The adventures continue.........

The next morning we left Croydon and headed for Normanton.  Not too far out we passed the first of the six packs of riders and soon after passed the rest of them and the Gulflander having a break at Black Bull siding.

The train stops here as a morning tea spot enabling it to arrive 'on time' in Normanton.  The riders support crew had set up their drinks station here as well.  We didn't stop but just snapped this as we passed.

We continued on and made our way into Normanton where we stopped and had a walk around.  First to the 'i' and then in search of bread for lunch.  Bill had been wanting to stay here in a freecamp he had heard about but you had to get a permit from the tourist office.  They were all gone for the day and a waiting list of ten for the next day.  We decided we didn't want to stay that badly and so moved on to Walkers Rest Area on the way to Karumba.  But first we had to stop and admire Krys the Crocodile.

This is a replica of the biggest crocodile ever caught in the world.  It was named Krys after the woman that shot it.  Both she and her husband were croc hunters in the early 1900's and the museum attached to the tourists office has an old black and white photo of them with this croc.  Just amazing!

And no, we didn't get the bread either.  Walking into the Bakery/Butcher the smell was so bad we turned tail and escaped.  It was not a pleasant experience and one I won't be in a rush to repeat.  Perhaps there is no Health Dept there!

We drove down to the Normanton Station to see the old building.  While there we had a coffee and just as we were ready to leave we heard that the Gulflander would arrive in 10 mins so of course we waited and watched as it pulled into the station.

Just beating it by a matter of seconds were two of the bike riders.  They had won the race though how they did it in the heat I don't know.  The driver got out and they thanked each other for the fun and then they were off to relax for the afternoon.  Tomorrow would be their last day on the road as they would reach Karumba.

We too left Normanton and made our way out of town to the rest area.  There were a number of people here already but we found a spot unhitched the car and had lunch before driving on to have a look at Karumba.

Given that hundreds of Grey Nomads return here year after year I was expecting some sort of Paradise.  It is a tiny town with three or four caravan parks packed to the gills.  I believe it is the fishing that brings them up in their droves but I really couldn't see the attraction.  

Karumba Point is the only place you can reach the sea on a sealed road.  There is a pub/tavern here that overlooks the Gulf of Carpentaria and we took a moment to enjoy the view with a drink before heading back to camp.  Perhaps I can almost see the attraction now.  And I found fresh bread in the tiny general store!

We enjoyed a quiet night with a beautiful full moon and a lazy morning before hitching up again and returning to Normanton to start the next part of our trip.  While having breakfast Bill had some fun with a Pacific Baza that was quite happy to pose for photographs.

The Savannah Way was closed for a bit out of Normanton as they were upgrading some of the floodways so we had to take a short detour.  Just 100 kms along rough red roads through private property.  Not a fan of big gates anymore, there were four!  Can't complain though it was the first unsealed road of the Savannah Way so far and we had expected much more.  

Once through the detour we continued on unmade roads stopping for lunch just off the road in an area I christened The Savannah Southbank.  There were ant/termite hills, all shapes and sizes, as far as the eye could see in all directions, just like the apartments in Southbank.  

After lunch we drove on until we reached Leichhardt Falls where we camped that night.  Leichhardt River still had water running but the falls had long since stopped though there was a lovely lagoon at the bottom.  Complete with resident crocodile I believe.  No swimming here.

It was a lovely place to stop and there were quite a number of us with the same idea.  Once again plenty of room for everyone.

The next morning it was back on sealed roads as we made our way into Burketown named after the explorer Burke after he and Wills reached the coast near Normanton in 1861.  Here we found a tidy town and we stopped to drink our coffee in the park.  Their local Bakery/butchery was a pleasure to enter and we bought two of their famous Barra Pies for dinner that night.  Absolutely delicious and I wish I had bought more for the freezer!

We stopped and looked at The Artesian Bore and were surprised to find boiling hot water gushing up from the ground.  The bore drilled over 100 years ago has watered animals in the past, been used as a public bath house (closed as they were unable to prevent people getting burned by the boiling water)' and now just runs away creating a wetlands for the many birds that come to visit.

We drove out to see the Jetty and Boat Ramp on The Albert River and found a couple of fisherman whiling away the hours with not much to show for their efforts.  Back in town we called into the local store where we picked up a few bits for the next few days away from civilisation and then hit the road again to find a camping spot for tonight.

until next time........