Blog 15 - 23rd July to 6th August 2013

Tuesday 23rd July - Woke up to another windy and cold day in Mt Isa. Went to the info centre, and then did a few things in town, including moving a car for Troy. Had a chat to our neighbours, and then went up to the lookout over the mine at sunset - very impressive, and a nice sign showing distances to all places in the world.

Went to the Buff Club (not a strip club) for drinks and dinner.

Wednesday - Matt's birthday today. Today we leave Mt Isa and head towards Lawn Hill NP. This is a place I have been wanting to take Di for many years. After driving west towards Cammoweal, we turn north back towards the Gulf. After some bitumen and lots of dirt, we turn towards Riversleigh station for the short-cut into Lawn Hill. We arrive at camp at about 2.00pm and set-up, having just missed James and Amy who have headed off for a walk. We decided to do a walk too, heading down river for the Cascades walk.

A very pretty area amongst the palm trees. Back at camp, we all catch-up and prepare to explore this place for the next 3 days.

Thursday - up early to complete the Island Stack walk in the cool of the morning. A short walk out to the start, then a couple of hundred metres up the cliff face,

and then a 1.7km walk around the top of the plateau with views of the gorge below,

and the surrounding plains in the distance - very impressive and some really nice photos.

Back to camp for a relaxed lunch, before heading down to the canoe hire place for 2.00pm to do a paddle up the gorge and back. We decided it would be good to hire them at this time, as our 2 hours hire covered us until the man went home at 4.00pm so we could keep the paddles and canoes until morning, and go for a bit longer.

The paddle up the gorge was spectacular, with the sun shining on the southern walls, and the crystal clear water passing by underneath our paddles.

At the half-way point, we jumped out, and dragged the canoes around the waterfalls,

and then continued our journey upstream. It became very narrow in 1 place, and we needed to paddle quite hard against the current to get through, but it was worth it as it opened up again into a big area with some small waterfalls at the end that cascaded off the surrounding banks.

Time to turn around

 

and head back to the first falls for a swim with the fishes.

After swimming across to get under the cascading water, we dried off in the sun, and then continued our return journey back to camp, arriving just after 5.00pm feeling exhausted but exhilerated. A relaxing night.

Friday - todays walk was the Wild Dog Dreaming walk,

to see some Aboriginal art on the rock walls, and then continue on to where the rivers meet. Amy got scared senseless by a wild pig asleep on the track that woke just as she walked towards it - cue "BIG SCREAM". Back to camp again for lunch, and some minor trailer repairs to the suspension, where a nut had fallen off, but on closer inspection, most of the bolts and plates on the left side had worn badly. A quick ask of the NP Ranger, and we were looking for spares in his shed. All fixed after a few hours, with the spring now siting in its normal position and everything tight again. Michelle and Jeff, who we had met earlier at Boulia joined us and we chatted late into the night.

Saturday - a short drive south to the Riversleigh D fossil site where we saw lots of bones from extinct animals captured in the rocks. Then down to the Gregory River crossing for a quick look and some photos,

before back to camp for lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Late afternoon we headed off on the Constance Range walk, to capture the sunset from the top and to have a look over the surrounding area. It was tough walking to the top, but well worth it once there, with views for miles, and also back along the gorge and surrounding cliff faces.

The girls took lots of photos while the sun dropped behind the horizon, whilst James and I simply enjoyed the view.

A dark walk back to camp, some dinner, and then fronted on Michelle and Jeff's campsite for drinks and a chat.

Sunday - time to leave this magic place, but not before a final swim in the river - it was lovely and a great relaxing cool-off. A quick stop in at Adel's Grove for fuel, before continuing north towards Kingfisher Camp. We were making good time, and would probably be there before lunch. Alas, my plans were to go very awry........
It felt like the brakes on the trailer had locked on, so I pulled ot the side of the road for a quick look. I was certainly not expecting there to be flames coming from the centre of the hub!!!!!

After extinguishing these, it was time to determine what to do. A 50 minute call on the satellite phone determined that a tow truck was too far away, and it would be best to simply get the guys from Bowthorn Station, about 2kms up the road to assist us. It was their day off, but the manager Mick was only happy to lend a hand. His comment of "I'll be back in half an hour luv"to his wife as he walked out the door - boy, oh boy, was he wrong. With the build-up of heat, the bearing, washer and nut had all welded themselves to the axle. Not long after, Mick's 2IC from the station, Jake came along, and with their help, managed to remove the nut but nothing else. It was decided to limp the trailer into the station, and work on it in the shed where some more tools were available. At 6.30pm, we gave up and set camp, with Mick making a call to Brad from Kingfisher to come in the morning and lend a hand. The guys from the station had been a massive help to us, and even allowed us to use the facilities in their house while we stayed the night out by the shed. They also allowed us to plug into power to keep the fridges running.

Monday - a very early morning, to make sure we were up with the guys from the station and ready to go. Brad arrived at about 9.00am, and he worked for several hours, first using the oxy torch to cut the bearing off, and then the welder to repair the axle and hub, before fitting up new bearings and wishing us well on our way - we were planning to meet him that afternoon back at Kingfisher Camp. Heading off slowly, we got 5km's out of the station before the brakes came on again, and the side mirror revealed that the bearing had collapsed again, and the wheel had nearly fallen off - lots of swearing from me !@#$%^.

Now we were really screwed, and would need a tow to the closest town. James and I went back to the station to call NRMA, and after several hours, with the girls back at the camper on the side of the track in the middle of nowhere, we were told that someone might be able to come out to rescue us on Wednesday, but they would need to provide a quote before it could be booked in. If it was more than $4,000, we would need to pay the difference. If you don't already have it, GET NRMA PREMIUM CARE if you are travelling - it is a MUST. Camped back at the station again wondering how long we might be here. We all spent a LOT of time talking to and patting the station dog, Stumples.

Tuesday - more phone calls to NRMA, some phone calls to mechanics in Burketown, and then James and I get to working out how to keep the wheel on the axle so it can be dragged onto a tilt-tray truck. Between us we design and fabricate a sandwich plate to hold the bearings in the hub, and also the hub to the axle - won't get us far, but should do the job.

Still waiting for a quote for the tow, but it has been confirmed he is coming tomorrow, so James and Amy depart to continue their holidays. A massive thanks to both of them for their help, support, and for keeping us sane through a very trying couple of days. Got a call from NRMA at about 3.00pm that the tow will cost $2,530 to get us back to Burketown and that NRMA will pick-up the cost - YAY. Set-up the tent at the station and hope that tomorrow will be a betetr day.

Wednesday - we were told that the tilt-tray should be there about mid-morning, so we wait patiently as the few vehicles go past. He finally arrives at 12.30pm, and we head out to the disaster site. But he is not in a tilt-tray truck - he has got a LandCruiser ute with a dual axle car trailer on the back, which will make it much harder to secure our trailer. After nearly 2 hours to get it on the trailer and strapped down,

we begin our journey towards Burketown. Got into town about 5.30pm and straight to the caravan park to set-up camp in our small tent, and then around to the tow yard to make sure everything is good to go tomorrow.

Thursday - arrive at the mechanics at 8.30am to assist with taking it off the trailer, and working out a plan. I spend some time with Di measuring underneath the trailer to confirm nothing structurally is bent, and then start investigating where to get a new axle, brakes, hubs etc. The more calls I made, the more I realised it would have to be made specially for us, and would take up to 2 weeks.

Friday - more calls to suppliers in Townsville, with a supply truck coming up to Burketown twice a week. Finally got onto Noel from Eclipse Trailers who knew what we were after, and within a few hours had rung back with lots of answers, but with the axle still needing to be made in Brisbane and freighted up. Placed the order, and he pulled a few strings to get the order rushed through to be finished by Monday. Spent some time chatting with our neighbours at the caravan park.

Saturday - went for a morning walk, and saw ALL of the town in about 30 minutes. It was going to be a very boring week or 2. Found some hawks and an owl just across the road.

Spent some time checking under the car for anything loose. In the afternoon, we decided to play tourist in Burketown and see the sights. We saw the Boiling Down Works (fat rendering plant), the Landsborough tree, the boat ramp, the hot water bore, and the Albert River bridge. We had now seen almost everything there is to do in town - should have spread it out a bit more. Chatted with our new neighbours again that night.

Sunday - went for another morning walk, then breakfast. Decided a drive back east to Leichhardt Falls would be a nice distraction for a few hours, and it was only 71km's away. Spent an hour or 2 looking around, but still didn't see a croc.

Back for lunch, and more chatting to the big group from Sydney who had arrived the day before.

Monday - another day in Burketown - not much to do when you have seen everything. A quick walk to the bakery, and then to the seafood shop, where we got a nice big piece of king salmon for dinner - yummo, with a sprinkle of cajun seasoning on the bbq. More talking to the neighbours, and several drinks around the torch-light fire.

Tuesday - another day in Burketown. Got some things from the trailer, met some new neighbours and solved all the world's problems, and then read for a while before cooking dinner. Can you tell we are getting a bit bored???? Hopefully the new axle arrived in Townsville today, and will be loaded onto the truck up here soon. Should only take a few hours to fit it up, and then we can be on our way to the NT finally.

More to come soon - hopefully we are back on the road soon - don't plan a long holiday in Burketown anytime soon.

Di and Hammo