The Bitch is Back

No, the title of this chapter does not refer to my sudden return to ill-tempered, cantankerous ways of old (although Dennis seems to think that I have been a bit of a pain lately). Nor does it refer to the pending arrival in Australia of Dennis’s mother-in-law (Mum, we are genuinely looking forward to seeing you). In fact, “bitch” refers to the bitumen – eg tarmac, paved road. We have left the dirt roads behind us, and the rest of our trip will be on smooth, wide and paved highways. Somehow this seems to mark the beginning of the end of our journey.
Although we have plenty still to look forward to, I must admit to a certain sadness in leaving the remote and lonely places that the dirt roads traverse. The night before last we ventured off the main road between Normanton and Cloncurry to camp beside the Leichhardt River near Lake Julius. We were completely on our own with the river, the stars, the birds (and quite a lot of cow dung). It was magic and one of the discoveries that define the very best of travelling on the dirt. I am really going to miss the miles and miles of red dirt, the whistling kites and wide open skies. I am going to miss the “us” we become when sharing those spaces.

Steph on Nicholson River

It has taken us almost 3 weeks to complete the journey around the Gulf of Carpentaria and although this may not be the remotest we have been it is certainly the longest we have stayed bush. Almost the entire time has been on dirt road, often very corrugated, with numerous river and creek crossings. We didn’t see a decent supermarket once we left Katherine, so supplies, especially gluten free stuff, got pretty low (good thing Dennis caught some fish in Karumba). We pretty much missed the entire “hung parliament” debacle with no access to the newspaper, not even yesterday’s, and pretty thin radio reception – in some places we couldn’t even pick up Radio Australia on shortwave. We have loved it!!

We arrived in Mt Isa yesterday – and it seems incredibly cosmopolitan. They have THREE major supermarkets, with heaps of fresh food and gluten free sections. The diesel costs $1.26 a litre instead of $2.50. You can buy today’s newspaper today and pay only the price on the front of the paper (mind you, the paper doesn’t arrive until noon). It’s amazing the little things we don’t appreciate as much as we should.

Canoeing at Lawn Hill

Between Borroloola, where we last left you, and Mt Isa there have been two major highlights. The first was Lawn Hill Gorge in Budjamulla National Park. I know you are thinking, “not another gorge, don’t they do anything but go to one gorge after another?” I sympathise, but this one was special. In the middle of all those miles and miles of red dirt and spinifex, suddenly appears this tropical oasis. Permanent water in the Gregory River has kept a tiny outpost of the rainforest that once covered Queensland. We spent our days canoeing, walking and swimming through the forests of pandanus, lovely waterfalls and red cliff faces.

Gulf Classic Winner!

The other highlight was Karumba – a tiny town right on the Gulf of Carpentaria. It’s actually the ONLY place right on the Gulf, so in all this time in “Gulf Country” this was our first time on the gulf itself. There isn’t much in Karumba except fishing and prawning (although the port is also a hub for live cattle export). Needless to say that meant another fishing charter and yet another fishing challenge – the “Gulf Classic” this time. You will note that the Gulf Classic did not make the headlines in this blog, so perhaps you have already guessed that I lost badly. I caught only small sharks, about 20 of them, and nothing at all that we could keep. Dennis was the clear winner with 3 keepers – Blue Nose Salmon (in no way related to what a Canadian would call salmon).

Over and out from me, but I’m sure the winner of the Gulf Classic will want to add a few words.

Thanks Steph for allowing me a few words, my first word is Karumba, what a great place where we spent a few days, on the fishing trip we met Lee and Iveta, two likeminded souls who we spent more time with eating our catch and sharing some wine and travel stories. The fishing was really good with lots of catch and some great memories on the Gulf. The other big sporting story from the weekend was the golf, Karumba has a Golf course with no grass on the tees, no grass on the fairways and no grass on the greens, Sunday morning at 7.45 and a group of 8 of us presented for the challenge. 9 holes in the heat of the morning and I played with 3 guys from all over Queensland mostly miners and a supplier to the mines, again great people who provided plenty of insight into life on the Gulf. At the presentation ceremony at 10.30 a.m. with a couple of beers (I swear I cannot remember having a beer on Sunday morning for 35 years) the captain of the club gave out the prizes. Yours truly received a golf ball for runner up and another for the longest drive, I felt very welcome and this is perhaps the main reason to play this game, the people that you meet.

Many years ago I lived in Townsville and one weekend Mt Isa came to town for the Rugby league with the slogan “up the Isa”, my memory of those times isn’t great however I first heard of the Isa and today we are here learning about its history and one of the biggest mines in the world. This is a special place and the sign driving in says “when you have been to Mt Isa you are a real Australian” so I guess we have made it.

Now its on to more of the Queensland outback, we have washed the car twice in 2 days and still the red dirt keeps coming out of it, I’m sure the car will be happy on the bitch.