Boodjamulla, or Lawn Hill as it has been know for decades, is really stunning. The combination of cruising the middle Gorge, swimming in the stunning waterholes, walking to the top of the Gorge to look down on the grandeur, and simply soaking with a noodle to keep us afloat while we chat to others, makes this place one of the best. But we were disappointed with the restaurant at Adels Grove.
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting there
Normanton > Burke & Wills Roadhouse (192km) > Gregory (145kms) > Adels Grove (88km) > Total of 425kms 🙂
Day 0 – the long drive
It was long day ahead as Kerry took us out of the park at 7.20 – 192km to Burke & Wills Roadhouse to the south, then turn to the west. About 60km into the trip it’s a rough old road, the Bourke Development Rd, increasingly narrow. Bush scrub on either side. Then we are out of the scrub with just grasses to all horizons, and into the pattern of good wide roads, followed by single centre-strip lane.
At 100km out, a few small hills emerge, and we cross one. But they disappear as quickly as they came. We stopped for tea/coffee about 30km from the Roadhouse.
On the way, to help pass the time, we counted the vehicles that came against us and those that overtook us. There were 7 against us and 2 overtook us. We got to the Burke and Wills Roadhouse at around 10am so overall a pretty good trip. We still had 3/4 tank so we didn’t need to refuel.
From there we were on the Wills Development Rd, with 145 to Gregory Downs and a total of 233kms to Adels Grove. Just when we thought the road was great, 35km in we were down to a bumpy single centre-strip lane.
On the way we saw a baby emu racing across the road in front of us, and about halfway we came across a muster – 4 or 5 men on horses and a motorbike mustering cattle across the road. There were cattle everywhere and a chopper, horses, dogs and quad bike. All very exciting and we caught some if it on video – click here. The strong language when Des would not come to a stop has been omitted from the video
Close to Gregory, the road is also the emergency airstrip painted just Iike a runway. We got to Gregory at 11.50. The vehicle count for this section was against us 57 vehicles and overtaking us 1. Increasingly the majority of vehicles are RVs.
At Gregory we filled up with diesel at a rate of $1.699/L. This set our current record price, nosing the $1.61/L at Normanton into second place.
The road to Adel’s Grove is such a mix. The first 20km or so is good bitumen, and from there it’s good gravel, bad gravel with corrugations, and the worst are the broken bitumen sections. The mine, which is on a turnoff to the left about 2/3 of the way along, used to maintain the road but now it is progressively breaking up. I assume this is the left-over and neglected road that used to be the main ingress to the Century Mine – pity they didn’t fix it before they departed. At times we are down to 40-50kph. It’s a long 95km in and not at all enjoyable, but we got there and we agree there was no real reason to stop us bringing Mobi in.
There is just so much red dust swirling around the back of the car and all around the van though, especially after being caught behind that grader …. I’m getting increasingly concerned about the cleaning job about to hit us (me).
Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NP
Aboriginal occupation dates back at least 17,000 years and may extend beyond 30,000 years, possibly the longest continual occupation of an area in Australia.
The brochures tell us that Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park is one of Queensland’s most scenic. And we would have to agree. The park features spectacular gorge country, sandstone ranges and World Heritage fossils.
The Gorge – in fact 3 gorges – is formed by Lawn Hill Creek, which is fed by numerous freshwater springs from the limestone plateau to the west. Sandstone cliffs line the gorge, emerald waters sparkle in the sunshine, and the vegetation is lush.
The spring water and surrounding vegetation attract an abundance of wildlife. The Waanyi Aboriginal people retain strong cultural ties with the park and because of this the lower gorge is not open to the public.
Pastoral pioneers brought the first cattle to the Lawn Hill Creek area in the 1860s. But this was soon followed by an outbreak of ‘Gulf Fever’ (a type of typhoid fever) that caused many graziers to leave the area.
Over the next century several graziers became leaseholders of the land until the famous ‘cattle king’ Sebastiao Maia arrived from Brazil. In 1976, he took over the lease of Lawn Hill Station that had grown to 11,000km2, and was one of the largest cattle stations in Queensland. In the early days Lawn Hill Station became the largest fauna sanctuary on leasehold land in Queensland. In 1984, Maia surrendered 12,200ha of Lawn Hill Station to the Queensland Government for a national park.
The Waanyi Aboriginal people now own 50 per cent of Lawn Hill Riversleigh Pastoral Holding Company.
The Park – Adels Grove
This is a really lovely bush camp – could have stayed for a while. As we were reliant on solar, there being no power, they gave us a site on the upper level rather than in the very shaded Grove. All sites are dirt, as we expected, with no power or water. So we don’t get a lot for our $35 a night. The park was only about 10% full.
After setting up we had a look around. The Grove is great for camping, although Kerry worries about mozzies. The swimming hole is amazing – a vast expanse of deep water, with a resting platform just off shore, and groups of water lillys on the other side. Noodles are provided (for a gold coin donation to the Royal Flying Doctors Service). There are also canoes to use. We swam there quite a lot but not that day as we were exploring.
We followed the waterhole around and found a shallow section for the very young or elderly. Then we found the bar and had a drink (yes, singular).
With all good intentions, as it was Des’s birthday, I had booked a table at the restaurant, specifically saying no buffet, we wanted to order a la carte.
When we arrived, I spoke to the lady in the office about dinner and asked if was there some way I could get a cake or dessert for Des’s 70th. She said she would get the cook to do something nice.
So we went down to the restaurant at the time suggested – 6:45pm, ordered drinks and sat down. What I didn’t realise is that we had already paid for their standard dinner and I was told that that’s all they offered anyway. There is no a la carte. Each day the 2 meals on offer for the night are written on a whiteboard at the office. Guests get there at 7 and queue up to have their choice served to them. Choose wisely as this is not a smorgasbord.
I asked for a bottle of shiraz but was told that they did not have one. I had to settle for a NZ merlot – I just can’t drink anything cab sav – does strange thing to my system.
So, our options for dinner were BBQ chicken or a beef curry. We both choose bbq chicken which absolutely had been nowhere near a BBQ – it was tough and tasted more like stewed apricot chicken with vegetables. We had to queue up for this – table by table. Terrible. It was meant to be a lovely birthday dinner!
Then the cook brought out a piece of sponge cake with a sparkler lit on top. I got 2 bowls of vanilla ice cream which was the best part of the meal.
Des was very disappointed. He likened it to his time living in England – the Bultins Holiday Camps – and was stunned that such an expensive resort could get away with this. Incidentally Des is Irish and his time in England was pre the family move to Australia.
Day 1
Warm start to the day – it’s going to be hot. We walked around the camp – it is a big place – before going into the NP for the Gorge Cruise. This is provided by Adels Gorge at $37.50pp.
We got there and followed the signs. But there was no sign for the cruise so we walked down to the canoe hire fellow who directed us back up to a pathway that we had walked past but was hard to see. We were early and watched person after person do just what we had done – look around fruitlessly for a sign and then go to the canoe man. It would be so easy to put a sign up – “Gorge Cruise Here”. I have to say that this may be National Parks territory – not to do with Adels Grove, although they seem to be heavily involved. The signage throughout north-western Queensland has not been good so far.
The cruise was great. It was on an electric boat with a Savannah Guide – this means that the guide had studied the area and its culture and had been assessed by his peers before accreditation. We also had these guides at Undara and Cobbold and they certainly know their stuff.
The archer fish are a common species and while waiting for the cruise to cast off we were very amused as they shot water at us.
Initially we are in quite section of water with wooded banks, but then we approach the entrance to the middle Gorge with its stark sandstone bluffs on either side. We are told the water is from a spring.
From there, it is a lovely trip up the gorge as our guide points out the unusual flora – some occur in few other parts of Australia. There are freshwater crocs but these are not common. And they don’t attack humans (usually).
The cruise is not long, taking us as far as Indarri Falls. This is where the water from the upper Gorge drops into the middle Gorge in a spread of water falls. Most we can’t see because of the Pandanus Palms, but there are 4 or 5 little falls – about 2m high – that are clear of vegetation and as we watch some people are swimming up to them and getting under the water.
It is a lovely trip back and although we don’t know it, we are looking up at the track we will take tomorrow.
We had our sandwiches at the Park Information area then walked to the Cascades. It’s only 2km all up and is a really nice walk, especially at the start as we cross the Creek on a bridge and then through a beautiful forested area with some magnificent trees.
The Cascades is an area with tufa formations – tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate – not as in rain precipitation, but in the chemical way. It often forms around a tree branch or root and we saw examples of this. This material has formed a series of small shaped pools and little cascades – really pretty. Our guide told us that the calcium builds up at the rate of 25mm a year. They have to replace all their pipes every couple of years – just rip them out and replace them.
On the return, we had seen a lot of fish, some quite large when we came across the bridge. I saved a couple of figs to toss to them on the way back. So many fishies, mainly grunters and archer fish, but then this absolutely massive catfish emerged – beautiful golden colour with pale blue/sliver tips on the fins…. The littler fish seem so much quicker though to get food. A feeding frenzy occurred.
Later we went back to our “pool” for another wonderful swim.
Day 2
We are up early as I am going for a walk in the Park, before Kerry and I go back for another walk. I am going in to the Island Stack, 4km but featuring a very steep ascent to the plateau and then the descent at the end. It’s a loop walk around the top of a rock outcrop with a flat top, overlooking the gorge country below. It’s like a mini, very mini, Kings Canyon.
At the Park, there are many people around, and it’s well before 8am. The walk up to the Stack is steep, but if you take you time you will get there. Stop for a breath and a drink of water.
At the top it is brilliant. I could see up the gorge we were in yesterday from one vantage point. Further around I was right over a Gorge looking down from a height. Brilliant. Then around the other side there are views to the Constance Ranges and over the park. I really enjoyed it all.
I did the walk quickly so that I could get back and collect Kerry for the next walks before the heat of the day kicked in. On the way back to Adels Grove, I came to a grader that had just started up. The dust!!! This is recorded on our video – click here.
We were back at the Park by 10am, and wanted to do both the Duwandarri Lookout and the Indarri Falls, but there are 2 ways to do both. Firstly to walk along the Creek and then take the very steep walk directly to Duwandarri Lookout. Or to walk to Indarri Falls and then to the Lookout on a longer walk, and therefore a less steep climb. All the people we had spoken to said to go around the easy way and come back the lookout once you have had a swim. It was a reasonable temperature when we set off, so I thought bugger all that – lets get the hard bit over with…. so we did. It was so much better – and I have to say easier too – the steep bit going up would have been a lot harder coming down.
Kerry insisted on the steep walk – the “lets get this over with asap” approach. I agree and up we go. It is steep but nothing like say Kings Canyon. The view is great – right down into and along the gorge we cruised up yesterday. Beautiful.
From there we went on towards the Falls. The track takes us down into a gully then back up to the top of the gorge. Nobody said we had to climb to the top twice! But the views as we worked our way around were well worth the climb.
As we walk we can get to the edge of the top of the gorge for great views down.
The views from the Indarra Lookout are sensational – this is where the water from the top gorge tumbles into the middle gorge. Although we only see a little of the waterfall, it is the iconic view view of the Park.
We walked down to the falls, or at least to the bank opposite the falls where there is a swimming platform. Already there is a young couple who are mesmerised by the fish that are clustering below therm as they feed them crumbs.
We tell then about the Archer fish as they try holding up food and sure enough the fish squirts a stream of water at the food. These fish are so funny – literally spitting water very strongly at anything that looks like food to make it drop into the water…. Lucky we had the waterproof camera – their spits were incredibly accurate and they thought the red camera was food.
Kerry is quickly in for a swim and over to the waterfalls to drift under the water. I take in the underwater camera. A canoeist crosses the water. This is amazing.
After a while we got out for our lunch. Kerry can’t help but drop crumbs to the fish and soon there is a mass of fish fighting for the crumbs. I got the underwater camera and hung it in the water to capture the underwater frenzy. To see the video, click here.
As I picked up my backpack, i saw out of the corner of my eye that one of my walking shoes was resting on a spare strap that every back pack has. As I picked up the pack I saw the shoe tumble into the water. So in I went to rescued the shoe and sock. A good laugh all around. Cant believe this happened – lucky they are lightweight walking boots – as the other lady said – might as well have a wet shoe if you’ve got one wet sock….
From there it was a 900m walk to the carpark. Then back to the wonderful water hole at Adels for a soak. Another couple joined us and we talked for a good while cooling off and enjoying this unique part of the world. Again, I was so happy we did the steep climbs first – we were cool from the swim (Des more than me thanks to the wet sock, shoe and recent rescue). The walk back, although lunch time, was really pleasant.
So that was it for Lawn Hill or Boodjamulla as it is now called. We have been looking at this place for a year now, checking out websites and photos, reading other people’s blogs and dreaming of getting there. We have 3 days there and then drove away with our memories and photos. It seems so disproportionate. I guess so much of a trip like this is the same – the expectation growing through the planning, the actual short time there, and the memories and photos.
Despite the restaurant problems of Adles Grove, we absolutely loved our time at Boodjamulla. A very, very special place.
Photos from this post ca be seen at: click here
The video from this post can be seen at: click here