Leaving Karumba we joined The Savannah way at Normanton (The Savannah Way stretches 3700km from Broome in WA to Cairns in QLD) for 2 nights in Croydon, 1 night in Mount Surprise and 3 nights in Atherton before we reach the sea at Palm Cove (our next ‘destination’).
On 26/08/2021 we sadly left Karumba point arriving at Croydon late morning. After a quick setup we headed 3km out of town to Lake Belmore for a picnic lunch. Lake Belmore was built in 1995 to supply water to the town as well as providing a place for boating, swimming and fishing.
On 27/08/2021 we followed the Croydon Heritage Walk. The council has done a fabulous job of documenting the towns history and preserving the old buildings. Croydon was founded in 1885 when gold was discovered. The gold sustained the town until WW1 when the men volunteered to join the fight in Europe. Most never returned and when some did the mines had fallen into disrepair. As such the town also reduced to its present form of being on the tourist trail of the Savannah Way. The other claim to fame is the GulfLander railway which extends from Normanton to Croydon. When it was built to transport gold but now is a tourist attraction. Unfortunately we didn’t have time in our visit to go on the train.
We loved our short time in Croydon.
On 28/08/2021 we travelled to Mount Surprise along the Savannah Way. Amazing that this is Highway Number 1 as there is a large amount of one lane track. It’s not very busy but if you meet something coming in the opposite direction you need to put two wheels (4 with a van) in the dirt. If you meet a road train, you stop on the dirt. They have right of way! Luckily we only met one today.
Lovely peaceful caravan park for one night in Mount Surprise. And we managed to wash the van (a big job by hand….).
On 29/08/2021 we travelled further along Highway 1 to Atherton for 3 nights to get new tyres, caravan serviced and supplies (yippee, a Woolworths and BWS). Pretty exciting road to Atherton, lots of ups and downs, narrow roads and hairpin bends. We bypassed Ravenshoe, Queensland’s highest town. So Lovely to see green fields after the months in the Outback. The Atherton Tablelands are beautiful.
On 30/08/2021 we had a day of seeing Atherton and catching up on shopping. I got everything on my shopping list. The first time for a long time.
On 31/08/2021 we got the van serviced and (at last) new tyres. We were due to get the car serviced too but that’s been delayed until Cairns due to a broken shock absorber.
On 01/09 we head to Palm Cove for 9 nights. It’s that time of the year again….. wedding anniversary (11 years) and my birthday (60 ish!!)….. so lots of eating out, swimming in the sea, walking on the beach, etc etc. In fact a holiday from a holiday! We are very lucky.
Comments
4 responses to “Traversing Cape York heading for the East Coast (WK 23)”
You definitely are seeing Australia 😀. Did Paul notice a difference in towing the caravan with the new tyres? I remember seeing green landscape for the 1st after being in the outback and it is a sight to behold.
Yes, the new tyres plus having the shock absorber fixed makes it really nice to drive again!
love your story Alison it is certainly a lifetime adventure…that unit in Brisbane is going to take getting used to…all good out this way …look forward to catching up
Barb
we have had an amazing time. we are so lucky.