After a great three days at Boodjamulla NP it was off back towards Gregory to pick up the van and then start heading south towards Boulia.  On the way out of Boodjamulla we decided to take a different road back to Gregory and go past the Riversleigh Fossil area for a look.  These were very interesting to look at, especially as it is literally seems to be in the middle of nowhere.  This also meant crossing the Gregory River in a couple of places but these ended up being vey easy with concrete causeways and also not very deep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving Gregory we decided to camp about halfway along the road to Boulia so started to look for a place when we thought we were about halfway.  We finally found a great little spot near some water and about 300 metres from the road.  That’s the great thing about this lifestyle in being able to virtually stop anywhere and stay for the night.

It was up early and on the road the next day as we had a very special appointment in Boulia to keep.  Rob and Vicki were due to arrive in Boulia as well and we were really looking forward to catching up with them.  We arrived in Boulia late morning and only had to wait about 30 minutes before Rob and Vicki arrived.  They had driven over from Alice Springs and we really couldn’t have timed it better if we had prearranged it.  It was great to catch up and they hadn’t changed much in over 12 months.  We booked into the Boulia caravan park and then had a few quite drinks and caught up on what we had all been doing in the last year.

Next day it was on the road towards Birdsville.  We had decided that it would take two days to get there so  all we had to do was  just find a place to stay overnight.  We were lucky to stop at a river called Cuttabura Crossing that was flowing and also had an abundance of bird life around it.  Rob got the “Hoff” out and we cooked up a great roast pork for tea which was superb.

 

 

Next we arrived in Birdsville.  Our original plan was to be at Birdsville for the races but as they were still a three weeks away it was to long to hang around and wait.  Birdsville was still very crowded when we arrived with tourists so they do all right.  We stayed just out of town near the Diamantina River which was also flowing as well.  They have had some good rains in the last few weeks so most of the rivers do have water in them.  The camp site we had was great and big enough for both our vans and also had a great bush fire place which was a real bonus.

I was expecting there to be a bit more at Birdsville than there actually was.  You hear so much about it I did think it was going to be a bit bigger than it was.  I thought the race track was a bit of a disappointment.  For all the publicity the races get I was expecting something with a bit more atmosphere to it.  The hotel was excellent and the way they have done it up is really good and worth going to for a look.  We all went there for a meal which was also good so make sure you have on you list if you go.  We also drove out to Big Red which is a big red sand dune 40 kilometres out of town.  Its worth a look and the drive isn’t to bad either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Birdsville it was back to Boulia where we said our goodbyes to Rob and Vicki.  It was great to see them both looking so well and we had a great few days together as well.  The drive back to Boulia was nice and easy and we did an overnight stop on the top of a great lookout called Vaughan Johnston Lookout that had spectacular views overlooking the Channel Country.  We also crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn both on the way down to Birdsville and coming back.

 

 

 

 

From Boulia we will start to head slowly towards the coast again so hopefully the weather will be warm for us.  It been great seeing Rob and Vicki again and they helped make this part of Queensland a little bit special for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our short stay at Normanton it was off again and heading towards Boodjamulla, or previously known as Lawn Hill NP.  We had heard lots of great reports about this National Park so we decided we just had to go that way to have a look.

On the way we stooped off at Burke and Wills Camp 119, which is a place where Burke and Wills set up a camp on there ill fated journey.  After this small detour we stopped at a place called Leichhardt Falls which was a free camp area on the way towards Burketown.  What a great little spot this was and we also managed to get a great camp site on the hill looking down over the Leichhardt River.  The falls weren’t running but there was still quite a bit of water in the river which made it very nice to look at and just sit and read for three relaxing days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next it was onto Burketown for a couple of days to restock the food supplies and do a bit of washing and cleaning.  Burketown was a neat little place, not a great deal to see but very well presented.  The bakery sells great pies so check them out if you ever there.  We also went to the local pub for a meal and it was pretty good.  They must have had a Greek chef in the kitchen as the menu had a definite Greek theme to it and was well done.  Burketown used to have a boiling down works area where they boiled down animal meat to extract the tallow from before it closed down many years ago.  Since then it really seems to have developed into a small service area for the gulf country around here.

 

 

From Burketown we headed off down to Gregory where we were leaving the van while we went into Boodjamulla NP.  Gregory is very small and besides the very nice river running by it doesn’t have much there.  The caravan park is behind the pub and its only $10 p/n which was great as you get water, flushing toilets and hot showers.  The sites aren’t powered but that doesn’t really worry us to much.

 

We had to wait a couple of days in Gregory before heading off to Boodjamulla NP as we booked in to stay in the NP but had to wait for dates to come available as it is a very popular place to stay.  It was worth the wait to get there though as Boodjamulla is quite spectacular.  The gorge is very big and with plenty of water it was great to swim in each day.  It was good to be able to swim somewhere on northern Queensland for a change without having to worry about crocodiles.  There are also some nice walks to do at Boodjamulla so this kept Kaye happy.  We did the obligatory kayak hire while here as well and did the two hour trip to the start of the gorge and back, it was nice but it seemed like I did most of the paddling though.  You can also stay at a place called Adele’s Grove just a short drive from Boodjamulla but we were happy we chose to stay actually at the NP.

The bird life at Boodjamulla was excellent to watch as well.  The Crimson Finch, especially the male was a vivid red colour and was very prolific as well.  There was also the Purple Hooded Wren which was spectacular in the sunlight but very hard to photograph.  We also used our annexe on the rooftop tent for a change as we were camping in the same area for three nights and not moving the car.  It was good to set it up and use it again as it does add quite a bit of extra room to our camp area instead of using the car for everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Boodjamulla it is back to Gregory to pick up the van then we will start heading towards Boulia then Birdsville.  We hope to be catching up with Rob and Vicki Riebe in Boulia so hopefully our plans all work out.