12 June 2002

I got up at the crack of dawn the next morning and started packing up our camp at Mary Pool.  We got caught by the heat, but at length the kids had said farewell to their friends from Mount Isa and we were trundling down the Great Northern Highway highway again.  We drove 180 km north-west to Fitzroy Crossing, and stopped in town for additional supplies.  This town is located on a mighty river, and has a large Aboriginal population.

We drove on to Geikie Gorge, where we set out on the walk along the limestone reef that runs along the river.  Much of the national park had been inundated in the last huge wet season.  The main gazebo had been 2m underwater at one stage.  The walk was fascinating but rather hot.  We carried a large, insulated water-cooler as well as two 1-litre drinking bottles, and managed to finish it all off by the time we returned.  We had lunch in the shade of a tree.

After lunch we went on a 1.5 hour cruise up the Gorge.  There were many freshwater crocodiles, and beautiful limestone formations that were formed in a reef that, millions of years ago during the Devonian period, once lay at the bottom of an ocean.

At the end of the day we returned to Fitzroy Crossing where we booked into a huge caravan park – the only one in town.  We set up for a short stay, and Susan and I stayed up and worked out how to play the Warumpi Band song called Fitzroy Crossing on the guitar.