Sunday ahhhhhhh the day of rest, hehehehe. We took advantage of having to go no where and enjoyed a sleep in. We then had a cooked brekky of baked beans on toast. I did a load of washing, we swam, read, slept, tinkered and generally relaxed.
Monday ahhhhhhh its great to be on holidays and not having to pack or move some days. Today we tinkered on the car I had noticed a loose bolt on the bull bar so we tightened every bolt we could find loose. To me it seems that our mechanic might have got the apprentice to do up one side as each of the bolts on one side needed attention while the other side was fine. We broke out Yahtzee and over the course of the day played 5 games of which I won 3 and James won 2. We swam and read and then had a really yummy roast beef for dinner. It was much cooler and overcast all day. The wind had a chill to it. We kept the fire going all day and when we weren't doing something we sat by the fire playing Yahtzee. For most the morning we were concerned it might rain. We are not worried about camping in the rain but we are concerned because we are camped in a river bed. We retired early to bed when the wind picked up in the later evening.
Tuesday ahhhhhh another day or rest. The clouds had pushed on and we woke to a sunny morning but the wind persisted. It was cool also. We put on long clothes before leaving the tent. We did a little more clothes washing as we knew the wind would dry it then we bucket washed the car and tinkered with the things on the roof. In the afternoon we went for a walk upstream. The river was very deep in parts and wide it was probably about 50 meters wide in parts. It really looked inviting but the wind kept us cool so we saved that swim for our next visit. We had a quiet relaxing evening enjoying the company of Pam and Kerry around the fire.
Wednesday it was time to pack up and move onto Lawn Hill. When we woke it was colder then any other day we had experienced so far. We put on long clothes again before doing anything. We had a slower pack up then usual as we knew we really didn't have far to drive today it was only about 120kms into lawn hill from where we were. We said our farewells to our neighbours and headed out of camp around 9am. With a quick fuel up in Gregory Downs at 199.9 a litre we were thankful we only needed a half a tank to fill us up. We pushed on to Lawn Hill. The road was good and we passed 2 sets of road works on our way out. It was after the turn off to the mine that the road deteriorated. It was not the worse road we have been on but it certainly wasn't a good road. We made our way past Adels Grove and onto camp. We pulled in and started setting camp about 11.30am. We had lunch and decided to do a "short" walk to Indarri Falls it was only 900 meters from camp ah easy we thought. The Hammos had not shown yet but we left them a message and set off. So at 2pm we set off to see the falls. It was only just on 900 meters to the falls and it was a relatively easy walk. When we got there we took a few pictures and admired the area before setting back up the hill out of the gorge. At the top you can choose to return to camp the same way or go another 900 meters to Duwadarri look out. So we figured hey will here lets just knock that over to and it looped back to camp. Well the first 700 meters is relatively easy but the last 200 meters is not so very easy. It was now about 3pm and stinking hot and we were climbing the side of a rock hill. Once at the top it was cool with the wind blowing and we had a seat under the tree. We could see camp and saw that the Hammos had arrived. From here it was only 720 meters back to camp. The first 280 meters though went almost straight down. I was haning onto rocks and trees for dear life at times decending this climb. The walk back to camp took a different route and we found some beautiful entrances to the water and decided it was definitely time for a swim. We arrived back to camp to find the Hammos gone out somewhere, so we changed and went via the canoe hire place to get a tube to float in the river with. We walked along to the river entrance and there was Hammo and Evil admiring the water. We couldn't wait to get in but couldn't convince them to get in. After cooling off we enjoyed the evening spent with them catching up.
Indarri Falls
The gorge
The view from Duwadarri lookout
Thursday, well there is no sleeping in or long lay in when there are walks to be done. We were up and headed off just before 9am to do the Island Stack walk. It was 4km long, the actual top of the Island is 1.7km around it but the trick is you have to first climb up to the top of the stack. It is only 200 meters of really up climbing but oh man we stopped a few times to enjoy the view. We really enjoyed our time looking around the top of the island with the river winding its way around it was very different from each side as we peered down. At one point the walls appeared to be at least 150meters tall. We descended about 10.30am. James and I took the track out to the cascades walk which was a further 400 meters along while the Hammos returned to camp. When we got back we chilled out with coffee then lunch before setting off down to canoe up the river. We hired a canoe each for 2hours but because we are staying here we left a deposit and could take as long as we wanted and just return the paddles in the morning. We set off up stream. Well to say James and I were nervous/anxious and packing it would be an understatement. We were rocking and were so worried about falling in. Not because of crocs or getting wet but we knew we just wouldn't be able to get back in the canoe. I was too unsure about our steadiness so I didn't initially get out my camera. After we reached Indarri falls and got out of the canoe and carried it around the falls put it back in and got going again I began to feel more confidant. I took picture and really started to enjoy it. We paddled right up stream as far as we could. It probably took about 1hr and 20min to get all the way up. Coming down stream was easier with a little bit of current and the wind behind us. We again carted the canoe back past the falls but we then stopped for a swim. We had the place to ourselves with the Hammos. We swam right up under the waterfalls and enjoyed watching the fish watch us. We warmed up in the sun then set off back down to return the canoes. We got back about 5pm and were all buggered. It had been a really long day but one we will never forget.
Almost straight above the sign is the lookout.
Friday morning we set off on the Wild Dog Dreaming track. It was supposedly 4km long but my walk tracker only registered barely 3km. It was a easy flat track that took us along the bottom of the Island stack and to where the rivers joined up. A BIG wild pig scared the poop out of us. We were walking along admiring the water and he was fast asleep on the track. He was HUGE but took off after we scared each other. Back at camp Hammo needed to do some repairs on his trailer so James and he spent many hours under it fixing the spring. In the afternoon Di and I took our big rubber tubes up to the Indarri falls and swam back to camp. Well the idea was to float but there was no current and no wind so it ended up being a lot harder and further then we had remembered. We estimate it was about 1.5km. It was very peaceful and enjoyable but I don't think I would do it again. Hammo and Di had met Michelle and Jeff at previous camps and they came into Lawn Hill today. So we all sat around enjoying the evening.
Saturday we decided to go and visit Riversleigh D site which is an old fossil site. We saw remnants of all sorts of animals in the rocks and the rock formations from up to 530 million years ago. Back at camp I needed a nap and after that we went to the river for another swim. Hammo and Di were in the water as were Michelle and Jeff, we all floated around on tubes enjoying the cool. As it was our last afternoon and we still had 1 more walk we set of at 5.20pm to do the 3km Constance range walk. It was the longest climb to the top we had done both in height and the length of time to get there. It was not so steep just a bloody long way with the heat on our backs it was sticking hot. The view however from the top was worth it. We stayed up there for sunset which mother nature turned on. We had a few clouds around so the colours were magnificent. After sunset we hightailed it back to camp getting back just on dark. We cooked up a quick fish and cous cous dinner then went to Michelle and Jeffs camp for the evening.
Playing Silly buggers again at Riversleigh D
Gregory River
The view north from Constance Range
Sunset Constance Range
Again I didn't drive so James wins again this week with a grand total of 14 his strike rate is pretty good. Can you imagine only driving a few times a week and when you do you only pass about 20 vehicles???
No comments:
Post a Comment