The Savannah Way - QLD section

The Savannah Way



Little Bynoe River camp

 Our next journey is the Savannah Way which is the name trek we are taking to cross the Gulf of Carpenteria from QLD to NT. The Savannah Way starts from the outskirts of the Atherton tablelands and finishes at Mataranka NT. The night before we started this journey we camped the night at a freebie spot called Rocky creek, as we drove in thru the 30 odd caravans we jokingly said there has to be a camper trailer amoungst here somewhere and would you believe up the back we found one and as we got closer we discovered it was the Malpas family - that was very exciting, the girls were practically climbing out the window as the car was still moving to get to them. Even though it had only been a few nights since we said goodbye, it felt like a few weeks and it was great to catch up with with them for the night. That night it was so cool that we lashed out and bought the girls some doonas. But I dare not complain as conditions back home are freezing - everyone we meet reminds us or informs us of the temperature in Canberra so we are feeling extremely lucky.  It was bitumen road from the tablelands to Normaton, we found some great spots to stop and look at. We really enjoyed Croydon, an old gold mining town. We learnt about the history of gold mining and the way of life back then, it was great walking through the old buildings and looking at the old machinery.
We got to see the Gulflander train at Normaton and it was in mint condition, obvously well looked after.

Darrin got the catch of the day

Finally we were back on the dirt and got to see some more exciting and beautiful country. Bulldust was the first feature we did discover, so fine it was not long before our car and camper were covered. But it did not make its way into the camper, so a dust free kitchen and bed was always nice. We stopped at Little Bynoe River for a few nights and put the boat in, the catch of this place was a 100cm barra caught by Darrin, it was excitment all round. We took photos and released him back in the water as we already had a few feeds of barra in the fridge.  We had a fantastic few days here camped on the sand fishing and relaxing. 




Our Leichardt falls camp

 

Our next camp was Leichardt falls, here we camped with full view of these spectacular falls on flat rock and sand. A few of our neighbours for the night ended up being the crew from Weipa we had met on the Coleman River and also a family we had met in Bowen (Glen, Bridget, Blake and Celia).  The kids all had fun exploring and playing together. We managed to find a swimming spot away from crocs which kept the girls very happy.



Laundry with a view.





 

 

Croc free swimming is always a bonus find out here.



After leaving Leichardt falls we travelled a short distance to Gregorgy Downs. Along the way we were lucky to spot some Emu's and fantastic birdlife. As this is all cattle country there are always cows to be seen. However, this time they looked really interesting; they were in huge numbers lazing around the dams, I just hope the dams last the dry for them. A small dam for such a large number of cattle does not seem enough. We stopped on the Gregory River for lunch and found John and Roylene camped there, so of course we decided to stay the night to catch up on where we had all been since our Telegraph track adventure. We enjoyed the refreshing crystal clear waters of the Gregory River, it was quite fast flowing so rubber duckie came out for a ride. A nice night around the fire.



Gregory river camp





Riding the flow of Gregory River



Emma got the fire going

Lawn Hill National Park, how can I describe this beautiful place? An oasis in the middle of a desert. The gorge is truely amazing red cliffs with a pandanus lined creek and a few waterfalls thrown in just to add extra beauty. We did a spectacular walk to Indarri falls then back along the top of the gorge. The views of the gorge rim were amazing and well worth the walk. We even managed to see a freshwater croc lazing on a log.

Indarri falls



Indarri falls lookout



Lawn Hill Gorge and the ranges



Doomadgee store

 I just wanted to show you what a typical store looks like in these remote aboriginal communities, this is the store in Doomadgee, it was Sunday when we passed thru so it was closed but I can imagine it was like a department store which sold most things the community needed. Notice no marketing or fancy shop windows, just a plain old metal shed.

Our next destination is the Northern Territory. Looking forward to finding more nice waterways to camp by and hopefully some more fish.

 

To Northern Territory