, took the familiar turning at the old Lappa Hotel down the Lappa Track back to Mt Garnet.
We had considered trying out another track which went from Petford to Herberton, but decided to do that another day, when we had more time. Plus, we wanted to see Nadine and Ronnie at Pinnarendi again and tell them all about our stay at Camel Ck with their extended family members.
The Lappa track took about an hour as usual and then we headed South down the Kennedy Hwy to Pinnarendi, arriving at 2pm.
Nadine and Ronnie were out mustering so we'd been told to just set up and they'd see us later.
We pulled in and were amazed by just how much had been completed since our last visit. There was a brand spanking new amenities block, beautiful signage all around and a fantastic communal fire put. Plus, the cafe was all finished and the immense timber slab table was now firmly bolted to the floor with tension wire.
But perhaps the biggest change was that every single camp spot was taken! Last time there was only us and one other family in a tent. This time they were about 9 other campers, including a fifth wheeler, several decent sized vans, a pop top and a tent!
We spent a wonderful afternoon reacquainting ourselves with Macey, Mandy and Rey - Nadine's dogs and chatting to the other campers including Jen and Caity who were doing their Big Lap with their dogs Amity and Bella.
For dinner we treated ourselves to a delish lasagne and cheesecake at the now fully functioning Brick Oven cafe where we had a really interesting convo with Toni and Brian Hunt.
We also discovered that the annual Muster had been filmed for a future video; including the antics of one young renegade bull who had to be tied to a tree for safety at one point. He'd been booked into the knacker the following day apparently!
It was such a fantastic stay and we were truly sorry we couldn't stay longer. Steve and Laura were starting to feel a little bit sad that the trip was almost over. Daniel on the other hand was quite happy as he was heading off to Riot Camp with his school friends on Friday.
As night fell, it got decidedly chilly and we sat around the firepit to warm ourselves up before getting snuggled up in our beds.
Weds 28 June - homeward bound
We had a very lazy morning. Steve put 3 jerries (60L) of fuel into the Triton. We packed up and had a creamy cappuccino at the Cafe before saying our reluctant goodbyes to all our new friends - human and canine. It was overcast and cold at 15 degrees, with a bit of drizzle. Not very nice at all, but quite fitting for our drive home. We certainly had no complaints; the weather had been perfect the whole trip.
We hit the Kennedy Hwy at 10am, and headed south towards home. The road was a mixture of one and two-lanes and there was quite a lot of traffic coming the other way - mostly caravans and the odd road train - so we had to put two wheels in the gutter a few times which is always a little hairy, especially when a triple truck is bearing down on you at 110kph!
We turned into the Gregory Developmental Road an hour and a quarter later. The rain had stopped and the sun came out as it warmed up to about 22 degrees.
As we drove we chatted about our next trip. We would love to go back to Cashmere crossing another time.
We also talked about doing a loop around Mt Isa, Cloncurry and include the Dinosaur Trail around Winton, Hughenden and Richmond.
We also discussed our long-held but as yet unrealized adventure of heading to Normanton and exploring the Gulf Country.
We had a lot of planning to do when we got home, that's for sure!
The other matter which was getting very close of course was that our acquisition of the 500 acres, now named "Langleigh Park", at Reid River was almost finalized. It had taken a long time due to Council, but now that the fencing and culvert had been completed by the Vendors, it was in the final stages of approval. We were hopeful it would be officially ours within a week or two! It was so exciting; we could hardly believe we were so close to the first step of achieving a lifelong dream for us both.
So, we started to think about how much we would develop it and when. It boiled down to whether we would give in to our wanderlust first and then settle into running it afterwards; or do it in reverse. We still badly wanted to travel to Kakadu and WA among other places.
As we drove, we roughed out a basic timeline for the basic priority work to be done on it over the next few months. This would include putting in fire breaks, leveling out the chosen house pad, some campsites and other general earthworks eg: finish off the half-completed dam. We would also organise to get some cattle on it to bring down the ground vegetation to a more manageable level. We would also assess and develop an ongoing plan for weed control and removal - primarily Chinee Apple. At the same time we'd research the options and costs on getting grid power and/or solar and we would construct the shed.
Anyway, back to the drive! As we neared Greenvale, the weather closed in a bit and a few drops fell as we pulled into the forecourt just before midday.
We topped up the fuel tank (25L) and had a pie each for lunch.
We drive around Greenbsle for a few minutes before we left, just out of interest. There were no shops any more; the supermarket was long gone and the old car park was an established free camp. Several blocks of units opposite were boarded up and really the only sign of life was at the Three Rivers Hotel (from the Slim Dusty song) and at the Roadhouse itself. There was an old van park near the highway and a golf course.
It looked pretty much like it was one step away from being a ghost town to be honest. It reminded us of a smaller version of Woomera in a way. Really quite sad that it was gradually losing itself and could possibly become just a refuel stop for tourists in the near future.
Back on the road just after midday, we continued homeward bound as the Triton ate up the familiar pink asphalt, 100kms at a time.
We completed our loop about 40 mins later, as we passed the turnoff to Mt Fox at Clarke River.
We turned east onto Herveys Range Rd at 1.15pm and a few minutes later stopped off for 15 minutes at the historic marker proclaiming the history of the sealing of the road in 2005. Very interesting.
From there it was a pleasant drive of just over an hour, back into Townsville. The sun was out and it was a comfortable 26 degrees. A nice welcome home :)
What a great adventure it had been. As with every trip, we felt we had a gained deeper understanding of our fascinating history but we also felt we wanted to know more! We had enjoyed leaving the bitumen behind and discovered even more exciting places we wanted to explore further.
There has been a couple of little hiccups along the way; the broken antenna and spare wheel cover plus the faulty battery. But all was good and fixable and the learning from each would be invaluable on future trips.
So until next time,
Mingo, Steve, Laura, Daniel, Sunshine & Rosie signing off!
