Sunday 26 May 2013

15 May – 16 May 2013 – Mt Surprise, Georgetown, Gilbert River, Croydon, Lake Belmore and Normanton



After packing up the van and hitting the road, our first stop was at Mt Surprise for fuel and then we went into a little café type place for coffee and was known for its miniature horses in the back paddock.  We went on through to have a look and after passing the bird aviaries we came across an emu that the woman had taken in.  It was just lazing about the yard and was apparently friendly – we were a bit wary to get too close to begin with.  Down the back were about half a dozen miniature horses (not ponies) and the kids got to have a bit of pat over the gate.  On the way back out Zoe was even game enough to get up close to the emu for a pat.  Back at the car, we had something that looked like a large lady bug stuck on its back on the front bonnet which Sami saved.  The scenery was lovely as we drove along and before too long we got to the Cumberland Chimney.  This is a large chimney in the middle of pretty much nowhere and is the only remnant from another large gold field.  The backdrop is a nice lagoon with floating lilypads but there is nothing else about.  The next town along was Georgetown where we stopped at a park with free bbq so Josh cooked up some sausages for lunch before pushing on again.  This area of road is bitumen but it is only wide enough for one vehicle so on the odd occasion when we passed another we all had to move over and share the tiny strip of road.  We stopped alongside the west side of the Gilbert River and it actually had a little bit of water in it.  We decided to free-camp here for the night.  There are so many travellers out on our roads that there were about another 8 cars/caravans that had pulled in here for the night.  Occasionally someone would walk past and start up a bit of a chat to see who else was around – all lovely people.  It was really warm tonight and being so far inland there was no breeze at all.  As we were free-camping, we also had to make do without the air-conditioning.  I don’t think any of us slept very well tonight… 

Back on the road this morning our first stop was at the town of Croydon.  In the late 1800’s it was also a big gold mining town.  The information centre here was one of the better ones.  There was a lot of old machinery outside to read about and the woman inside was extremely helpful (we could hardly get away).  We found out a bit about the town and sat to watch a 15 minute video on the town which was pretty good – just like a movie theatre without the popcorn.  We grabbed a few maps and headed out the back to check out a couple of replica buildings from the town in its heyday.  The replica home was literally an old tin shed and I’m sure would have been sweltering hot in its day, even with the windows open.   There was also a replica miner’s hut with dunny out back.  We continued on doing the historic town walk, including a visit to the town hall, the police headquarters with jail cells out back, and to the courthouse next door.  They had the courtroom set up with a mock court trial using cut out figures and voice recordings.  It was good for the kids to witness and see how harsh life was back in the day.  The woman “on trial” was sentenced to 2 months jail for using bad language out on the streets, etc.  Not like punishment (or lack of) of today’s kind!  We went for a quick trip out to the cemetery where many of the deceased don’t have headstones but instead just a marker.  The ground is so dry and dusty.  This cemetery also has a Chinese section.  The Chinese had a big influence here, and in many other towns, as they knew how to grow fresh produce in the harsh environment with very little water and then they would sell it to the gold miners, workers, etc.  Not far out of Croydon is also Lake Belmore.  It isn’t as big as many of the lakes that we saw on our Murray River trip the year before last but it’s pretty and provides water for the town.  Unfortunately, it is not a place that you are allowed to camp.  We went to the local pub to see if we could have a counter lunch here but they weren’t opened for lunch so just had some cold drinks instead.  The inside of the facia had a lovely new mural painted right around it.  Great to look at while enjoying a beer.  We had a quick bite at the café next door for lunch and then continued on towards Normanton, where the old Gulflander train leaves from and does its run between here and Croydon.  The train has a bright fresh coat of paint and you wouldn’t believe that it’s over 120 years old except for its shape.  The line was proposed for copper mining and to transport cattle but once gold was found, money was no longer a problem to complete the line and it became operational in 1891.  A unique thing about this rail line is that the sleepers are made of steel and are hollow but packed with mud.  They were designed to be submersible, allowing flood waters and debris to run over the line and leaving it in tact when the water subsided.  Next, we went to visit Krys, the replica 8.63 metre salt water crocodile who shot in the Norman River in 1957.  It’s hard to imagine a crocodile getting to this size… hopefully we will never encounter one of this size.  We walked along further to the old Burns Philp building – massive for its day.  This is now the information centre in town and they too have some great displays of the area in eras gone by but in the back is still part of the original Burns Philp building that used to sell everything from food to tools, etc.  It’s timber and has cracks in the floor and walls and not very well ventilated but that’s how it operated back then.  We next found somewhere to stay for the night and booked into a lovely caravan park with a full 25m pool and hot spring spa.  Josh ducked out for a few groceries and wine while I set up the van.  We were all thankful to have air conditioning for the night.  After dinner we had a visitor join us for a couple of drinks.  His name was Danny and he was travelling in the same van as us with his wife and 3 children.  When he headed home, Josh went for a walk out of the van to check out the Purple Pub in all its glory.  The building is painted a bright purple and with the lights all on, it nearly glows in the dark. 







































 











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