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Sept 6th:
After doing a few adjustments to the vehicle we leave Mareeba after
lunch and go to Kuranda so Julie can check out the markets in greater
detail. Unfortunately Kuranda markets are geared for the departure time
of the last train back to Cairns loaded with rich tourists and by
4.oopm most things are shut. The last train leaves at 3.30., so if you
drive up this way get here early.
From Kuranda we shuffle out to Atherton and then down to Malanda
heading towards Lake Eacham. Another traveller at Mareeba told us of a
camping spot just out of Malanda. It is called Winfield Park, and just
on the coast side of the Johnston River bridge. This has to be one of
the best spots we have stayed in so far, about 2 acres of grass with
the river along one edge and rain forest on the others. The only
downside is that it gently slopes and would require some people to
level up considerably.
We have realised that we don't have an awning on the right hand side,
but is in fact a botanist because it is always collecting leaf and
branch samples.
The next bit is for our motorhoming friends, you others can ignore it
as it is boring.
I have had a couple of people ask, "Why do I keep making minor
adjustments to the truck."
The answer is really quite simple. We finished the truck at 4.00pm on
Thurs, were packed and gone by 6.00pm. I hadn't driven this thing for
more than 100K before we left. I have never done this before as I like
to iron out all the bugs over a few trips, but 8.5 months had shrunk to
6 months because of work commitments getting in the way of finishing
the vehicle so it became a neccessity. I would not recommend this path
to anyone unless you have the tools and ability to fix things on the
fly. We have both. I knew the vehicle was mechanically sound before we
left except for the front shockers but did not realise how bad they
were until we got on a rough bitumen road. They were replaced in
Brisbane.
All other "adjustments" have been working out the placement of the
load. Load being all the stuff that one seems to need for a six month
sojourn in the boonies of Australia. Tools, spare parts, clothes, food,
water, fuel and all the other stuff that one deems as maybe needing but
which could probably be left at home. Those that have driven a truck
know that the right placement of a load affects the ride, handling,
braking and safety far more than a car because you tend to carry more.
Please bear in mind that the Gross Vehicle Mass of this unit is 9
Tonnes so it is well under legal weight.
The dry weight (no food, 20l of fuel, no water tanks full, no house
batteries and no gas bottles) of the vehicle when finished was 4.08
Tonnes which was 420 Kilos under what I was aiming for. Just out of
interest the cab chassis weighed in at 2.4Tonnes. The loaded weight
including Julie and I is 6.6 Tonnes, so, as you can see there is a lot
of weight to move around. Julie is a fixture in the passenger seat so
she couldn't be moved. She has found out that there is no brake pedal
that side also. I find it hard to drive from the back left hand corner
so I have to stay put too. The water tanks are fixtures (more about
that later) so they have to stay. Fuel tank is definitely a fixture,
well one hopes so. The food in the fridge is fixed so ditto. All that
leaves is articles of clothing, extra food and the aforementioned
"stuff". We have been shuffling that around and now I seem to have it
right after altering it numerous times. The truck behaves itself on the
road nicely now. It always did but much better now. The driver is a
different story.
The smart ones amongst you have worked out that we are carrying 2.52
Tonnes. This is made up as follows:
Fuel: 200L= 200Kilos.
Water: 5 separate tanks spread around the vehicle( more later) of 80L
each= 400Kilos.
Extra water in bottle: 20 litres= 20 Kilos.
Gas: 2x9 Kilo bottles= 18Kilos.
House Batteries: 4x20Kilos Approx=80 Kilos
Grey water tank is not much because it is empty most of the time.
As you can see the essential items total close on 718 Kilos leaving a
balance of 1.8Tonnes. Now some of you in the motorhoming fraternity
(and them that tow Caravans) may say "Holy hell that is a lot of stuff
and WE would never have that much," BUT I was talking to a bloke the
other day that was unloading his Mazda (GVM 4.5Tonnes) because he had
been pulled over at the scales by the RTA. Vehicle weight? 7.5 Tonnes.
Gross Combination Mass (he had a car and stuff on a trailer)? Wait for
it!! 13.7 Tonnes. It pays to weigh your vehicle in full road trim. You
could be in for a shock, a new vehicle and a new licence.
The rest is made up of winter and summer clothes, tools, food and other
stuff.
Julie and I: me no tell.
I have 5 water tanks because of space constraints under the chassis. We
have 2 behind the rear axle, 1 just ahead of the axle and 2 in a bin
just behind the truck cabin on the left hand side. These can all be
filled and emptied separately. The reason for this is so that each tank
can be isolated in the event of a leak. Remember that this was built to
live in for 6 months, had I been using it just for a month of annual
holidays 2x80 tanks would have been plenty. Under normal circumstances
had I had the time to test the van before leaving I would only have had
2 tanks filled as water is readily available up the east coast. Why
cart an extra 240 Kilos around? I didn't so I had to.
What this is leading to is the effect that that many tanks have on the
"balance" of the vehicle and it has taken a little time to work out the
best way of emptying them. The best way for our vehicle (bear in mind
we drive at the speed limits) is to empty the 2 front bin tanks first
(takes weight off steering), then 2 rear tanks, drivers side first
because the batteries and fuel is on that side, other rear one and
lastly the centre one. Works for me.
Back to the trip......
Tomorrow we check out Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine and Yungaburra. It will
be an early start as we want to, (HAVE to) be in Ravenshoe by 2.00pm
for a steam train ride. I like steam trains.
Sept 7th:
We get up early and head to Lake Eacham. This lake is not a volcanic
crater lake as such but where hot lava met an underground water source
and boiled it so quick and hard it exploded. Hmm, seem to remember
doing something like that as a kid involving a fire and a drum full of
water. It really is a pretty spot and as usual there are walks to do.
We did a short one, 5 mins.
On to the Red Cedar tree. After negotiating a road that is only used to
seeing narrow vehicles we arrive only to find that it is 600 Metres out
in the scrub. Oh well it is free so we are not paying for torturing
ourselves. It is ominous from the start, downhill with steps worked out
by a bloke that takes 2.00 metre strides. Now I know that downhill is
good but the return journey is all up hill and that is what is worrying
me on the way down. Who says I don't forward plan? We arrive at the
Tree, a magnificent old man of the forest dwarfing all around it. It is
500 years old and I sympathise with it because that is how old I will
feel shortly going back up. However a fix of that magic elixir
disguised as a cuppa fixes all ills.
We also find that our botanist awning has acquired an assistant, the TV
aerial but it really gets into its work and snags a sample (tree) that
tears it off. I fix.
We next head to Lake Barrine. It is raining when we get there and the
tea shop or cruises aren't open yet. There are 2 signs depicting the
sites around here. Twin Kauries 80 metres and lakeside walk 5KM, you
get no prizes for guessing which we did. The Kauries were 1000 Year old
Bull Kauries which are only found in this area and they too are
massive. I did a few quick mental calculations and reckoned with the
timber from them you could have built all of Seymour and furnished
every house too. This phase didn't last long as it was work. We return
to the carpark to find things happening, shop open and deck crews
cleaning boats.
We inquire about the cost of a cruise and departure times. It is
$12/head and there is one at 9.30 so we purchase our tickets and off we
go. The cruise is actually good value as it points out the birds, fish
and flora of the area. He also tells us that the 5K walk around the
lake is level and except for 50metres of rough stuff, a wheelchair
could negotiate it. I inquire about a motorised wheelchair but they
have none for hire so we skip that. Time is running short so we head
off for Yungaburra. It is still raining.
At Yungaburra we drive around the town and look at the old buildings
and then head out to the Curtain Fig. This is my style of viewing, 50
metres of level boardwalk, ah heaven. This is amazing and describing it
is almost impossible so you will have to look at the pics.
You will remember (if you don't you will have to look back) that when
we arrived at Malanda on the way up the Dairy thing was closed. Being
close to Malanda and it being early we go for a second try. Yep, open
but they only do tours Mon-Fri. We struck out again.
We leave the Atherton Tablelands and virtually the east coast to start
heading west.
The following is my opinion.
I will digress here again and probably cop some flak too. I am used to
it. We went to a lot of places just for the sake of saying "Been There,
Done That" and will continue to do so. We went on tours at most places
which were informative BUT a lot of the information was repetitive and
had we known then what we know now probably would not have bothered and
saved some money. I like the Atherton Tablelands, it is probably my
favourite area of Queensland but the same thing (with the exception of
vines and strangler figs) can be seen on a tour of South Gippsland in
late spring if scenery is all you are after.
To do the "tropical" thing and to learn as much as possible about the
flora and fauna of the area in a limited time and restrictive budget
(it will still cost) this is my suggestion:
Base yourself at Cairns or Mareeba.
Do the Skyrail: take the walks and guided tours. This tells you most of
the plants and trees of the wet tropical rainforest.
Go to Kuranda Markets (free to browse): the craft and stuff sold here
is indicative of the craft sold all over Qld. It is also interesting
studying the people.
Go back on the Scenic Railway: because you have to get back again but
they give a good commentary on the way down.
Drive to Daintree: do the River Train cruise. This will give you a
brief history of the rainforest, some more flora and fauna and an
understanding of mangroves which constitute 75 % of the north coast.
Hartleys Croc Farm: all you need to know about crocs and close up views
of them plus great shows.
Go for day trips around the Tablelands and look at the free stuff. A
cruise on Lake Barrine is also good value.
If you want to include "the reef thing", go on Quicksilver to Agincourt
Reef for the day. Big biccies but you will learn about the reef, coral,
have a great lunch and a nice sea cruise. Pick the weather though.
If you want a nice drive and wish to go further afield, pay the
ferryman and drive to Cape Tribulation.
Enough raving or rambling from me, back to business.
At Ravenshoe we have lunch and then board the steam train to Tumoulin 7
kilometres away. I love the smell, power and noise of a steam train (it
beats walking) and the journey is very pleasant. We stop at our
destination and have afternoon tea. Because it is Fathers Day they have
chocolate cake for all the fathers (very sexist but I love it) in
addition to scones with jam and cream (bugger, another 5K walk now).
The bonus was that the crew took passengers in the loco while they were
shunting. Even Julie thought that was great.
On arrival back at Ravenshoe we mount our steed and head West to Undara
Lava Caves. It is still raining.
Whilst driving I muse about a lot of things and one thing that has been
intriguing me for quite a while is this; most places these days rely
heavily on tourism to survive. Queensland in particular. If you are in
a small bus type van parking is easy and they will fit in most parking
spots. With the exception of a few towns they make no provision for
caravans or slightly larger vehicles. Perhaps someone should tell them.
We stay the night at Undara to do a tour next day.
Sept 8th:
The rain has stopped. We board the tourist bus at 8.00am and head out
into the savannah (this whole area is called savannah Country)and tour
the lava caverns and learn how they were formed. These are massive
underground caverns and perhaps some one should tell Jeff (Kennet for
you interstate heathens) that he could fit 4-5 Crown casinos in them
and not need air conditioning but they would need the tunnel builders
to seal them because they get wet when it rains, (they may do better
with water coming from above). Victorian joke.
We shove off after wandering around Undara complex for a while. More
info can be found on their website. We head towards Normanton and the
Gulflander. We have lunch at Georgetown and afternoon tea in Croydon.
We wandered around Croydon and I caught up with emails at the tourist
office. The young lady that works there has tremendous energy and
knowledge about this town. This is another town where they are
restoring the buildings and doing a damned fine job of it too.
We reach Normanton and head up to Karumba to photograph the sunset over
the Gulf. We need fuel and try to locate the Mobil depot there. Like
the Scarlet Pimpernel we seeked here, we seeked there but to no avail.
We ask in the pub, no go. I ring the number listed in our Mobil book
(for those that don't know, we use Mobil cards for our fuel and get a
discount) and it gives an after hours number, I ring (bear in mind that
it is 6.45pm and NOT 2.00am) and this feller answers, I ask him what
time he opens and his location. I cop heaps of abuse and told that I
won't get fuel until the morning, some vague instructions and then
asked who is setting him up. This is a precis with the colourful,
descriptive parts deleted to spare the innocent. Talk about outback
hospitality!
Everything but the pub is closed so we look for a campsite. Not much
around except a caravan park and a truck stop at the edge of town. We
check this out and boy, are we glad we did. It has the best toilets and
showers that are cleaned every morning. It says no camping but hey I
drive a truck (says so on my rego label), I have a truck licence and
this is a truck stop, we prop.
At about 9.00pm a road train pulls in. Guess what? It is a Mobil tanker
(or tankers) so I ask him where the depot is and relate the previous
story (with adjectives and verbs) and he cracks up and nearly wets
himself. He points to the depot. Guess where? Round the corner from the
pub. Local knowledge sure is abundant in Karumba. He explains that the
bloke who owns the depot is really a good bloke but gets wound up real
easy and has a bad temper. We talk about trucks and other things. He
said that this is a good spot to stay except when they are bringing
cattle in for live shipping overseas from the wharves because there are
a lot of trucks and even more flies and neither would like vans being
there. The flies might.
We sleep, we shower and head around to the depot. I am treated like a
celebrity. Bob (truck driver) has related the story of the phone call
and the staff are in hysterics. This is even funnier because the boss
has had to take drums of fuel out to a station 200k away in an older
truck with no air con over some really bad roads. They say he was not
in a good humour when he left. I said that I was going to ask for a
discount and they nearly fell off the loading dock laughing.
Sept 9th:
We go back to Normanton and the tourist office, we book on the
Gulflander (the main reason we came here) and then check out the sites
around the town while we wait for our train trip.
At 1.30pm we are on the Gulflander for our short trip of 30k and return
to Critters Camp. They have other trips in the tourist season
comprising BBQ trips and tea and damper trips but the Robertson luck
continues and we are one week too late as they have stopped. They also
have the usual weekly trip to Croydon, stop overnight and return the
following day. Trust me that if you have driven from Croydon you have
seen it all as the line parallels the road.
Whilst this train is an interesting beast more like a truck on rails I
think that 60k's is enough time spent on it. The commentary is
excellent and gives a good overview of the countryside, the properties
adjoining the line and some local gossip as well. If you look at the
rails you wonder how it stays on them.
Worth doing? Yep, but only once.
We head south towards Cloncurry. This will mean that we have now driven
the Matilda Way in its entirety albeit in 2 trips.
We have tea at the 3rd listed roadside stop (Qld Main Roads Guide map)
because the 1st 2 have no shade. It is hard out here to get shade. I am
entertained by some German backpackers putting up a tent. The putting
up is easy but trying to drive tent pegs into rock hard ground is
impossible. They give up and weight the inside with packs. We drive
into the night.
Driving at night is not everyones cup of tea but I love it. There are
certain criteria that have to be met though.
1; Good eyesight.
2; Very, very good lights.
It also helps if you have a navigator that stays awake (they generally
do after the first sudden stop) and also has good eyes.
The reasons I like to travel at night are: the vehicle runs better, it
is cooler in the cab and you can see most things that are coming. We
have those "shoo roos" fitted and whether they work or not is open to
debate but we have not seen many roos at all and any we have seen have
always moved away. However as in human beings there is always a deaf
one and we found it but the roo bar on the front did its job and no
harm to the truck.
Truck:1 Roo:0.
I better state here that although I may sound flippant I do not like
hitting any wild life at all but sometimes it is impossible to miss.
Wedgetail Eagles are perhaps the slowest moving bird I have come
across. Graceful and speedy in flight, they take a while to get
airborne and where possible I will slow down. So far I have not hit one
and hope I never do.
We stop at no4 on the map. I chat to some campers and the sand flies
attack again. This time with a vengeance. My legs are covered in sores
the next day. Sand flies don't bite, they urinate on you and it causes
blisters. I am used to people doing that to me, but they leave no scars.
Sept 10th:
At Cloncurry we went out to the tourist office which also has some
buildings that were used at the now defunct Mary Kathleen mine. We
decided against doing the museum but had a look at the old machinery
outside. Another cuppa and on the road to Isa. (the Qld govt. could
save a fortune on signs if they used what people call them).
Our intention was to do an underground mine tour as they weren't
running when here 2 years ago, but on arrival were told that they were
not running. They have spent a fortune on the tourist precinct (new
terminology now) which houses Riversleigh Fossils, a mining museum and
a mine with underground tours. We ask about the mine tours. not running
yet. We can't win!!!
Julie went to the Riversleigh Fossils ( I only have to look into a
mirror to see one) while I chatted to a German couple who were RIDING
BIKES around Australia. The bikes were the reclining type where you sit
back and ride. Nice machines imported from Germany but still not my
style.
We leave the Isa and head towards Camooweal with trepidation. The last
time we came through here (2 years ago) the road was abyssmal. They had
had rain and the road was like driving on bluestone pitchers laid on
the ground spaced about 300mm apart. SURPRISE! SURPRISE! They put in a
whole new road from Camooweal to the border with a brand new spiffy
bridge to boot, good stuff.
Something must be said about the roads. A lot of people we have spoken
to have complained about the roads in outback Qld., and in some cases I
have to agree but considering the distances and conditions involved
that these roads cover they are not bad. They are laid in areas prone
to massive temperature fluctuations, severe flooding and a base that is
never stable and I reckon that the road crews who maintain them deserve
a pat on the back. Sure, they are one lane bitumen roads but generally
the sides are good gravel that is easy to pull off to and get back on
again.
One 4wd owner that came into a campsite with headlights, driving lights
and windscreen smashed to smithereens was bitching about road trains.
No bloody driving manners, hogging the bitumen and having no concern
for other motorists were amongst his complaints.
When asked how many road trains he had met?
1 so far and it did this damage.
Did you pull over? No, why should I?
After telling him that it was obvious why he should and that he was
bloody lucky they didn't run him over, I also explained that the roads
were primarily built for road trains and the dangers involved should a
road train have to pull over on to the gravel and a back trailer
whipping across the road on to his side and maybe flipping the truck I
thought he was starting to see reason. Wrong!!! Arrogant a'hole was
going to write to the Main Roads and complain. Where was he from?
Toorak, naturally. His 4wd experience? Driving to the tip. Ignorant
twit.
We cross the border into The Northern Territory at 6.00pm, set the
calendar forward 30 years and our clocks back a 1/2hr. We stop at Avon
Downs rest area with about 30 others and chat to some of the Big Rig
clan.
Sept 11th:
At Barkly Homestead we turn right to head towards Borroloola. Typical
outback road, one lane bitumen with good edges. In the 377K to
Heartbreak Hotel we meet 2 oncoming and pass 3 other vehicles whom we
chat to at lunchtime. One was concerned about the slight temperature
rise in his 4wd, I have a look and find he has blown a hose off his
turbo, HE FIXES.
The outside temperature is really starting to climb now with 35-38
being the norm. The truck temperature is also rising about 5 degrees. I
will not mention how hot the cab is but people pay good money to have a
sauna. We travel in one. I am certainly glad that we have a little
Waeco (free plug) fridge in the cab. It gets a hiding.
Usually when I buy another vehicle the first thing I do is fill it with
fuel, fill a 20L jerry can and drive till it runs out, record the
mileage done, put jerry can in and refill the tank. I then know how far
I can travel and the capacity of the tank but I didn't have a chance to
find out before we left so we decide to do it now. We filled the jerry
cans in Isa. At 930 K we ran out of fuel, filled from the jerry cans,
bled the system (diesel truck, took 5 minutes) and continue on.
We reach Borroloola and fuel. Now what can I say about this town to
describe it? It is hot, dusty and is split in 2 by a bridge. The
caravan park has a chain mesh fence around it with front gates designed
to keep out tanks. Very security minded. we did not stay there but
continued on to King Ash Bay which we had been told was delightful by
some other travellers.
We turn off the main road after negotiating a road that could be used
by GMH as their dust sealing and suspension testing unit, we arrive.
This place is a fishermans haven and as such is probably fantastic but
for us heathens that get fish by easier means it is not worth the trip.
Overnight fees are $10/site with an additional $10/night for power.
This is justified because they run off a generator.The camp spots are
good but as with most popular fishing places there are fisherpersons.
I will probably get into strife here with the next statement but in
most places we have camped with groups of fishermen present we do not
get much sleep due to generators running, drunken talk that gets louder
and cruder (I am no prude) with every can consumed, cars and trailers
moving at all hours and rubbish left every where. Some motorhomers and
campers are the same. I know that this is a minority but they stuff it
up for all.
Sept 12th:
We decide that whilst here we will have a look at Batten Point. We only
got halfway as the road was getting deeper and deeper in sand. I did
not wish to try out my expertise at extracting a 9 tonne truck bogged
to the axles so prudence was justified.
We had seen a sign to Bing Bong on the main road. With a name like that
you just have to have a look. Referring to the map it is right on the
Gulf. The road is fantastic, super 2 lane highway. We find out why.
Reaching Bing Bong (no town, a port) there are barriers across the road
and fences that bar access to the beach BUT the mining company has
erected a lookout tower so that you can SEE the beach. The Macarthur
mining company have a lease on the land and it is their bulk loading
facility for ore. The reason for the road? It is used for road trains
to bring the ore up.
Been there, done that and not doing it again.
We leave and head towards Daly Waters stopping at Heartbreak Hotel for
a drink. The poor bugger there has to fill every vehicle out of
44gallon drums as their pumps have stopped due to heat problems. There
are 3 vehicles waiting in line and he has a nervous breakdown when he
sees us pull up but regains his composure when I tell him we don't need
fuel.
We continue on.
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Robbo's Rambles Part 2
