20th June 2018 Mount Surprise

We have had 3 days here at Planet Earth Caravan Park, lovely to be on grass again. We were here 3 years ago and stayed at ‘Bedrock Village’, this year we chose less $s and had a lovely site. Very friendly and helpful staff.

We had asked if anyone knew of someone who could put new hinges in our lift up bed and the assistant there was a real handyman. He was getting round on crutches because he had fallen in the campfire & had burns on both legs. But that didn’t stop him, Peter was a rough diamond and a very hard worker. We were most grateful.

There were 3 caravan parks , they all had food and souvenirs (sort of!) there was a small Fooardmart, a School, 2 fuel stations....naturally both had different prices....amazing! Also a small Gem store which is for sale. 

There are a number of Tours run from Bedrock Village and Brian went on one today 8am departure to ‘Undara Experience’. Look it up on the Internet it’s a tour through lava tubes that very formed during a volcanic eruption. It required fitness because of uneven rocks, rock steps including uneven rock steps with rope handrails. The only entry is with a guide. Brian arrived home about 5pm, exhausted and full of most interesting information. Morning & afternoon tea as well as lunch were included. He had to take any required medication, wear closed in footwear, take a jacket, water, camera and snacks! The whole experience was wonderful, the guide was a real professional woman, Swiss, who is a guide at a number of places around the world!.

I had the day at home, got the chores done a continued to enjoy my book. Oh and also went and had a nosy round Bedrock for old time sake & had a coffee & cake there.....well it was for my lunch!

Tomorrow, another place. 😀

17 June 2018 Gilbert River

We have just had 4 days doing absolutely nothing at Gilbert River. It’s a big cleared area on the edge of the river, big trees block the view but we could walk down paths to the river. It’s a big one with still plenty of water. Some were catching ‘RedClaw’ like crayfish in flavour. Over the 4 days we naturally met a variety of folk, some we would happily meet again & others quite happy not to!
Nothing bad or nasty just unusual. Dust was a problem, some people drive in & out and don’t consider the dust storm they created. The Bridge is one way & our side is a STOP sign, about a quarter of the traffic obey it. All the Roadtrains & Busses do. One of the campers was a volunteer fireman and had his cap on one day as he was out at the roadside. .......one vehicle went through the stop sign, braked, backed back up to the sign, stopped, then went on. GOlly we all enjoyed that story. His fireman’s cap looks like police!
We didn’t even unhook the caravan. The only thing there was rubbish bins. We do like having a mix of free parking and caravan parks.

13th June 2018 The Gulflander Train.

A special day we had planned. Regretted not doing it last time, so it was a must today.
We woke to a surprise.......fog, however it cleared by 8 am and off to the station. Already a crowd there, we had booked, so collected our tickets, with information book and souvenir enamel mug ready for our morning tea. There were 3 carriages, the first is best for view & worst for comfort as the engine is under it. We were in number 3 and it was a rocky ride, quite noisy and a very interesting and clear commentary about history, type of trees, bird and animal life, how the wet season affects them, etc. We stopped at Black Bull Siding for morning tea. The 2 crew set out tea, coffee, milk & sugar, then we walked to the step of the train where there was an urn of boiling water. The were very delectable Danish Pastries provided. We arrived in Croydon at 1.15 and walked to the Hotel for lunch then sat around or went wandering around the town until 3pm when a beautiful Coach with aircon picked us up for the 1&1/2 hr drive back to Normanton. )We had been to Croydon last time & had visited all the tourist spots at that time.) It does travel a LOTfaster than the train!
The couple we had lunch with, were staying at the same caravan park so we all went to the restaurant there for tea together. Again, very nice friendly folk.
Like Christopher Robin I say, “ Thank you God for another lovely day, and what was the other thing I was supposed to say?”
This was our last day in Nornanton.

10th June 2018 Trip to Karumba

What a beautiful day, at 10am it was 26 degrees, ist not far, great for a day trip. The Gulf of Carpentaria is glorious and the village is at the mouth of the Norman River. It’s very much a fishing place, lots of caravan parks and every vehicle has ‘a Tinny on the top’ we felt quite naked!
There was a market on in the grounds of a restaurant right on the water’s edge. It was interesting. I bought some nice nut mix, dried prunes & ginger. Later I was talking to a couple of stall holders and asked about the change from 3 years ago. Today was ‘dead’, restaurant empty & very few at the market. Answer was, change of owner not putting in the effort and change of Chief, also it seems a poor season or maybe a late one.
We had to have our Fish & Chip lunch at Ash’s ship.....same as 3 years ago! Brian bought a very nice Tee shirt from there also.

A memory flash from aJulia Creek.....an experience at the Supermarket......I was looking for butter and couldn’t find it so asked this colourful character bandanna, brightly coloured clothes, bare feet, a great smile, willing & wanting to talk. He even carried my Shopping across the road to the car. He is just working for some cash as he is walking right around Australia!! At one stage he was doing it as fund raising but couldn’t exist on what he made, so now he is just doing it for himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if was Budist or something like that. He was so nice. Steven is his name, indeterminable age! I enjoyed that interaction.

9th June 2018

Just a driving day today through typical flat, long very straight stretches of paved road, scrub, dry Outback Australia. 440k from Julia Creek to Normanton. We booked into ‘The Gulflander Caravan Park’ for 6 nights.

6th June 2018

Today we took a trip to McKinley for a trip down memory lane. To the Pub where a lot of the filming was done for Crocodile Dundee. It was 100k each way, flat, dry grass, 5 cattle Stations on the way to “Town”... yes in inverted comers. Golly I would hate to live there. Only a pub, Petrol station, Police Station/cum residence. The Pub was full of memorabilia. There were 5 caravans & one other vehicle there when we were there so it was quite fun, hot chocolate & shortbread. A fantastic morning.

5thJune 2018 Julia Creek

A quiet day at Julia Creek, fueled up at $1.56lt, visited the information Centre which is most interesting. Lots of vans coming into our camp site, it’s very, very dry. It was flooded earlier in the year and now great cracks in the ground everywhere.