An oasis in an arid land

Burketown To Boodjamulla And Back

August 14, 2015

It was a most inauspicious departure from Karumba for the intrepid travellers on August 10. Robyn and Robert's Prado dug in its wheels and refused to budge. But not for long. With a bit of help from neighbour Leonard we were able to jump start her and head along the Savannah Way towards Burketown. The road was unsealed and corrugated with patches of bull dust - I'm so glad Garry washed and polished our white vehicle the day before! 

Our lunch stop at the Leichardt Falls - no falls but some billabongs - revealed cracks in our armour. One of the supporting struts in the Eco Tourer (otherwise known as Myrtle the Turtle) malfunctioned and the van roof listed dangerously. But our fearless fellas put their heads together and it was fixed in no time.

Road train approaching in a cloud of red dust. Yum.

Our heroes fixing Myrtle the Turtle

Jen and Robyn on the Leichardt River. The white T-shirt developed strange orange swirls by close of day.

Robert keeping the flies at bay

We rolled into a free camp spot on the Albert River near Burketown and quickly assumed the campers' position on the river bank. We were intrigued to see a large wild cat with stripes about the size of a kelpie on the opposite bank. Marsupial lion? They did stroll this area eons ago.

We thought you'd enjoy this sign outside the butcher/baker in Burketown, Lis and Scott. We didn't buy any of the emu sausages but the the Burns enjoyed a barra pie. 

Then it was off to Boodjamulla/Lawn Hill National Park for four days. It's the most extraordinary spot. A veritable oasis fed by a constant spring and sandwiched between touring sandstone cliffs. Ten metres from the gorge, the scrub becomes tinder dry and the dust thick and red. It's a stunning landscape and we fell in love.

It is the most beautiful water to swim in - cold and clear - so we took the plunge often. And, yes, Judy O we did have a minny skinny in these rapids and behind the waterfall! Ooo Aaaa.

You'll have to trust me on this one, but they are the eyes of a fresh water croc peeking out on the left hand side. The good news is freshies feed on fish not humans. 

Another camp, another camp fire.

And now we are back in Burketown. It was supposed to be an overnighter to power up - we've been surviving on solar and battery power for five days - but the electrics in Robyn and Robert's van have thrown a wobbly. We're hoping it's not a big problem and we'll be on the road again by Monday. But who knows? It's in the lap of the auto-electrician god who'll be back from a fishing trip tomorrow (Sunday).