Normanton to Karumba (Gulf of Carpentaria) 22/23 June 2015

The Gulflander train runs 151 km between Croydon and Normanton, leaving approximately 160km stretch of land between the 2 train lines (to Forsayth) un-serviced. Blackbull is an old station hut but now it's more of a stop for caravaners and trucks to have a tea and a wee. But the scenery is quiet impressive.

The old water tank at Blackbull sideing and a kite

Normanton

The biggest croc in the world was shot nearby. Road Trains and the Pubs of Normanton

Normanton is the service hub for the region and has about 1500 inhabitants. It is famous for the largest croc ever shot (actually by a woman croc hunter), measuring 8.63m. In front of the information centre is a full size replica and Sarah is pretty small against that. I don't know why someone would try and shoot a croc like this. It must be similar to the gold rush, you just can't stop yourself... I would just run as fast as I can! Otherwise Normanton has super wide streets, a purple pub, 2 petrol stations, 2-3 well sorted supermarkets, 2 butchers, a bakery, a school (with playground) and an indigenous art gallery with good coffee. We had a little stroll around and then went for a quick dip in the campground pool.

Karumba 

Sunset over the Gulf of Carpentaria, Hermit crabs and the girls dancing

Next morning we headed down to the Gulf of Carpentaria to Karumba to see the sun setting in the water. (On the east coast of Australia the sun rises out of the sea, but sets over land, so seeing the sunset over water is very special for most Australians) Busloads of people come to see it and the pub is well filled. Sarah didn't see much of the stunning and colourful sunset but enjoyed hopping up and down and around the rocks, eating fish & chips (or better chips & fish). On the Way back to the Camping ground Sarah was still happily singing to her favourite song. After that there was silence and when we arrived Sarah was sound asleep. Not even wiping the sand of her feets with a brush could wake her. What a lovely evening! :-)

The scenery towards the Gulf and some red-tailed Black Cockatoos

Contact Details

If you try to reach us - please use Martin's phone number and send us a text or email. (We also enjoy reading your comments on the blog! Do so frequently - it's nice to get some feedback!) We'll be heading towards the Northern Territory soon and we will be in really remote areas and most likely the only reliable communication will be our satellite phone. We'll keep the blog updated as often as we have internet access, but it could be a while until the next post...

5 responses
Hi, Northern Terrritory! Will you guy visit the Uluru Rock?
Your happiness shows in all the photos, which are good-even the ones Martin takes - I'm so glad you are all enjoying every mile travelled so much more than you could have hoped for when planning your trip. Well either that or you are acting well for the camera, and I don't think you can all act that well !!! Drive safe and enjoy, a pic of a good barra sooner or later would be good to see....havnt forgot how to catch a good fish have you ? Charters dont count.....
...was für eine abwechslungsreiche und weite Landschaft - da möchte ich gern auch mal hin! Es freut mich zu sehen, wie viel Spaß es Euch macht - auch der großen Sarah! Viele Grüße aus dem immer noch kalten Deutschland! Susanne
Hi Jun, we haven't decided yet. Will head up to Darwin and decide there where to go... hope everyone in the lab is doing well!! Please say hello to Peter.
Sorry Rob, but whenever I hook a 1+m Barra a croc comes out of nowhere and bye-bye Barra it is.