Karumba

7th July – Tuesday

No mobile phone coverage last night, so don’t forget to read the 6th July.

Today we headed for three nights at Karumba, on the south coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Another beautiful, clear day, maximum about 25 degrees – quite pleasant.

The road quickly deteriorated from two wide lines to one lane of bitumen and it was quite obvious that himself was anxious to get back into the driver’s seat. Today we saw our first live kangaroos and lots of brolgas. There was still plenty of takeaway on the roadside to keep the kites and crows happy. Quite a few cattle about today as well, although one did create a little adrenalin rush when it decided at the last moment it wanted to be on the other side of the road!

The countryside is so incredibly flat – no wonder it floods so badly during the wet season.

We passed through Normanton without stopping (will stop on the return journey) but did see the Purple Pub. This is truly outback – we saw a couple of kangaroos crossing the main road on the edge of town. Today we actually saw some rivers with water in them! The Norman River was quite large and it was amazing to see people actually camped within a couple of metres of the edge! The largest crocodile ever caught was from the Norman River.

The caravan park at Karumba Point is rather nice and very tropical looking with lots of coconuts palms. A quick check, though, to make sure there weren’t any coconuts above the caravan. Cat was quite excited about seeing coconuts for the first time and kept the neighbours amused with his tree climbing attempts. By an incredible co-incidence, Jenny and Brian have been allocated the site next to us and needless to say, we haven’t stopped talking since they arrived. We also celebrated with a bottle of Wolf Blass Gold Label!

Elvis has arrived in the caravan park as well and came to visit.