Day 232. Cloncurry to Gregory Downs

Deep into Gulf Savannah Country…


Dry Riverbed at Gregory Downs

We woke to the sound of the garbage truck, and Scarlett diving for the door! She had heard it too, and she wasn’t going to miss seeing it in action for anything. The next thing we heard was the sound of the door slamming as she disappeared and ‘flew’ outside in her pyjamas!

Bec and I just grunted ’morning’ to each other, rolled over, and started to drifting back to sleep. Unfortunately we both ‘forgot’ that we are living with a 5yr old, and before you could say “What the?” – She was back and opening all the curtains and windows. “The Suns up!” she proudly announced – and that is how our day started. Nothing quite like being back on the road all together in our little caravan…

We packed the car and van, and went into town to do some last minute shopping before ‘heading bush’ – deep into the northern Gulf Country. We found a Woolworths, and Bec went on a shopping spree that ended up costing us in excess of $300! (Mind you, this did include our first carton of alcohol – ‘Strongbow Sweet’; since leaving Sydney 2 weeks ago). We topped up on diesel, and finally left Cloncurry heading north at about 10am, with Bec in the driver’s seat.

The drive itself was not very interesting; other than the fact that we saw large numbers of Wedge-tailed Eagles on the road eating ‘road kill’. We must have come across at least three or four pairs, which was great to see. They were always in pairs; with one on the road while the other would sit in a nearby tree watching for danger. A number of times Bec had to brake and slow down as the eagles wouldn’t leave their free feed until the very last minute. This is not a good thing to do, as they have more chance of getting hit by a passing truck or car. But it did give us great opportunities to get up close to see these majestic birds in their natural environment!

Lining up for Diesel at Burke and Wills Roadhouse

We stopped off at the ‘Burke & Wills Pub and Roadhouse’ to fill up the Pajero, and took the opportunity to have some lunch. A number of road trains carrying cattle pulled up too, and Scarlett wandered over to have a look. She enjoyed ‘mooing’ back at the cattle, while Bec and I finished off our lunch. (Don’t ask me why, but it’s the small things like this that make a trip around Australia worth it to a 5yr old).

'Moo!'

'Just how long is this truck?'

From here I jumped in the pilot’s seat, and Bec jumped in the back with Scarlett to watch a movie. Along the way, we passed through a number of cattle stations and deeper into the ‘Gulf Country’. The grassy plains seemed to go on forever, and we started to spot more wild life. There were Brolga’s and Jabiru’s in the Billabongs; with the ever present sign of feral pigs everywhere. We passed a number of big boar carcasses on the road, and it’s obvious that this is perfect pig country. If only I had my gun!

2 hours later we finally pulled into Gregory Downs. We found a free camping spot in the bush not far from the river; which just happens to be dry! Go figure! We did a quick set up, and headed down the road to the Gregory Downs Hotel, where I enjoyed my first XXXX Gold, and Bec sipped on a Lemon, Lime, and Bitters.

Gregory Downs Pub

We were going to spend two nights here, but I must say we were a little disappointed with what we found. Bec thought there were lush grassed sites, as well as toilets and showers – as this camp site had come highly recommended from other grey nomads that we have met on the road. Unfortunately this is not the case, so we contacted ‘Adel Grove’ at Lawn Hill National Park, and were able to get our booked tent a day early! Tomorrow we are off to Adel Grove/Lawn Hill for 4 nights of relaxation and adventure! We will be leaving the van here at Gregory Downs and ‘tenting it’ for a few days, but we’ll pick it up again when we come back through here on our way to Normanton and Kurumba then on through to the coastline.

Our 'Dry' campsite at Gregory Downs

posted by Shane