As we were leaving our vans in storage at Lakeland we cleaned and packed everything away and moved them to the storage area. We drove out along the highway past banana plantations, orchards of macadamias and mangos and cane fields – the area is so fertile and picturesque with the mountains of the Great Dividing Range in the background. The weather has been a very comfortable 30-34 degrees during the day but cooler at night so great for sleeping. Flies have not been an issue nor mosquitoes, so we have felt very blessed with the conditions under which we have been travelling.

It felt great to be driving free of towing and we soon arrived on the dirt and let down the tyres.

Driving through the National Park was great – full  of interesting sights – wild pigs, lots of small wallabies, goannas, cows and huge eagles crossing the road or feeding on road kill…

We stopped for a quick toilet break at the ranger station at new Laura then continued on to our first stop – Kalpowar crossing. Along the way we started to see billabongs that looked very “croc” friendly…

The road was being graded so was in really good condition….

Kalpowar Crossing had a flowing river crossing over a weir – and a warning sign about a recent croc sighting – apparently a 5m saltie had been inhabiting the area of late..

The river crossing was very beautiful and easy to traverse…

We enjoyed morning tea there and then continued on – next stop the White Lily Lagoon. The lagoon was filled with white flowering water lilies and edged with gums, melaleucas and reeds – such a tranquil place…but also croc territory!!An amazing amount of birdlife populated the area – Trev put the drone up and got some amazing footage which gave another perspective on the area.

Our next stop was the Red Lily Lagoon – another gorgeous billabong filled with pink lotus and white lilies – we put the drone up again for an aerial view of the wetlands.

We crossed the Hann River which still had water in it but was not flowing over the road and continued on towards Musgrave Roadhouse. The landscape was ever changing – magnetic termite mounds became common, savannah grassland, woodland, grasstrees and scrubby areas – different on every turn of the road.

We rejoined the main road at Musgrave Roadhouse where we stopped for a quick lunch – and Trev got up close and personal with some cows. The cows were actually in plague proportions – we wondered how anyone could land a plane on the airstrip with all the cows sitting on it!

 Continuing on the Peninsula Developmental Road toward Coen the road alternated between dirt and sealed road but on the whole the road was in great condition. We reached Coen in the early afternoon and found the free camp “The Bends” that Tim had told us about.

It was very peaceful with a flowing creek of clear water lined with paperbarks and sandy banks. We set up our camp – like well oiled machines we had not forgotten the drill!!

Dave was horrified when his hands were covered by Rosie’s exploding yoghurt….. he dislikes “off milk” at the best of times.

Everyone settled in for the night…despite the not-old mate who decided to break the ambience of the area by playing his music full bore til late- nearly driving the Bottomless Barista nuts!!