Aye Karumba It's Good! Monday 1st October12

I was pleasantly surprised to find the road between Croydon to Normanton was normal two-way road all the way, with only 2 bits of roadworks. Back in 2004 when I rode through this area it was all single-laned narrow road where you had to get right off the road to let the huge road trains through.

We stopped at the dry looking little old outback town of Normanton for a cool drink and a snack.

I had been telling Dave for ages about the amazing wetlands between Normanton to Karumba: when I rode this 71km in April 2004 with Ray and Margaret Wright and Josef Gabriel, it was wonderful country, full of watery land and birds of all sorts, and red-bellied black snakes lining the road, sunning themselves. Huge wedgetail eagles and brown kites were circling over all of this.

But today? Nothing! Just 71km of dirt-dry hot country, some salt pans, no birds, no snakes, nothing unusual to see. I now realise this northern part of Queensland is totally different at the end of the dry season; in 2004 I had come through here at the end of the wet season.

I was also warning Dave about the squirming hoards of horrible cane toads that would be in Karumba at night…but we haven't seen any at all!

We put our tent up at the Karumba Point Sunset Caravan Park, which is facing onto the Gulf of Carpentaria. The sunsets here are beautiful, as we saw, sitting on the beach last night, snacking on olives and spicy twiggy sticks. There are crocodile warning signs but this doesn't seem to bother all the dingy fishing boats or people line fishing along the water.

Dave and I enjoyed a beer at the Sunset Point Pub overlooking the Gulf; after buying some fruit and vegies and chicken for tea to cook up in the camp kitchen later.

Now we are in hot hot county we are making sure we stay at caravan parks with swimming pools. Being school holidays in Queensland and a long weekend, we found ourselves being the elders in the caravan park pool along with lots of squealing little kiddies. They are all so funny to watch, and cute.

I went to sleep early because I was so worn out….this life in the Retirement Office is hard work! And aye Karumba, it's good!

Groovy swimming Granny Trish