Day 25, 30 Sept. 2010, 498km Lawn Hill

30^th Sept 2010





Lawn Hill Gorge - what a magic place!

I left Karumba a little sadly. It is such a great little town up there on the gulf and it represents another box ticked off from the bucket list. Last night’s sunset was truly awesome, but with other objectives to be achieved. it was time to move on. Back through Normanton for petrol and heading south, I made Burke and Wills Roadhouse by about lunch time.  Turning right I headed towards Gregory Downs as the weather turned truly hot.  More petrol at Gregory Downs ($1.69 per litre – ouch!!!) and then on to the road to Lawn Hill National Park. I now have to admit that I am no dirt rider. I survived the road okay, albeit at about 60kph in third gear or less, but just before Adels Grove, a sudden patch of deep sand saw me sitting on the ground beside my collapsed BMW again. Luckily there was little damage this time, but lord that bike is heavy fully loaded. I got it up eventually and finally arrived at Lawn Hill camp grounds in an extremely foul mood, not made any better by the conditions at the camp site which were terrible. The tent site was just sandy dust and full of bugs, but as I had paid for it, I put up the tent anyway, swearing as I went. With the tent up, I walked down to the water and just jumped in – shorts, tee shirt and all. You can’t believe how good it felt. I had arrived at Lawn Hill!

Day 24, 29.9.10, 252km, Karumba

At long last folks. The Gulf of Carpentaria. What a beautiful sight!

A big storm brewing over the gulf





Karumba Sunset 1

Karumba Sunset - How good is this!

Karumba Sunset - I am lucky to be seeing this

Well this is one of the bucket list I can finally say I have ticked off. I failed to make Karumba in 2006, when all the roads were flooded following Cyclone Larry, but this time I made it. I got an early start this morning from Croydon to miss as much of the heat as possible. Yesterday was 38 degrees C. and today is forecast to be as hot, so I was on the road by just after 7am. Had to dodge a few roos, which were still feeding beside the roiad, but no problems really. I got to Normanton, which is still a dingy, unhappy looking place and got another tourist to take a photo of me with a life size replica of the worlds biggest ever crocodile, which was shot by a lady near here in 1957. The size of the thing has to seen to be believed. After that I headed to Karumba and it was quite a thrill to finally be at the Gulf. I have taken a cabin at the local caravan park, which may be a good idea as there is an absolute monster storm heading this way, complete with thunder and lightning. The rain passed to the south of us, but the clouds contributed to the stunning sunset I experienced at Karumba Point. There is a large pub on the beach with outstanding views over the beach to the sunset. Large crowds had all set up to watch it and was it ever worth it. An incredibly beautiful sight. I will treasure these photo's. Tomorrow I will head for Lawn Hill National Park. I hope the road isn't too bad as there is a lot of dirt riding to do. Cheers

Believe or not, this quiet spot is Creen Creek, which nearly drowned me in 2006

Day 23, 28.9.2010, 313km, Croydon



Freshwater Croc at Cobbold Gorge



Cobbold Gorge

Today was baking hot, about 38 degrees C., but what a great day. Wayne and Sue had recommended doing Cobbold Gorge after they had been there last year (thanks guys!), so I phoned througha booking loast night and hoit the road at 7am this morning for the 80km dirt ride. This road was in good condition for north Queensland, so I was able to make good time there. The tour is $65.00 which is actually excellent value. It takes abaout 3 hours involving a 4WD coach ride, a bush walk and the vboat trip up the gorge. The gorge itself would have to be one of the most beautiful trips I have ever taken. The gorge itself has been created up an old fault line, but has been eroded and sculpted by the water and time to create a small area of incredible beauty. The pictures just don't do justice to this natural wonder, but I hope you get the idea. Finishing at 12pm, I had a brief lunch and then hit the road to Croydon, where I am sleeping in the tent again. I hope I sleep alright. Tomorrow, I will head for Korumba to watch the sunset over the gulf before heading for Lawn Hill. Cheers




Day 22, 27.9.10, 494km, Georgetown

Hou Wang Chinese Temple and Museum at Atherton - Closed yet again!

Millstream Falls near Ravenshoe

Another good day today. I left Chillagoe at about 8am. I could have seen some more things, but I am now focussing on getting to Lawn Hill, so I decided to head west today. First thouggh I had to head east back to Mareeba and then south to the Savannah Way. There was a short cut on the map, but after the Cape York debacle, I have become very wary of these north Queensland dirt roads. At a pretty little town called Mutchilba, I stopped for an icecream and to post some postcards to the folks at work to let them know I am still alive. One nice part of todays trip was to visit the Millstream Falls which were very pretty. Apart from that though, I just kept going. Lord it did get hot though. Not far from here it was reported to be 39 degrees C. Wayne and Sue had raved about Cobbold Gorge, so I am off down there tomorrow for the day. I'm in a cabin again tonight which might be just as well as there are huge lightning bolts on the horizon tonight, so we may get some rain. I'll see how the morning looks as to whether I stay here another night, but after that I will head for Karumba. Cheers

Somewhere near Chillagoe

Day 21, 26.9.2010, 422km, Chillagoe,

Capatin Cook statue





Skybury Coffee Plantation - great food coffee, food and atmosphere

Entering Chillagoe Caves

Had a great day today. It was a quiet night last night at Cooktown, just reading and taking it easy and rebuilding after the disappointment of Cape York. Left the lovely Peninsula Caravan Park and had a quiet look around Cooktown before leaving. Fortunately the developers haven't hit the place much yet. It's still a quiet back water, well worth visiting as an alternative to Towensville or Cairns. After that I hit the road back to Mareeba, where I raided the bank, filled the bike and went out to Skybury Coffee Plantation where I had a Mocha and a plate full of pancakes. A nice place and much better than the tacky Coffee World on the other side of town. I then headed inland and rode past countless mango and banana plantations into the Savannah to Chilligoe, where I bought a ticket and did the Chilligoe Caves tour. It was very interestinga nd at two hours quite good value. I'm now in a cheap overnight room at the caravan park. Catch you again tomorrow after I head west and hopefully end up somewhere Cobbold Gorge. Cheers

Cooktown foreshore - paradise indeed

Day 20, 25.9.2010, 217km, Cooktown

Banana plantations at Lakeland

I slept very badly last night; tossing around in my mind whether to persevere or head back. Conversations with the locals indicated that north of Musgrave Roadhouse the road had been graded and was in good condition, but after the Weipa turn off it would be much worse all the way to the top with some very deep sand patches. On the roads, I had been travelling so far, I was only able to maintain 60kph or less and it would take me 4 days to reach the end at that rate, even if I didn't crash again. The condition of the road couln't be improved by the continuous road trains, trucks and 4WD's which rolled past all night. In the end I made what I think was the best decision and decided to head back. Cape York is best managed with a well equipped 4WD and the overloaded BM is just not suited to this type of trip. I'm feeling pretty gutted though as I had my heart set on achieving this objective. Still there are still a lot of other objectives on the list. I took it very carefully going back. The patch of sand that tipped me off was taken in first gear with the feet out. While having a drink at Luara, I had a conversation with a couple from USA, who saiud I was very brave attempting a trip like this on my own; more like dumb, but at least I impressed someone. At Cooktown,I headed to the caravan park I last stayed at in 2006 which is a lovely site, but van prices have risen, so not cheap. Currently watching the AFL final (go Saints!), so there is a positive there. I,ve had a good sleep and tomorrow I will head for Chillagoe Caves. I will catch you then.

Black Mountain near Cooktown

The shop at Laura

Day 19, 24.9.10, 355km, Hann River Roadhouse

Today was one of the toughest I have ever experienced on a motorcycle. Last nights stay was one of the nicest so far. A very luxurious cabin with nice facilities. I managed to get all my washing dry and slept very well. Heading out at about 8am, I stopped off at the Mareeba Coffee Works for a mocha and a cake, then headed north through progressively drier country. Turned off at Lakeland and encountered some dirt to Laura, but nothing I couldn't handle. After Laura however the conditions turned very ugly indeed, with never ending corrugations and enormous quantities of deep sand. About 20km north of Laura, the ineviteble happened and I hit a deep patch of sand at about 60kph and suddenly crashed. I had to take everything off the bike before I could pick it up again. I was okay, but the right pannier had taken a belting. I managed to throw some straps around it and carried on, eventually ending up at Hann River, where I borrowed a large hammer and a log and bashed the pannier back into reasonable shape. It was only 3.30pm, but I was exhausted from the effort and concentration and opted to put up the tent for the night. Probably for the best as over the night my right thumb and shoulder stiffened up and I was feeling pretty down. However there were several campers there and they got me feeling better with the help of several beers. I had a good meal at the Roadhouse and crashed into the tent at 8.30pm

Mount Carbine mine

Look out near Palmer River

Start of the dirt road

My pannier after the crash

Mt Desailly from Bob's look out