The Gulf Savannah & Tropical North Queensland
Our proposed route after Nuriootpa was through Outback NSW and Queensland, across the Gulf Savannah to Normanton & Karumba, continue via the coast to Gladstone and then inland to Lightning Ridge. However my wife Joan got the gemstone fever after finding topaz at Mt Surprise, and we also returned via Emerald. Overall we covered 10,495 Km in 46 days. And this was going to be one of those holidays, - only a few hours out of Canberra we nearly got wiped out just outside Wagga by a young female suicidal driver with a death wish. Since we were in Broken Hill over 30 years ago there is now a greater emphasis towards tourism rather than mining. The problems of public liability haunt every tourist attraction and in some instances unless you sign a statement that you will not hold the proprietors responsible in the case of injury, you are denied admission. This especially applied at the Silverton Day Dream Underground Silver Mine where we were fitted out with hard hats, heavy belt battery pack and a removable headlamp for the hat. Walking down the original low ceiling access tunnels to three levels below was cumbersome, awkward and stifling, (and this was winter). Together with the walk to the Desert Sculptures the following day it really tested our fitness levels. Joan and a "Desert Sculpture" A new tourist attraction is the Lode Miners Memorial, a memorial to those miners who made the ultimate sacrifice from the period 1885 to 1992. Crossing this wide country of ours you also get the opportunity to check out other travellers rigs, like the ones with the pop-top roofs flapping in the wind because someone has not clipped the roof down properly. On a couple of occasions we tried raising them on the CB but to no avail. On the NSW & Queensland border about 3 Km south of Barringun, it was Joan's baptism of fire' when she drove the next 60 Km towing the A'van. I could not have picked a worse stretch of road, even if I had tried. The road was very skinny - only wide enough for one vehicle, with broken shoulders dropping about 5 cm off the edge. The road was bad enough, but then there was the wildlife, with dead kangaroo's, emus, sheep and wild pigs, and live kangaroos, emus (not so dumb), sheep, cattle, wild pigs, wild cats & other road users. Later, leaving Longreach we briefly stopped at Winton (for us with its many memories), before pushing on to Cloncurry . The Big-4 caravan park is reasonable in this dry environment and it was good to get into shorts, T-shirts and sandals. TV reception is not good, but there is always ABC Radio. Initially the copper mines made this town one of the most prosperous in the outback, and mining still goes on adjacent to the town. On this visit we wanted to travel to the Mary Kathleen uranium mine 64 Km out of town. It was not adequately sign posted and I think this approach is to discourage tourists. Having ventured down the potholed asphalt road we found the township with only foundations left to indicate that a thriving township once stood there 18 years ago. As much as we tried, travelling over 35 Km in the scrub along corrugations and rocky roads, we could not find the turnoff to the largest uranium open cut mine in Australia. Uranium was a political nightmare for the Federal Government of the day and the town was erased off the map. With a population of 22,000 people Mt Isa has all the facilities of a modern city and many tourist attractions. At the Riversleigh Fossils Museum the centre's Pasminco Fossil Treatment Laboratory extracts fossils from limestone. They are bathed in dilute acetic acid which gradually dissolves the surrounding grit and sand to reveal the hidden treasures - a tooth, jaw, etc. The Mt Isa Mines underground and surface mine tours are very popular. We opted for the two hour surface tour by bus to learn the process of silver and lead mining. This tour covered shaft heads, ore hoisting areas, huge mills and smelters, finished ingots and anodes, massive maintenance workshops and 270 metre lead stacks. We were not allowed off the bus, but every vehicle entering the site has to go through the water wash upon exiting - hence clean bus windows being ideal for photographs. It is a massive mining complex especially when you consider that there is 500 Km of roads under the ground to a maximum depth of one and a half Km. There are 32 levels and all maintenance to underground machinery is done at level 22 where there are massive workshops. Dump trucks can now drive to the bottom of the mine from ground level. When we arrived in Normanton it was blowing a gale. We had great fun(?) erecting the awning (for shade purposes), where I had to use my electric drill to drill holes in the ground for the awning pegs! Many other caravanners saw its merits, and borrowed my drill and brace bit. Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria is across low scrub marshland that is flat and very boring. The town is a mecca for people who love seafood and fishing, with a large prawning fleet, barramundi fishing, mud crabs and with caravan parks chokers with caravans, boat trailers and 4WD's. Most were Victorians. Normanton is famous for the Gulflander, its historic railway station, the Purple Pub, and Krys' the largest authenticated crocodile ever shot. It was 28 ft 4 inches long when shot in the Normanton River in 1957. Never smile - at a Crocodile! The popular train journey is the 142 Km Normanton to Croydon in the Gulflander' rail motor. What do you get with steel wheels, steel rails and steel sleepers? - a very sore bum. It was an interesting slow bone jarring ride travelling at about 30 Km/h. Gulflander Rail Motor At Mt Surprise we booked into the Bedrock Village caravan park, our base for the Undara Lava Caves and O'Brien Creek Gemstone tours. Its 34 degrees with no TV reception. The tour of the Undara Lava Tubes, located south of Mt Surprise started with a 600 metre walk to the summit of an extinct volcano and a further 2.6 Km walk around the crater rim. For the rest of the day we were progressively introduced to the lava tubes tunnels in size and length with access normally down well trodden rock faces and ladders. The last lava tunnel was the longest, and without the aid of torches impossible to penetrate. Definitely not for claustrophobics with plenty of small bats, unfamiliar smells, and the sensation of total darkness when all of the torches were turned off. All surface road tracks are unmade and red soil penetrates everywhere. The O'Brien Creek Gemfields, renown for topaz is located 37 Km from Mt Surprise on private property. It is a case of taking pot luck on where you start digging in that the topaz is normally found within the top 10 cm of soil. It was hot, dusty, dirty, thirsty work for 5 pieces of topaz, but Joan was happy. Arriving at Innisfail, there was green and tropical vegetation compared to the dusty brown land we had been travelling over for the past few weeks. By the time we sited our van we were perspiring and dripping wet. It was really steamy as we set off for the very popular Paronella Park at Mena Creek. The park structures include a Spanish castle, hydro-electric system, ballroom, change rooms, rainforest and tropical gardens all built around the period 1920 - 1940. Paronella Park Castle Unfortunately many devastating floods (1945, 1964 and 1990) have washed away and wrecked many structures. However there is still a lot to see and it was very busy with tourists. It remained steamy with constant drizzle and sunshine. The weather bureau says that it is totally unseasonable - summer weather instead of winter - 22 degrees overnight. It was not until we had packed up camp did I realise that I had made a couple of booboo's during the night. It appears that I had gone to the toilet and showered in the Ladies the night before and in the morning had shaved and been to the toilet in the wrong place again. It was only when Joan walked into the same doorway as we were about to leave did it start to gel. That probably accounts for the sanitary pad disposal bin sitting in the toilet the night before. Oops. I'll put it down to the balmy weather. In Townsville we stayed at the Big-4 caravan park with an en-suite site. To check our bearings our first trip was to the Castle Hill Lookout which provided panoramic views around the Townsville CBD, airport, shipping channels and across to Magnetic Island. Our first trip was on the catamaran ferry to Magnetic Island. Very economical trip - return ferry and all day island bus pass for $13.75 each (seniors rate). Nice trip across to Picnic Bay (ferry terminus) where we picked up the Magnetic Island bus service for the trip across the island to Horseshoe Bay (sheltered inlet from the SE winds). Backpackers of all nationalities and many retirees. Food is expensive and souvenirs are targeted to those who have plenty of money. Very lovely island with houses mingled amongst the trees. Later, when driving along a new seashore development called The Strand' opposite Magnetic Island we came across a water feature that all children would love. A suspended water bucket that constantly fills and then dumps the water on the children below. Strand Water Bucket With water cannons, waterfalls and mushrooms all sprouting water all over the place you can understand why the whole area was swarming with kids. Public liability ? After staying a few days in Townsville we pushed on to Mackay. Unfortunately all along the coast our timing has been wrong to see a cane field sugar mill in operation. With a very poor growing season the delayed harvest is always going to start the following week. Mackay was no different. When we departed Mackay we missed the turnoff to Clermont and instead went via Sarina. Obviously not the correct route for caravans as we travelled over narrow roads that twisted and turned with sharp corners up and over the ranges. Interesting countryside with sugar cane up to the lowlands, then cattle country over the other side. The land soon took on the sunburnt country' image. At Emerald we woke to a freezing cold and windy morning. By the time we reached Rubyvale it was sunny and cloudless day. We were the only customers on the gemstone tour so we sat back and relaxed in someone else's 4WD over some rough tracks to the diggings. The fossicking area is about 15 Km off the main road on a private claim. We all had a great time with everyone pitching in with the digging, shovelling, washing and picking out the numerous gemstones - but it was still a dirty, dusty day. At St George one of the main attractions is the Unique Egg collection of hand carved illuminated emu eggs all handcrafted by Steve Margaritis over the last 40 years. It is a private collection but was well worth the additional effort to see them. Carved Emu Eggs After a disappointing stay at Lightning Ridge , we proceeded south towards Parkes, Cowra and Canberra. The weather was getting noticeably colder as we moved further south and there was no better proof of this as we backed the A'van into the carport - sleet was falling. Omen - never return to Canberra in the middle of winter!
StatisticsMost expensive autogas was at Normanton 90.9 cpl (ULP 93.3 cpl). Most expensive petrol was at Roma/Cunnamulla 95.10 cpl (however ULP at Wilcannia was 114.9 cpl). Dennis and Joan Thornton
(October 2002)
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