45. Gregory Downs

HANDSOME The boys love the water & an old mate of mine had told me that we must stop at this place; Thanks Frank. This is another place that makes you feel real glad you did this sort of trip.

CATTLEWOMEN Some local girls came down to say gidday. The girls are real true blue wranglers & muster cattle on their families farms as well as for others.

TURTLE TRAP This bloke was meant to be a yabbie.

43. Canoeing on the Gorge

WHERE IS HE ?

AH, THER HE IS The local Indigenous ranger had told me of a rather large freshie  that was in the gorge. I didn’t want to alert Kaz too much so took off quietly, hoping of coarse that we might catch up with Mr. Freshie. Well as you can see we did find Mr. Freshie & didn’t Kaz find him entertaining. She didn’t speak to us for about an hour.

SEE YA LATER ALLIGATOR

No 41. BOODJAMULLA NATIONAL PARK (LAWN HILL)

BOODJAMULLA NATIONAL PARK (LAWN HILL)


A cattle farmer from South America actually donated this to the Government in the 70’s or 80’s. This bloke had come here years before after he did his homework & understood the significant rainfall that this area receives each year. Armed with this info he decided to emigrate to Oz & started what became a cattle empire.

BOODJAMULLA BUSHWALK

OUTBACK OASIS

One walks along a track like any other in this area; hot, dry, desolate & seemingly endless. Then after climbing a smallish ridge, the hiker is blessed with one of the most beautiful sights in the world. As Kaz said, ‘ it is like you have just stumbled onto the set of a movie’. Here there is such an abundance of clean flowing water, rich vegetation & wildlife such as turtles, file snakes, lizards, fish, birds & crocs.

40. Road to Lawn Hill

BACK ONTO THE DIRT After quite a stint on the blacktop it was time to head north to Lawn Hill National Park.

O’SHANNESY RIVER After thousands of kilometres of dry, semi arid country we came across this river. In this part of the country there are several spring fed creeks & rivers that are absolute havens. Although there are fresh water crocs throughout this region these rapids were irresistible.

O’SHANNESY CROSSING We crossed & decided to camp a little downstream. We had our first natural bath for months in the rapids. After the arid landscape of central Australia it was such a transformation to these new semi-tropical surroundings. The banks of the river is filled with cabbage palms, paperbarks, ferns & an abundance of birdlife.

No. 39 Cammoweal

CAMMOWEAL CAMPDRAFT

This is a hard fought completion where the horseman must rope & brand three calves. The eventual winner is the one who does so in the shortest timeframe. Branding for this event was simulated with paint, each competitor being allocated a certain colour.

CAMMOOWEAL LOCALS WITH MATT

Matt making some new friends.

CAMMOOWEAL CAVES


This was one of those diversions that aren’t what you may have expected. These caves were more a hole in the ground rather than caves but you have to reach out & explore these sort of prospects.

38. Tennant Creek and Cammoonweal

THE TABLELAND DRIFTERS Just out of Tennant Creek we pulled up at a place known as Mary Anne Dam for the night. Whilst there we caught up with a bloke called Adrian & his daughter. Adrian was the manager for a local indigenous rock band, The Tableland Drifters. We were invited to drop in & watch the guys rehearse before they set off on tour. These guys were absolute gentlemen & really rocked hard. It was a rare privilege to enjoy hangin out with these guys

TENNNANT CREEK MINING This bloke was an ex miner & had a true passion for the underground life. Here we experienced a tour that showed just what life used to be like to harvest the precious yellow metal. All the machinery was in full working order & the stories of yesteryear were informative & interesting. After the tour we foraged for some gold. We all managed to find a few bits proving that there is still; ‘gold in them there hills’.

CAMMOOWEAL After travelling east along the central tablelands we crossed the border into north western Queeensland. Cammoweal was in full swing as the annual Drovers Camp was on. We dropped into the local refreshment venue that was cranking. Drovers of old as well as the young folk had converged on the town, some travelling thousands of clicks to enjoy the camaraderie & banter. Once again the friendliness of the outback was massed upon us. Before setting camp besides the local waterhole the boys enjoyed a few games of pool with the locals.

Hello from The Carty's

Hope you have all enjoyed a great Chrissy & New Year. We are about to take off for stage 2. The website is about to be updated with heaps of new photos & short stories. Thanks to all for the support at the recent fundraiser. Kaz & I were absolutely blown away. To all those that made it happen; THANKYOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Carty's