Day Forty Four - August 19th, 2013
Yungaburra to Undara
Aboriginal meaning of Undara - 'long way'
I really didn't know what to expect as we headed away from Yungaburra and towards Undara. This was clearly Outback territory, and the real start of our long journey west. Luckily, we didn't encounter any road trains, which eased me into the long stretches of 'nothingness' we'd been warned about. The scenery was spectacular, but there are certainly fewer vehicles on the roads out here. Most of the ones we have passed travelling in the opposite direction have given a friendly wave; a sign that it's going to get tougher. We drove the 200 or so kilometres smoothly, and turned down the unsealed road towards the Undura Lava Caves and the only accommodation in the area. We saw a large amount of burnt bush land on either side of us as we neared our destination.
We pulled into the car park and got out to have a look around. The site doubles as a camping area and a place to leave your car or campervan for the day while you take one of the tours out to the lava caves. We were helped at reception, and booked in for a night (unpowered, $24). The lady behind the counter explained the various different tours, and let me know it's the only way to see the caves. At $52 per person for 2 hours, we're not convinced. We settled into our spot (after being back to change our allocated position under the pretence of it not being shady enough, but actually because it was too far from the loos and too close to 'snakey looking land') and went almost immediately to the pool (to where I wore my sturdy walking boots, just in case). The whole campsite is massive, and there are kangaroos hopping about happily everywhere you look. They are very relaxed about humans and stick around to have their photo taken. It was so hot, we both went straight into the pool, and whiled away the hottest part of the day reading by the water. We came across a couple we'd met in Mossman, and chatted with them. Once the sun started to cool off a bit, we laced up again and headed out for a walk up to the 'Bluff'. We signed the 'walking book' at reception - a requirement for anyone going out walking with a time of departure and route - and headed off. Once we'd climbed to the top, we had the most spectacular view of the treetops, and could see that the campsite was the only piece of civilisation for miles around. We followed the loop back around, and completed our rambling 2.3km bush walk.
By this time we were feeling peckish, and had decided we wanted to stay another night, so headed to reception for supplies and to extend our visit. We found a bag of frozen veggies and a tin of chicken and sweet corn soup (for Elly), and proceeded to make a rice based dish incorporating all those elements. It didn't turn out too badly - I think we'll eat anything these days.
I used the archaic pay phone to call Mum and Angus to let them know we'd be out of cell signal for a few days. Who knew they still existed?
We'd been told at reception about nightly events that happen between 8 and 9pm, which include bush yarns and night walks. Unfortunately for us, tonight happened to be campfire singing. We'd sat down in the worst possible place - right at the front next to the lady leading the group with her guitar, and had no escape. Elly was handed a shaker, and that was that. 60 minutes of singing along to a lot of Aussie songs we didn't know, being taught actions to accompany the words. The 'grey nomads' (older travellers) loved it, but I don't think we'll be going back in a hurry. We chatted to another couple in the bar (made our of old railway cars) and headed to bed. Up early tomorrow - apparently we'll be woken at 5.30am by kookaburras!