20-23 October

We left Mt. Isa for the round trip – Camooweal, Lawn Hill National Park, Normanton, Karumba, Mt. Isa.

In Camooweal we wanted to have a look at the caves but forgot the  abseiling equipment so no chance of getting close. So we didn't waste any time and headed the 200km dirt road to come to Lawn Hill National Park. On the way we passed through a road-work [upgrading the highway – I hope they're building some shady rest-area.

On this trip we had to cross some rivers. It's really interesting – suddenly you see a bit more green and different trees (quite often some kind of palms) and then the water is there... At the first crossing we didn't test the depth as we could still the ground but stopped after to have a little walk. I walked back through the water. It was unbelievable how strong the current was and how slippery the road was. I really had to  ensure a stable food before the next step. Then we stopped at the area called “Riversleigh site D”. At this site they found some fossils and erected an information shelter and a discovery walk. It was informative but not a must-see. Shortly after this stop we stopped again; this time I had to test the depth of the river-crossing. I was just halfway through (already noticing we had to cross on the right side) when I ran back out of the water... there was a truck coming from the other side and I assumed it had travelled the crossing before. Suddenly the water was murky but I hadn't to test the depth any more but had to cross it on foot anyway as Tom was waiting on the other side.

Then we arrived in Adel's Grove and decided to stay at that (expansive) place instead of camping in the National Park as there should be less shade. We picked a nice shady camp site and went for a swim. They even offered tubes to relax in the water and had a platform in the middle of the river. Adel's Grove had also a restaurant with a really expansive set course dinner but reasonable lunch menu [Aussi Burger with Chips for $12].

The next day we explored the Lawn Hill National Park also called  Buddjamilla National Park. The park offers 6 walks and lots of swimming. We just did the 3 eastern walks; on top of a cliff (Island stack) offering good surrounding views of the gorge and bushland, along the cascades where no water was running and to an Aborigine site called Barking Dog. It should be possible to see a freshwater crocodile in this area but the only wildlife we saw were grasshoppers and fishes. After the walks we relaxed in the shade close to the creek and I had a quick swim. We came back in the evening to see the sunset but as with most sunsets it was not that amazing.

The next day we did the walks on the western side: to the waterfalls and to the Upper Gorge. Of course we had to start early to avoid the burning sun. We walked to the waterfalls first but they were occupied by backpackers so we decided to keep on walking. We already took some pictures from the waterfalls as they looked like an oasis when you climbed down the cliff – several palm trees, the waterfalls, just beautiful. The walk to the Upper Gorge led between the cliff and the water so we kept looking for freshwater crocodiles but saw none even not at the creek-bank. We just saw several turtles. The next lookout (on top of the cliff) gave good views of the gorge but you couldn't really see where it started, most likely off a spring. Then we walked back to the waterfalls to have our swim and it was amazing. We had to glide slowly in to avoid direct contact with the fishes which kept looking at us. The waterfalls were strong although they just fall about 100cm. It was hard to reach them, you could hardly hold you position so the massage just lasted about 30 seconds.

In the afternoon a bus-load of seniors arrived at Adel's Grove – I guess the managers were caught off guard as they were running around to prepare more rooms.