Day 13 Adels Grove, Lawn Hills NP

After our leisurely day of paddling up and down the Lawn Hills Gorge yesterday, today was a lot more energetic. There are some terrific bush walks at Lawn Hills and as a group we studied the map and decided that we would walk the Duwadarri Lookout track.  The walk is around 5 km and this is the description:

 

“To reach Duwadarri lookout it is recommended to take the long way and walk the track in a clockwise direction, visiting Indarri Falls and Indarri Falls lookout before continuing along the rim of the gorge to Duwadarri lookout. Savour views over Middle Gorge along the way before stopping to take a well-earned rest and take in the views of Duwadarri waterhole contrasting with the dry savanna landscape”

 

The walk is a Class 3 that requires some experience with bushwalking and the five of us that decided to walk the track all had that experience.  

We set off from our camp at 8am and once again drove the 10km to the entrance of Lawn Hills National Park.  After making sure that we had water and plenty of sunscreen on our faces we set off down the track.  The first 1.5km is very easy walking with a designated pathway running along the edge of Lawn Hills Creek.  The country than changes to savanna flats, without any shade, but nonetheless a lovely walk.  All the time the gorge looms majestically on our right hand side and it was a little frightening to know that we had to climb that mountain of rock to reach the lookout.  I tried not to think about it too much.  

The path then starts a gradual climb and we are now walking over a rocky pathway. Thank goodness Philip had gathered walking sticks for both of us to use on the path.  They came in very handy.  Our first lookout at Indarri Falls was a fairly easy short climb and the views from here were truly spectacular. Seeing the gorge from a birds eye view is a totally different perspective.  We were able to pick out all the places we had canoed to the previous day.

After a few photos and a refreshing drink of water from our water bottles we started back along the circuit track towards Duwadarri lookout.

The walk to this lookout was another climb but nothing too intense.  Kate and I brought up the rear of our party and we were content to walk slow and steady because slow and steady wins the race!  Duwadarri Lookout is actually three lookouts, each one with different views.  It was almost surreal to look down into the gorge and a little scary to think about just how high we were, but it was so worth it!

We spent a bit of time up here.  The sky was perfect with just a few scattered clouds to reflect on the waters of the gorge.  Philip and I spotted a school of fish in the water below us.  They looked small from where we were but they would have had to have been very large fish for us to see them from this height. There is no fishing allowed at Lawn Hills, as is the case in all National Parks, so the fish are free to grow to great sizes.

It was now time to face the downward trek.  We knew it was going to be steep but I don’t think any of us were prepared for what we encountered.  It was very steep and in some areas it would have been easier to sit on your bum for the downward journey.  But it was relatively short and sharp, thank goodness.  Having the walking sticks made it a whole lot easier.

Once we finally reached the bottom we all congratulated each other on making it down safe and sound. Time for a couple more photos before the final leg of our walk back to the car.

It really was an amazing walk and if you are lucky enough to get to Boodjmulla – Lawn Hills, I wholeheartedly recommend this walk.

Day 12 Adels Grove, Lawn Hills National Park

It was really hot last night.  I woke at 10.30pm and it was still 30 degrees.  Where is Autumn April?  The fan helped us a little but I don’t love hot nights……

Philip and I woke around 5am and declared it too early for coffee so went back to sleep until 6am.  After talking with the gang last night we had our day already mapped out.  We would canoe/kayak both middle and upper gorges today at Lawn Hills.  So, after a leisurely breakfast we were on our way by 9am for the short drive to Lawn Hills National Park.  Philip and I left a little earlier as we had to unload and inflate our kayak.  It’s a fairly easy job but not such an easy job to carry it the 100 odd metres down to the waters edge, but we managed.  By this time the others had arrived with their hired canoes so we all set off at the same time.

It really is a beautiful place.  I said before how peaceful it is and even though there were a lot more people here today it still retained that peacefulness.  

We paddled leisurely, stopping to look at the various rock formations that make up the gorge.  Some of the huge rocks seem to balance precariously and Philip prefers to paddle mid-stream just in case one should fall.

Once we had reached the waterfalls at the top of the middle gorge we then had to all disembark our boats and drag them out of the water via a porterage system and walk a short distance to the upper gorge.  It’s actually a lot harder than it sounds.  Even though it is a relatively short distance we had to carry our inflatable kayak over an uneven rocky track while the others dragged their hard bodied canoes.  But as I said it is only a short distance so in no time at all we had our boats back in the water and once again paddling leisurely upstream.

The brochure said that we could go as far as the rapids which is a distance of 1.5km. The upper gorge is slightly different to the bottom.  The rock walls are not as high and there are a lot more pandanus palms along the waters edge.  It is also narrow in some parts.  One section in particular was very narrow and we had to push under a fallen pandanus palm to continue our way.

We could hear the rapids before we actually saw them.  Even though they are quite small in comparison to others it was still a very pretty sight.  Some other people had disembarked their canoes at this point and were enjoying the cool water.  We thought we would leave them to it and turned our boats around to start the return journey.

All up I think we paddled around 6km and our arms were feeling it by the time we arrived back at our starting point.  There was a bit of a line up at the ramp of people waiting to haul their canoes out and when I looked at my watch it was almost lunch.  

By this stage we were getting fairly used to hauling the boats in and out of the water and we seemed to be getting faster at it. 

We were back at our camp by 12.30 and after a quick bite I decided to have a nanny nap after my lack of sleep the previous night.  Philip kindly turned on the generator so I could have air-conditioning. It was bliss and I slept soundly.  A swim in the cool water late this afternoon was the perfect end to a perfect day. 

Day 11 Adels Grove, Lawn Hills

We woke quite early to the peaceful sound of birds chirping all around us.  It was also a pleasant morning with the temperature dropping sometime during the night.  Enough for me to turn off the fan.  We ambitiously thought last night that we would be at the Lawn Hills Gorge for sunrise but instead we decided to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and head to the gorge for a little bit of kayaking.

It's around 10 kilometres from our camp at Adels Grove to the Lawn Hills Gorge where there is also a National Parks Camping Area.  I think the facilities are a lot better here at Adels Grove but the camping area is not very shady so it would get quite hot.  We parked our vehicle in the visitors carpark and made our way to the Information Centre but it was closed and looked like it had been closed for quite some time.  From here we walked the 100 metres or so to the waters edge.  We initially had thoughts of bringing our own kayak down to the waters edge but when we arrived we saw that there were lots of canoes laying about but no oars.  We asked another lady what the go was and she said you had to hire the oars back at Adels Grove. Good luck with that we thought, as there are hardly any staff at Adels Grove.  Anyway we had or own oars in the back of the vehicle so we walked back and retrieved them from the car and once again made our way to the waters edge.

Lawn Hills - Boodjamulla - is a stunning gorge and deserves the accolades that it receives.  It is so peaceful and extremely quiet as you paddle the kilometre or so to Indarri Falls. I truly could imagine our First National People walking along the top of the gorge and it does feel like a sacred site.  In fact you are not allowed to enter the lower gorge for it is indeed a sacred site.

We stopped at the falls for a short while but didn't go for a swim, although the water looked inviting enough.  Philip checked out the track to the Upper Gorge which is short but with a heavy canoe to carry it might not be an easy feat.  We may try it with our own Kayak tomorrow as it is a bit lighter.  

We paddled slowly back to the entry point and just as we were about to pull the canoe out we received a text from our friends to say that they were ten minutes away from Adels Grove.  We were the same distance so we virtually meet at the gate. Philip guided them onto the sites either side of ours and after unpacking their respective caravans it was time to sit down for beers and cheers and lunch on the side. It was lovely to see them.

We have spent the afternoon swimming in the cool waters at Adels Grove as it is the perfect way to cool down on a hot afternoon.  The temperature once again reached 37 degrees that is quite hot for this time of the year.  We are fortunate that it does cool down slightly in the evenings but it is still highly unusual to be this hot in April.  

Day 10 Burketown to Adels Grove

It's just over 300 kms from Burketown to Adels Grove at Lawn Hills so we took our time leaving Burketown this morning.  We called in to the Information Centre before we left to see if we could get any information regarding the road to Borroloola and they were able to give us a couple of telephone contacts so that is good.

Once again we drove through some really good open downs country before starting to see more of the river flats that you associate with the area.  The bitumen road between Burketown and Gregory was very good and I think it is a relatively new road by the looks of it.  We just poke along at around 90kmh and find that a very comfortable and economic speed.  We didn't stop anywhere for lunch as I cooked us up bacon and eggs for breakfast and we reasoned that it wasn't very far to Adels Grove and we would be there in time for lunch.

How wrong was I.

The road from Gregory to the Adels Grove turnoff is one of the worst roads I think we have ever travelled on.  It was of course gravel (we expected that) but the corrugations were very very bad.  We drove most of the way in the table drain beside the gravel road as it was a lot smoother.  Occasionally we would come across a bitumen section but they were few and far between.  It took as over three hours to travel the 90 odd kilometres.  

By the time we got to Adels Grove we were just a little shell shocked and then to find the gate into. Adels Grove locked was almost the final straw.  Fortunately for us one of the backpackers (who are running the show at the moment) saw us and let us in.  She asked to see our online booking (they are only allowing pre-booked into the camping area) and once that was okay she directed us to the camping area.  There are quite a few campsites and after a scout around we chose site number 3.  It took quite a bit of manouvering to get us into position but it is a great spot.  

Opening up the van once we had parked it, disaster awaited.  Our bathroom screen door had completely fall off and was laying on the ground.  Fortunately for us it is tempered glass so it didn't break.  The next disaster was the fridge.  As I opened it I was greeted with a carton of spilt yoghurt mixed with a jar of curry paste!  That is a good lesson for me to check lids on EVERYTHING in the fridge.  The last disaster was one of the new slide-out pantry shelves had fallen apart with all the shaking and shuddering.  Oh dear.

We ignored everything while we ate some lunch, because by this time it was almost 2.00pm, and started on the cleaning and repair jobs after we ate.  It actually didn't take us long to do and by 3.30pm we were ready to go for a swim in the area they call "The Grove".

The water was so deliciously cooling on this very hot balmy day and we floated around before some other people joined us.  They too were complaining about the state of the road.  It's funny now we look back but the proprietor of the van park at Burketown said to us if you make it over the Lawn Hills Road you will have no problems getting to Borroloola.  We now know what he meant!

Having said all the though it is a lovely spot and we can't wait to explore Lawn Hill Gorge tomorrow.  We will try to get up early and go for a walk before inflating the kayak and paddling along the gorge. 

Day 9 Karumba to Burketown

 We had notice from the proprietors that there would be a power outage at the caravan park at 8.30am so we decided that we would be packed up and on the road before that happened. It was another hot day today.  Temperatures have been between 36-37 degrees Celsius with quite a bit of humidity at Karumba.  We have been very grateful for the air-conditioning.

It was just under 400km to our destination today.  We haven't been to Burketown before so we were looking forward to it.  We followed the Burketown Normanton Road for around 220kms before turning north on the Nardoo Burketown Road. The Gulf Country between Normanton and Burketown was not what we expected at all.  It was open downs with a good body of Mitchell grass and some Flinders Grass.  This is perfect fattening fodder for the brahman cattle that we saw in large quantities.  The property owners would be very pleased with the season as they have a good body of feed to carry them through the year.

The caravan park we are staying at in Burketown is quite nice with lots of shady trees and cement slabs.  It is $38/night for a powered site that is reasonable I guess. The proprietors are very friendly and we quizzed them extensively about the road across to Borroloola as this is the preferred road we are hoping to traverse after we leave Lawn Hills.  We hear both good and bad reports. We will keep asking before we make a decision.

Once we had parked the van and did a spot of washing we decided to do the tourist tour around Burketown.  The first stop was the derelict Boiling Down Works that was sadly burnt to the ground.  It was here in the late 1800's that beef was boiled, canned and sent overseas to Batavia of all places.  It was interesting reading.

Sadly there is nothing left except rusting machinery.

Our next stop was the new jetty at Burketown.  There has been a lot of money spent on this and well done I say.

Our last tourist stop for today was at the Artesian Bore just a few kilometres from the Burketown township.  It is quite impressive and the large number of kangaroos feeding on the grass surrounding the bore made for a lovely photo.

Tomorrow is Adels Grove - Lawn Hills National Park.  We are not sure about this road either but steady as she goes is our motto.

Day 8 Karumba

Today's start to the day was much more leisurely. We had talked the previous night about what we wanted to see and do today.  Number one on the list was a visit to the new Barramundi Discovery Centre in the Karumba township.  

For those that have not been to Karumba before,  Karumba is divided into two separate communities - the Point and the Township.  They are around 6km apart.  We are staying at  Karumba Point.  They are two very different communities.  The township has all the shopping amenities whereas the Point is laid back with only the famous Ash's Fish & Chip Shop and the Sunset Tavern.

The Barramundi Discovery Centre is situated at the Karumba Township.  First impressions of the Centre was just how large it is. It really is an impressive building.  We entered the cool foyer where the very helpful lady behind the counter pointed us in the direction we should follow.  Our first stop was the theatre where a short film was on 15 minute repeat.  It told the  story of the Barramundi, the fishing industry and the wonderful community of Karumba.  Local identities told their stories and it was all very interesting. After the film we walked through the displays.  A lot of it was interactive and I can imagine the children enjoying it as much if not more than we did.  After we had walked through the display area we made our way to the outdoor walkway where you could join a tour if you wanted.  As it was a little wait until the tour began we decided to do our own thing and we simply walked around the large lake and then wandered into the museum section that was devoted to the First Nation people.  It was also a well designed and thought out display.

After about an hour at the Discovery Centre it was back in to the town to do a little grocery shopping as this will probably be the last shop before we go to Lawns Hills for Easter.  I can't buy too much as my cupboards are full so it was just the essentials.

We picked up a lovely barramundi fillet for lunch and I tossed it in rice flour and fried it with lemon and butter. I then made a chilli ginger mayonnaise, spread it liberally on some toasted buns and topped this with the Barra, lettuce, tomato, avocado and beetroot. Ouila..... Gourmet Fish Burgers.

We had a  rest after lunch as we wanted to walk down to the Sunset Tavern for sunset.  We arrived a little early so made our way down the short esplanade and ran into some old friends from Julia Creek!  They invited us into their lovely home on the Point and issued us with ice cold beers.  It was great to catch up on each others news.  After about an hour we bade our farewells and made our way back to the Tavern for sunset photos.  There were hardly any clouds in the sky so the sunset was not as spectacular as usual but it is still a pretty sight. It was a fitting way to say goodbye to Karumba.

Day 7 Karumba

 We woke quite early again this morning and it was quite frustrating as we are not packing up today.  I had read something the previous evening about a boardwalk from Karumba Point to Karumba Town, a distance of 3.8km each way.  I suggested to Philip that as we were awake we may as well check it out.  The walk started out very pleasantly but then we hit the mudflat.  It was stickier than the black soil that we had at Julia Creek and I thought that was the stickiest of them all!  It really was quite a trudge through the flat but when we got to the other side we found a spot to clean the bottom of our shoes and set off again.......to another mud flat!  Trudge, trudge again.  This flat was even longer than the last.  Once again we got to the other side, cleaned the shoes and set off again.  Thankfully there were only two flats but we knew that we had to face both of them on the way back 😞😞😞

Apart from those damn mud flats it was a very pleasant walk with a lovely breeze blowing gently enough to keep us cool.  The walk ended up being around 10km because we got a little lost at the beginning and walked a couple of kilometres before we realised we were on the wrong path!

Once we were back at camp we showered, breakfasted, and caught up on a spot of housekeeping.  I had purchased a piece of pickled pork from the Julia Creek Butcher so I boiled that for lunch to give us this meal and cold meat for a couple more.  I boiled some peeled carrots and potatoes together and when they were cooked I mashed them roughly and added some baby spinach that needed using.  I added lots of butter and cream.  It was delicious and a very easy one pot side dish.  I also made a cheesy white parsley sauce to go with the corned meat.  You just can not have corned meat without white sauce 😁

We rested after lunch and enjoyed sitting outside in the afternoon.  We had another game of Sequence and once again Philip flogged the britches off me. I just can't seem to get the hang of the game.  Perhaps I over think it. 

We are looking forward to another day in the this lovely little town of Karumba. One of our favourite spots.