We left Karumba on the north coast of QLD
(see map) and returned to Normanton before continuing along The Savannah Way towards Lawn Hill National Park.
This building is a bank in Normanton. It is a typical example of "The Queenslander" architecture, where the house is built on stilts above the ground and it has a wide verandah all the way around to keep it cool.
The Carpentaria Shire Council building is unique in that it was designed like a hotel but it never has been one.
This is Krys the crocodile. It is a replica of the largest crocodile to be shot in the world. It was shot in 1957 by Krystina Powlowski on the MacAthur Bank, Norman River near Normanton.
It measured 28ft 4in (8.63m) and estimated to weigh 2 tons. My friend, George, poses to show the scale compared to a man.
Then we drove for 2 hours to our next stop, Camp 119. It is the camp site of the famous explorers, Bourke and Wills when they almost reached the north coast of Australia after leaving Melbourne on the south coast 6 months before in 1860. It was a tragic expedition. 19 men started with horses, wagons and camels but by half way many had pulled out and only four continued. On the return journey they all died of starvation except one, John King, who was rescued by aborigines. It was the custom to 'blaze' trees with an axe. It was a signature to prove where explorers had been. The blaze is still evident over 150 years later, on many trees at this campsite. However, they appear low on the trunk but that is because the ground level has risen through years of silt being deposited in wet seasons.
After morning tea it was back in the coach for many more miles. We passed through dry plains and....
we crossed many rivers and,,,,,
we passed through many cattle stations. American Long Horn cattle have just been introduced.
Our picnic lunch stop was at Leichhardt Falls. The tour guides were very excited because this is the first time they had seen water flowing. They have done the trip for many years but these tours can only occur during the dry season as the roads are under water in the wet season. However, this year the wet season was very late so we were lucky to see the falls still running.
After flicking off flies while eating a wrap for lunch, we continued on the long journey to Adels Grove near Lawn Hill NP.
