Savannahlander Trip–Day One

Another catch-up blog, now we are back in internet range.  Another day, another train ride – it can’t get much better than that!  We had our bags packed and ready to go for a 8.30am departure from Forsayth on the Savannahlander train, this trip takes two days.  And there she is – glowing in the early morning sunshine, and looking good.

All aboard

Wil and Leigh were our drivers for the trip, and a couple of good keen Aussies they were too.  In fact, we had seen them on the TV series Australian Railroad a couple of years ago, so they were really quite famous, in a quiet Aussie blokey sort of way. 

Wil telling us some info while Leigh gets on with the driving

View through the front window

We chugged along the track, over the Delany River bed and through the dry, dusty country.  Finally stopping at the highest point of the trip, 2500ft, for morning tea.  As the wonderfully carved sign proclaimed, we were at Café Bloodwood.  And here we are, with a couple more souvenir mugs to take home.

Morning tea at the open air Café Bloodwood

The three “rail motors” (in NZ we call them rail cars) used for the trip were 2000 class with motors in each carriage.  Previously fitted with Rolls Royce engines, these were not at all reliable and were later repowered with Cummins turbo diesel engines.  The carriages are owned by Queensland Heritage Rail Stock.

We stopped at the Einasleigh Hotel (population 35) in the middle of nowhere for lunch.  Where we could have wraps, wraps, or wraps, or maybe a meat pie with a heart burn tablet,  Wil had informed us.

Lunch stop

And there’s our train waiting for us

Wil collecting the section token to let the train safely on it’s way

It was very interesting how the ground cover can change so quickly as we travelled along.  From bare, barren dirt, to dry grasses, small scrubby trees to plenty of large leafy ones, and back again.  Plus of course the ever present termite mounds dotted everywhere.

Termite mounds dotted everywhere

Grass growing in the railway tracks

Not all the streams were dry

We arrived at Mt Surprise early in the afternoon, and just had time to check into out accommodation and  drop the bags off.   We were staying at Bedrock Tourist Park.  I think Barnie and Wilma might have lived here earlier.  This was our third stay in tourist parks this trip and our self contained cabin in Bedrock was the nicest cabin by far.

Arriving at Bedrock

No time for a cuppa - we jumped on the bus to take us out to our tour through the Undara Lava Tubes.  Then the following day we have a full day of train travel to look forward to.

Cobbold Gorge

Another catch-up blog.  Cobbold Gorge is an amazing natural phenomenon, and is situated on Simon and Gaye Terry’s Braham property, Robin Hood Station.  The family’s vision was to run the Cobbald Gorge Tours with minimal impact on the environment, creating the 4720 hectare nature refuge and wildlife corridor, to protect this unique landscape for generations to come.  The bus was loaded up for the short 50 minute journey to the property.   It was an easy walk down the boardwalk to the waiting boats.

 

A couple of boats on the Gorge, and another waiting to be filled

Cobbold Gorge is rather unique due to it’s extreme narrowness, closing in to a tiny two metres wide in some places, with 30m cliffs on either side.  It is fed by several springs keeping the water level constant, allowing boat access even in the “dry” season.  And yes, crocodiles make their home in the waters too.

Stunning scenery in the gorge

The guide kept up a running commentary, giving out facts and figures and pointing out items of interest.  Sadly no crocs were spotted on the trip.  After a wonderful 90 minute cruise everyone was returned to the Visitors Centre.

Beautiful reflections and the rocks all sculptured by nature

Everyone had been entertained on the bus ride to the gorge to learn the true tale of Swampy the Braham bull, which happened some time ago, and get to meet up with him, so to speak, inside the Visitors Centre .  This friendly bull with the larger than average spread of horns was a gentle boy and a family favourite, and when he escaped from his paddock the owner went looking for him to bring him safely back.  But there was no sign of Swampy anywhere.   Just as he was about to give up, the owner saw something flashing on the riverbank – it was Swampy, his head and horns being thrashed around on the ground as a croc was trying his darndest to swallow him whole.   Chills ran down the owners spine – most of his beloved Swampy was inside an enormous crocodile, and it was only the bull’s massive spread of horns which stopped him being swallowed down. Quick as a wink, the rancher reached for his knife and slit the croc down his belly, and helped pull Swampy out of the jaws of death.  Once the bull had tottered to his feet and recovered a little strength from this ordeal, he walked slowly back to his paddock with the owner, and never went missing again, enjoying several more years of life on the range.

Swampy the bull – crocodile survivor

Cobbald Gorge from the air

The Gulflander Rail Trip

Playing catch-up now we are finally back in internet range again.  We awoke with the morning chorus on Wednesday morning and enjoyed a cuppa sitting on our little deck with the sun coming up. Then the camp manager ferried our group and our cases down to the Normanton Station for our Gulflander adventure.

Normanton Station

In the station was a blackboard listing all the inane comments that have been made to the staff over the years.  What on earth is “lite water”?.  There was an unusual sign in the toilets too, which made us smile – not a sign we come across back home.

Signs at the station

And there’s the train, all ready and waiting.  This train is a bit of an oddity and is said to go from “nowhere to nowhere”.  The Normanton to Croydon railway line has remained fully isolated from the Queensland Rail Network.  This remote railway line is Heritage listed and the only line in Queensland still measured in miles.  Today most of the line retains the original rail and sleepers laid in the late 1880s.  An ingenious steel sleeper system allows seasonal flood waters to flow gently over the line to prevent flood damage during the heavy wet season, a design not found anywhere else in the world.

This was never going to be a fast trip, and we trundled along at about 25 miles per hour, clackity clack, clackity clack, dropping of mail here and there, and tooting and waving at the maintenance gangs beside the railway line.  Our morning tea stop was at Black Bull Siding, which has been a refreshment stop since 1890.  The train staff set the hot water, tea, coffee and muffins out and and we got to take our souvenir enamel mug home with us.

Our morning tea stop

We were seated in the front carriage right behind the driver so certainly had a good view.

This line has had quite a history, working for the first 30 years in the gold rush.  When the gold disappeared, it ran for the next 60 years servicing the local cattle properties. But from the 1970s another change took place, and these days the Gulflander is involved in tourism.

A couple of happy campers

Our 94 mile journey finished at Croydon and we were collected in a large 4WD bus and taken to the “oldest store in Australia”, built in 1894 – a real old fashioned shop indeed.  Then we climbed back into the bus for the fairly long trip to Forsayth.

Stopping off at the Cumberland Chimney – which was originally part of the Cumberland gold mine.  There is a rather pretty lake, and what was quite interesting to us, this area was jam packed full of caravans and campers enjoying a few days of freedom camping.

Cumberland Chimney

We were staying for the next two nights at Finnegan's Rest, a rather rustic motor camp.  Very big on corrugated iron in interior design, we noticed.  This product was used in the bathroom, and for the headboard too.

Our accommodation at Forsayth

Krys the Crocodile, the Savannah King

We couldn’t say goodbye to Normanton without mentioning a very famous resident.  Krys the Crocodile was a real bruiser of a croc and legend has it that this was the largest recorded saltwater crocodile in the world.  Krys was shot on the MacArthur Bank, Norman River, down stream from Normanton in July 1957 by Krystina Pawlowski, one of the many crocodile shooters operating in that area at that time.

Krys measured 28ft 4in and is the largest authenticated crocodile ever shot.  Krystina’s husband Ron estimated that it could have weighed over two tons and took several photos so that some comparison of the crocodile's real size could be made.  These photographs were lost in the 1974 floods.

The replica at L E W Henry Park has been built to the dimensions listed in the Guinness Book of Records.  Because no body parts such as the head and jaws, or the skin was kept after the shooting, there is some conjecture that this story is a bit of a country myth, as there is no anecdotal evidence to prove otherwise.  True or not, it certainty is a great yarn and stops people in their tracks as they explore Normanton.

What’s to see at Normanton?

We have a spare day on our tour today, a time to rest and relax, have a look around, and maybe, have a dip in the pool.  Normanton is is a small cattle town and locality in the Shire of Carpentaria in Queensland, Australia. In the 2011 census, Normanton had a population of 1,468 people of whom 696 were Indigenous Australians.  We asked the server in the pub where we had our meal last night what people do in her town, and she replied that they drink a lot!  Must be good for business then. She also directed us to photos on the wall of the last big flood in town, when they were cut off for some weeks.  Crocodiles came with the flood water and her blue heeler dog was taken, along with several others.  Scary times indeed.

Looking down the main street

The town has interesting stone pitched gutters, made with stone from the Normanton quarry and was laid in the 1880s.  Certainly something that we hadn’t seen before.  Obviously after all this time, parts are starting to crumble away.

Stone pitched gutters in town

Our accommodation for two nights is at the Normanton Tourist Park, in ensuite cabins.  We have a lovely peaceful view from our shady deck.

An artesian bore was put down in 1895, to a depth of 2330ft, and provided nearly 300,000gallons per day.  Repaired in 1988 after leaking badly the flow now measures 140,000 galls per day and now services the caravan park’s hot water and supplements the town water supply.

The old bore

Robin has been happily chatting to caravan owners, as he does, talking about rigs, and tow vehicles, and goodness knows whatever else male campers talk about.  We have noticed that most Aussie caravans seem shorter than NZ ones, and all seem to come equipped with air conditioning units.

Caravans parked under the trees

After spending a lazy day in camp today, and a refreshing dip in the pool, we are looking forward to having a trip tomorrow on the first of the vintage railcars, the Gulflander.  Watch this space!

A new Adventure–Cairns to Normanton

We’re off on a new adventure, a six day coach and rail trip on the famous Savannahlander and Gulflander vintage railcars.  So it was another very early morning start to board the 6.30am  Trans North coach to take us to Normanton.

 

Our journey took us along the Savannah Highway, through the Tablelands and over the Misty Mountains.  We whizzed by sugarcane, avocados, and banana plantations.  Driving to Ravenshoe for our morning tea stop  we travelled along the highest bitumen sealed road in Queensland, at 2500ft, we were told.

Signs seen on our journey

Travelling through the outback country we passes by the many different types of termite mounds, sadly travelling much to quickly to get good photos from the bus windows.  There were fat rounded ones , both pale and red, which we presumed depended on the soil, and these changed to smaller pointed ones which look rather like small steeples.  You may well wonder about our interest in termites, but we don’t have these back home in NZ.  There were small groups of Brahman  cattle sheltering under tree from time to time, but again, we were travelling too fast.  We passed over several creeks and rivers,  some dry as a bone, while one or two contained a little water.

Junction Creek

It was interesting to note the change in the roads as we travelled.  Sometimes it was a two lane stretch, as far as the eye could see.

Two lanes

And then occasionally stretched of the road went down to a single lane.  Approaching traffic has to pull off to the side to pass, as we did, kicking up a dust cloud.

How to pass on a single lane road (Interestingly the rules over here seem to be that all other vehicles have to pull off the tar to allow Coaches, Trucks & Road Train stay in the centre).

Finally, after an 11 hour journey of 682km we arrived at our destination for the next two nights, the Normanton Tourist Park - a cozy en suite cabin, with aircon, with a lovely shady deck outside.

A camping holiday at Normanton

Later in the evening we wandered up to one of the three local hotels for a meal.  Steak, snitzel, prawns and fish – and very generous servings they were too.  The Central Hotel had quite a history – and was built in the 1890s by a local builder, with a Shaving Parlour on the end.  The hotel had a public and lounge bar, plus a private bar and dining room.  In earlier years there was a crocodile enclosure with two resident fresh water crocodiles.  The crocs are now at Cairns Wildlife Park, one had a broken jaw and is named “Missus Scissor Jaw”.

Dinner time in Normanton

After such a big day we were ready for an early night, with the aircon going flat out.  It sure is warm in this part of the world!