The Gulf Track

With all this unseasonal weather the roads in NW Queensland have been open then closed then open then closed and we were undecided about whether or not to risk the unsealed and apparently rough Gulf Track which runs between Normanton and Roper Bar in the Northern Territory.

But we did finally go on that track, and the only challenging bit was leaving Lawn Hill and driving up to the Gulf Track on a couple of tracks through cattle stations. It was pretty boggy in patches and Elsie and Larry ended up completely caked in mud. We stopped for a night at the lovely Kingfisher Camp on the Nicholson River, which could have so easily been longer, but we needed to push on.


And after all our indecision, the Gulf Track was completely fine. A big wide graded road with the odd creek and river crossing. Through mainly flat country, but much more forested than either of us expected - there were some big trees in parts.



It was pretty exciting to get into the Northern Territory and we camped that first night by the Robinson River, finding a little spot just by the river and away from the road. After about an hour a car pulled up and a middle aged couple said ‘Do you mind if we camp here?’ Given it was our first secluded bush camp in a long time, we actually did mind a little, but we couldn’t really say so, and so ended up with Ken and Kay from Babinda, south of Cairns, right next door! We have speculated before with others whether people who do that are scared of the dark or something, but in this case it seemed to be that Ken was just really keen for a chat. And we did have a good chat with them around our campfire, mainly Ken telling us stories about his encounters with crocodiles and snakes, and he is obviously deeply fascinated with both.