The Savannah Way opens up a tentacle-like array of touring options to the Gulf
The Savannah Way is more of a corridor than an actual road because there are so many alternative routes along the way. Whichever way you choose, it starts in Cairns, crosses the Northern Territory through Katherine and finishes in Broome on the west coast.
The Queensland section mostly follows the Gulf Development Road to Normanton and the Doomadgee Road and the Carpentaria Highway to the Northern Territory border. I’m going to confess right now, we didn’t follow the Savannah Way all the way to the Northern Territory. We turned south at Normanton thinking we’d avoid more unsealed road. Yeah, right!
After driving to the tip of Cape York and back we felt we had already done our share of dirt roads and decided to stick to the relative comfort of the bitumen as much as possible. So instead of continuing on the Savannah Way from Normanton to Katherine (which involves another 400km of dirt), we turned south on the Burke Development Road, picked up one of the Savannah Way alternative routes and went to the Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park via the Burke and Wills Roadhouse. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
After leaving Cairns in mid July and driving through parts of the Atherton Tableland, we were heading back towards Innisfail. Along the way saw the sign to the Curtain Fig Tree. Curiosity got the better of us so we took the turn-off. Wow! We had never seen anything like it. The trunk of the tree had been completely overgrown by a creeper that eventually replaced the trunk which had rotted away leaving a massive veil of roots. It was so big there was no camera angle that did it justice, but I tried anyway.
We continued driving towards Innisfail and stopped at the Mamu Tropical Skywalk on the Palmerston Highway to take advantage of the discount we received from Paronella Park. It was raining when we came this way back in June and we promised ourselves we would try to visit Mamu before heading west. We have done a couple of these aerial rainforest experiences before and this one is really good value with spectacular views in glorious weather.
As far as the eye can see on the Barkly Hwy
We re-joined the Savannah Way near Millaa Millaa and spent a night in Ravenshoe. At 930 metres, this is Queensland’s highest town. The effect of the altitude on the temperature was dramatic as it dropped to zero overnight. There is a camp in the centre of town for $10 ($5 extra with power). It is located on the site of the former railway station and we parked among the old rolling stock and station buildings. On Sundays the steam train does the return trip to Tumoulin. Ravenshoe is yet another town that is reinventing itself. It used to be a forestry town, but in the late ’80s the industry went into decline after the surrounding rainforests were declared World Heritage Areas. Remarkably, the town has grown since then as a result of increased tourism. The cheap camp in the centre of town is part of that tourism growth strategy.
Lawn Hill Gorge
We had a day to spare and did another detour to the old tinmining town of Herberton. It has a most unlikely museum of cameras and spying tools-of-trade. It contains some fascinating stuff covering the entire history of cameras and photography up to the digital age. The exhibits include actual cameras used in the cold war spy game. It was fascinating to see stuff used by the KGB, MI5 and the CIA. How it all made its way to Herberton must have been a story in itself.
Just down the road from Ravenshoe are the Innot Hot Springs. Water seeps deep down into the earth where it is heated and forced back to the surface under pressure. It emerges at 72°C before mixing with the cooler water from Nettle Creek. Drinking and bathing in the hot spring water are alleged to have medicinal properties which are supposed to cure all sorts of things. Check with your doctor first.
Cobbold Gorge
We passed through Mt Garnet and headed right into big cattle country. No, not big cows, but really big cattle stations. We had entered the Etheridge Shire which is bigger than Tasmania and where even average cattle stations are bigger than some European countries.
There were widespread gold discoveries in the Gulf Savannah around 1880, which opened up the region and caused the population to boom. Most of the towns in the Etheridge Shire owe their origins to gold discoveries and they still contain remnants of the old gold mining industry.
It was a chilly morning as we drove to Undara to see the lava tubes. After exploring two tube systems we drove ourselves to the nearby extinct Kalkani Volcano. The 2.5km self-guided walk from the carpark around the volcano’s rim and return exposes fantastic views of the surrounding country. It was easy to spot other extinct volcanoes in the area as well as the course of the lava tubes.
Undara Lava Tube
We spent two nights at a road-side rest area just outside Georgetown so we could tour the nearby Cobbold Gorge. Cobbold Gorge is located on Robin Hood Station which still operates as a working Brahman cattle property and is privately owned by the Terry family. The namesake of the gorge, Frances Cobbold, was a pioneer pastoralist in the Gulf Savannah during the late 1800s. The sandstone gorge was only discovered in 1992 and is relatively young in geological terms. It was first developed for tourism in 1994.
The Gulflander on its way to Normanton
The tour started with a walk above the gorge where we were told about the history of the region, its geology, ecosystem and the local bush tucker. We then boarded a purpose-built shallow draft boat for a cruise of the gorge. The boat was equipped with electric outboard engines at both ends to avoid the need to turn it around in the narrow gorge. Although the whole gorge is 6km long, the navigable part is the first 700 metres, but the round trip still takes an hour. Just to add a bit more excitement, the gorge is home to about half a dozen freshwater crocodiles which were all sunning themselves as we drifted past. Fortunately, freshwater crocs are not usually a threat to humans, unlike their estuarine cousins.
Free camping in the Gulf Savannah
Next morning we resumed our journey towards the Gulf of Carpentaria on a skinny one-lane road. The weather we experienced in the Gulf Savannah was brilliant. Every day was the same with maximum temperatures consistently around 30°C; no clouds and no humidity. That is typical for this time of year. To make things even more pleasant, as we continued towards the Gulf and lost altitude, the nights got warmer.
Spy and Camera Museum in Herberton
We stopped briefly at Normanton before deciding to stay on the Gulf at the nearby coastal village of Karumba. Normanton’s main claim to fame is the model of Krys, allegedly the world’s largest crocodile – shot by Krystina Pawlowska in July 1957 – at over eight metres in length and more than two tonnes in weight.
Karumba’s boasts are more mundane. It is a major port for live beef and zinc exports and the epicentre of the Gulf prawn fishing industry. Being a coastal village, Karumba is popular as a destination for tourists, especially if you like fishing. In fact, there isn’t much to do there except fish, which makes it heaven on earth for some people.
The Curtain Fig Tree
We stayed at Karumba Point for a few days to do some washing and work out where we would go next. As luck would have it, the pub was having a food festival. That seemed like reason enough to stay and indulge in ‘A Taste of the Gulf’ with barramundi, prawns, crab, crocodile, camel, venison and beef on the menu. They had live music too, which was tempting until we realised it was country music. Sorry, not my taste.
Allegedly the world’s largest croc was killed near Normanton
After the food festival we headed south to the Burke and Wills Roadhouse. From there, one of the Savannah Way’s alternative routes leads to the Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park. We stayed in the national park for a couple of nights and explored this stunning gorge by canoe and on foot.
From Lawn Hill we left the Savannah Way again and headed south to the Barkly Highway and on to Tennant Creek. It was the end of July, we’d been on the road in the Vanborghini for 17 weeks, tipped over 13,000km and I’d worn out one pair of thongs. Without any hesitation we were loving our life on the road.
Freshwater croc in Cobbold Gorge
Thanks again to all those who have emailed us with comments and suggestions. Our email is robandslava@gmail.com. If you see the Vanborghini on the road, come and say hello.
The Cumberland Chimney which stands as a remnant of the gold rush on the Gulf Savannah
ONE LANE ROADS
I worked out that if I pulled off these narrow bitumen roads entirely and stopped, any oncoming traffic could stay on the bitumen, neither of us got covered in dust, no-one got a stone in their windscreen and everyone was better off. Except that about half the oncoming traffic ignored my invitation and dropped their wheels into the dust anyway. You just can’t help some people.
