Burke Development Road

Following eight days in Cairns with family it was time to tackle the Burke Development Road.   Leaving Cairns our first stop was Mareeba where we refuelled (one hundred sixty litres of diesel) and filled the water tanks (three hundred sixty litres) thus negating the need to scale the coastal ranges with unnecessary weight.   Chores completed we continued west a further one hundred forty five kilometres to Chillagoe staying overnight at the local Rodeo grounds.

After a peaceful night’s sleep we joined the Burke Development Road that would take us to Normanton on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria and where we would then link up with the Savannah Way that skirts the Gulf.   The only issue we had with the impending drive across “The Cape” was the lack of information about road conditions hence we were somewhat dubious of what to expect.

Within kilometres of leaving Chillagoe we were on gravel heading in a Westerly direction that much to our delight was in a pretty reasonable condition.   Being good tourists we stopped repeatedly for photo opportunities, photos of the landscape, photos of river crossings, photos of this, photos of that, you name it, it got photographed.

The road conditions continued to be more than satisfactory allowing us to cruise quite comfortable at 75-80kph until we got to “Highbury Station” and that’s when the fun began.   For the next one hundred kilometres we barely made it to 50kph as we dodged pot holes, endured corrugation, and generally traversed some very rough road that hadn’t been repaired following the previous wet season.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at “Dunbar Station” where we had been told about an idyllic camping area on the banks of the Mitchell River.   Armed with somewhat sketchy details of how to locate the camping area we turned off the development road onto the Kowanyama Road and went in search of the road to “Koolatah Station”.   After some time spent searching for the elusive “idyllic” camping spot we came upon a rough and tough looking group of pig hunters armed to the teeth with rifles and hunting dogs.   Following a brief chat “Yeah mate, it’s just down the track a bit, take the first track to ya left, ignore the road closed sign – just go around it, open the locked gate, and ya there”.

Sure enough they were right, and sure enough it was an idyllic spot.

 

Having arrived on the banks of the Mitchell River we set up camp on a grassy little knoll with views across the river.   Our neighbours consisted of a dairy farmer from the Murray River region plus another guy who kept very much to himself.

No sooner had we established ourselves than a group of ten plus 4X4’s arrived setting up camp for the night; we resembled the OK corral – so much for peace and tranquillity in the middle of nowhere.   It turned out they were a group of friends who decided that it would be a great idea to explore Cape York during the school holidays.

The good news.   The following morning after a night of listening to babies, teenagers, and “dummy spits” between the adults, they left.

We had planned on staying beside the Mitchell River for one night only; four days later we moved on.

Our time beside the Mitchell was spent socializing with the dairy farmers, Leigh practicing his conservation skills by trying to fish (thank heavens for fish mongers) while keeping a watchful eye out for possible crocodiles, going for walks along the kilometres of sandy river stretches and watching various vehicles crossing the causeway.

 

We also ended up became quite friendly with the pig hunters who were camped not far away and with whom we had regular chats as they transited the causeway to and from their camp; they were only too happy to display this 120kg wild boar that they had just shot.

 

Wild pigs up in this region of Australia are a major problem doing untold damage to waterways, billabongs and the local environments.   On our trip across the cape we regularly saw groups of wild pigs scarpering across the road.

Our next destination was the Gilbert River some one hundred sixty kilometres further on where we had been told that camping beside the river was possible.   Re-joining the Burke Development Road we continued crawling west on flood damaged roads until we reached the Wyaaba Creek crossing and MAINTENANCE CREWS.   Much to our delight we were back into the 75-80kph zone and it wasn’t too long before long we arrived at the Gilbert River.

One thing we have noticed on our trip across the Cape is the abundance and variety of colourful birds; it’s little wonder that these areas are so popular with bird watchers.

 

Doing a quick recce we soon found a nice spot overlooking the river, set up camp, and with that Leigh headed down to the river to try his luck fishing while not far away “the girls” either sunned themselves or went for an occasional swim; fortunately they were freshwater crocodiles that pose no real danger to humans unless provoked.

Wednesday night beside the river turned out to be rather cold which was quite surprising considering how far north we were; come Thursday morning we turned on the diesel heater as it was barely 12 degrees when we eventually dragged ourselves out of bed.

And once again Leigh tried his luck fishing.

With Normanton barely one hundred kilometres away, our expectation for Thursday was for a relaxed drive into town where we would refuel and rewater, check the emails and banking, replenish some of our basic food needs, and have a milkshake.   Three hours later we arrived at Normanton; so much for that schedule.

Having visited Normanton some years earlier we were quite surprised that with the exception of possibly several new buildings, there had been little change.   And as for the milkshake, well we never get one.