14 October 2011 Gilbert River, The Savannah Way / Gulf Development Road, Queensland

This morning I woke prematurely to the song of magpies having mistaken the bright full moon for the sun. I am not sure about them, but I went back to sleep again to wake to wonderful birdsong at the right time of morning. Our park here is a large flat dusty area on the western side of the Gilbert River which we shared with three other parties. This river is one of the larger significant rivers that flow into the Gulf of Carpentaria, but here when we crossed it last night it appeared little more than a trickle. We will go and investigate the situation further when we have both finished writing and drinking our breakfast coffee.  

The night before last was punctuated by the odd road train rumbling through, however they were all decent enough to refrain from tooting, unlike some truckies we struck in the South Island of New Zealand! We headed off promptly, passing the junction of the Savannah Way and the Kennedy Highway which carries on south toward Townsville, and were soon at the turnoff to the Undara Volcanic National Park.

This is a large area that was farmed by the Collins family since 1860, through many generations, all aware but dismissing the significance of the large holes in the earth and the many pimples across the landscape. Through the middle of last century a geologist, Ann Atkinson, together with a willing team, ascertained that the 164 "pimples" on the landscape were all volcanos and that the holes were cave ins of a series of lava tubes. In fact there are many kilometres of lava tubes, running like huge drain pipes under the earth, which an estimated 23 cubic kilometres of lava, at a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius, flowed at an estimated 1,000 cubic metres every second. This all occurred about 190,000 years ago; there are not too many around to dispute the numbers so we have little option but to accept the scientists expertise.

The government took the area over as a park, compensating the Collins no doubt with a good wad of cash, a long term lease of the land and the exclusive rights for ten years to run tours. That initial ten years has passed and so there are more parties now doing tours in, but the Collins family still has the lease of the lodge. This is an amazing set up; a huge number of tastefully restored railway carriages, pioneer huts, stockman’s quarters , a swag tent village, a caravan park, a restaurant, et cetera, et cetera. The prices for package deals look quite reasonable too and having said all this and with more to come, I am thinking I should be receiving a commission for such a positive plug!

Down in the lava tubes of Undara

Way back in Sydney, Lance and Uta had told us that this was a must do, although quite expensive, and so we entered cautiously to suss the situation out. We found we had missed the 8 o’clock tour and did not wish to hang about for the 1 o’clock, but then saw another two tours squeezed in, more importantly one at 10.30 am that seemed  just right, and so we booked. There was still more than an hour to go so we partook in the complimentary coffee and joined a crowd of others who were waiting for the same. Surprisingly most were either English tourists or English immigrants. After finding most of our fellow travellers to be Aussies, New Zealanders and western Europeans (excluding those from the British Isles) this was quite a surprise. Right on time, twenty of us boarded a small bus and were driven and guided by Tim, who proved to be a mine of information. We were driven across what had once been the station, past an expanse of swamp that for the first time in many years has not completely dried up and then taken on boardwalks accessed by stairways, down in to the lava tubes and given an excellent geological lesson. 

While the cost was about 33% more than Uta had advised, it did fall beneath our reject threshold and we were pleased that we had taken the plunge. My commission now, please?

We were told about the Kalkani crater, still within the Park, to which we could drive, climb and walk around the top. And so we did, pausing at the base of the crater for lunch before we set off in sturdy shoes and with bottles of water. We met up with the only other people who had been inspired to do the same, a young English couple who were travelling around Australia with a tent, and had survived over 365 nights, they proudly told us. While they had been living together, here in Australia as new immigrants, they also proudly told us that they had just become engaged. Chris and I wished them the very best and truly believed that after 365 nights in a tent and 365 days in one another’s full time company, their marriage should be very successful.

From the top of the crater we were able to see right across the landscape and noted the many small volcano peaks, and the darker areas of dry rain forest that filled the caved in lava tubes.

By the time we had returned to the rig, it was three in the afternoon. After much consultation and rechecking of maps, we decided to stay with Plan A which was to come through to this camp spot at the Gilbert River, making the days travel about 270 kilometres. We set off, stopping at Mount Surprise, a small but appealing settlement to the west, taking the opportunity to dispose of our waste and fill up with diesel, and then pressed on to Georgetown, where we intended to buy a newspaper, something we had been unable to do at Mount Surprise. We were through the settlement in the blink of an eye, and rather than turn back and hunt the general store or the newsagent down, we decided we would just have to do without.

We pressed on, the highway having narrowed to a one lane sealed strip, with frilly edges, relieved in some places with a good two lane sealed and marked road. Because of the late time of day, the roos were out in force, lining the side of the road like spectators or ready to play chicken. At one point we had to pull up for a female emu and three gorgeous chicks who were mid-way across the road, who then became confused by our arrival and decided to turn back the way they had come. The roads through this region remind us of those up to Cape York, long straight roads through hundreds of kilometres of open eucalypt woodland, but unlike those wide dirt roads, this is narrow and sealed. There is a relatively flat edge where one can pull off safely to let the oncoming road trains through, however these are not as prevalent as they were before we came on to the Gulf Development Road.

It was nearly 6 pm when we arrived, and hot as could be. At Undara the guide said the temperatures had been about 42 however our thermometer has not topped 39 degrees. We sat outside on deck chairs as the sun set, enjoying the breeze until thunder rumbled all around us, lightening flashed and our hunger drove us inside. The few drops of rain that fell evaporated into nothing. Small bugs crawled in to the caravan under the window sills bypassing the flyscreens so Chris and I sat after dinner in the dark watching our blue light bug zapper incinerate those who dared enter, until I retired to bed.

                                                                                                       

My travelling buddy, chief cook, driver and tyre changer, has now done all the housework while I sit upon my bottom, computer on my lap, so I shall end here for now, and ready myself for further exploration.