After getting back from Spain and sitting around for 2 months the work in Darwin had dried up and the weather was unbearable. Marta landed a job in Brisbane and 2 days later we where packed and on the road heading The Savannah Way. This is a risky time of the year due to the start of the wet season, so we had our fingers crossed.
Sat 13 December
From Darwin to Umbrawarra gorge. The Umbrawarra Gorge is located 245 km from Darwin on the Stuart Highway. From Pine Creek is a 22 km unsealed road with some creek crossings.
Sund 14 December
We slept at the basic camping ground ($
3.60 pp) with a long drop, tables and pit fires. We had the whole
place to ourselves, except for the flies, cane toads and
caterpillars. Big mistake parking beneath the tree's as we were
bombarded during the night with caterpillar shit.
In the morning we embarked on the 1 km
walk along the creek to a supposedly large swimming spot with a sandy
beach. Unfortunately, the recent rain made the walk impassable unless
we were willing to rock hop and swim in the uninviting
copper-coloured water.
Stopping in Katherine to stock up (last stop for cheep fuel) and
get information on the weather and roads.
We followed the Roper Bar road all the
way to Towns Rivercrossing campground ($ 3.30 pp.), in the remote
Limmen National Park, where we spent the night by the river. All the
way there the park is dotted with what looks like brand new
campgrounds ($ 5 pp.). There was not the slightest hint of a breeze,
but we had again the whole place to ourselves and we parked just
beside the river. This allowed me to have a go with the fishing
rod in the morning.
Monday 15 December
Our first stop was Butterfly Springs.
Allegedly, a must-do in this region featuring a picturesque gorge
where you can have a cooling dip. Obviously, the writer of the
brochure has never been around here this time of
the year. Butterfly Falls or Springs is actually none of those. The
scarce water seemed to have been collecting anything flying around
for the past 8 months and was as inviting as boiling water in the
face on a scorching hot day. The campground looked very nice though.
After a couple of wonderful
rivercrossings, waterbuffalos included, we made it to the Southern
Lost City. Here outstanding sandstone formations tower over the
valley. The best part is half way through a 2.5 km round walk, where
you can really appreciate the spectacular pillars. The walk is well
worth considering if you are visiting the park, but you may suffer
from moments of regret if you take up the challenge in the heat of
the day as we did.
Overall, Limmen National Park is not a
must-do unless you are on your way through the region and in a 4WD
adventure. Then scenery does not change much and the road at the time of
driving is very corrugated and time-consuming, and with 40ยบ C outside
rules out any possibility of even stretching your legs.
If you need to fuel up or stock up with
groceries, you can do so at the Heartbreak Hotel in Cape Crawford,
although you will leave there feeling like you have just been a
victim in a daylight robbery (e.g. 10 ltr of cold water $20 and $2.09 a ltr Diesel). Try make it to Borroloola.
A must-see is the nearby Caranbirini
Conservation Reserve (64 km east of Cape Crawford). The reserve
features flora and fauna from both sub-tropical and arid regions. A
150 m walk leads to the Caranbirini Waterhole teeming with birds and
other wildlife. The Barrawulla Loop Walk (2 km) features remarkable
“lost city” formations. Indeed, this walk is really well worth a
visit. Not only it is more shaded than the walk around the Southern
Lost City in Limmen NP, but it is also more impressive. There is
another walk that shows the different habitats of the reserve, but it
is 5 km long and too hot. Alternatively, it is possible to walk up to the lookout
(300 m) and then come back. It is important (as anywhere in the bush)
to watch out for poisonous snakes as we almost stepped on one.
The Reserve is a definite must-do
around the region. (No pics taken, we left the cameras in the car, as
we didn´t have much hope. We now regret it). Camping is not
permitted and the only options are the Heartbreak Hotel ($12
unpowered site, and recommend) or Borroloola.
We opted for going to the “coast”?
To Bing Bong as I used to work nearby and knew about a good spot
for fishing. We arrived quite late and was almost dark. The place was
a mozzies and midges infested swamp. We couldn't sleep a wink and we
ended been eaten alive,despite been covered in anti-mosquito spray
and having mosquito nets. So we left the place in the early hours for
never to return. We certainly do not recommend it!
Tuesday 16 December
Borroloola is well serviced : there are
a couple of well-priced supermarkets, 2 petrol stations and an
information centre. After fuelling up the station let me fill up our water tank.
The road from Borroloola (NT) and
Hell's Gate (already Queensland) is homogenous, long and boring,
although there are a couple of picturesque river crossings surrounded
by natural gum tree forests along the way.
Along the way there is a lagoon witch had wild horses and water lilies. Perfect spot
for a picnic, just cover yourself up as it is infested with march flies. (they bite hard)
The
rest of the road is like the road to insanity with nothing to reward
the intrepid traveller. The air conditioning struggles to keep the
heat at bay and even the thought of stopping to stretch the legs
sounds like an insane idea.
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| This is it. |
The
drive is very slow at on average 50 km/hour. Leaving Borroloola at 10
am, by 4 pm we had just reached Hell's Gate Roadhouse. The roadhouse
is still open, and fuel is cheap-ish, but groceries are very scarce.
The Queensland
landscape is very different from the NT, witch is a welcome change. We
tried to go to Lawn Hill (Boodjamulla) NP via Kingfisher campground. We wanted to spend the night
there, unfortunately the camp was closed for the wet season, so we continued on along the bush track that has bulldust and stony sections. As we
arrived to one of the Nicholson channels we decided to backtrack as
several channels were flooded and looked impassable. We asked at the
campground and he recommended to go to the NP via Doodmadgee or
Burketown as he got bogged there that day.
Wednesday
17th December
The
road through Doodmagee to the NP was closed due to flooding so we
went up to Tirrana Roadhouse passing impressive river crossings and
then took the turn-off to the NP. Gregory Downs has a nice little
hotel “The Gregory Downs Hotel” that offers a limited range or
refreshing drinks. It can also provide with accommodation and
telephone facilities. 10 km before the NP there is the
privately-owned Adels Grove Camping Ground. It looks like an oasis in
the middle of the arid land and under the scorching summer sun. Here
you can buy your e-permit for the park ($ 5.75 pp camping fees (no
entry fees)), and you can also enjoy a refreshing dip in the stream
surrounded by fresh water crocs and lush vegetation. It is
well-serviced with a wide range of refreshing drinks, some groceries,
accommodation, and meals. The staff are really helpful and can give
you information on the area.
The
NP campsite by the bank of the creek has some shady sites, but
overall is less shady than the private campground. It is very well
kept and has showers, toilets, Internet and phone coverage.
Unfortunately, the floating bridge that provides access to the Cascades and
the Island Stack tracks were already removed for the wet season.
However, the 3-km Constance Range walk has some shady parts and once
on top of the range you can enjoy the breeze as you admire the views
which make
it well worth the climb.
Thursday
18th December
The
Indarri Falls walk (3.7 km) is the most rewarding of all offering
magnificent views over the gorge at the Duwadarri lookout and
providing access to the natural pool amid palms, rainforest trees and
the picturesque Indarri Falls.
There
is also the possibility of hiring canoes from Adels Grove and
drifting down the river, but fishing is not permitted in the park. The
wildlife is a visual splendour with enough species to keep you going
(crocs, turtles, and countless lizards and snakes).
The
road to Riversleigh World Heritage Area from the campsite is made of
rocks so we decided to give the fossil fields a miss and still ended up destroying a tyre on the short section we drove on. We decided to get to Normanton as
soon as possible so we took the betumen road to Burke and Wills
Roadhouse. The arid landscape gave way to grassland which
contrasted beatifully with the grey skies.
We
got trapped under a storm once we turned from Burke & Willis
Roadhouse to Normanton on the developmental road (bitumen). Some
sections were flooded but still passable. We couldn´t make it to the
rest area as it was already getting late, so we just stopped on the
side of the road.
No
mosquitoes and cool temperature at last!
Friday
19th December
Just
before the rest area for overnight sleeping you will find an eery landscape with tiny termite
mounds looking like a cemetery.
We
stopped at Normanton on our way to Karumba to visit the information
centre to obtain info on where to buy new tyres. Normanton is a small
town and offers limited options for stocking up with groceries,
alcohol and fuel.
We
then headed to Karumba to stock up on seafood supplies.
Unfortunately, all seafood shops were closed except for two (and witch one was closed from 2 to 5 pm). We didn't buy anything in the
end as seafood is only sold frozen. Trying to buy wine was no better, but if you don't mind what you drink (although here twice the normal price) you will be ok (A pointless trip). So we decided to have a picnic by the beach and get the hell
out of there.
Back
on the Savannah way, we decided to head straight to Cairns as soon as possible
as the price of tyres in the outback was ridiculous and we were running out of
supplies.
Croydon
is a cute blink-and-you'll-miss it town sporting the oldest store in
Australia and an array of historical buildings.
Our
chosen spot for the night was just before Gilbert River rest area.
Saturday
20th December
This
section of the Savannah way is dotted with rest areas and some have
amenities like toilets, rubbish bins and shaded picnic tables. The
weather is finally becoming bearable, and the hilly and undulating
road is more enjoyable to drive, although you can't help but feel
sorry for the famished cows lining the roadside. Just past
40 Mile Scrub NP the termite mounds have changed a lot over this trip, but these look like big red boulders.
We
stopped beside the Innot Hot Springs Village to see the famous
thermal pools, but the stagnated water looked green and slimy from
the other side of the fence and not appetising at all. So we carried
on our way.
Our
next stop was at the Millstream Falls. A 340 m walk leads you down to
a viewing platform which looks down to Australia's widest falls. They
are definitely worth a stop compared with everything we haven seen
until now.
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| Millstream Falls |
The Little Millstream Falls are 2 km south of Ravenshoe and
they are accessed after a medium to steep downhill walking track.
They are less impressive but still worth the walk to stretch your
legs. It's good to smell the green vegetation again!
Little
Ravenshoe has the highest pub in Queensland, the Hotel Tully Falls,
at 916 m. We also found the first chain supermarkets with perfectly
acceptable prices: Foodworks and IGA.
From
here onwards, the landscape turned into grassy hills and lush
vegetation. The scorching sun was also left behind. We followed the Kennedy Hwy to Atherton and then took Gordonvale
direction. We entered the wet tropics area full with tropical trees,
and the road was winding and you could feel the cool air outside, It
feels like paradise after tropical Darwin. And then there it was Cairns the end of The Savannah Way.
After
filling our wine boxes at Dan Murphy's in Cairns, we went looking for
a free overnight rest area. We heard about Gordonvale rest area just out of town, unluckily overnight camping is no longer permitted. It
was already dark and getting later and later. We followed the signs
to Goldsborough Valley as they said that camping is allowed. After 30min driving up a mountain a sign said that camping is not permitted
unless you have booked it in advance and with no phone service we ended up on the side of the road outside the NP. surrounded by sugar cane, attacked by flying earwigs and an army of cane toads. So when you get to Cairns book a campground.
