Our intention was to drive from Roper Bar to Borroloola and the through Hells Gate, Kingfisher Camp and into Lawn Hill National Park. We did this very same trip in 1996 towing a camper trailer and wanted to take the BT through but this time do it in style.
Our plan now is to head towards the Queensland Coast then slowly make our way home to Sawtell. Today's drive of 456 km sees us camping 58 km west of Katherine. This free site is called The Vince Connolly Crossing and when we arrived there was one other group set up for the evening. Later on two more groups arrived. The site has rubbish bins and toilets and is several hundred metres from the road.
Both of us have been surprised by the lack of vans we have seen on the road today. There were only 2 vans in the park at Timber Creek and one camper trailer at the Victoria River Roadhouse. It seems the daily temperatures we have been experiencing which are in the high thirties have driven most people away. Bye the way today's maximum was 38.4 degrees. The vans interior temperature at 8:45 this evening was still 30.4 degrees.
There was very little noise during the evening with just a few semi trailers passing by. It was a leisurely start at 7:45 for the 58 km run east into Katherine. We filled up with fuel at the local BP service station who were accepting Coles and Wollies dockets for the 4 cpl discount. Very happy with diesel at $1.32 cpl.
From here we drove south to Mataranka for our coffee break before continuing onto the Daly Waters Wayside Inn where we had lunch out in the rest area. We stopped very briefly at the Newcastle Waters rest area right beside the highway where two vans were already set up for the evening.
Unfortunately not for us with the Stuart Highway about twenty metres form the rest stop.
Wikicamps listed a disused gravel pit 2.8 km south of the rest area on the left hand side of the road as you head south. What a great spot to camp and it was possible to get as far away from the highway as you wanted with side roads heading off in all directions. We had the whole place to ourselves and with absolutely no traffic noise.
Tonight we cooked our black pepper and worcestershire sausages that we purchased from the Tender Spot Butchery in Kununurra. They were delicious and went well with our mashed potato peas and corn. The sun has disappeared for the evening and the vans temperature at 7:10 is still 30 degrees. Today we drove 442 kilometres.
Lovely evenings sleep with the temperature at 23.4 degrees at 6:30. Strange to wake and not having perfectly blue skies like we have experienced for the past two months. We left our site at 7:45 to the news that Malcolm Turnbull was the new Prime Minister.
We stopped for morning tea at the Three Ways before turning east onto the Barkly Highway where we stopped 186 km later for lunch at the Barkly Homestead. From here we continued onto Avon Downs rest area for the evening. The rest area is opposite the Police Station and 70 km west of Camooweal just over the border in Queensland. Today we traveled 625 km.
Just over an hour later after leaving Avon Downs we stopped in Camooweal to empty our toilet cassette and top up one of our non-potable tanks. It was 189 km to Mt Isa where we shopped and topped up our fuel before traveling 53 km to camp again at Corella Dam. It was very busy when we were here in July but now it was much easier to have that water view with about twenty groups camped here.
We had our last camp over meal tonight before we again start to stay mostly in caravan parks. Tonight's meat was rack of lamb with the usual trimmings and included peas and mint sauce. The meat is from that amazing butcher in Kununurra.
We left Corella Dam after a very windy evening with strong southerly winds blowing all night that continued until we arrived in Normanton.
Off course we are not complaining because we were heading north and its always nice to have a tail wind to help with the fuel economy. The road north from Cloncurry to the Burke and Wills Roadhouse and onto Normanton was a road that we have never driven over before. After the roadhouse the condition of the road for the next 207 km changed between single lane and dual lane bitumen and the condition of the road became worse the further north we drove.
There are two caravan parks in Normanton. When we were here in 2012 we stayed at the Normanton Tourist Park which is in the town centre so decided we would stay there again. This time however the park looks tired and rundown. Its only saving grace is the swimming pool.
The Albion Hotel was built in Croydon in the 1880's and relocated to Normanton in the early 1900's.
The famous purple pub.
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