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Published: September 13th 2013
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Searching for crocs - what lies beneathI liked Kalpower crossing campground it was high up off the creek banks. High enough that if a croc decided to take a hike up the embankment of about 8 metres vertical drop I might have a chance of getting away. Apparently you run in a zig zag direction. I think me doing that would only serve to make me giddy, fall over and get eaten or rather "taken". Crocs "take you" that sounds entirely sinister... Not content to just have a good old munch they secrete you away and nibble at you over a long period of time. Yeeeuw. Although we got up in the morning to search for crocs we haven't seen one yet. Yet another cold shower before heading of towards the Cape Melville area. This is a really desolate part of the coast it takes
about two hours to reach and it's only about 40 kilometers from the old abandoned Old Kalpower station. Bathurst Head or Cape Melville - it's a toss up. We decided on heading towards Bathurst Head 40 or so kilometers and more than two hours across land. Land that at any other time would be a swamp. We drove to a great little camp ground on the banks of the Marrett River. The water was the colour of the mangroves -areally interesting green and looked fabulous against the brilliant blue sky. There were ant castles everywhere you looked like the headstones in a cemetery. The reward at the end of the 40 or so Kilometres was to stop and look at the azure sea and white sands that is Princess Charlotte Bay the biggest bay in Queensland. Wayne spotted sea snakes. Three of them no less! I cooked us a big breakfast and we watched the fisherfolk play with their boats on these calm seas. <br style="color: font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana,
arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;" />Thinking we could go no further we turned around to head back towards Musgrave station when I spotted a track. I knew that one would take us to Bathurst Bay. B2 climbed the massive hilly tracks with ease. We found ourselves on top of Bathurst head looking north over the Flinders Group of islands sitting in the middle of the sparkling sea.B2 climbed down the hill to a beach called Coombe Point where we found an abandoned camp of some size. It was twisted and bent wreckage of corrugated iron huts but must have been a recent camp as there were air conditioners. It would have been savaged by a cyclone. The view of the Flinders Islands would have been the best thing about the place. We couldn't really make out what they did there. Might have been an abandoned cattle property.<br style="color: font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size:
13.333333969116211px; line-height: 18.88888931274414px;" />A climb down the hilly rutted out tracks and we headed towards Musgrave station while getting a chance to drive through Rinyirri (Lakefield National Park) to see some of the streams and waterholes Hann River Crossing with it's sandy bottom and twisted volcanic boulders. Saltwater Creek looked brooding and swampy and probably infested it was a fast drive through that ford. Then we came to the stark and incredibly contrasting Nifold Plains. Flat as a tac with soft golden green grasses and very few trees, bar the occasional palm and Queensland Bottle tree. Ant mounds everywhere as far as the eyes could see, looking like soldiers crouched down waiting in the grasses ready to attack in a Lord of the Rings movie. I loved it, it was spookily eerie.<br style="color: font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height:
18.88888931274414px;" />There's so much to see in Lakelands that you forget about time and what day it is and that you've left your world behind. While thinking seriously about what day it might be Musgrave Station came upon us quickly and we decided to camp there the night. Finally a chance to do some laundry.I struck up a conversation with a traveller from Newcastle who was very friendly. He was telling me about great camping spots and good tracks. I suggested to him that he talk with Wayne about the good places to go and I asked him where they were camped. He leaned in real close pointed in the direction of his tent and rubbed my back ever so suggestively to which my skin crawled right off my bones. Made my leave pretty quickly. We had dinner at the pub and then crashed
for the evening.
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