Mataranka Springs

Sunrise at Daly Waters

Daly Waters Inn

Great sense of humor!

Rob in jail at Daly Waters

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Off to a great start at Daly a Waters with a spectacular sunrise and lovely breakie and then onto to town itself which isn't much more than a pub these days but an amazing history behind the town. Like a lot of places in this area of the NT they feature heavily with World War II and not much pre this. Still amazing stuff.
The staff were Irish this time for a bit of a twist.
Onward we visited the Pink Panther pub in Larrimah and then into Mataranka township for supplies before heading off to Elsey National Park. Beautiful quiet camping in the bush and lovely swim at the Rapids (to avoid the crocs)

Daly Waters

Cape Crawford (fuel $2 per litre)

Road train near Cape Crawford

HyWay park at Daly Waters

Sunrise Daly Waters

As I sit here at the HyWay Park & Fuel Stop at Daly Waters (there is even lawn) I am amazed at the fortitude of people who embrace life in regional Australia. It is a tough existence and out here certainly without any of the trimmings we enjoy in daily life!
We travelled from King Ash Bay through to here yesterday with a quick stop at Cape Crawford. This was along the Carpentaria Highway and like other states -NT has taken a liberty calling this a Highway. However it was bitumen so I'll stop complaining. Unfortunately a rock did in one of Garrys tyres so we all had a lesson on changing a tyre on a Prado. Here is a hint Alan & Gai - check it out and consider taking your own jack.
Mining is big in this area and it's sad to not only see the destruction to the landscape but there is so much info around in how they are unable to control the contamination to water and land. MacCarthur River Mines are the big player in this area and the Government should be making them more accountable.
We arrived at Daly Waters to find it whilst not lush, certainly green and welcoming. Like most places we've come across in the outback it is staffed mostly by backpackers. Where are all our unemployed Aussies?
One main exception was Burketown which had aboriginal staff with a few grey nomads. Good on them.
Onto Mataranka today.

King Ash Bay

River Crossing near Domadgee

Sunrise King Ash Bay

King Ash Bay fishing club

Jabiru

We woke Tuesday to another beautiful day (although slightly restless sleep fretting over gas) and back on the road to Borroloola. After a couple of hours of rough travel we arrived at the outback town situated within the Wandangula Aboringinal Shire. Pretty rough looking town but again everyone very friendly.
We stocked up on a few supplies and headed off to King Ash Bay.
This is a lovely fishing community on an inlet to the gulf and is run by volunteers. Great facilities including a nightly bar with happy hour and different activities (Karaoke last night - although none of us volunteered)
We are going to spend a couple of days here just chilling & fishing. Sadly no swimming yet again due to not only the snapping handbags but also a rumored 8 foot cod with lurks around the waters. Actually met a lady at Karumba who's young son was eaten by a large cod so we're not taking any chances with this one

Doomadgee

Across the river at entry to Doomadgee

The name of this town and its history is fascinating. In the middle of the Burke shire this Aboriginal tract of land (quite large area) is owned and run by the Doomadgee Aboriginal Council. The town itself was originally located on the Gulf and was a Mission run by the Brethern. After being hit by a cyclone in late 1800's they moved inland and settled on the banks of the Nicholson river The mission continued to run until early 1980's when Doomadgee then came under the Queensland government. The Aboriginal council was then formed and took control.
Like many Aboriginal communities it is a 'Dry' area and whilst travelers can pass through with alcohol - none is to be consumed or sold within the Doomadgee Council. Sadly on the edge of the town you can see the evidence of how they get around this.

Calvert River

Hells gate

Beautiful spot on the river 

What our poor van looks like now !

After Doomadgee we headed to Hells Gate. Named back in the early 1900's it signified the end of police jurisdiction and those who passed beyond were on there own. Sad little place now with just a servo, camp ground and airport. After a quick snack we headed off to the Northern Territory border. QLD Government you should be ashamed - this was the worst bit of road we've ever been on. Luckily it was only 50km as we were only doing 10km/hour on most of it. As soon as you crossed into NT the road improved significantly and after checking everything was still ok we continued onto Calvert River were we camped for the night. Our day wasn't yet finished though - as I was getting Dinner organized there must have been a gas buildup in the cupboard to the hws which took that moment to explode. Needless to say it was a bit of a scary moment for us all as the noise was deafning. Thankfully although we are now down one cupboard / seat - no one was hurt. Just took awhile to convince me to go back inside. Ahh well call to GIO when we reach civilization.
We enjoyed a beautiful night by the fire afterwards - a very pretty spot.

Burketown

River at Burketown 

We arrived back in Burketown on Saturday after another enjoyable night on the river to refuel and repower up. Unfortunately life had other ideas and we lost all 12v power to our van. Panic stations - we are in Burketown hours from anywhere. Firstly a Big Thank You to Jake - Manager of the park - he was so helpful and couldn't have done anymore to assist us. Secondly our thanks to Greg an Auto Electrician who stays in the park. Whilst we had to stay an extra night (Greg was off fishing) Greg was able to source the problem and patch it up to get us up and running again.
Late start Monday morning as our car battery which had been starting to pack it in - did. Pretty good going really as it was nearly 6 years old (original battery).
Luckily we were able to purchase a new one without paying an arm & a leg.
Burketown is a clean/tidy little town for the main town block however becomes a little dodgy beyond that. People are very friendly & helpful. But why would you live here - the Barramundi of course !!

Lawn Hill National Park

Gorge - lawn hill national park

Garry & Jen paddling

View overlooking Gorge

What an amazing view!

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Rob & I had the pleasure of visiting Lawn Hill National Park and adjoining Adels Grove last year - it was such a spectacular place that we couldn't wait to share it with Jen & Garry.
We had been warned that the access road from Gregory was appalling but we weren't to be daunted and headed off from Burketown full of anticipation of how our vehicles would handle the conditions. To our absolute delight the Council had just finished grading the road and laying dust inhibitor down - no corrugation or bull dust
Once we had set up camp we headed off to the lagoon for a well deserved swim and cool down.
Camp fires at night, long walks to enjoy amazing views of the gorge and a leisurely canoe up the gorge made our few days stay very enjoyable.
Sadly our time came to a end and it was back to Burketown for a couple of nights.