The Savannah Adventure begins.......

Leaving Ravenshoe we found the sign that said Savannah Way and we were off.  We had heard varying reports of the road conditions but this first part, though old and narrow, was sealed and quiet good to travel on.

We continued on during the day stopping by the roadside for lunch before an afternoon pit stop at Mt Surprise.  Not much here other than a pub, a campground and a small general store.  We walked to have a look at the quirky town name, one at each end of the Main Street before jumping in the car and driving on.

We deviated a little further on from here as we had decided to follow a loop road and have a look at the historic towns of Einasleigh and Forsayth.  But first we had to find a home for the night.  Bill had seen a place he liked the look of about 33 kms away beside the Einasleigh River.  We continued along the very rough unmade road until we arrived and found a spot.  Two other people had the same idea but with plenty of room for lots more we set up and were soon enjoying the tranquility of the Aussie bush miles from anywhere.  The next morning Bill had some fun with the Squatter Pigeons before we hit the road again and made our way into the little settlement of Einasleigh.  

Here we found Copperfield Gorge and enjoyed a walk along this interesting formation.  Named after the river that has gouged out this beautiful spot it is now a tourist attraction just across the road from the Pub!

We made our way from here to the township of Forsayth were we had lunch beside the tiny railway station.  This is where the Savannahlander Train ends its journey from Cairns.  I think Wilły's Touring Car got tired of waiting!

Unfortunately today was not a train day, so with not much else to see we returned to The Savannah Way and made our way to Georgetown.

Our stop here was just a few Kms down the road at Cumberland Chimney and Wetlands.  This amazing place was just lovely.  Lots of campers there but plenty of room for all.  The whole area was full of birds and once we set up we went for a walk and found lots of beautiful creatures to keep Bill happy.  The Yellow Honeyeater playing on the car mirror was just beautiful.

The next morning he went off again on his own and found the first Budgerigars and Cockatiels he had seen in the wild.  Also a family of Quails sneaking through the undergrowth in front of him.

Cumberland was born when gold was discovered there in 1872.  By 1878, it was one of the major producers of gold in the Etheridge Shire.  Stopping on the way out we had a look at The Chimney which is all that is left of this once thriving little town.

On the road again I was happy to see that our road was still sealed and fairly good to travel on.  Our first stop was at Croydon where we were going to have a quick look around and move on but instead found a lovely little town full of history and the end of the line for The Gulflander train.  This train runs from Normanton to Croydon each fortnight and returns the next day.   It had just arrived and the fornightly run out to Golden Gate was filling up fast.  We decided to stay and ride the train so we found a spot in the Caravan Park, set up and then went and explored the town.

The Historic Precinct is very well done with a group of buildings maintained and open to the public 'for free'.  This allows the visitors to take a step back in time and see how things were done many many years ago.  There was a Schoolroom, Hospital, Police Staion and Lockup (complete with talking prisoner), Courthouse and Town Hall.

That night we walked to the station and boarded the train and soon after were on our way.  The 30 min journey is fun with the driver commentating as we go.  We learnt that this train is often called the 'train from nowhere to nowhere'.  Construction began in 1888, completed in 1891and the 151 km of track was never connected with any other Queensland Rail network.  The line was constructed in an unusual manner, with hollow steel sleepers packed with mud to avoid the need for track ballast.  This method of construction also meant that the line was not subject to damage during frequent flooding during the wet season and today most of these original sleepers are still in place.

At Golden Gate we had a scrumptious dinner provided by one of the local ladies.  Beef and Vegetable soup and the best beef ribs ever.  As we left the tablelands you will remember that we had passed the Charity Bike Ride.  Well we had passed them again a couple of times and today had just beaten them in to Croydon where they were staying the night.  They all came on the train too and over dinner when discussing what time they were leaving in the morning a few of them decided that they could race the Gulflander to Normanton.  The train driver thought this was a great idea and so the race was on.

We enjoyed the trip back into Croydon Station and we are so pleased that we took the time out to enjoy a ride on this historic little train Rm93.   And so it was home to bed and time to pack up and hit the road again the next day.

until then........