After breakfast, John and I walked into town, for exercise, and bought a Sunday paper.
We mostly just had a lazy day – computing, reading, sewing. I wrote some postcards and we drove to the PO to put them in a mailbox.
I cooked a roast for dinner – it seems more appropriate now that it is cooler. Lamb, with vegies.
Phoned K to update him.
I got up fairly early, after the long and solid sleep last night. I walked into town to get the paper – about 2.5kms each way, so it was a decent exercise to start the day. Pleasant walking too, mostly on footpaths. I also bought rolls for lunch.
John had a good sleep in.
After lunch, it was off to bowls. They have a synthetic green, under a large roof. This seems a smart idea, in an area prone to heavy rain. Certainly makes it more pleasant, bowling out of the direct sun.
The roofed bowling greens at Atherton
I was reasonably happy with the game I played, as was John with his. The club people seem very friendly. The after game beers are cheap, as are the raffle tickets one is expected to buy. So it was an enjoyable enough afternoon. I am appreciating being away from the extreme heat we’d started to get, at Forsayth.
Tea was sausages, bread and salad.
Got ourselves up at 6.30am. Managed a quick and efficient pack up and were on our way at 7.40. The heat is an efficient motivator! We wanted to get the bulk of today’s travel completed before the worst of the day’s heat. We were retracing the way we’d come from Cairns, just over two weeks ago, so knew what the trip would be like.
After the experience on the way here, I took extra care in packing the inside of the van.
We stopped in Georgetown at 8.10, to put the weight distribution bars on. Reached Mt Surprise at 9.40, so we were not dawdling! Bought fuel there – still 76cpl. Also bought a cold can of soft drink each.
John seemed quite relaxed with the van towing, and was doing 100kmh in parts between Forty Mile Scrub and Ravenshoe. Even the steep, hilly, winding sections between Ravenshoe and Atherton did not seem to have him at all concerned. So I find that I am not getting so tense on towing days. It is all good practice, and we really are getting better at this travel with the van. Though I find 100kmh seems a bit too fast, with the van on!
Noticed a definite greening of the grass and trees, after Mt Surprise, from the recent rains.
The roads are still fine for travel, though there were some sloppy patches in the red dirt of the shoulders, in places.
Went into the Woodlands Caravan Park in Atherton. This looks very pleasant and we envisage staying for at least a week. It is costing $15 a night, but with the seventh night free, so we are still under the accommodation amount budgeted for.
There is a lot of lush, tropical vegetation around, so the park has quite a “bushy” atmosphere. There is a lovely looking pool, too. The park has a few permanently roofed shelters for vans – I guess for those who are here in the wet season. Our site has a cement annexe slab, which will be good if it rains, as is likely.
Set up, then had a very late lunch at 3pm.
Drove to the shopping centre to stock up on fresh foods. Atherton has quite an adequate range of shops. We bought $66 worth of groceries, some beer and wine, a $12 hat for John as he’s mislaid his everyday one. Collected a new supply of his Cartia aspirin from a chemist. To newsagent for a card for John’s niece’s wedding; I bought a caravan magazine that had a photo of the latest Trakmaster on the front cover – and a big feature coverage inside. It has air bag suspension. Seems like the brand is rapidly gaining a substantial reputation – which pleases us as it is always flattering to have one’s choices validated!
John was very anxious to check out what games were on offer at the Bowls Club – of course! He arranged for us to play on Saturday. I have really enjoyed my break from bowls obligations, but here we go again! I must study up on walks around Atherton……
The green all round the place is a refreshing change after the dry browns and bare ground where we have been.
Our Atherton camp site – back in green country
Bought fish and chips for tea, being Friday. They were very nice.
The TV reception here is excellent, which pleases John no end, after his frustration with the services inland.
I got really tired part way through watching “Morse” on TV and went to bed.
It is very pleasant to feel cool again! We needed a sheet to sleep under…….
We had a quiet day in the heat.
John showed Nellie his Quicken computer program, because she was interested in it. He has realised that he has a virus in his laptop which affects scrolling. He is sure he got it from the Mt Surprise school – it was probably unwise to be transferring discs between their system and his.
During the morning John saw a snake coming across the grounds – he was alerted to it by birds swooping and making a noise. Bruce came and killed it – a red bellied black snake, about a metre long. Later in the day, Nellie found a dead yellow bellied brown snake near the house and thinks the dog may have killed it. She said they have had a lot of snakes this year – already!
When it cooled, later in the day, we went walking around town. In the recreation area, took a photo of an ant hill decorated as a cricketer. It kind of sums up this place!
Forsayth recreation ground
Found out that the big Kidston gold mine, of which we have heard, is SE of here.
In the late afternoon, packed up the awning and took down the shadecloth that John had put up at the back of the van to screen it from the sun.
During the day, John investigated the possible agate rocks we’d brought back yesterday – they were not agates!
Cloud built up during the afternoon. We are becoming used to this being almost a daily event. We sat outside, from about 6pm, and watched the clouds build – it was a good, dramatic show. Bruce claimed that they were “empty” clouds – but there was thunder, lightning and then it rained from about 7pm on. The power went out for nearly two hours. It is great to have our independent 12v lights on such occasions.
The rain cooled the evening down, somewhat. But it brought out lots of huge cane toads, from somewhere.
We are the only ones in the caravan park tonight. The previous nights we have had couples next to us, and a group of railway workers nearby, but the railway men have gone to Karumba for a few days and the other campers have moved on. So it is very quiet here. Nellie has three guests in the home stay, from the train – and she was cooking a dinner of soup, roast chook and apple pie for them. In this heat!
Had I still been in my old job, tonight I would have been dealing with Year 12 students intent on marking their last day of classes – I am SO glad to be here in downtown Forsayth instead!
We got up early. At 8am it was already hot, with a clear blue sky.
We left at 9am to drive to Cobbold Gorge, some 40kms away. The unsealed road was alright – we could have taken the van out there, had we wished. The way travelled through more of the interesting hill country of these parts. We noted that trees are beginning to green up – a sign of the onset of the wet season?
Cobbold Gorge is on the large Robin Hood Station. They have only had the tourist venture going for three years. The small camp area is in a little valley – it would have been alright to stay at. However, I think we are better off, in the current heat, at Forsayth, where we can run the air con from the town power.
We paid $25 each for the tour and were driven in a 4WD Toyota, across the wide and dry Robertson River, to a waterhole that is where the gorge creek joins the river. There, we walked a short distance and got into a boat.
Robertson River, on the way to the Gorge – which is where the vegetation is thick and dark green
The tour uses an electric powered boat, as being much more environmentally friendly than a fuel motor. So we glided silently and slowly through this absolutely unique feature.
The gorge has been formed in sandstone rock by the heavy rains and floods cutting down through faults in the sandstone. The gorge is unusually narrow – not much wider than the boat, in parts – and quite deep. The original sandstone must have been quite heavily faulted, because the gorge twists and turns.
Heading into the gorge
The way becomes much more narrow
We travelled along for about 600 metres. There were many butterflies in the relative cool of the gorge, and fish – archer fish and black fish – in the water. At one point, we saw archer fish squirting water up onto the red gorge wall, trying to knock down insects. Saw a splash as a little fresh water crocodile exited the scene.
The dark brown lines are where an archer fish spat at an insect on the rock wall
The colours of the gorge walls, the rock formations, and the different plays of light on these, were beautiful, as was the contrast of the occasional green plants growing where they had been able to establish. The reflections in the water of the creek in the gorge were wonderful.
We loved the reflections, different rock colours and contrast of plants
In places, the rocks and reflections gave a monochromatic effect
Our guide said that there are at least fifty other gorges out there on the property, but no one knows much about them – yet.
More interesting reflections
One of the notable features about Cobbold Gorge was that, even at this end of the Dry season, there was still water in it. I guess there must be springs and soaks in the sandstone to account for that, along with the depth of the channels at the base of the gorge.
I see the face of some prehistoric monster here
The boat trip was over too soon. It was certainly worth the money. Back at the office area, we chatted for a while with the young couple who have been hired to run the campground operation.
As we were driving back towards Forsayth, on the spur of the moment, since we were going past the turn off, took the road to the south, to Agate Creek. The road continued to be alright, looking like it had been fairly recently bladed.
We knew of Agate Creek as an official fossicking area where one could find agates (obviously) and had seen some excellent specimens of these at the Home Stay office. As with all the other gemstone things, hunting for these was not something we’d ever done before, and we knew little of the technicalities.
We must have driven about 50kms from the corner with the Cobbold Gorge Road before coming to a sign and a camping area that is the start of the fossicking area. Ate our lunch there.
Went up Black Soil Creek – according to the map at the entrance to the fossick area. We were not really sure what to do to find agate. It is basically a rock core, but we don’t know what those rocks look like on the outside, or where agate containing rocks might be found. There did seem to be some agate chips lying around, where we went, so we dug for a while in the creek bank and pulled out some rocks that might be ok? John was happy with what he found.
In the Agate Creek valley
We drove further into the field and spent a short time at Crystal Hill, doing the same things. We did not see any other people around, which was not surprising, given the heat at this time of the year.
At Agate Creek, trying to look like we might know what we are doing
Drove along the track to its end at the Agate Creek Safari Camp. It was closed and the people gone. We found out later that the lady lease holder wants to sell it for $5000, but her partner doesn’t want to sell. John was impulsively attracted to the idea of buying it – I said NO WAY!
It was a very hot day but we felt alright in it – was a dry heat.
We got back to Forsayth about 6pm. We had driven 191kms.
Heard on the news that nearby Georgetown was the hottest place in Qld today, at 40 degrees!
Tea was steak, potato, beans.
After tea, I phoned K to ask him to send us the next batch of mail to Atherton PO. We have now decided to venture no further west in this heat, but to head back to the Tablelands. It was good to hear that all is well at home – a place that seems increasingly distant – apart from some hanging plant pots that smashed in a high wind. Once that would have worried me……
The night seemed to be slightly cooler for sleeping, with an occasional hint of a breeze coming through the open window above my head.
The terrain that we traversed to visit Cobbold Gorge and Agate Creek
Pretty standard pack up. It has become quite routine. We did not put the weight distribution bars on, because we were going to be on an uneven dirt road, from Georgetown to Forsayth.
It was a hot drive to Forsayth, but at least the country side was not boring. We have not had the van on unsealed roads, to date, so this is the start of practice on same, for John. He did well, except that he went through one floodway a bit fast and bounced the van more than was good. It shook the cupboard contents up more than usual, and the front part of the hinged glass top on the stove came off and fell on the floor. It did not break, but put a little dent in the vinyl floor. Everything else was alright.
The Forsayth Home Stay and Van Park cost us $11 for a powered site. We set up under the big shadecloth roof provided for the site – a good idea and much needed.
The town water supply is not potable – it has heavy metals/arsenic in it. There is a rain water tank provided for park patrons. I suppose that means one should keep their mouth shut when showering!
The Home Stay and Van Park is for sale. The home stay can accommodate up to 20, they say, in six rooms! They often have 12 staying. They have just begun developing the van park part – it seems to have some potential – and they also have the next door block. But it seems to us that tourist business here is dependent on the Savannah Lander rail passengers, and tourists who want to visit nearby Cobbold Gorge, which is now developing its own camp ground. Forsayth is off any main tourist route – though it may become more attractive if the road from Georgetown was sealed.
The outlook from the caravan park at Forsayth
We had a late lunch.
The afternoon became really hot and then quite hazy – there are fires around, apparently.
As it got slightly cooler in the late afternoon, we walked into what seemed to be more the centre of the township. I thought Mt Surprise was rather a rustic village but this is more so. There are no shops! It has a pub. The Post Office is in a house. But there is a little hospital, and of course, the train station. There is a strange assortment of houses, rather spread about, including a couple of interesting older ones.
The town has First to Ninth Avenues, straggling off into the dead grass. This scale is a relic of the grander mining days – initially gold in the 1870’s, and then copper, from the 1890’s. Apparently the original settlement was on the other side of the little Delaney River that is by the town, but was moved when the railway reached here in the early 1900’s.
At one stage, it was planned that the railway would go further west and link up with what is now the Gulflander Railway, that ends at Croydon, but that never happened. Because of being the rail terminus, Forsayth continued its existence as the rail head for transport further west. Eventually, of course, road transport and travel bypassed it.
About 100 people live here now, though with the renewed growth of mining in the area over the last decade or so, it may grow a bit more.
There seemed to be a lot of barking dogs about – a rather motley lot. We saw a big flock of red-tailed cockatoos in trees and on power lines. There are lots of birds at the van park, including a very musical butcher bird.
We drove out to Castle Rock, following a mud map given to us by Nellie, the owner. There were some others driving out that way, too, to see the sunset from that vantage point.
The sunset was “different”, due to lots of smoke about. Very red. It was worth the drive and the little scramble to the top. We drove past a newly burning area on the way to the Rock.
The heat had reduced both our appetites, so I made some salad for John; I had some tinned apricots and he had watermelon that we’d bought in Georgetown, when we stopped at a store to buy a couple of cold drinks.
There is some TV here – we get two channels, which is one more than in Mt Surprise!
We had the air con on during tea and that cooled the van sufficiently for sleep, but we had a rather restless night as it stayed hot throughout. Unfortunately, the air con is far too noisy inside the van to keep it on after bedtime.
Another hot day.
John spent time on the computer. I read and did crosswords.
I made savoury scones for lunch, which were delicious. We discovered by experience when first here, that the frozen bread from the store is awful. It must be really stale before they freeze it. Hence my need to find alternatives.
Joe showed us a book his father had prepared, of local flora, including historical quotes about same, and aboriginal uses of them. Apparently this family is a well-known local one, especially in the realm of plant expertise. John found out that Jo and Joe had grown most of the plants that have been planted around the park. There must be thousands of dollars worth of these; it is going to be an absolute oasis when the plants mature. We really admire their enterprise.
We have had an excellent time during our two weeks at Bedrock Village, but have decided it is time to move on. I wonder how many travellers have ever spent as long at Mt Surprise?
With travel in mind, John took Truck to refuel – 76cpl.
Had a final, lovely swim in the afternoon. Took down the awning after the worst of the sun had gone.
Tea was fish and chips bought from the pub – $10 and they were great.
Our explorations around Mt Surprise
It was another hot day.
After breakfast, we shut ourselves in the van, with the air con going, and watched “Titanic” – the video that John had hired to watch last night. It was a good film. The two kids came by to visit and we had to explain why we were watching the TV at this time of day!
Then John went with Jo to the school. He has been working on a design for a brochure, for the caravan park, as they do not yet have one. They went to print what he has done, but it wouldn’t work, as the school computer does not have a compatible Word program. So he gave Jo the discs with what he has done – they may be useful in the future.
Just lazed about in the afternoon, in the heat, but managed to walk to the store to return the video. Had a swim.
Tea was sweet and sour pork with rice.
Since the rain, we have cane toads around, at night. Yuk.
I am a cane toad!
Today was hot again. The respite after rain does not last long.
We lazed about. John spent much of the day on the computer, but drove up to the store to hire a video to watch tonight.
I did some embroidery, sitting outside in the shade of the van and the little trees nearby.
I made Indian roti for lunch – yummy.
Later in the afternoon, we took Jo and Joe’s young son with us for a walk to the shops. He likes to mix with the visitors
Tea was steak, onions, baked potato and coleslaw.
John “died” over tea – fell asleep while he was eating! Two nights of staying up till dawn playing KKND have taken their toll – computer game lag! He went straight to bed. I read for a while.
Our camp at Bedrock Village – with stormy skies
On Joe’s advice – again – we were going to Einasleigh today. I packed some Ryvita, vegemite and cheese for a picnic lunch. Joe told us that the unsealed road that goes to Einasleigh from west of Mt Surprise, was worth taking.
It was a very attractive drive, in parts parallel with the rugged Newcastle Range. There were several dry creek fords. It was more of a track than a road and not one for fast travel. We did not meet any other traffic on this route. At one point, we intersected with the railway line that carries the Savannahlander train – it goes through Einasleigh on the way to Forsayth. It was about 90kms to Einasleigh.
As we drove, could see storm clouds building to the south and hoped there would not be sudden heavy rain while we were on this road!
Einasleigh was really interesting. The Copperfield River goes through a small gorge, where it has cut a down a fissure in the basalt that formed from a lava flow. These parts of northern Queensland are much more volcanic than I knew. The basalt here is very dark and the Copperfield Gorge looks quite sinister to me.
Copperfield Gorge with the rail bridge in the background
As is indicated by the name Copperfield River, the town grew due to copper mining here in the late 1800’s; there was also copper mining around Forsayth to the west. Clearly, there is much mineralization in these parts – was some tin mining around O’Briens Creek, there’s the topaz, aquamarine and similar gemstones now; copper; the large Kidston gold mine is east of here. The Einasleigh River – named by the Jardines on their trek north to the Cape in the 1860’s – and the Copperfield join at the township.
The railway was built by the Chillagoe Copper Company to transport copper from around Forsayth and here. It eventually became government owned. There is a long rail bridge over the Einasleigh River. It would look quite spectacular in a flood.
The rail line and bridge at Einasleigh
The road we came in on crosses the river via a ford that would flood after big rains.
The road crossing of the Einasleigh River at the town
The “town” itself was quite surreal – probably not helped by the dark, stormy skies. It is in a great setting amongst photogenic hills. There was an eerie, derelict house just across the bridge.
Stephen King comes to Einasleigh!
The hotel stands by itself, with a collapsed building next to it that was once the dance hall, or “leaning hall”. It leaned too far! The walls have collapsed but the roof is intact, complete with fascia, on the ground. There was only one vehicle parked in front of the hotel – with its bonnet up.
Einasleigh central: the hotel and the collapsed leaning hall on this side of it
We ate our lunch in a modern picnic shelter overlooking the Gorge. The huge, swirling clouds were making thunder and lightning and then we had a heavy but short deluge. While having lunch, we were adopted by a very scared blue heeler dog that obviously thought we were its saviours from the elements.
Welcome shelter for lunch in the rain
Eventually, we took refuge at the pub, complete with dog, who wasn’t going to be left. The two people at the pub (publican and one patron) knew who she was and undertook to return her home.
The beer was in a large chest freezer, behind the bar. There was none on tap. We had a beer each, as a courtesy for the help with the dog. $3 per can. Being independent tourists in Einasleigh seemed to make us some kind of objects of curiosity.
We walked around a bit – the land of the township is rather bare, and rocky, almost blasted-looking. We decided that being here was very like living inside the pages of a Stephen King novel!
Copperfield River and rail bridge – and dark stormy skies threatening
The rainstorm moved off to the north – making us somewhat concerned about our camp! We decided not to risk the narrow, dirt road back to Mt Surprise, with its creek crossings, so kept going west, to Forsayth, on a sealed road. This part of our drive was very scenic, with rugged ranges and distant vistas.
A scary road sign, between Einasleigh and Forsayth
Distant ranges seen from the Forsayth road
Had a quick look round Forsayth, with a view to maybe staying there. The van facility at the Forsayth home stay looked adequate.
Turned north for Georgetown – back onto gravel road, rather corrugated in parts. Georgetown had a few shops and a huge, dry river crossing – the Etheridge.
It was back onto the single width bitumen to Mt Surprise. We saw a bustard walking beside the road – and another as road kill. Scenes like that make me so sad – not something I will ever get used to.
Back at the van, the storm had obviously passed this way. The annexe roof had been blown off its poles – probably due to the shade cloth hanging from them too. There was red mud everywhere. The van was mostly dry inside. Given the hot weather this morning, I had not shut up all the windows before we left. There had been a little rain come in the window at the head of the bed, and some of my underwear in the cupboard beneath it was damp. Lesson: do not go out in storm season and leave windows open! We were lucky, this time – it was quite a storm and a lot of rain was dumped in a short time.
The storm certainly cooled the air, which made for a pleasant late afternoon and evening.
Tea was dim sims that I “steamed” in an enamel pie plate in the electric frypan with water in and lid on – and fries.
We drove 296kms on today’s circuit. A great day.
John sat up till the early hours playing computer game.
This Adventurous Age 