Mt Isa to Lawn Hill

.......oh and forgot to mention that the trip on the dirt was slow going, took us about 5 hours (v approx 10 on bitumen route) and spent a few k's in 2nd gear due to stones (oh and the caravan!!!)

Me too

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?

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.

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.