Mt Isa to Lawn Hill

Submitted: Wednesday, Jun 30, 2004 at 20:24

ThreadID: 14260 Views:9113 Replies:4 FollowUps:5

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NJ

Can any one give me an indication on what the roads are like between Mt Isa and Lawn hill this year via Camooweal. I want top go towards camoweal and then head up the dirt and past the pasminco mine. Is this the best route and how long would it take. I am towing and off road trailer with and 80 Series. I know it is further to go via cloncurry , Bourke and Wills and Gregory downs but is it faster than the other route.
Nigel

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Reply By: time waster - Wednesday, Jun 30, 2004 at 21:04

Reply By: brian - Wednesday, Jun 30, 2004 at 21:46

Reply By: Member - Meggs - Thursday, Jul 01, 2004 at 14:20

Thursday, Jul 01, 2004 at 14:20

I travelled that road in mid May towing a jayco outback camper. The road is a bit rough up to the second Gregory river crossing and from then on until 15k from the junction with the Lawn hill road it is hard black soil and you can travel at 80k easy. At the 15k from the Lawn hill junction the road is so rough it doesn't corrugate. The road is built from loose stone that must have come from the Pasminco mine primary crusher. We were down to 15 to 20 k on this bit. The road from Lawn Hill to Gregory Downs is good dirt. We stayed at Adels Grove which I believe is the best. The travelling time would be roughly the same going either way. If you go via Riversleigh and you are interested in fossils have stop off and have a look at the fossil dig as it between the last Gregory river crossing and the bad section, there is a sign there so you can't miss it. If you go via Riversleigh it would be advisable to have one extra spare as that last section is rough on tyres.
Be adventurous and go via Riversleigh and arrange to have lunch at the O'Shannassy or Gregory river causeways as there is plenty of fresh water flowing over the crossings all the time. To do justice to Lawn Hill you will have to stay at least 3 days one to get over the trip, one for walking and one for canoe ride.

AnswerID: 65959

Follow Up By: NJ - Thursday, Jul 01, 2004 at 20:41

Thursday, Jul 01, 2004 at 20:41

Meggs,

Thanks for the information but I could not find the second Gregory river crossing on the Map. I can only find where it crosses near Gregory Downs and then Riversleigh. I think what you are basically saying is the road from the Barkly highway to the Riversleigh turnoff is OK and then gets rougher. Do you mean the really rough section is between the turnoff and Reiverleigh or Riversleigh and the Mine oir the mine and Adels Grove?

Were you traveling south or North?

Unfortunately do not have the time to spend three days but will try and spend as long as possible. Can you Swim at Adels grove?

How long do you think it would take from Mt Isa to Adels Grove?

FollowupID: 326869

Follow Up By: Member - Meggs - Thursday, Jul 01, 2004 at 22:09

Thursday, Jul 01, 2004 at 22:09

We were coming from Mt Isa going north to Adels Grove. You go on the Cammoweal road then turn off along that road. We were surprised by the second crossing as well but I think during the wet season it spreads form one crossing to another. The first one is pretty shallow but the second crossing is about 300 to 400mm deep but they are no problems as they are concrete causeways but take it slow as I believe the crossings can be slippery and could be a problem if you give it a boot full.

What I was trying to say was the road was OK except for the last 15k which is loose rock.

The mine is on the Lawn Hill to Gregory Downs road, the rough bit is not on that road.

Don't worry about the road as you should be able to handle it easy just have the extra spare. We passed a Falcon on the road towing a battered caravan. We took it very easy stopped for smoko and lunch and it took us about 8 hrs for the whole trip.

Yes you can swim at Adels Grove they have diverted a small section of the creek into a shallow swimming hole but you can swim in the main creek as well. You can also swim at Lawn Hill.

If you are short for time get to Lawn Hill early to hire a canoe as it is first in first served, check at Adels Grove when they start the canoe hire.

I found the climb to the stack and the walk around the top to be the best climb but if you have any kids watch them on the top as there are no guardrails.

Allow 4 hrs for the canoe ride and a couple of hours for the stack climb. Take your swimmers if you want a swim during the canoe ride. If you have any non swimmers there are plenty of bouyancy vests available. There are sealed drums for camera's etc just costs $4 which goes to the RFDS a worthy cause out there.

Don't forget to stop at the Gregory River at Gregory downs on the way out as it is a good place to camp and clean off all the red dust.

FollowupID: 326910

Reply By: NJ - Friday, Jul 02, 2004 at 22:35

Friday, Jul 02, 2004 at 22:35

Meggs,

Thanks for the fantastic information. To maximise my time at Lawn Hill I was also considering leaving Mt Isa in the afternon and slitting the trip. Did you notice anywhere to camp between Lawn Hill and Mt Isa.

We have already booked at Lawn Hill as we were told there was no swimming at Adels Grove, however we could change without any real problem. Which do you think would be better if you only had a couple of nights and time was short. The kids need things to do so the canoeing sounds great In Fact the whole thing sounds great. If we are near the water the kids tend to give us a bit of piece and quiet and after a long trip we all seek that.

I think the rivers will be a bit lower at the end of July. Again thanks for the detailed information.

Whilst I am on the overall subject did you travel up to the top with the Jacko.

Nigel

AnswerID: 66239

Follow Up By: Member - Meggs - Saturday, Jul 03, 2004 at 10:19

Saturday, Jul 03, 2004 at 10:19

With kids swimming at Adels Grove is the best as the swimming hole can be shallow up one end and deep at the other or if they are good swimmers you can use the Lawn Hill creek for swimming at Adels Grove. Lawn hill creek flows right through Adels Grove so it is the same creek. Swimming isn't as good at Lawn Hill due to the amount ov vegitation on the banks but there are some entrances to the water for swimming If you don't have a generator you should be able to camp in the "Grove" which is on the creek bank if you have a generator or want a campfire you will have to camp in the top section which is about 100m from the creek. We picked Adels Grove because we were there for 4 days and you can use generators and they stoke up the donkey boiler for hot water showers. The canoes are hired out in the morning but if you are staying at Adels grove you can make arrangements for extended use but the hiring is on an hourly rate.

I doubt the water would be much lower as the creeks are spring fed and were running crystal clear when we went through.

The country from Mt Isa to the junction with the Cammoweal Gregory downs road is flat and largely unfenced I am sure you could file a spot behind some tree to camp for the night. A lot of the maps show the road from Mt Isa to Cammoweal section which joins on to the Cammoweal Gregory Downs road is unsealed but it is sealed but in pretty poor condition in places.

As I said with the previous post you need at least two full days otherwise it's not worth going.

I don't know what you meant by "the top" but we left Adels grove and went to Karumba with a night stop in Normanton.

I hope this is of some help.

FollowupID: 327090