As we once again headed north we free camped for a couple of days at Terry Smith Lookout and Bang Bang rest area making 10 days free camping in a row. Our next stop was at Normanton, a town that provides the majority of services for the areas of Karumba and Croyden. While Fran and Bert made the most of checking out the town, Tony and I boarded the Gulflander train on Wednesday 18th and headed to Croyden - a 5 hour trip one way - where we stayed overnight at the Club Hotel and then travelled back to Normanton on Thursday. What a fantastic experience! The Gulflander is over 60 years old and travels on tracks that are on hollowed-out steel sleepers. It moves at about 20 - 30 miles per hour...yes that's right MPH. The train is like a truck with a crash box, 4 on the floor and definitely no suspension. The train driver, Ken, is an accredited Savanah Guide and provided us with the most informative commentary I have ever had. He knew about the history, flora and fauna of the area.

About 20 minutes from Croyden we made an unscheduled stop to pick up the Editor of the Caravan and Motor Home magazine, Fred, and his film crew who are doing an article for their edition in about 3 months time. Of course because Tony and I were up front in the engine with the driver we managed to get our photo taken. That's an edition we will definitely be buying. All in all we had a fabulous time and enjoyed the Rugby League State of Origin match in the pub.....not that we were fully understanding of the rules but we were lucky to have a Queenslander to help us with the technical bits of the game. Unfortunately for him his team lost.

When we arrived back in Normanton we picked the van up and headed about 30 kilometres up the road to meet up with Fran and Bert at the free camp spot at Walker's Creek. Once again we became instant celebrities when Fred and his crew stopped at the free stop and took photos and movie footage of the free campers there. Even took our names so that purchase of the mag is DEFINITELY on the cards.

The next two days saw the four of us taking a visit to Karumba where we purchased some amazing fresh fish from the fish market and I even got to put my line in the waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria but as is the case with me there were no fish in the gulf that morning.

Stay tuned for the next blog as we continue the journey east towards the Atherton Tablelands.