kersers

After fitting new rear brake pads and a fuel filter to the Cruiser at Seisia, we headed south, stopping briefly in Bamaga to send some postcards and pick up some fresh bread (and tasty treats) from the bakery there. From there it was on the ferry once again and then down the northern and southern bypass roads to arrive at Bramwell Homestead about lunch time. We unhitched the trailer, had a quick lunch then headed off to drive the southern section of the OTT that we had missed on the way up. We arrived at Palm Creek and joined up with a couple of cars who were starting the steep and washed out descent down the entrance bank. After the two cars were over we started our entrance. Alex became official photographer again while Thomas and ... read more

We left Bramwell Homestead and again took the southern bypass road northwards. However, this time we turned back towards the Overland Telegraph Track (OTT) via the Heathlands Ranger station. At the OTT, we headed south to have a look at Gunshot Creek, which we had heard lots about. We unhooked the camper trailer to make it easier to travel and arrived at the northern banks of Gunshot. It wasn't too long afterwards that a couple of vehicles arrived on the southern side. One was owned by a 'pom' now living in Brisbane while the other was a hire vehicle that his folks and younger brother had picked up in Cairns. They had done all the OTT except Gunshot up until now, but were heading south and wanted to complete the OTT altogether before heading home. This ... read more

On Sunday we joined the Peninsula Development Road (PDR) again and headed north to the turn off east into Iron Range National Park. This road was in good condition although it had lots of dips. There were only two noteworthy creek crossings - the Wenlock River and the Pascoe, which was a wide, sandy bottom crossing that was pretty shallow. Our only stop after a morning tea break and a firewood restock was at the Mt Tozer lookout, although we did drive into the inland camp sites at Rain Forest and Cooks Hut to have a look just in case we couldn't get a site at Chili Beach. We had been told that Chili beach, where we were intending to camp, fills up quickly and by the time we got there all the sheltered sites were ... read more

After a late start getting away from Maggie Island we caught the ferry back to the mainland, grabbed some groceries and went to retrieve our trailer. Then we hit the road again and headed north to Forest Beach near Ingham, passing the large sugar cane mill along the way. We had arranged to spend the evening here with Norma and Herman (good friends from Darwin). We arrived later than we had planned but had a brilliant evening catching up with them after again being treated to Norma's yummy cooking. The next morning The Netherlands were playing Uruguay in the semi final of the World Cup soccer so Mark, Thomas and Herm got up early to enjoy the game together. Then we were treated to a delicious cooked breakfast before we loaded up the car again and ... read more

We left Lorella Springs just after 8 am and headed for Cape Crawford, located at the intersection of the Carpentaria and Tablelands highways. Here we refuelled and headed south to the Barkly Homestead where we thought we might have to spend the night. However, we made good progress on the one-lane sealed Tablelands Highway and it was only 3 pm when we got to the Homestead, so after a brief stop for a snack, we continued east on the Barkly Highway towards Camooweal to stay for the night. The following morning we continued east for the short distance to Mt Isa. We were pressured into staying here for a night as the Mt Isa Show was on this weekend. Because we were going to miss out on the Darwin Show this year (we've never been!), Annelies ... read more