Tosh had packed almost everything the night before, so we got away before 7am. Seventy km later we turned left onto the Burke Development Rd and we were on The Cape proper (ie. beyond where most Grey Nomads fear to tread).
Highlights (Fri-31-Jul):
- good night's sleep, got away early
- road condition generally better then expected, but VERY dry and dusty. 80km/hr most of the way
- made better time to the Mitchell River crossing (nr Dunbar Station) than expected
Lowlights:
- the Mitchell River was far too wide & deep to cross (similar width to the Murray at Roonka, Blanchetown SA)
- the realisation that we probably could have known this if we'd have asked at Karumba
- the sinking feeling as we contemplated having to back-track hundreds of km back to the "main" road
Highlights (cont'd):
- Techo's brilliance in navigation with the laptop & OziExplorer to discover an alternate crossing point on the 250K topographic map, through the Gamboola Station (less than 200km detour)
- freak ("meant to be") meeting the Gamboola Station manager at the turnoff to his station, confirming his crossing was passable and we were okay to use it.
- the feeling of elation that we were "back on track", albeit with a slightly different route
- met the King Junction station owners for permission to camp on the Palmer River near their crossing
- found a magnificent, private campsite overlooking the peaceful river (Techo reckons we're too far upstream for crocs, but he's not so confident to have a swim)
Plan for tomorrow is to continue through the back tracks to the Main Cape road and turn left (north) to the Hann River Roadhouse for a hamburger. We'll get beyond there somewhere by tomorrow night.
Tosh & Techo
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