Adele Grove

Ken was well set up by the time I arrived at Julia Creek. He had set up at the free camp, while I was due a night at a caravan park to top up everything and do a bunch of washing. The running repairs on the van seemed to be holding. I’ve got her booked in at Capricorn Caravan Centre in Rockhampton for 17th November. Re-fibre glassing is the thing that can take days, so I fully expect to be marooned for at least a fortnight.

But that’s then. Let’s do now. We both spent a second night at the RV camp. The next morning would see us both enter unchartered territory – an expedition to Boodjamulla and the Indarri Falls. We decided to embrace the cool early morning starts now we were heading further north. Our first stop was the famous Burke and Wills Roadhouse at Four Ways, a steady three and a half hour trip. The caravan park was nothing flash, but we were able to nudge our vans (and ourselves) into some shade for the rest of the day.

We had decided to base ourselves at Gregory Downs, sight unseen, but highly recommended. In reality, the one pub, one general store village of Gregory, was as far as needed to go. The RV camp on the stony flats of the Gregory River was an example of the idyllic locations that are plentiful in Far North Queensland. Even this far away from civilization, the camp was pretty full and we were lucky to get the last two spots, The Gregory River is one of only three spring fed rivers in Queensland, the location of which is somewhere to the west, in the Barkley Tablelands. This means it’ s drought proof. It also flows quickly through the narrow channels around the campground, before emptying out into a lagoon. This provided a source of much entertainment and amusement, watching kids and faux kids, noodle themselves down the stream, dodging pandanus palms and bridge pylons.

We hadn’t been sure how long we would stay, but after the first swim, it was quickly agreed that we would spend a few days here when we returned from Boodjamulla. Ken wanted to road test his rig on the dirt road out to Adele Grove, a campground close to the gorge. Having recently ticked that box for the (hopefully) last time, I left my rig at Gregory and we set off the next morning.

Adele’s Grove is about 100klms from Gregory. This was a test run in preparation for our dash to Cape York in a couple of weeks time. Understandably, Ken was a little tense as the black top ran out for the first time.

We had been advised that there were several dips along the way, including a deep creek crossing. Ken rose to the occasion like a Leyland brother as he forded without fear or (much) hesitation. He had crossed both the creek and the rubicon.

Even though we had left early, the temp was mid 30’s by the time we arrived just after 10am. What a relief that that the grove really was a grove. An arboretum of palms and willows to take the heat, if not the humidity out of our lives. We picked out a spot right on the river and spent the rest of the day between the van and the swimming hole. It was late afternoon when Ken spotted a bower bird nest and a couple of bower birds lurking in a nearby tree. The alfoil strewn in front of the nest was a sure sign that mating season was ‘on’. Patience and luck required here. I set up discreetly and waited.

Now, I could have been content to capture this amazing event in photographs, but when I got back to the van, I thought, what if ???? Would they still be there? I grabbed the phone to see if I could record what I had just seen. Lightening does strike twice.

After all that excitement, it was time to eat, drink and be merry. It had been a good day.