Beatit on the road - Day 33 Towns River
7/9/12
I have to start with the important stuff first. I caught two barra over 60 cm so dinner was organised. There was another couple towing a bushtracker and I asked Andy along for a fish but unfortunately he did not catch a fish but you know what goes around so I offered him a fish which he accepted. A mud map given to me by an angler at Roper Bar was of good value and that is where some local knowledge got us into the fish.
Beatit on the road - Days 25 to 28 at Roper Bar
30/8/12, 31/8/12, 1/9/12 and 2/9/12
We arrive at Roper bar after about 180K drive from Mataranka. The road is largely sealed except for the last 40K or so. The beginning was a civilised double road which reduces to a single lane except for some safety double lanes over crests. There were two road trains we met along the way and both were moving quickly, I gave them the bitumen and pulled over.
Burton's Perth to Cape York – Cape Leveque, Broome 9-13 July 2012 Day 101-105
Filling up at the BP Colac Roadhouse in Derby I’m amazed at the dynamics of the place. The BP is packed with locals cruising in old Brock type SS Commodores, all dressed up in cool aviator sunnies and silky American baseball clothing with ball caps facing backwards. Next door at Lytton Park other locals are uninhibitedly brawling on the oval, providing entertainment for yet others haphazardly parked all over the Roadhouse making access to the pumps difficult.
Beatit on the road - Day 24 still at Mataranka
29/8/12
It was a very cool morning and we had previously retired the quilt as being not required any more but we were wrong! It is sitting in the vacuum bag unwrapped but accessible in case there is a repeat performance tonight. Had a chat to our neighbours this morning and it turns out he went buffalo hunting last night and I would have been welcome as well if we had chatted a little earlier. He had photos of two buffs that he shot – oh well life is like that.
Beatit on the road - Day 23 at Mataranka
28/8/12
There must be something in that spring water as I woke with a new skip in my step! There were precious few people left in the park and a chat with Cathy the owner enlightened us that the crowd just got up and left over the last week or so – what a difference a week makes. We ended up yacking for a while until we were definitely the last to leave for the day at close to 10. She mentioned a few interesting things firstly all the tree plantations we saw coming in are all mahogany trees.
Beatit on the road - Day 19
24/8/12
A plan nothing day whoo hoo! A great day to get those little things done – you know the sort that are left for a rainy day. Starting with a new water hose, it seems that our 10 year old hose is starting to break down as for the first time we have smelled and tasted plastic in our water. We reckon that because we are connecting permanently to mains water through this hose and it’s lying in the sun it may have been the final straw. Also,
Beatit on the road - Day 16
21/8/12
A bit of a lazy day today only got up at 7-30, I’ve truly forgotten what that feels like! By the time we did breakfast and the usual routines it was something like 9 before we got going. A loose plan to call on Jenny’s Orchid Nursery (we’d been there before) and Lis took a thousand photos (well almost) and as it turned out it was Jenny’s birthday so we got invited for tea and cake on the veranda what a lovely morning that turned out to be. Life is really a box of chocolates,
Rosco's dream here we come take 2 the right one
Rosco's dream, here we come.
We set off down the Roper Highway (read a track with bad corrugations, bulldust and narrow, even though road trains travel across it) with high hopes for Ross to fish the Roper River. Shortly after leaving Lorella Springs we came across the turn off to the Lost City so we decided to go in for a look as we might never come back to this neck of the woods.
As we drove in these mighty rock formations started to appear on our right, they were totally awe inspiring.
Burton's Perth to Cape York Lorella Springs to Mataranka 2-4 June 2011 Day 64-66
The kids had a morning swim with Will and Lucy in the hot springs, surrounded by ferns, lush palms and a well kept grassed lawn. The water was crystal clear first thing in the morning and steaming with the warmth. Another goodbye to the Youmans and hoping we will catch up once again down the track. Bumped into the old well set up WA farmers at the reception and yarned a short while, not realising that we'd be bumping into each other all the way to Mataranka.
a quick update
SATURDAY 9 JUNE Left Lorella Springs and just drove. Lots of river crossings. Stopped at Borroollola for some supplies and fuel. Ended up camping just near Robinson river. Lovely spot, overlooking the river. Lachie did his first bush poo for the trip. FRIDAY 8 JUNE Tim went for a run this morning, while the kids and i lazed around in bed. Fairly quiet day, swimming in springs, eating, reading etc. Cooked up the rest of the barramundi in a korma sauce with vegies and rice. Yummy.
Lawn Hill (days 37-38)
We are sorry to leave Kingfisher camp with it's lovely grass sites and big river. A big blue winged Kookaburra comes to watch us pack up.
It's about 200 Kms to Lawn Hill (the direct 4WD track is closed) and the first bit to Doomadgee is really badly corrugated, overall it takes about 4 hours. We stop at the shop by the petrol station at Doomadgee as we are running low on some items. The shop/ general stores has a curious mix of food - mostly long life or tins and frozen bread/ meat, no fresh,
DougOutOnTheRiver 06
Darwin to Cairns
Or “Way Too Far On The Savannah Way”
3,000 km of flat country with medium sized trees, dirt road, brown grass and the odd wallaby – that’s The Savannah Way (or the Darwin-Cairns bit). Probably why I camped next to any water I could find (crocs or no).
However the water bits were great and I really got to be DougOutOnTheRiver a couple of times. Key points included a quick trip home to Sydney to see family, Angie of the Jim Jim broken leg fame re-appears in Darwin,
