KTP

I realised I got wet six times yesterday. One shower when getting up, one after we had packed up before hoping in the car, one dip in the river/rock pool before lunch, one dip after after, one shower after setting up camp, and one shower before bed!  We both slept so well and I felt like a new person today.  There was a number of road trains on the road today due to a quarry and a dam being built for the mine near Weipa. The dust being generated was blinding.  We got into Weipa for lunch and decided to get a cabin for the night, for a break from putting up the tent and in case it rained. Most disappointing $120 I have ever spent, dingy and hot, the ensuite is actually outside, but worst is that there are no windows that face any breeze.  We flaked out for a bit, whilst the air-con eventually cooled it down.  Actually the photos make it look better than it is. At least it is really clean. The mango trees are huge and laden with fruit. Amazing to think we pay $3.5...

Whoops just realised my posts loaded in the wrong order. Have had a few problems getting enough Telstra grunt for them to post online as it depends on how many photos are loaded as to how easy they are to publish. Woke up with a stinking headache, so haven’t captured much of this day. The drive was a mix of gravel and bitumen. We stopped in Coen for a 11am beer, a catch up on emails and news and a pour over the maps to make our plans.  There was a campsite on WikiCamps before Archer River roadhouse which we found but another family was there and it was hot right then in the middle of the day. Decided to have lunch and then a dip in the river/rock pools which Tim loved.  Then to Archer River Roadhouse which has a huge camping ground with facilities attached, much like Musgrave. I just love these settings. Well that was until the young Germans arrived with their music! 😉.  We went down to the river to check it out. Not much in it at the moment. Hard to imagine how full it ...

Gate girl! A beautiful spot here at Musgrave. When we hit the Peninsula Developmental Road Tim was bitterly disappointed to find out that it’s been bitumen-isd. But this Roadhouse is on a lovely spot above a current dry river, lots of green grass, only a couple of people camping. And the best weather yet, cool breeze and probably 28 degrees. Really pleasant.

Took our time leaving Karumba this morning, that’s what holidays are. Coffee on the waterfront, talking to some local boys about the fish they caught.  Drove round the other side of Karumba where it faces the Cape of Carpentaria, picked a couple of green mangoes which are now in the car to ripen. Drove through station country to the Mitchell River, which we bravely decided to cross. Bra on the car so that was $160 Tim was glad he spent.  The countryside was full of these huge ant hills. And scattered everywhere.

A relaxed start to the day. A play with the Beagle puppy in the side next to us, she was so cute, a couple of coffees, swim in the pool and some water tank inspections (filling it up, to and from the tape with a 1.25ltr bottle and the kettle). And then it was off to the local Bunnings for some duct tape, plastic edging material (and chatty sausage of course).  Another stretch of changing landscape to Burke and Wills Roadhouse for a lunch stop. And then to Karumba on the Cape of Carpentaria. I didn’t actually realise how few places there are along here so glad we came.  Tim was embarrassed that he had been caught in the same tee shirt again in photos.  A giant crocodile replica at Normanton. We loved Karumba. It was peaceful, and we took a cheap motel room on the water front, did some washing and an easy dinner at the pub.

After some additional duct taping on the water tank and a quick stop at the Nurses station (my nose won’t clear up), we started heading to Mt Isa. It was a much more enjoyable day driving, probably helped that it was bitumen road most of the way, plus the saline for my nose made me feel better.  Only had two car naps today, 9.30 and 12.30 😉. Interesting to see the landscape change.  We had lunch at Boulia which was a nice little town, despite it being 41 degrees it didn’t feel too bad.  The water was now a sieve though so the last couple of hours Tim was trying to work out what he could get at Mt Isa Bunnings to fix it. We both liked Mt Isa, mining city but with the rolling hills and mine right in town it had a good feel. Plus there was grass to camp on so I was happy! It was hot, but not unbearable, some air movement which helped. We did a trip to Coles and Kmart for a couple of things. Then leftovers and sausages for dinner. A stray ginger kitty played around our camps...

A long day driving. Went pretty smoothly. The road was pretty good, although lots of dust and stones which Tim was crying about 😆. We were driving at 90kph which is supposedly the right speed for fuel efficiency and paid off at 13 ltrs per 100, which was better than our Simpson Desert trip which was faster but something like 16-17 litres per 100.  Not far down the road and we stopped for morning tea, Lyndhurst.   We didn’t see many other cars on our way. Stopped at Copper Creek camping reserve for lunch, it was horrendous with flies. Cattle grazing country I guess.  We stopped later when Tim spotted some water. Only to find out our water tank under the trailer is leaking, stones probably caused it. Tim was under the trailer having a look at it, duct taping it, and I was keeping an eye on the large bull I spotted in the background.  We were too late for a cabin at the caravan park, so after cracking a beer and hoovering some chocolate we had enough energy to put up t...

So we’ve having a debate whether this is day 1 or day 2 of our holiday, but Tim wants to get an extra day wear out of his tee shirt so he is claiming this as day 1 even though we left yesterday and he had the same tee shirt on. Just leaving Hawker now, we managed to get away from work early and left at 3.30pm. The last hour into Hawker was a bit hairy with lots of kangaroos around, a small one hit the side of the trailer. But no damage to us. We were both pleased we got that first 5 hours done last night. Stayed in a cabin at the caravan park.  Pretty happy with our packing arrangements so far, although couldn’t believe I’ve managed to forget a training bra for the 2nd trip in a row. Not a big deal as I’m not running with injured foot again, but I was hoping by the end of the trip I might be doing some short runs. Might have to stop at Kmart Mt Isa on Sat. Into the shorts, singlet and sandals already! Woohoo! Haven’t really had a chance for photos yet.