Our new, relaxed travelling mode (read slow) caused us to drive the last 100km to Boodjamulla National Park from Gregory Downs in darkness. Predictably the dirt road was in pretty good shape, despite the warning signs, until the turn off to the monstrous Century zinc mine.
Dusty sunset
We were warned that the National Park camping area was often booked out and wasn’t too great anyway, so we headed for Adel’s Grove – a commercial venture 12km from the entrance to the Park.
An ultra-friendly staff member gave us directions to the choicest sites down by the river, and boy was he right! For the next four days nearly every passer by reminded us how wonderful our spot was.
Boodjamulla set-up
Our hang out on the river
We developed a great routine. Up at dawn, into THE BENCH and down the road to the Park. The early start might not sound relaxing, but it meant we did all of the (relatively short) walks in peace and took advantage of the soft morning sun for photos. Plus we avoided getting fried.
An impressive gorge carved into the red sandstone rock forms the centrepiece of the Park. It was formed by a giant Rainbow Serpent, Boodjamulla, that slivered through many millennia ago. The Waanyi people lived here for 30 000 years and while the area still houses sacred sites and rock paintings (which we aren’t allowed to photograph) pastoralists turfed them off so that white people could eat beef. How about that for priorities!
Boodjamulla in the morning
The Gorge
In 1984 some of the land was given over to create the Park. We’re thankful as we spent hours wandering slowly around the walks taking in the rock paintings, the scenery, the plants, the effect of last summer’s floods on the surrounding bush and limestons formations (Tufa). Then we sat in the shade by the river sipping stove-brewed espresso and watching archerfish shoot down insects with jets of water.
Pretty native flowers
Ella gets attacked by termite mound whilst posing for photo
Flood damage in Boodjamulla
Each day we were back at our camp before lunch to act like kids climbing ropes and jumping from trees into the emerald waters. The water’s this colour because of the high level of calcium from the rocks. It creates a limey solution that forms the Tufa, and it also happens to do a great job of preserving fossils (more of that in a later post). It’s the first time we’ve been in Croc country – although being freshwater crocodiles they stay away if they’re not provoked. We did not provoke them!
Me Tarzan
You Jane!
Throughout the day a constant chatter of birds in the trees kept us company a bowerbird drank from our washing up bowl and we even had an Olive Python nearby. Olive was at least 2m long, but again not dangerous. At night we could hear the low drone from the mine, even though it’s 12km away.
Olive
The Adel in Adel’s Grove comes from the initials of a botanist who set up a tropical garden in the early twentieth century. The garden burnt out when he was old and neither he nor the garden recovered. It’s been a camping resort for some time. Most of the staff seemed to be grey nomads, spending a few weeks or months recharging their coffers.
In fact we were amazed by how many grey-haired four-wheel-drivers are up in the Gulf Country. Some travel in little groups, but most are couples. Beyond their age, there’s another prevailing commonality – bulging waistlines. If they’re not a little bit podgy then they’re spilling out all over and lucky to not get wedged in their caravan doors.
This is harmless enough (assuming the flying doctors can cope with the strain) but we came across a coach load of grossly overweight pensioners ambling around like a herd of lost sheep on one of our walks, blocking the path and bleating. We overheard discussion of the recent lost bushwalker:
“They said he was out there for 12 days. Not even an Aussie could survive for that long. I wouldn’t know what to eat.”
Well frankly love, you look like you don’t know what to choose to eat in a supermarket!
We shouldn’t grumble of course, with all the wiser heads struggling to get out of bed in the morning we had most of the tracks to ourselves. And maybe it’s unfair to generalise. While most people are in huge shiny four-wheel drives towing all sorts of kit and caboodle we met an older couple on a multi-week trip from South Australia in a humble 40 year old Peugeot 404 estate. Now that’s style!
It’s not just the people that make this the Old Country of course, but the ground on which we stand. 95 million years ago all this was sea! Everywhere you look are rocks with rippled surfaces showing they used to be the sea bed. This part of Australia is rich with mineral resources and mines, and also resplendent with fossils – farmers can’t stop digging up dinosaurs. On the road out of Boodjamulla we’ll stop in at the Riversleigh fossil display.
It’s time for a swim, but by the time you read this we’ll be in the mining centre of Mt Isa where we might check out the fossil museum and mine, whilst trying to avoid getting lead poisoning … that’s if we don’t get stuck behind too many old ‘van drivers along the way.
no fixed abode 