After a short time at home to spend time with friends and family over the Christmas and New Year we departed for 10 days in Robe. This trip is so we can take our grandson Cameron away for part of his school holidays. As it is only a few of hours drive we were there and set up for our stay in no time. Cameron soon found the jumping castle and new friends to play with.
                                                                                 

We were lucky enough to be able to take Cameron along to the Little Nippers which had just been formed at Robe. He also learnt to ride his body board which was lots of fun. Nearly everyday was spent at the beach.
Cameron's parents, our son Lee and his beautiful wife Kathy arrived to spend time with us on the last weekend. They went to the beach to watch Cameron in action on the Sunday morning Little Nippers activities and after lunch with Cameron in tow headed back to Adelaide.
Meta and I departed on Tuesday for our return trip home. 
 

 All of these photos were taken at this great little pub at Kulgera, the first and last pub in the NT. It being the first pub heading north or the last pub heading south.

                                                       The odd couple

We left The Barkly Homestead behind us as we continued pushing toward Adelaide pulling off the road at TI Tree, after staying the night we ventured into Alice Springs where Meta's sister in law Gloria showed us around the old telegraph station. After the visit to the telegraph station it was off again and we got to Kulgera where we camped the night. From Kulgera we kept pushing on and spent the next night at Glendambo before finally arriving home the next day which was the 3 September 2012.

                                           All these shots are from the Telegraph station.

We left Karumba behind on the 29 August 2012 and back tracked back down to Wal's Camp at Cloncurry, to spend the night.
Leaving Cloncurry the next day we passed through Mt Isa and Camooweal before crossing over into the Northern Territory. We had decided at this stage to head straight back to Adelaide only stopping for the nights. Our first stop being the Barkly Homestead.   

                                                The big croc at Normanton

                                                  The big roo at Camooweal

                                               The continuing changes to the landscape.

We stayed at Karumba until the 29 August before we got underway again. The women not impressed with this place as there was not much for them to see or do, it being a sleepy little fishing village. I might add not too many fish were being caught, but I was impressed with the sunsets and of cause the Sunset Tavern where you could slip in some coldies.
                                                                           

                                                    The girls enjoying a drink.

                       A hawk feeding her young in a tree high above the tables in the beer garden. 

                                             The sun setting in the Gulf

 

After arriving back from Adels Grove on the 25 August 2012 we spent the day getting ready to depart Gregory Downs the following day. We slipped down to the Gregory River to cool down after sorting out the van.

After our swim we spent our last night at the Gregory Downs hotel to get our usual entertainment, have dinner then off to bed early as it was going to be a long haul tomorrow.

We departed Gregory Downs 26 August 2012 driving back to the Burke & Wills roadhouse to refuel before heading north to Karumba. Passing through Normanton we arrived at our destination late that afternoon.

Some other photos from our stay at Adels Grove.

                                  Meta is smiling because this place was on her bucket list.

                                                   We found a friend.    

As previously mentioned Meta and I left the girls to look after the van and the pub whilst we ventured into Adels Grove and Lawn Hill. We would take the tent and the beer fridge for this part of our journey. We drove the dirt road into Adels about 100 plus kms arriving at arriving there early and pitched our tent under a canopy of thick trees and right on the river. All this river and the water in the national park of Lawn Hill comes from the artesian basin under the Barkley plains, I think known as the St. Georges Basin, but I can be corrected. It is an Aqua colour and very clear because of all the minerals in it. The area we camped in has an abundance of bird life and of a night you can hear the barking owls, they sound just like a dog. All the waterways have the Johnson River Crocs and the top gorge at Lawn Hill has one that measures 2.4 mtrs.
We spent 3 lovely days here before heading back to the girls at Gregory Downs, arriving back on the 25 August 2012.

                                                          The first gorge

                                                            End of the first gorge

                                              Found 1 of 2 colonies of this breed of finch

All the pictures above were all taken at Lawn Hill except the road shot that was taken when leaving the area to show that there is an oasis in those hills.           

Its the 21 August 2012 and we depart the town of Cloncurry and head north on the Burke Development Road which would take us to the Burke & Wills Roadhouse where we would refuel, turn left and head west again but now on the Wills Development Road. This would led us to our next destination of Gregory Downs. We arrived late in the afternoon and settled behind the Gregory Downs Hotel, with everything done we ventured to the Hotel to wash the dust down with a few cold ones. With all the Locals and the truck drivers we didn't need much of the way of extra entertainment, there was plenty of it here.

                                    Not a good shot of the front of the Gregory Downs Hotel.

                                                Burke & Wills Roadhouse           

                                       Some of the trucks ready for work after a nights rest 

                                          The Hotel bar.

We continued our journey leaving the roadside stop early and travelled west towards our destination of the day at Cloncurry. We stayed at a little bush camp called "Wals Camp", it is used mainly for people wanting just a short stay between the major towns but there are some who stay longer.
                                                                           

 

We stayed at Wal's long enough for the girls to do all the washing and top up with groceries

as we were heading off up north to Gregory Downs where Meta and I would leave the girls and head off, to stay a couple of days at Adels Grove and visit Lawn Hill.

                                Our overnight roadside stop just short of the town of Richmond.