Wollogorang Station - Settlement Creek - Northern Territory
August 2007
Attendees
Brett, Megan and Jake (Liberty), Wilbur (Hilux), Dave (Liberty), Will, Barry and Mick (L series and Hilux)
As I sit here and write this I ponder the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”. Well in this case the fence is the Northern Territory border and the grass was not greener. Quite the opposite. Picture the colour grass goes just before it is considered dead. Now picture that grass very sparsely covering the dusty earth. Got the picture?
Now you know what paradise looks like. No other way to describe the country, the atmosphere, the people or the trip would do it justice.
Our trip covered over 5000 kilometres in 3 weeks. We travelled north to Gympie, west to Gayndah then north to Emerald for an over night stay at the caravan park right on the water at Fairbairn Dam. It is located about 14k’s south west of Emerald and well worth the drive for a few day stay.
Onwards the following day for a short trip to Longreach where we spent a few nights. QANTAS Museum and the Stockman's hall of fame for knocked over fairly quickly as we were all very keen to get some road behind us and get to the gulf country.
Combo water hole with its’ hand made rock weirs was very interesting and the location of our bush camp we made just on dark. Located on the banks of the Diamantina River and about 14 k’s south of Kynuna. Again the call of the adventure had us mobile by 6.30 am the following day.
Cloncurry arrived before we knew it and much needed supplies were bought and stowed away. Fuel the cars and hit the road again as there was still plenty of daylight left. We made it to Gregory downs that night and set up camp on the banks of the beautiful river that meandered its way north just behind the road house. It was flowing crystal clear and with purpose. Hard to believe it was the middle of the dry season.
Unfortunately we had to part ways with Will, Barry (Will’s dad) and Mick (Will’s drunken mate) due to gearbox troubles in the L series. Will assured us he would get another car and meet us at Wollogorang within a day or so.
By about 8am we had plumes of dust pouring from behind the cars. We had finally hit unsealed roads and the sense of adventure grew with every cubic metre of dust that now lay on every thing inside the car. Mental note to myself; fix the bloody air con at Stuarts.
I don’t know if the roads were good or whether it was the excitement of being nearly there or not but the corrugations, bulldust and pot holes were all taken in our stride at around 80k’s of dust an hour.
It was around 3ish I think when we rolled in the front gate of Wollogorang on our 5th day of travel. Dusty, tired, out of fuel and desperately hanging for a cold bourbon. Now we could relax. We had made it. The holiday began instantly.
It was great to meet up with Stuart and Jim again as well as meeting Stuart’s incredible cook. I mean Stuarts incredible wife, Mary-anne. Not forgetting the kids, Corina, Bridgette and Adam.
Bush hospitality is alive and well in the NT. We were shown to where we could camp for the next few nights while waiting for Will and Co to arrive. Turned out our camping was in the now “closed to public” motel rooms. Hot showers, comfy beds, flush toilets and a door that slides not zips was an unexpected bonus.
We chowed down that night at the “Rib Factory”. In other words we were treated to a BBQ Flintstone style. Massive ribs marinated and cooked to perfection were like eating a roast on a stick. Then we found out they were the appetizers. One thing they do better in the bush than hospitality is put on a feed. Great times were had there while waiting for the others to arrive. Space is a bit limited so I will run through a few of them quickly.
Plain flight over a small portion of the property took in a fly by of the bush fires that were raging away, down over Tully inlet were we would make camp in a few days time, down along the beach to Massacre inlet and its’ vast salt plains, back over the yards and return home. We flew for around an hour at 120 knots, so we did cover a fair bit of ground, yet we saw only a very small portion of the station. 1.76 million, yes million, acres is a bloody big yard to mow. Luckily they have about 20, 000 head of cattle to help in the process, not to mention the roos and ferals.
Watching them unload the cattle back at the station was also entertaining. We saw plenty of cattle come of the road trains, some of which were glad to be rid of it and some that were just down right cranky about the whole episode.
Chasing feral pigs, catching red claw, feeding 3 day old calves, hooning in the race car, back burning for the fires, drinking copious amounts of fluids with our hosts were all managed in the few days we spent there.
From memory it was a Friday when we headed off to the beach camp. 80 kilometres, half a dozen dry creek crossings and a dozen or more different landscapes we all travelled, traversed or seen on our way. We hit some massive bulldust pits, yes I forgot to fix the air con, on the drive that had the camper behind my car disappear from view.
Beach camp and the van set up had us thankful that we had placed all our bedding and clothes in large heavy duty garbage bags. Once the van was swept out the dust was basically gone.
Tully inlet at the western end of the 20 or so k’s of beach, which we had to ourselves, was camp for the next 3 nights. We had not long been setup when Will and tribe arrived in his dad’s hilux. Yeah I know, it is not s Subaru, but at least he got there eventually.
The next few days were spent exploring, fishing, crabbing, exploring, crabbing and fishing, with a little croc spotting thrown in for good measure. 600 kilometres of fun we had while down that way. It all ended too soon with us wanting to move further inland to get a different grasp on the country around there.
After a late afternoon pig hunt we came across a spot we considered perfect for camp for the next few nights. It was about 30 k’s inland from the beach and nestled 6-7 metres above the bank of Settlement creek. As soon as we arrived we noticed a small crocodile sunning itself directly below us. We took solace in knowing it was “only” a freshy and wasn’t likely to be climbing the vertical bank to nibble on our tows while sleeping.
The following day we wandered around the water hole that backed on to our camp about 50 metres away. It was here that we came to know and love that smile that only a crocodile can give you. Basically we were surrounded by them. Didn’t worry us, we were in a camper but the fellas in swags were a little edgy that night when bedding down.
Two days exploring the area by foot and vehicle simply wasn’t enough. We came across some awesome places to fish, some excellent hunting grounds and a big black cranky boar that we will get one day. 120 plus kilograms of startled boar makes short work of any tree under 100mm in diameter. I don’t know what was more surprised, us or the pig. I do know it ran faster than us and thankfully in the opposite direction taking out 2 or 3 of the tress it was sleeping under as it was going. Snapped them clean off. Incredible! The boar was massive. We measured its stride marks once we could breathe again and at around 8 feet it was quite amazing.
Birdlife abounds. Kingfishers of various colours, Brolgas, Eagles, Barking Owls, Emus, Ducks/Geese, Cranes/Storks etc. Every where you looked you could see a bird of some description. When you weren’t looking you could hear them.
The Wallabies are every where. No Kangaroos really, other than the two impressive reds we saw, were encountered. I don’t know what sort of Wallaby they are, just short, fat and healthy. With it being a cattle property, they are seen every where. Only 2 Dingoes were seen while we were there. Sign of them is seen quite often though.
There simply isn’t enough space to run through our trip entirely. Suffice to say that if any one is ever given an invite to go there don’t let the opportunity pass. We were very privileged to camp where we did for as far as I know no-one else is aloud to camp any where but the beach. We would like to thank, Stuart, Mary-anne and Jim for allowing us to come and terrorize the place for a little while. Hopefully we will get the chance/invite to return again one day do the Rib Factory.
Return trip report covering Burketown, Karumba, Normanton, Cobbold Gorge and Undara Lava tubes next month.
Brett Rogers SC306
