Following the Savannah Way, Sept/Oct 2021
We were up again early on Tuesday, continuing west on the Savannah Way, past the artesian bore and Leichhardt Falls, stopping at Camp 119, the most northern camp of Burke and Wills’ expedition, before continuing on to Normanton. We have passed through the town before but this time we decided to stop and explore. The history of the place, from when Burns Philp began their merchant and shipping business, to the building of the Gulflander train for the export of gold from Croydon and the development of vast cattle stations in the gulf savannah is rich and fascinating. We marvelled at the displays about indigenous stock workers and rodeo riders, ogled at Krys the biggest crocodile ever caught in Australia and admired the architecture of the old buildings. We enjoyed a drink at both the Purple Pub and the Albion and loved the massive swimming pool at the caravan park. We were so glad we stopped here! 
On Wednesday, after another walk around the town, we packed up and continued north, following the Norman River to where it meets the gulf at Karumba. We have very warm memories of our first visit here, eight years ago in a hired “bongo van” and we were keen to revisit! At first the town appeared quite “dead” - it is the end of the tourist season and the caravan parks are very quiet! But as the day rolled on, more caravans arrived and the town got busier. We were keen to enjoy the local seafood, and bought prawns for lunch from the caravan park then drove in to the “green shed”, the local fish supplier, to get some barramundi for dinner! We took a drive out to the fascinating Barramundi discovery centre, much modernised from our previous visit and well worth the return. We arrived as the fish were being fed, which was fascinating, then wandered around the centre reading all the local history and information. Later we wandered over to the sunset tavern to watch as the sun sank slowly into the gulf.
Thursday was a cleaning day, removing the worst from the dusty roads and doing a big load of washing. It was also time for some grocery shopping and, with a choice of two small supermarkets we found everything we wanted. We also took another trip to the “green shed”, this time for Coral Trout, our favourite! We walked around town reading all the historical information and relaxed and chilled with a swim in the pool. On Friday we had a lazy day, with a sausage sizzle lunch, before we boarded the “Ferryman” for an afternoon cruise. With informative commentary, nibbles, prawns and drinks, as well as a beautiful sunset, it was another experience well worth repeating! Returning to shore we walked to the sunset tavern for a delicious dinner. We have loved our second visit to Karumba!
Another drive on Sunday had us continuing east along the Savannah Way, stopping at Georgetown for morning tea before heading south, along hilly and windy roads to Forsayth, a historic old gold mining town and tonight’s stop. We had decided to stop here so that we only had a short “hop” tomorrow, but we found we’d discovered a fascinating place, with an interesting history, and a lovely pub, where we enjoyed lunch. As it was another hot day and there is no pool here, we cranked up the air conditioner and spent the afternoon lazing in the cool inside. We enjoyed pizzas outside and set up the tv under the awning to stream the news and an episode of “Rosehaven”, something we hadn’t done (or missed) in over a week!
With a 45km drive over corrugated roads on Monday morning, we were in no hurry to leave, so we enjoyed a walk around Forsayth, looking at all the local buildings and reading all the fascinating history signs. We learned that Forsayth was established by a gold rush, and a school, hospital and police station resulted from this and still continue today. The police station only got an indoor toilet in the 1960s, and the RFDS visits once a week for a medical clinic where locals set up a “hole in the wall” cafe and make it a social event. We talked to the local publican/ general store manager, who, with his wife, the pub cook, is here on a six month contract, finishing soon. We really enjoyed our time in Forsayth and would certainly recommend it as a worthwhile stop for anyone travelling this way. We left the caravan park at about 10am, heading out and turning onto the Cobbold Gorge road. While there were a few corrugated patches, it wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought, and we pulled in at reception just before 11am, unpacking and setting up on our unpowered site soon after. We were fortunate to be situated between two trees, facing north towards the mountain range. We were also fortunate to discover a small hole in a rear tire and be able to get it fixed straight away!
Cobbold Gorge is a resort in the middle of nowhere, established on an outback cattle station in 1994 after a narrow, spring fed waterhole was discovered in a gorge in the sandstone escarpment. The resort has a large campground, villas, a restaurant and infinity pool and offers tours by bus, helicopter or standup paddle board to admire the sheer walls and beautiful water of the gorge as compared to the dry (especially at this time of the year) countryside surrounding it. We spent three nights at the campsite, lazing by the pool, drinking cocktails at the swim up bar, admiring outback sunsets, walking to the lookout and along the creek bed, enjoying dinner at the restaurant and, of course, touring the gorge. It was wonderful. We weren’t alone - it’s school holidays here and the place was very busy, but after the sun goes down it is lovely and peaceful sitting by the caravan under the stars!
We continued our journey east on Thursday, travelling back across the corrugations to Forsayth, stopping at Georgetown to buy steaks at the local butcher and continuing along the Savannah Way to Innot Hot Springs, a local attraction made famous by a rupture in the earth’s crust, enabling hot water to pour into the creek. Six pools of varying temperatures have been created - some are certainly too warm to appeal to us, others were lovely! We soaked the afternoon away in the relaxing water.
Friday was a shorter journey, but we stopped in Ravenshoe to stock up on groceries and other odds and ends before continuing on to Millaa Millaa, on the Atherton Tablelands. This area is famous for its multitude of beautiful waterfalls and we were keen to see a few while we were here. We were given a lovely caravan site, adjacent to the rainforest in a very quiet part of the lovely park. We walked into town in the afternoon, admiring the architecture and few shops, finishing at the pub for a drink before walking back to our oasis again. Next day we were keen to explore, visiting Millaa Millaa, Elinjaa and Zillie Falls, buying tea at the Nerada plantation and lunching at Eacham (crater) Lake before returning to Millaa Millaa falls for a wonderful swim across the water and under the waterfall - a magical experience! Sunday was a more "relaxing" day with a walk around town, reading and learning about the history of the town from its' founding as a waypoint on the Palmerston track from the coast to the mines, through timber cutting and now farming and tourism. We enjoyed lunch in the local pub and dinner in front of the TV watching the NRL grand final. Our adventures continue tomorrow so we were happy to have a quiet night in.
We have gone as far as we can go along the Savannah Way, from the dusty Gulf Country to the rainforest. We have loved every minute of our outback travels, but we are looking forward to hitting the coast and enjoying the sea again...
Comments
Post a Comment