Savannah Lands

14 June - Croydon, Normanton, Karumba

The Gulflander railmotor runs from Croydon to Normanton along a track laid in 1889 on steel sleepers, most of which are still in place today. This isolated bit of track exists only to serve the train buffs and tourists who travel in the nicely restored train on various excursions through the flat savannah between the now tiny towns of Normanton and Croydon.


One of the motels in Karumba is called the 'End of the Road'. That it most certainly is!

You know you are at the end of the road when:
-The Courier Mail costs $3.95 and is only available 2 days after publication;
-Brahminy Kites hunt in the main street;
-Self-contained cabins are Stratco sheds with air conditioning;
-Kangaroos actually do hop up the main street;
-Every street, except the one you came in to town on, leads to a dead end;
-There are Corella feathers in the gutter outside the Café advertising the special of the day as “Chicken et Funghi Fettucine“.

For many of our jolly fellow campers, the road begins in Victoria. Every year, they drag their vans and boats the 2000 plus kms here to spend the winter. They all know each other, staying at the same places all the way up here and back. Together.

Karumba is a real frontier town. There are building and other council regulations and some people abide by them, but much of the town has that 'just threw this up for the season' look about it. Fishing is, of course, the big industry here. Huge trawlers work out of the port, fishing and prawning in the Gulf. Consequently, seafood here is fresh and cheap. Fresh-cooked Gulf prawns, just off the boat, $15 a kilo. There is also a live cattle export port and a large, minerals-loading facility. Tourism can't be forgotten either. The three large caravan parks and several motels are fairly full now, but will be packed to the gunnels in a few weeks as “The Season“ kicks in.

Situated on the western side of Cape York, this is one of the few towns in Queensland that has a western sunset, so this afternoon we are off to the local tavern, called, you guessed it, the Sunset Tavern, to witness yet another brilliant setting of the sun. It’s one of our weaknesses - just can’t get enough of them. Sunrise, now, is another thing altogether. One of our party has only rarely seen a sunrise, and then, only under duress… or coming home VERY late.

As we were in drastic need of a laundry, we have spent a full day and a half in beautiful down town Karumba - more than enough time to see all there is to see, do our washing, even get in a little fishing.

Heading away from the coast, we will have to complete a lot more kilometres between towns. Over the next couple of days, we'll take the long trek south to Mt Isa, before heading west into the Northern Territory.