During the night the wind had picked up and by morning it was blowing a gale…packing up in a sandstorm was not much fun….

…and the wind was whipping up the most waves we had seen since Broome!!

Trev and Gordie were concerned that their fuel was running low due to the faux pas yesterday when they missed the servo at Burketown by 5 minutes….. so Dave came to the rescue and donated them each a jerrycan of diesel from the Pearl’s supply.

We set off in the howling wind to Normanton – the road was unsealed most of the way but in pretty good condition.

The landscape was mostly savannah with large cattle stations, dry creek beds and some larger rivers which still had some water in them.

The dust was punishing in particular with oncoming local cars who were flying along and peppering us with stones…fortunately no stone chips today!!

A helicopter was seen mustering cattle….must have been a challenge in the wind!!!

Arriving at Normanton we bought some groceries and fuel…and had lunch and coffee at the local bakery – awesome coffee and baked goods!!

Normanton is home to the Purple Pub – a very colourful structure!!

We drove on the 70kms to Karumba through wetlands (which looked more like drylands!!) and very arid pastures with cattle somehow managing to survive…

At Karumba we checked into the Karumba Point Sunset Caravan Park, and the washing began in earnest!!

Kerry noticed a disturbing sign in the ladies toilets – says something about the demographics of the caravan park clientele!!

Dinner that night in the Sunset Tavern overlooking the Gulf…with the howling wind still present and not looking like abating for a couple of days….our plans for a cruise on the Gulf look unlikely as all cruises had been cancelled today…..we will have to wait to see what tomorrow brings.

The day had arrived to leave this gorgeous part of Australia and continue our trek along the Savannah Way towards Cairns. After hotwiring the Titan we set off.

As we departed Gordie took the opportunity to engage in the somewhat futile exercise of cleaning windscreens…

The road to Gregory Downs was not too bad – tarred in some places – but very dusty…. We past the Century Mine and headed across the savannah area arriving in Gregory Downs for morning tea.

Morning tea was at Murray’s Place – “ best coffee in the gulf”….and the most delicious homemade apple and cinnamon muffins!

After another awkward hotwire…

on the Burketown for lunch at the Morning Glory Café….

and we stuck up a conversation with 3 guys on motorbikes who were doing the circuit….and it turned out that one of the guys Jason lived literally around the corner from Dave and Rosie – his dog even poos on their lawn each time he walks past their place he confessed!!!

After a long discussion with the guys who were keen for info on the Gibb River Road as that was where they were headed we went to get fuel and found the servo was just closing…. A bit of an issue as we did not have enough fuel in the tank to reach Normanton and  there were no more fuel stops between Burketown and there….

Yet another unique roadsign!!

Dave in the Pearl had plenty of fuel – no issue – Gordie and Trev needed fuel – we had 1 jerrycan and Dave had 2 so after doing the maths we realised we would just make it so continued on to Leichhardt Falls our free camp for the night.

The Leichhardt River was still flowing and there was some water coming over the falls. There are salties in the river so no swimming.

We saw lots of birds and a lone freshie sunning himself on a rock as well as a couple of wallabies that came down to the river to drink….

After a Sunday sermon and afternoon tea we walked around the falls and river – the river bed was huge and must be an impressive sight in the wet!

The bridge over was ridiculously narrow – hard to believe road trains fit across but we saw one late that night!

The full moon came up as we got ready for bed – beautiful clear night sky!!

You never know what a day may bring…..

Leaving Adel’s Grove bright and early to return to Boodjamulla National Park to canoe the middle and upper gorges, everyone was keen as mustard for a day of exercise and swimming…

We arrived at the carpark at about 815 – Gordie had not parked so well so Kerry asked him to straighten up the car – when he went to restart the Titan it was dead as a doornail!! No problem back at Adel’s…but a problem now! A look under the bonnet revealed a corroded terminal on the battery but after cleaning etc – still no reaction from the beast!

Macgyver had nothing…and it appeared we would just need to leave it as is – do the canoeing and then sort it out on our return. Rosie’s phone had reception (we left our back at the camp and Kerry’s was playing up…) so Gordie used it to call Eddie from SCD to get some advice – Eddie was very helpful and was going to get Chris the mechanic to contact Gordie….

We ventured out for our canoe – Gordie making a toilet stop which proved a near-fatal mistake as he ripped a hole in his forearm on the toilet roll dispenser!!! It was not Gordie’s day – and Branch was nowhere in sight having elected to stay at camp on guard duty.

The canoes were finally launched and we paddled up the middle gorge – marvelling at the sound of a myriad of birds in the quiet of the morning…..

The reflection of the gorge cliff face against the still water was mirror image perfect as we glided silently up the creek surrounded by water lilies opening in the early morning light.

We reached Indarri Falls and decided to have a swim on our return from the upper gorge. At the edge of the creek there was a pontoon and steps with a railing that you could slide the canoes up and over the bank – then carrying them along a short track past the falls and re-launching into the upper gorge creek.

The upper gorge was equally beautiful – still clear waters until you reached the end where the waters were rushing in from a hidden escape in the rocks further into the bush.

Fish abounded in the water and were very friendly – one even taking a bite of Kerry’s hand.

We canoed back to Indarri Falls and all jumped in for a much needed swim..it was such a hot day and the cool water was just what the doctor ordered…. Who needs a shower when you can float under a waterfall!!

Our time was almost up so we raced the canoes back to the hire place….and back to facing the music with the none-performing Titan…

Gordie had a missed call from Chris the mechanic – when he rang back Chris was fantastic – he figured out the issue almost immediately…

A malfunction with a safety switch had now caused the Titan to not detect Gordie’s foot on the brake when he went to start the vehicle…..the solution was a new switch – not possible In this neck of the woods… but a temporary solution was to bypass the switch using something that would conduct current…Chris suggested 2 paperclips – which Macgyver tried to source from the ranger’s office – no luck they were closed…

Macgyver then had the brilliant idea of 2 pen springs…they conducted all right nearly burning his fingers but alas not thick enough to carry enough current…

A bloke parked near us whose name was Phil came to the rescue – being, as his wife described, a hoarder – he had lots of bits and pieces in his car – including a piece of electrical wire that proved perfect.

After some awkward moments and positions Gordie and Trev finally hotwired past the switch and the Titan roared to life…

Back at camp Branch caught up with the action when Gordie received some first aid for his forearm….

and then another issue came to light the Hunter’s had kept quiet…Gordie’s new “Ring of Fire” had melted their table inadvertently – Branch could not help but investigate….

We spent the afternoon swimming again down at the creek – such a beautiful and serene place…..

Lo and behold Phil the hoarder and his wife were down for a swim!!! Such an awesome bloke!!

The day started slowly as we had booked the gorge cruise for midday so planned to get to Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) national park at about 10 to do a walk before the boat ride. The national park area was given back to the government by the Lawn Hill Cattle Station owners and is truly a beautiful part of the country – tranquil and garden of Eden-like!

A 10 km drive in from Adel’s Grove saw us at the national park carpark – we decided to do the Duwadarri Lookout walk that took us up to a vantage point overlooking all the gorge area. We walked beside the creek flowing through the gorge – Trev was working the camera after lessons from Rosie!!-  and then in over some grassland to the hill we had to ascend for the lookout.

The view on the way up was spectacular and the climb up although steep was easily managed.

The gorge was impressive viewed from above – red cliffs falling into aqua clear water lined with lilies and pandanus…

We returned back to the cruise dock and boarded the solar-powered boat for the trip up to the first set of falls. The gorge is in 3 sections – we were cruising the middle section – the lower section flows out to Adel’s grove.

The water is very high in calcium and as the water evaporates a skin of calcite forms and binds with other minerals in the water to form a light rock called tufa – as it sinks it hardens and builds up – the falls were mostly made of this rock and continue to grow with deposits over time.

The Lawn Hill creek that flows through the gorge is fed by an artesian spring at an unbelievable rate of 1.4 million litres per hour from beneath the surface at the top of the gorge. The water is clear and aqua in colour due to the high mineral content.

The gorge is home to an abundant number of species of birds as well as snakes, crocodiles (freshwater), turtles, fish and frogs.

Waterlilies in flower proliferated along the gorge and the contrast of azure sky and red cliffs mirrored in the still clear water of the creek was absolutely beautiful!

We reached the Indarri Falls and heard the sound of rushing water before we could see them. The falls run over the calcium deposits of tufa and along most of the falls pandanus, reeds and melaleucas were growing. For the past 9 years the wet season had not been so big and the plants had been able to grow without being washed away with a large addition of surface water to the creek. Apparently all it will take is one big wet season and the rock of the falls will once more be exposed as the foliage is swept away by the torrents. Around the corner a rocky section of the falls was still visible and the area there was great for swimming. As we were on the guided tour there was no time for a swim but tomorrow we will be canoeing up so it will be swim time then I am sure!!

After returning from Indarri Falls we drove back to Adel’s Grove – on the way we came upon 3 overseas tourists in a 4WD that had seen better days – they had sheared off a ball joint and would be going nowhere fast – made all our “issues” seem very minor. Dave drove them back to the ranger station so they could get assistance – fortunately for them they had broken down in a not too remote place!!

The afternoon was spent swimming in the creek, happy hour and listening to the next instalment of Daniel – chapter 7.

As we only had about 30ks to get to Adel’s Grove we had a leisurely morning – bacon and eggs for brekkie and a real coffee crafted by the Bottomless Barista as well as a Psalm for the day..

Trev flew the drone for a quick aerial view of the countryside – beautiful vista!!

We were just about to pull out when Branch called a halt…there appeared to be a Wells issue so we got out for a look….and another repair – Poppy appeared as apprentice nuisance when Macgyver got out the tools… another issue with the connections between their car and van…

Finally on the road we continued on the Doomadgee Road through Lawn Hill Cattle Station – past hundreds of cattle some of which felt they owned the road!!

Lots of bulldust, rolling plains and hills in the distance – and a small hill close to the road with an enormous cross on it – a private road up to the top – obviously a burial place with a memorial for a local family.

We came to the dual river crossing – the water was not too deep but flowing and very clear so everyone made it across without issue. It was a mini oasis in this dry land and you can see why the homestead for the cattle station was built on its banks a bit further along. There were palms and reeds, lots of greenery and the crystal clear cool water meandering along made for a very picturesque and serene setting.

After leaving Lawn Hill Station we drove on to Adel’s Grove – roadworks along the way but the road was in good condition.

Arriving at Adel’s Grove we found the temporary reception area (their main admin building had been burnt down about 4 weeks ago!!) We checked in and booked a gorge cruise for the next day and then went to find our sites and set up. While checking in Rosie heard a couple saying they had issues with their van’s water and had lost all their water so she went over for a chat having found a kindred spirit!! The campground here has a small maintenance crew so the Wells may be able to source some parts for definitive repairs.

Rose and Dave decided to “dump” first and then somehow got lost in the camping area….we could not locate them and there was some difficulty turning around the van apparently wherever they had landed but eventually we spotted them coming in the right direction and they arrived only to find that the repair on their water inlet valve had come loose…and they were losing water whenever the pump was turned on.

Branch felt the need to leave the issue to Poppy who was nowhere to be seen – Rose and Dave hopped into their car and drove back to reception….and returned with the “Fairy Wren” and the maintenance guy – Branch could not resist a look. The guy was very helpful with parts and a correctly sized bolt and two small hose clamps secured the inlet hose – this will get them to Cairns where they will hopefully be able to buy an inlet fitting and do a complete fix.

We ate a quick lunch and the walked down to Lawn Hill Creek where there was a pontoon and swimming hole. The water was refreshingly cool and clean and the banks of the creek were lined with water lilies in flower, bamboo, palms and beautiful gums.

Adel’s Grove had originally been planted by a French botanist Albert De Lestang (hence ADEL – his initials) apparently commissioned by the government of the day to experiment with growing tropical trees and fruits on the 30 hectares. By 1939 he had over 1000 different species of trees growing, many imported from Africa, Asia and tropical America and he used to sell fruit to supplement his income. In the early 1950s his complex at Adel’s Grove was burnt down by a fire that escaped from a local mine and he lost all his written records. He was in his 70s by then and fell into depression and left the Grove. Unfortunately subsequent owners did not attend to the trees and shrubs as well as he and many died – today it is still a lush area but not as spectacular as in the past.

After our refreshing swim we walked through the grove admiring the lush vegetation….and went back to camp for showers. The campground had a bar area set up behind reception so we all went for a cool drink and then ordered barramundi and chips for dinner from “the Shack” – helping support the local economy and rebuild of the destroyed building….

The Bottomless Barista was keen to try out his new “Ring of Fire” that he had purchased in Broome – the gas ring to end all gas rings!!!

Kerry and Trev emerged from their vans this morning with a bad hair day much to Gordie’s amazement!!

After the Well’s “Watergate” debacle yesterday everyone was much relieved to travel the mostly tarred road to Doomadgee Roadhouse.

Along the way there were roadworks – more areas being prepared for sealing…and a brumby and foal casually meandering across the road.

At Doomadgee we met a couple of people who had just tried to get accommodation at Adel’s Grove but couldn’t as they were full – thankfully we had prebooked our 3 nights!! We did hope that we would be able to get in a night early as now we were going the shortcut we could get there today – after ringing ahead we discovered that they were so full we could not come in early so we planned to find a spot along the road to free camp tonight.

This meant we could take it easy and so decided to look for a spot halfway between Doomadgee and Lawn Hill.

The side road shortcut we took was great as reported by our old mate at Hell’s Gate – a very providential meeting as it enabled us to take the shortcut with confidence!

We were travelling over pastoral land including Lawn Hill Cattle station. The road was winding and interesting – a few dry creek crossings, savannah grasslands and cattle along the way….

A few patches of bulldust provided a blanket of dust not yet seen on our trip…..

We located a place to stop for the rest of the day and overnight and set up.

The Hunters finally had a surprise when they opened the Concept…… despite the road being so good a cupboard had popped open and disaster had struck – Branch was comforting but had to have a nap he was so shocked…..it was a mystery as to how the cupboard flung open…had all the preflight cabin checks been done???

After lunch, the afternoon was spent doing minor repair jobs – Branch was flat out…he was amazed at the amount of grey tape found in various locations temporarily sorting out issues.

When Dave finally got to repairing his Anderson Plug (NOT THE ANDERSON PLUG!!) Branch called in reinforcements – somewhere out in the Never Never he had found a companion – Poppy – his new apprentice specifically assigning her to the Well’s Establishment as it had kept him so busy!!

Macgyver was doing a major repair job on the Well’s Watergate affair so Branch and Poppy flicked between the water and electrical repairs….

Rosie wiled away the afternoon giving the van a good brush down….in preparation for the next dust bath tomorrow!!

The landscape on Lawn Hill Cattle station and surrounds was fascinating – a large field of termite mounds were somewhat reminiscent of a cemetery with their cleverly constructed homes reflecting in the evening light…

Today was all about shake, rattle and roll (fortunately no roll!!). We left Borroloola and hit the dirt just out of town letting down the tyres in preparation for the 300k day on the corrugations…

The first 120ks were fantastic as the grader had just been through but along the way the road did deteriorate…. Not as bad as the Oodnadatta track but some sections were pretty ordinary!

Gordie’s Titan was having some issues – not Branchworthy yet but the ABS brake light kept coming on the dash…..watch this space!!

A couple of river crossings were fun and we stopped at Kangaroo Creek for morning tea – the area looked very croc friendly – all along the way were warning signs re the salties in the area…

A bit of a running repair had to be done on the Well’s van as the water tank exit valve began to leak again….Branch jumped out to help…

We continued on and the road was varied – some parts good some not so good….cows resting by the side of the road….

At the NT/QLD border we stopped for a late lunch and a group photo….

and to assess the damage…

A summary of injuries sustained included broken cups in the Loveday’s van, loose and dislodged screws all over the place, spilt olive oil mixed with red dirt all over the Hunter van floor, loose shelves…. and the Wells water tank repair from the Oodnadatta failed and so they lost 1 tank of water…then their second drainage tap followed suit and so most water was lost – fortunately Hells Gate Roadhouse could supply water for a donation to the flying doctors…

We pulled in at Hell’s Gate, fuelled up and had an icecream. Rose and Dave also added water to their tanks and Branch noted another failed repair so Macgyver sprung into action – Branch got down and dirty with him to give moral support…

An old mate in a huge truck had just come from Adel’s Grove via the Doomadgee Road and reported the road was excellent so we have decided to go that way – much shorter and will get us to Adel’s Grove tomorrow – a day early so hopefully they can accommodate us!

We left Hells Gate and arrived at George’s camp – 8kms out of Hell Gate – a free camp which was beautiful…

Everyone de-dusted a bit – Dave swung into action with the blower inside and outside of the van were given the thrice-over and Rosie gave the baby-wipes a workout!!!

The backs of Gordies and Trev’s utes were dustbowls – Trev’s a bit more contained by the covering tarp..

We had happy hour and cracked a bottle of champagne…and a brilliant idea was born!! Use the cork to repair the Wells’ water drainage taps…..however things had gone from mildly bad to mildly worse…

Another Branch episode…. Dave’s water inlet brass valve had completely disappeared into thin air….and now water was spraying everywhere each time the water pump turned on..Macgyver and Gordie were under the van sorting things out with Branch looking on..and the water was flowing freely….after plugging the area with a variety of bits and pieces, the flow was stemmed – and the plan will be to fix it more definitively at Adel’s Grove..

Under a beautiful sunset/moonlit sky we ate dinner, sat around a campfire and laughed about the days events…. So blessed to be safe, healthy and on holidays!!!

Our drive today was only a short 120kms to the town of Borroloola – last town before the dirt road across to QLD.

We planned to leave relatively early as we were stopping at Caranbirini Nature Reserve to do a walk and then were keen to get to Borroloola by lunchtime to set up and get some local info about the road conditions to Hell’s Gate.

As usual our efforts to get on the road were somewhat slowed by discussions with various “old mates” – Gordo being the culprit this morning and Trev going over to grab him – and getting involved in the conversation instead!!

Eventually we were on the road and passing by the huge McArthur River Mine – a large open cut zinc and lead mine. Diamonds are also mined there and in the surrounding areas there are also copper, silver and salt mines.

We stopped at Caranbirini Conservation park and did the Barrawulla 2km walk through the amazing “lost city” rock formations – the sandstone columns and rocky outcrops were reminiscent of areas such as the Bungle Bungles and also the Lost City at Honeymoon Bay in the Kimberley.

The walk was absolutely spectacular….

– striking sandstone columns looking like organ pipes…

crevices in between them that you squeezed through….

amazing textures and colours of the rock that had been eroded by the elements into the most unusual formations.

Trev put the drone up after our walk – the pictures showed the vastness of the formations – our walk through had only scratched the surface!

Arriving at Borroloola we parked the vans and were immediately approached by an “old mate” who told us all the history and features of the town, gossip, road conditions, local scandal, deaths, stories and pretty much everything else you could imagine – and he had only been here 3 weeks!! The guys finally extricated themselves from the conversation and we got ourselves organised.

The road conditions as reported by various travellers range from atrocious to not too bad – everyone (as usual) sees it from their own perspective and prior experiences….

The owner of the caravan park was very reassuring however – she informed us that the first 100kms had been graded in the last week and assured us that we should have no issues of we drive to the conditions – we are aiming to stay at a free camp just outside of Hell’s Gate – about 300kms away – tomorrow night.

Kerry, Rosie and I went over to the Borroloola Museum while the guys did some nut and screw tightening in prep for tomorrow’s corrugations.

Borroloola has a fascinating history being established in the early 1800’s – it was a renowned as a wild unruly place and so the first police station was built at that time to assist in keeping law and order amongst the drovers, station owner and aboriginals as well as the explorers/ prospectors and various other transient scoundrels….

The area is rich in minerals as well as having a good water supply with all the rivers feeding into the gulf and so mining and cattle farming were (and still are) the 2 big industries.

We relaxed in the late afternoon and planned the next day…

Our next destination was Cape Crawford on the Carpentaria Highway – part of the Savannah Way from Broome to Cairns.

We left Mataranka after topping up with fuel and arrived in Daly Waters for a coffee at the pub…Trev enjoyed the lemon meringue pie as a large buffalo looked on!

The highway patrol is unique in Daly Waters….say no more!!

A left turn off the Stuart Highway just south of Daly Waters saw us on the Carpentaria Highway – a mostly single lane sealed section to Cape Crawford – meaning pulling over to give oncoming road trains right of way – the highway was fairly quiet – only 2 road trains and a couple of caravans and mine vehicles passed us.

There was evidence of bushfire in some areas and the landscape was uniformly stumpy trees, lots of termite mounds and dry creek beds.

We stopped for lunch at a rest area and Kerry and Trev got their groove on to the country music blaring from the Hunter Titan – a good was to stretch the legs (and the rest of the body!!).

Gordie joined in…and then a little later was perplexed at why his van had all the dust splattered over the back and the 2 Snowy River vans appeared unscathed….

At several roadkill sights huge eagles and kites were a common sight – unafraid f the vehicles and just soaring our of our way at the last minute!

Arriving at Cape Crawford we checked in to the Heartbreak Hotel camp ground, set up and Branch figured out the mystery of the splattered Hunter van – the diesel jerry-can on the back had developed a small split leading to the diesel spitting out over the back of the van making a nice muddy spray pattern all over the back!!

We set up afternoon tea and listened to the next instalment of Daniel – chapter 6….

After a barramundi dinner at the Heartbreak Hotel restaurant we sat around and enjoyed the cool evening with grass under our feet – nice change!

We woke to find a random free-range cow wandering the free camp – keen to get into the Hunter’s van…

It was so skinny and very thirsty so grateful for the water we put out for it…tho’ it appeared a little fascinated by Gordie’s butt!!

Trev and Gordie had heel issues – Trev’s fin chop had been the target of a caravan handbrake and a couple of rocks which kept jumping out and hitting it – and Gordie had to take a leaf from Rosie’s book on foot maintenance and wrap his cracked foot in heel balm and gladwrap!

Branch averted a near disaster when MacGyver drove off with his side window open..

Mataranka as just a short drive away so we left early, grabbed a coffee in Katherine and made our way to Bitter Springs at Mataranka and were fortunate to get 3 sites together at the caravan park there.

After a quick lunch we walked down to the springs and spent a couple of hours floating down the creek enjoying the ambience!!

The spring water was a clear as crystal and a balmy 30 degrees in temp!! The location in Elsey National Park was perfect – tall palms and gums with the aqua creek flowing gently and lined with reeds and lilies….

Rose and Dave gave their noodles a workout!

Guess who started a new fashion????

And a novel way to cart Kerry’s noodle home….

Back to camp for coffee and then out to Mataranka Homestead for another springwater swim – Bitter Springs is much prettier and more “natural” as the homestead springs were lined with concrete steps and much more “civilised”. We felt somewhat like we were sitting in a heated spa full of geriatrics (with a few babies thrown in)!!