The Outback Beckons... Carl, Anna and 3 strangers hit the road for parts unknown!!!
Date: 6th August
2 Brits, 1 Irish (male), 1 Italien (male), and 1 German (female) depart
Cairns Wednesday 24th July and head into the
outback....................
The 1977 Toyota poptop loaded to the brim with people, bags, spares,
tents,
food, and of course booze! The last 12 days have involved passing
through
towns (or so they are called on the map) about 150km apart with
populations
ranging from 300 to just a mere 6!
Our first desired stop was at the
Undara
lava tubes taking us just 3 days to get there and highly acclaimed in
the
Lonely Planet. The campsite was nice and there were plenty of
surrounding
walks and so we booked in there for a couple of nights. But $33 to
have a
look at one lava tube and then another (the highlight being the bat
hanging
from the ceiling) didn't live up to the raging Lonely Planet's
description!
We did however manage to catch a beautiful sunset over the national
park,
but our 5am walk to catch the sunrise from the highest bluff was somewhat of a wasted effort
(bloody clouds!). But we did see KAngaroos, wallabys and teased a cool hairy spider out od hisd hole in the ground!
And to keep you posted on the five travelling companions - so far so
good!
We set off once again, this time heading up to the gulf of Carpentaria
to
the little fishing town of Karumba. But before even leaving the
campsite an
oil leak was spotted (poor Toby the Toyota!). We made it to the next
town
(Mt Surprise; population about 10!) on a Sunday and no sign of the mechanic. He's off doing a tour round the gemfielfds or something. So we buy 10Litres of Oil and
drove
the next 150km to the following town (Georgetown; population about 100!) where we
found
a mechanic who offered to check it out the following day - so we
pitched up
and rested for the night. And with a new seal and having been told to
expect a bit of oil leakage due to age of van we headed off once again.
All
the way up to Karumba where we were told to catch the beautiful sunset
over
the sea, sippng a beer in the sunset tavern. We arrived just in time
and
with no choice but to stay on one of the pricey caravan parks, Carl
headed
off to try and catch tea (but having heard this once too many times
decided
to start cooking anyway!). The following day we realised that we had
ended
up in probably one of the most uneventful towns in the whole of
Australia.
Campsites were packed with people over 70 who all came up from the
south for
six months to get away from the cold weather. And they did nothing but
sit
by the sea and fish for those six months leaving us with a fishless sea
(well that was Carl's excuse. [It's true I tell ya!! - Carl])!! We soon left.
And to keep you updated on the five travelling companions - the German
was
beginning to show her true colours! And the Italian made us some proper
spaggetti bolognaise.
This time we were aiming for Lawn Hill National park. The journey was
going
well and we were making good progress. After just two days of driving
we
were almost there and probably tempted fate by ringing ahead to the
campsite
and booking ourselves a spot. Whilst heading down the last bit of
sealed
road before hitting the national park a tyre blew and the engine
started to
sound a little off colour! We instead made it to Gregory Downs;
(population
questionable but proably an estimated 7) which is just on the edge of
the
entry into Lawn Hill Park. At the only pub/motel/petrol station, they
told
us to go to the shop (there was only one!) where we would find the man (MUrray! The man who can!)
who
repaired tyres.
We were all feeling tired, grumpy and sweltering in
the
midafternoon heat and so whilst he fixed the tyre he told us to head
down to
the river where there was plenty of free camping and good swimming holes. It was truly
beautiful
with flowing crystal clear river water and campers scattered all along
the
rivers edge with fires burning to brew their tea.
So we stayed, and
never
made it to Lawn Hill. Instead we relaxed and swam in the river, and
rented
canoes for a day (from the man who owns the shop and fixes tyres and
now
also rents canoes!). We spent almost four days there in total and
offered
plenty of advice by the surrounding campers whom were mostly retired
ozzies
come up north to escape the colder southern climates. We even found
some
who let us borrow their washing machine (there were some well equipped
campers!) and hence after 8 days we all had nice clean clothes. A
night in
the local pub/motel/petrol station left Carl, myself and the Seamus
(Irish
guy) slightly worst for ware but hardly a penny spent. We still aren't
strictly sure how we managed it, but it seems as if Anna got more change when she bought drinks and Carl and Seamus had drinks bought for them off an old guy at the bar! But having left our mark on Gregory
Downs (lightweights apparently!)
we headed off again - this time for the Northern Teritory and on to the
great Rock!
And to keep you posted on the five travelling companions - German girl
has
demonstrated complete inability to cook or do anything vaguely useful.
So we've changed some spark plugs and Carl has tinkered with the engine
- it
is sounding healthy again as we head off for our two day journey to Mt
Isa.
But on the same bit of road as before the same tyre bursts to a state
beyond
repair. With the spare tyre on we drive carefully to Burke and Wills
RoadHouse (town apparently with population of six!). We find no tyre there
and
thus continue our journey slowly stopping at a scenic road side camping
area
for the night.
Unfortunately it was here that German member of our party
having
asked "WHY??!" she should cook, was told rather bluntly by the Italian that
she
"SHOULD" cook (we all had a few words to say. I think I may nearly have lost my temper. Barney and Choccy wouldn;t have recognised "nice guy Carl" with the amount of abuse I gave her in the inner sanctum of the van talking to Anna at night! - Carl)!
The following day we
made it
to Mt. Isa and the relief that crossed everybodies faces as we entered
civilisation for the first time in 12 days was incredible. Shops,
off-licences, pubs to choose from, people numbering more than 10!! As we pulled into the shopping centre for food, everyone looked happy and relieved... especially the German.
As we got out of the van, she approached Carl, asked for her mooney belt from the safe, and then promptly told him she was getting out fo the van and going to Ayers Rock on the bus. I don't think she expected the smile, the easy agreement and the big wave goodbye as we left her at the hostel gates.
Now its onto Darwin and Kakdu, so don't expect too many updates in the next few days! It is the outback out there you know!
Here we are again. Back in civilization! Well, the nearest you can get in the Northern Territories... Katherine.
So whats happened in the last few days then. Firstly, we've had 2 blow outs at 80ish kph. Always makes for some fun, the wobbly van, the sudden bang and then the almost tortal loss of control as the van slides around the (dodgy, if not basically dust) road. So after a total of 4 blow outs, we're now expert tyre changers and are being head-hunted by Ferrari for next season.
We Left the huge metropolis of Mt Isa behind us ina sea iof dust and sunshine, just as the 2nd biggest rodeo in the world (after Calgary) had begun. The red-necks had massed in their pick-ups and yutes, the mullets were in their element (some absolute CLASSICS!!) and the comboy boots, tight blue jeans and cowboy boots were the main fashion accesory. But, we had to leave, no matter how much we wanted to stay and get into fights in saloon bars. One old boy actually told us the rules of engagement...
A guy will come over and ask you for a fight. If you say "Yes!", He'll punch you and the fight commences. If you say "Nah, mate. Just here for a few beers", he'll happily walk away and go ask somebody else. What manners, eh! So much better than the British mauls outsdide of pubs at 11.30pm.
So, after Mt. Isa we travelled West, passing Cammooweal (expensive petrol, nothing else) and then hitting the "three ways" junction. You eiother go back East, go North to Darwin or go South to Alice. 3-ways. you gotta love ozzies.
We stayed at a place called The Pebbles (aboriginal land in the middle of nowhere and illegally camped, but of course WE didn't know that!). Next day was feree showers at the petrol station (supposed to be 3$, but what the hell) and off to Daly Waters... a rest stop for travellers between 3-ways and Katherine.
What it is is a pub. In the middle of nowhere. With a campsite and a pool and showers. So we stayed for 2 nights! the first we got thoroughly drunk with the locals (one guy was a farmer from about 110km away. He was driving home of course), played pool and Luca and Seamus tried to pull. Unsuccessfully.
The next day was spent fixing the poor van. We have 1 bad tye ready to blow and problems with the dizzy cap. Bugger! We actually spent about an hour on the engine and the rest recovering from booze. NO one could be bothered driving the 250km to Mataranka. The problem with driving in the outback is the boredom. The scenery rarely changes. It's dry, and red, and there are a few trees and bushes, which is fine for the first 1000km, the the next 3000km get a bit dull.
Mataranka... what a god-send!!
In the middle of nowhere stands a pool like no other. It's free (although it costs to stay) and it's WARM! Thermal hot pools. The way forward. Beautiful. It sounds strnage toi want hot water when you're living in 30-40C heat all day, but it just FEELS nice!!
And then into the river too! The best bit is when you first jump in the river; it's hot.. it's cold... then it's hot again... then just your top half is hot and your feet are cold. Lovely!!
DEtails of Katherine and the NOrthern Territory can be found in Spetember's Diary entries. We realise this may confuse those who are following dates exactly, but we don't care. It's September now so We're gonna write it in Septemebr. So there!
Worldfamous Home Page... see earlier travels with the boys, or catch up with Gonzo and Astro.
Text by: Anna
Her
main talent seemed to be eating and replacing "just not quite empty"
boxes
of cereal back in the cupboard, thus annoying all and sundry. And with an ability to whinge at very
inappropriate times Carl was beginning to try and pull (what's left) of
his
hair out (Hmpf... cheeky - Carl)! Irish and Italian on the other hand continue to provide
great
entertainment!
Date: 18th August
Text by: Carlos
After that we bombed along to Katherine Gorge... a must for any traveller in N.T.
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