Crossing Australia's Prehistoric Sea

From Daly Waters Friday morning we headed further south. Just before Tenant Creek, in the "town" of "Threeways" we turned east on the Barkly Highway/National Route 66 to head across the Barkly Tablelands. The terrain here, you might guess, was flat flat flat, golden-green grasslands as far as the eye can see. Cattle are about the only sights, sometimes in great numbers, along with the enormous brown Wedge-tailed Eagles feeding on roadkill roos and wallabies.

We made it across the Northern Territory and back into Queensland, and had to say goodbye to the 130 kph speed limits. Just across the border we stopped for the night in Camooweal, a tiny town on the Georgina River. According to one of our guidebooks, and corroborated by signage, there is a free camping area off the highway, down by the river. There are rubbish bins but no other services, and campsites are in a gravelly area with scrubby brush, not very tent-friendly. Because of that and the wind, we opt to sleep in the back of the car, and wrap up our suitcases and gear in the tarp outside.

We had enough daylight left to do a little exploring, but the river under the highway overpass didn't provide much in the way of sights other than a few water birds. There were just a couple of caravans near us, but we didn't see any people come out of them. We turned our attention to making dinner on the wood-burning camp stove. The windy conditions gave Shawn a chance to experiment with thermal mass windbreaks (a pile of rocks.) We had toasted turkish bread cheese and sausage sandwiches before crawling into our cozy bed.

I wasn't as crabby as I look here

Shawn's rock oven

 In the morning, we learned something new about the '96 Camry: if the doors are locked, you must unlock them with the key fob thingy even if you are inside the car, or the alarm will go off. Next time we will leave the keys in an easily accessible place!  So much for getting out to pee discreetly.

After tea and cereal we get back on the road heading east. Mount Isa is within 200 km, so a good place to take a break. Conveniently, the Riversleigh Fossil Center, the one sight in town we were most interested in, is adjacent to the Visitor Center. For a tiny center in a small outback town, the fossil and diorama displays are well done and interesting. The Riversleigh fossil fields, in the area where the Gulf of Carpenteria once spread far inland, are some of the richest fossil deposits in the world, with unusual marine fossils.

We pushed onward, to spend Saturday night in a caravan park in Richmond. We camped on the grass, enjoyed a nice kitchen and showers, and got a bag of free mandarins. We shared the kitchen area with a nice couple for a while at dinner. I made what I now call "chickpea puttanesca", which is chickpeas, tomatoes, tuna and olives, and surprisingly tasty. In the morning we visit another fossil center, Kronosaurus Korner, which features Kronosaurus queenslandicus, and the best preserved marine vertebrate fossil in Australia, of a short-necked pliosaur. The specimens were discovered by a local cattle station owner, as many were in this area. The fossil center is impressive, and we spent an enjoyable morning learning here.

I find the pattern of the flipper bones interesting

Still immature enough to find fossil poo funny

Shawn and the Richmond Pliosaur

After the museum, we drive east and make it as far as the coastal town of Townsville. Shawn is looking forward to some diving on the reef, so we plan to stay a few days. Our campsite at the Walkabout Palms is nice, right next to the kitchen and on grass. We set up the big tent, a welcome change from sleeping int he car. There is a Woolworth's at a shopping center nearby, so we pick up groceries, and talk with a friendly guy, Gordon, while making our Kanga Bangas for dinner.

Home for a couple days

Kangaroo sausages!

In the morning we will head into Townsville and find out about the possibilities for reef trips!