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Published: July 25th 2010
Kurumba
Sunset over the Gulf of Carpentaria We left you with our first impressions on our arrival in Karumba and a hint at the reason for the title of the last blog. It is true that the barramundi had largely left the area and I am told on very good authority (fishermen never lie do they?) that the barra’s will only ever be seen when the tides are very high - which was not the case when we were there. Nevertheless, we were in the Gulf and it is full of suicidal fish, so much so that in a couple of hours on the beach Geoff had landed 4 bream, 3 of which were well over the ‘keeping’ size. Margaret is very quick to tell everyone that I can even cause professional fishermen to fail when he is around, so those bream were really up for the title of suicide fish! Having had such success, Geoff was now determined to fish the Gulf dry, but we had only booked into the caravan park for 3 nights and despite their best efforts they could not find us a spot to extend our stay. A little on that subject; the park held approx 145 RV’s, and that was only what
Copperfield Gorge
Copperfield River making its way through basalt at Einseleigh their site map showed! We were designated a site “house 1” which is not on the site map and we were in front of a very large motor-home, both of us having to make do with being on the side of a thoroughfare. Before we left there was a small camper parked on the communal entertainment area, but as our ‘extension day’ was going to be Saturday and they have a big free fish barbeque on every Sat., we were not able to use that option! The other 2 caravan parks were the same in size and possibly worse in respect to “overflow’ options. Fisher-people are desperate people!
On the night we arrived in Karumba the third State of Origin (rugby) match was being played and they had a big screen set up with rows of seats. They had a sausage sizzle at about 6.30 and then the game commenced at around 8, Queenslanders on one side and New South Welshmen on the other side! Although we don’t usually watch rugby it was rather difficult to avoid it as the screen was about 20 metres from our caravan! The next evening the managers of the park had a dinner
Lava Tube
Undara Lava Tube via Mt. Surprise party and that was about 10 meters from our van. The final night was a bit of a disappointment as there was nothing arranged to keep us awake. The weather was very cool and windy while we were there, which pleased Marg a lot.
After ensuring that we had enough of the very scrumptious Gulf prawns to last us until we get back to Melbourne in 5 weeks (there are some advantages in having a 70 lt. esky!), we set off for Mt. Surprise 465kms eastward. Mt. Surprise is an interesting place particularly as it only has a population of 65 yet boasts full Telstra coverage (and therefore Internet for us). As the crow flies it is about 200kms due west of Tully on the Qld. Coast and is surrounded by Mt. Surprise Station; a little farm of 660 sq. mls! It was stinking hot when we arrived and after setting up a swim in the pool was in order. That certainly cooled us off - the pool was freezing. We arrived on the day of “the rodeo” and even the pub was not serving meals, choosing instead to direct all traffic to the event. Bull riding never was
Charters Towers 1
Restored Stock Exchange building big on Margaret’s (or “Geoff’s) list of things to do (watch), so we had an early night.
Einasleigh is a town south west of Mt. Surprise and one might say, superficially known for its pub. The real attraction at Einasleigh is the Copperfield Gorge, which is found understandably, on the Copperfield River. Now as you would imagine we have seen the odd gorge or two and it was with some trepidation that we sought out this one. To say it was a pleasant surprise is an understatement. Once again we are reminded of the enormous volumes of water that fall in this area and the equally enormous power of that water. The gorge is relatively small in the scheme of things; however it cuts through a band of pure solid basalt and is spectacular for that fact alone. At the risk of being accused as judgemental, Einasleigh is totally forgettable; however Copperfield Gorge was worth every bit of the 150 kms round trip on a very bumpy dirt road with many creek crossings - one even had water in it. Tomorrow we leave here and head for the Undara lava tubes.
Just digressing for a moment, the caravan
Charters Towers 2
Original ore stamper at Venus Battery park we stayed at was called Bedrock Village and was created 12 years ago by a jillaroo (Joanne) and her new station mechanic husband (Joe). The name comes from their efforts to clear the abundant rocks from the otherwise barren acreage; as they put it for every one they dug out with the backhoe, another 10 appeared! Anyway, the point if the history of the ‘Village’ is that they also organise tours of the lava tubes and our host was Joe who is also a Savannah Guide. Joe also has a dry Queenslander sense humour developed over his life in the bush that belies his success in business.
The lava tubes were 20 kms east of Mt. Surprise and therefore on our way to the next destination. It is quite normal for the tours to have ‘tag along’ participants to a point about 5 kms from the first point if interest. Marg went on the bus and Geoff followed (at great speed) behind with the caravan in tow. It is probably the time to explain that when we are on the road, we run the caravan fridge off the car battery but as it draws a huge amount of
Burdekin River Weir
Dam wall on Lake Dalrymple with weir at capacity. current and we disconnect it if we have to stop for more than 15 - 20 mins. Sadly Geoff realised as we were about an hour into the tour that he had forgotten to disconnect the fridge and we would be another 3 hours before we could get back to the car 😞 Yep, pancakes have more elevation than the battery did when we got back. We had to get a jump start from someone else who had parked their car at same spot.
Nevertheless, the tubes we a very interesting experience. The whole area (100 sq. kms plus) is a lava plain and the tubes were formed when the outer walls of the flows cooled to the extent of being solid while the inner flow remained fluid. The inner flowing lava must have created voids along their length thus forming the tubes. The scary thing is that the entries to the tubes are where the ‘roof’ of the tube has collapsed and exposed the tube. That is not a great piece of knowledge to dwell on when passing through the tube! It is certainly unique and a must do if you are in the area. Geoff forgot to
Caravan Park at Lake Dalrymple
One of the many peacocks at Lake Dalrymple mention that before going down into the tubes, we first went up to a crater rim. Everywhere we go seems to involve a steep climb up a very large hill. Fortunately for one of us the guide kept stopping to point out things and one of us was able to regain their breath and steady their heartbeat.
It was a long drive and on poor roads to our next destination. The highway was single lane for more than half its length and in many places was under reconstruction to make it dual lane. In the main, the roadways in Queensland are good, but the state is so large that it is inevitable that there will still be roads that need upgrading. The next stop was Charters Towers, another town created on the back of a gold discovery. It is a beautiful town with many of the buildings saved and restored to their former grandeur. The original gold battery is still intact and now maintained by the local council as a tourist attraction. A tour of the Venus Battery tour traces the process from the point of the miners delivering their ore to the miners taking their extracted gold to
Carnarvon Gorge 1
End of the Moss Gardens Gorge with water permeating through the rock. the Assayer’s office. There were a couple of different processes over the years and just under half of all the gold extracted at the battery was from reprocessing the ‘tailings’. One interesting fact that was emphasised repeatedly was that whichever process was used, it involved highly toxic chemical treatment and that the chemical slurry was drained into the river behind that flows ultimately into the Burdekin River - more on that later. We cannot leave Charters Towers without mentioning the free camp at Fletchers Creek, about 40 kms north of C.T. So big are the numbers of nomads using this facility that it stretches approx 500 mtrs on both sides of the river to the east of the highway and about 300 mtrs on both sides to the west of the highway!
Our next stop was at the Burdekin River Dam on Lake Dalrymple. This spot is a bit out of the way and as a result was not as busy as we would have expected. The park is run by SunWater, the Queensland water authority and they have a quaint procedure of collecting the camping fees at 7.00 am in the morning. Now that would take guts when
Carnarvon Gorge 2
Inside the Amphitheatre Gorge. you see some of the nomads at that time of the day! There were large numbers of peacocks strutting around the van area which was lush and green with the sprinklers going for at least 14 hours a day. The facilities are great; however a number of the powered sites had been disabled, which was not a big issue for us, but did cause issues for some late arrivals who had big freezers that needed power overnight. We had friendly neighbours and took our chairs and nibbles over to their van for evening drinkies. Everywhere you go there are evening drinks happening from 5 (or in some cases earlier) and groups of strangers exchanging information. The dam/lake is at capacity and not long ago was in flood. Pity they could not send some of it down south. Two nights later (we count everything in nights stayed), we were on our way to Emerald.
After driving for 6 hours, back through Charters Towers, Margaret pointed out that according to the Drivers Atlas we were at the same latitude that we were at when we left in the morning. That was not a helpful revelation. The city of Emerald was where
King Fern
Rare King Fern in Wards Gorge we were to meet Margaret’s sister Pam and husband Allan. They were a couple of days behind us so we chose to take in another, yes another, gorge. This time it was to be Carnarvon Gorge which is different in the sense that there are a number of different and unique gorges running off the main gorge. It is controlled by Qld. National Parks and in the true green spirit; they have made it as hard as possible to get into it. The last 12 kms. is dirt road and it would test the toughest off road caravan. There is a ‘resort’ in the area - that is 4 kms before the gorge, where caravans are welcome, but it is seriously tough to get there. The gorge is great; it is just a great pity that they have not made it more accessible for caravanners. The unmistakable focus is on bush walking and it is approx 14 kms to the end of the designated Carnarvon Gorge area, not counting any of the side trips into the many other gorges, before you head off onto a track that takes you to a bluff several kms further on. That is for overnight
Carnarvon Gorge 3
Looking back from the end of Wards Gorge hikers.
We had to walk quite a long way along to main Carnarvon Gorge before turning off to any of the other minor gorges. Margaret got to Moss Garden, the first minor gorge which was a very pretty area where water flowed constantly out of the porous rocks providing the ideal environment for a lush carpet of moss to cover all the rocks and walls of the gorge. Returning to the main track and after reviewing the trail map and having lunch Margaret decided to return to the main park area. She thought that if she didn’t turn back at this stage she would need piggy backing out of the gorge to the car! After returning to the car she had a reviving cup of coffee and a lie down on a blanket with the kangaroos and birds. Geoff continued to the next 2 minor gorges.
Amphitheatre gorge required a trip up 4 open mesh ladders but he made it. From the top of the ladder access, there is a 50 mtr walk into a square void in the rock. The walls are very smooth, vertical and approx 30 mtrs high. It would not do to come across this
Very friendly parrot
Luncheon companion at Lake Maraboon - Fairbairn Dam via Emerald if you were walking across the countryside above in the dark. It would be one hell of a first step! The stated explanation for this formation is that the water had trickled down the cracks in the rock and gradually eroded the centre out of it; G cannot see that explanation being valid as the walls are absolutely smooth, homogeneous and there is no sign of erosion at the top where water apparently floods over in the wet season. Fellow ‘explorers’ said that Ward’s Gorge was beautiful and according to the map was only 300 mtrs further on, so G continued on. About 500 mtrs on he met a young photographer in the middle of the stream taking time exposure photos of the water running over the rocks (you know the ones where the water looks like liquid mist). The photographer advised that wards was indeed worth the effort and that it was about another 500 mtrs further on - so much for the official guide! Wards Gorge disappoints to begin with, but is made up of 3 levels and moving further up the track/steps exposes a fabulous narrow canyon with a small stream flowing along its floor. The vistas were fabulous and at the top of the gorge (as far as they will let you go) are some very rare giant ferns. It was definitely worth pressing on.
We left Carnarvon gorge after 2 nights and travelled back to Emerald to catch up with Pam and Allan. We will take up the next blog from there, and that may cover the trip back to Melb. and sadly the end of this journey..
P.S I didn’t mention it in the last blog, but the S.A Govt. still have not read their 2008 Strategy for Roadside Rest Areas or my email. Well they would have answered by now if they had - wouldn’t they? Keep you informed.
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Parrot
Did YOU paint that parrot ?? What incredible colours !!! The sunset pic is awesome too Eug xx