Day 10 Tuesday 1st July
Lawn Hill (Boodjamulla) NP to Normanton (400km)

It was even colder this morning...we don't like it!!
We were packed up and on the road by 7.55am!
The road was quite bad for most of the way to Gregory Downs, although the the last 17 km was sealed. We had to wait until then for our coffee because a roadside stop on the gravel section would have been unpleasant......it was windy and dust was blowing around......and it would have been worse if a vehicle had gone past while we were stopped. We saw about 10 caravans going in the opposite direction and loads of Brahman cattle, many, of course, in the middle of the the road!
So, the rest of the way, the road was sealed....although only single lane for some sections.
We stopped for fuel at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse, and then had our lunch at a rest area midway between B & W and Normanton. This is a well-used road train route and we saw plenty of them.
As we were coming in to Normanton we saw a sign....760km to Cairns. Now there's an idea, Dave thought!!! We could go to the coast rather than the desert....after all, we don't NEED to camp in below zero temperatures. Perhaps it might be better to head to the desert in spring or autumn, when the nights are a little warmer....... Hmmmmm.....sounds like it could be a good idea.....after all, we can really go anywhere we choose.
Our first stop was the information centre, and since the assistant there wouldn't/couldn't say which was the better of the two caravan parks in town, we chose the one nearest the station, since we are going on a train trip tomorrow (not that anywhere is very far in a small town).
Perhaps we made the wrong choice. We are in a very poorly-maintained caravan park, but it's not crowded, (obviously), and although it boasts a swimming pool......that also leaves a lot to be desired in the cleanliness department! Give us a basic bush camping spot any day.
After setting up camp we went down the road to the Purple Pub and had a beer.
We did not feel like cooking and found a very good fish and chip shop in town. The river here, the tidal Norman River, boasts high numbers of barramundi, (as well as both varieties of crocodiles......so definitely no swimming!), so we had fresh Barra and chips for dinner. It was very nice.
It was a clear, starry night and definitely not as cold as it has been.