Due West

Friday 03:

Waking up in the cabin felt weird. Being back in a bed, when if you swing your leg out to one side, you could feel the floor. An unusual feeling. It’s funny how in just a short time – a week to be precise – I have become accustomed to the roof top tent. I oddly missed it. Yesterday, packing it away in a hurry underneath the canopy of the rainforest, when a low passing cloud was shedding its weight lightly down to the ground, meant that the RTT was packed away yet again damp. Knowing this made me slightly anxious in the fact that we were unable to open it up tonight and let it air out from the previous night. Here’s hoping that the heat beating down from the sun as we drive around does not make it sweat too much during the day. Fingers crossed.

A trip to the Cairns botanical gardens for a light stroll around with my wife, who on this morning took it upon her self to become an aspiring photographer and felt the need to take a photo, or two of each and every plant, from the thousand or so on display. However it gave us the chance to slow down and take what was around us in for a change. The last week has made for a lot of driving and we’ve packed a lot into our days. The smell of oxygen rich to the nose as are the pleasant aromas from the flowers and plants on display. If you’re ever up this way, take a look. It’s free, small and quaint. A morning nicely spent.

After a stop to Coles-supermarket, we had calculated we would need food and water supplies to last us seven or so days until we hit Katherine in the Northern Territory. It’s quite a hard task to calculate the amount we would need due to our esky only being 33 litres big. We have worked out not much will fit into it. Before the trip we had bought tupperware containers, and since the trip has started, we have been chopping up our vegetables to fit them in tightly into the containers. It is amazing how much more room you have when you remove the packaging from around your food items. Even doing this, with freezer blocks, milk, and one bottle of frozen water (so there is always a soothing cool drink to refresh the body after these warm days) it is still a puzzle each and every time we go to pack or remove an item from it. Many arguments have arisen from the dam thing. Note to self, next time get a bigger esky!

We found Coles sell a ten litre large container of water for only four dollars. It’s the home brand, but water is water and we’re on a budget. Not only is this particular container far far cheaper than the other brands, it also has a brilliant tap system on it which is fantastic. Some containers you have to stab a hole in the let the container equalize the pressure within, by letting air rush in and replace the void where the water once sat. We have had these in the past, and in a decked out 4wd the last thing we want is water free flowing inside our new canopy. But this type of tap lets air flow in to equalise the container whilst expelling the water from its bow. A luxury in water containers, and everyone else is aware of this. There is only two containers left of it in Coles…… NO! I pick one of them up and it has a hole in it. Water runs down my leg and I bathe the isle in its presence. ‘’Darn you’’ and I put it back to grab the other one. A quick inspection of the other and were all good. Woohoo – we are up one of the needed four for the adventure ahead. Off to the other end of town for another Coles.

“Your killing me” these water containers are a winner…

…and every other grey nomad roaming this country has snapped them up as well. Could Woolworths-supermarket come through with the goods?

We made our way around in a last attempt. We’ve hit the jackpot! They had a selection of ten litre containers, with the good taps! We had struck gold, there was a variety of different shapes and sizes. A variation in price and we found almost the same shape, with the special tap on for a whopping four dollars fifty each. You legend, Woolies!

Uhh ohh, we had not thought about fitting that into the ute. We had another hurdle on our hands. I have been conscious about the weight distribution, over the whole vehicle when designing it and also when packing it. Not sure we could cater for the additional fifty kilos of water in the canopy. See here is the thing with utes, they’re brilliant in the fact that you are able to carry weight in the rear without the need for a trailer – and you can customize them how you please as we have with replacing the tray and building a canopy onto it, making them extremely versatile in the way you can modify them. However, the trays on a dual cab (a utility vehicle with two rows of seats, front and back) generally start above the rear wheel and extend out over it. So the further you have the weight hanging over the rear wheel it can dramatically affect the stability and performance of the vehicle. Some chassis on other makes, that are not as well built as the ‘unbreakable’ hilux, have been known to bend the chassis from this exact problem. So with this in mind, weighting up the rear is not an idea I like. “They have to go in the cab babe”. With a bit of a shuffle, we manage to squeeze three containers in the floor well of the middle seat and two in next to the esky. Mission complete.

Due West took us up and over the Great Dividing Range (which runs the length of Australia along the East coast from the top to the bottom) and onto the Atherton tablelands. Nineteen kilometers of winding roads up. Cath not being the driver felt car sick after the half hour climb. With a quick stop, a breath of fresh air and a view to make your jaw drop we were on again. Through rolling hills of lush grassy cattle fields we could have been in the hunter valley. It made the tight rolling winds of the Gillies Range Rd all the more worth it – truly a spectacular part of Australia.

With a hop and a skip and a few hills later we were in bush country. Dry arid grasslands and burnt trees from past bush fires scared the landscape. We had hit the dry country. There really is not much between the long vast dry country and the ocean, a hill, a mountain or two in between and that is it. A sudden transformation in such a short space. It’s really incredible and saddening to see.

We headed west for the small town of Normanton, where we were told the largest ever recorded crocodile had been found. We both pictured a swampy area. The excitement of greener pastures awaits our thoughts.

Wikicampers is an app Cath downloaded and is used widely by fellow campers and nomads. It has a map of the whole of Australia on it and shows all the camp sites around this beautiful country, including the free ones. We scanned at the road ahead and found a spot just off the road. Upon arrival, we took a four wheel drive track up a dirt track that lead us up onto the top of a hill about two hundred meters from the road. Un-accessible to any normal vehicle. Crikey! What a view, what a spot. It even had a small fire pit someone had made. However, it was too hot for us to have a fire. We quickly set up and got dinner on. The Milky Way slowly came into view, and with no moon tonight, we sat star gazing sipping our cups of tea, enjoying all that the night’s sky had to offer.

Saturday 04:

Morning broke, yet with an unfamiliar site.

It was the moon slowly rising on the horizon, blood-orange in colour and as large as the sun. Eerie, we both turned back over and waited for day to come.

The sun was hot quickly and we’d slept through the alarm. The noise of the highway at night below travelled quickly and although we were pitched far from travellers, the sound of the compression brakes could have been in our bed. The view was just as spectacular in the day and we smiled at the thought of having a hot shower without having to worry about on-lookers.

We’re starting to get a bit of a routine to our mornings and from wake to wander is about 90 minutes. Generally the bugs make it hard to do the washing up after dinner and carrying limited water in our tank– so it’s the washing up and breakfast, pack up the roof top tent, a quick shower – any little maintenance on the car, and check our tyre pressures before we head off. This morning we have the luxury of not having to worry about the shower curtain – with the new sun, showering in the open air is almost liberating. Albeit a bit taboo.

Today we’re heading to Normanton, to check out this big croc! The scenery changes constantly from dry and arid, to green and abundant. Lots of cattle roam these areas, and the smell of a few roadkill turns any strong stomach. Little wallabies roam the area as well – we’re surprised to not see any larger ‘roos. The termite mounds are everywhere, both large and small they fill the landscape. You wouldn’t want to build a house out here!

The road jumps from dual highway with lines, to a single road with gravel either side every 5 or so kilometers. Driving directly towards an oncoming car at 100km/hr on a single lane is a daring prospect – however somehow it’s a normal way of life out here, and you trust as if a game, that they will move over at the same time.

Normanton is a small town just off the Queensland coast, however you wouldn’t know it when you arrive. 32’c as we drive down the main street. It has small amenities – the local pub, corner store, school and hospital. They have a large replica crocodile in the square. At first we think its another ‘large’ object – such as the big pineapple, or big prawn. But this one’s for real! Shot in 1957 by a woman, Krystina Pawlowski, this 8.3m croc is a measurable replica of the original beast. He’s huge! You wonder what sort of river would house this great giant.

We leave Normanton and on a course that continues west. Finally we hit a dirt road. I pull over and pull out my tyre deflation tool. We lower our pressure down to 54psi in the rear and 30psi in the front. Continuing on and I stop a few more times continually dropping the rear tyre pressure to a point where it is comfortable. 45psi in the rear. The road is a pleasant surprise to drive on. Our old suspension would throw us from left to right, and with every bump a shudder would make its way up your spine. The new suspension set up is spot on, were gliding along. Driving the corrugated roads is rather pleasant in comparison to the older set up we had. A smile fills my face, “we’re dialed in babe!’’

A field of termite mounds blooms in front of us. An amazing sight to see. Out for a picture at this natural wonder. Around the next corner and we are hit with a road filled with bulldust. The road trains ferrying cattle to the slaughter house has shredded up the track. With a constant ploom of dust in the wing mirrors we make way slowing at every section of it.

Our goal is Lawn Hill, just inside the QLD border – and as the temperature warms, we continue to find camp.

As the sun sets, more wallabies come out to play – and we need somewhere to camp. We find a small spot on the side of the road, where we are silently relieved there is another camper about 200m to the south of us. You can do everything possible to make yourself as self-sufficient as possible – but there is still a humbling when another camper is around.

The bugs are ferocious out here and we set up quickly. The sun sets again sans-moon and we cook and eat dinner quickly. The heat of the day tires you quickly and we’re ready for an early night. These bugs however are relentless and make our routine a frustrating one – even under a dull red light to try and deter them!

The night’s have been hot the past few days as we trek in-land, and we finally get to use all the window’s on the RTT, including the skylight. Staring up at the stars as you lay in bed is surely a priceless feeling.

A wallaby finds a piece of our dropped potato in the night, and crunches loudly as if it just struck gold – the road however is quiet and morning breaks seemingly quickly.

Our sleeps for the past few nights haven’t been solid due to our natural instinct to keep one eye opened incase of danger, or bugs.

Sunday 05:

We wake early today as we try and get ahead of the flies. Nice idea. We wash up, pack our Steed and quickly get on the road to Lawn Hill – Adel’s Grove. An apparent oasis in the Desert. We can’t wait.

The Cooks.