2008 Trip Part 1 - Beulah to Borroloola

Our trip began on a cold, grey and drizzly afternoon after work.
From Beulah we travelled back roads to Sea Lake, Chinkapook, Nyah, Tooleybuc to Balranald where we stopped for toasted sandwiches, coffee and fuel before heading up the Ivanhoe road. Every now and then there were short bursts of rain, it was a bit overcast but seemed to be clearing. We set up camp beside a dry creek amongst lots of trees and since it was freezing didn’t bother with a last cuppa and just jumped into the warm bed.

We woke to sunshine, blue skies and a couple of interested marsupial neighbours. After breakfast it was on the road again up to Wilcannia, Wanaaring and Hungerford. The roads were pretty good in general with the occasional rough patches.

It was getting towards 5pm when we reached the gate at Hungerford and the thought of a hot shower and pub meal made us consider camping there until a convoy of Variety Bashers rolled into town and the thought of a quiet night was gone and so were we.

We headed out of town on the Thargomindah road and found a spot off the road near the netting fence. We’d just set up, lit a fire and the night was descending around us when we heard a vehicle coming in the track. All we could see were the headlights as it came quite close, stopped, then turned and was gone. It was a bit unsettling but Ray was sure that it was just a local checking that we weren’t on their property or up to no good. When we went to bed, I lay there worrying they’d come back but soon I was waking up to another lovely morning and my worries were needless.

The Variety Bash roared past in the distance as we had breakfast and we gave them plenty of time before we too got on the road. At Thargomindah we stopped to look at the Artesian Power Display which is well done and we found it very interesting.


About 8 km west of Thargomindah we took the Soonah Crossing road through the flat plains around the Bulloo River and past several cattle stations. At Soonah Crossing we forded the Bulloo and before long we were at Toompine, briefly on the bitumen again before turning north west on station roads which would take us through Piastre, Moble and Why Not Stations through to the Windorah/Quilpie road.

We were then on the Diamantina Developmental road for about 160kms before once again hitting the dirt roads through Welford National Park to the little town of Jundah where a hot shower was waiting at the caravan park. We strolled around Jundah, had a drink at the hotel and watched a brief glimpse of the Olympics before returning to cook a meal.

Back at camp we discovered that we had the first casualty of the trip with one of the trailer tyres having been gashed by a rock and looking sad and sorry for itself. Although we had spares we were also just two days into our trip with a lot of rough roads and no major towns in our plan until Katherine. After some discussion we decided to change our plans a little and detour to Mt Isa for another tyre.

From Jundah we travelled out on the Winton road through several large stations making our way to Lark Quarry which is nestled amongst burnt red rocky hills about five kms off the road. As we drove in the bright morning light it felt as though we were afloat on a sea with the hills shape shifting like watercolours above the gibber and through the mirages on the horizon.

When we got to Lark Quarry it wasn’t a tour time so we decided not to wait around since we had been there in 1996 when there was no big building just a shelter and the footprints.


The road we now took was leading westwards to Old Cork and soon we could see the impressive red roofed buildings of Cork Station appearing in the distance.

The road was quite stony but good and we arrived at Old Cork waterhole for lunch and spent some time wandering around the ruins and enjoying the lovely waterhole. There were a couple of camps around the edges and it would be a nice place for a few quiet days.[


We crossed the Diamantina River and the road was slow going and very rocky for a while but soon the flat, gibber plains were glittering all around us.

As we drove into the afternoon sun we could see the mesa like Cawnpore Hills appearing in the distance, hovering over the flatness all around. We climbed to the top of Cawnpore look out to look back over where we’d come from and ahead to where we would be going. A lovely view and the colours were so vivid in the late afternoon sun

A short stretch on the Kennedy Developmental road and then the gate and track to Mackunda Downs Station was our next turn. The ground had changed to burnt maroon/black and once past the station rough, harsh but lovely rocky outcrops in the same dark maroon colour began and the road twisted and turned amongst them. We descended into flatter, more wooded country with smaller less harsh hills dotted around and station tracks veering off in all directions. It was almost sundown when we reached the McKinlay road and Toolebuc Station where we crossed the Hamilton River and turned onto the Selwyn road to set up camp.

Next morning the road took us through more great country, more rocky hills, green leaved white gums and red dirt as we crossed numerous cattle stations and I opened several gates.
What gets me about these gates is that they are almost all different. You have to assess each one as you approach, what system are they using, which way is it swinging etc. We reached the Selwyn mine and town then soon we passed Kuridala and Malbon and were heading into the highway and Mt Isa. It took us two hours to get the tyre, groceries, fuel etc and then it was off again out towards Camooweal and then onto the Riversleigh road to Lawn Hill. We had a good run as the roads were in excellent condition and we got to Lawn Hill just on dusk, set up camp and relaxed.

We’d both been here before but it’s one of our favourite places and we couldn’t go past. It was also a lovely spot to just sit, relax, canoe, swim and walk and we filled the next day in easily.

It was here that the second mishap of the trip occurred. We’d packed salad rolls for lunch, hired the canoe and paddled happily up to the second gorge. All was going well, the sun was shining, the cliffs were that burnt orange colour, the water copper blue, birds were singing and life was good when all of a sudden Ray let out an anguished cry. He’d bitten down onto a seed in the bun and his false front tooth had snapped off and it’s now at the bottom of the gorge or maybe in the stomach of a curious catfish. The poor man had to spend the rest of the trip with a gap toothed grin.

Off again and now around through Lawn Hill Station. We went through more gates, past inquisitive herds of cattle over corrugations, rocks and bulldust to Kingfisher Camp beside the Nicholson River on Bowthorn Station.

Kingfisher Camp is a great spot. The campground is well cared for with lots of
shade, grass and very roomy.


We got there for lunch and I bought Ray a book written by Kerry McGinnis whose family own Bowthorn and Kingfisher. I’d previously read Pieces of Blue and the book I bought was the second in the story of her family “Heart Country”. Ray hardly ever reads but he started and couldn’t put it down. It took him two weeks to read and he then proceeded to read two more books “Wyndham Yella Fella” and “Icing on the Damper”, before we got home.

From Kingfisher we headed for the Northern Territory. It’s sad to see both Hells Gate and Wollogorang closed down. I once went from Wollogorang on their track to the coast and camped. It was so wild and lonely up there and now you can’t do it and that’s sad. The Savannah Way had a lot of rough, corrugated and stony sections and was very slow going. There were some stretches of good road too but overall, between Wollogorang and the Wearyan River it was slow. We met a bloke towing a van just as we crossed the Wearyan. He told us we had some horrendous conditions to go into Borroloola and we said that the road he was heading for had it’s moments too. They had a little dog which they were letting out to swim in the river. I often wondered about two things after we left them. The first was how they had fared over the roads because the road he’d told us was terrible was in fact great and the second was whether his dog became croc feed. I hope not.


Borroloola was alive with activity because this was the Show and Rodeo weekend. The Show was just finishing as we arrived and we had planned to get there in time for the Rodeo the next day.
We camped in town at the caravan park and you’ve never had a hot shower until you’ve tried Borroloola’s! They were magnificent! Funny how things like showers assume such importance in your life when you’re on the road. Anyway we had a good camp there with shade and space.

The first night the locals were out and partying with yacki-ing and yahooing, cars roaring and revving and a good time was being had by all except those of us wanting to sleep!! In the morning we drove up to Bing Bong, then went to King Ash Bay and checked out the fishing village there before returning to town and spending an interesting hour at the museum.

By now it was time to head down to the Rodeo and along with what seemed to be the entire population of the town and the outlying stations we got into the jeans, boots and cowboy hats and off we went. What a day it was. There were kids running around, splashing water at the bucking bulls and careering off in fear when the bulls charged the fence.
There were more Wrangler and Blue dog jeans, cowboy high heeled boots, big hats, spurs and big buckles than in a John Wayne Western. The utes and trucks were reversed in against the fence and filled to overflowing with spectators all yelling, cheering and having a good time. The horses bucked,the bulls rampaged and the riders usually hit the dirt.
It was a great show.

I sat down at the fence and got talking to two local ladies. One was from Macarthur River Station and the other from Mallapunya. Mallapunyah has been owned by the Darcy family for decades and there have been lots of stories about them. I read once that way back in the first years of the station, Mrs Darcy and a daughter went for a walk one day and were never found again. It was interesting to sit down beside these two lovely ladies and talk about their lives.

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