Well we are now on our way into The Outback.  We stopped off for a short stop at the Hot Springs & hot they were!  I put my toe in and quickly withdrew it.  Very Hot!  You could make a cuppa with it!

Inot Hot Springs

Inot Hot Springs

Morning Tea was to be at Mount Surprise.  Actually Steve had his own surprise here.  He was in the lead & knew we planned to stop for a break here & we told him it was not a big place but he nearly missed it - looking for a shop, he suddenly realised he was heading out of town again.  (Mount Surprise is probably all of  500m from in to out)!

The Savannah Way - the main highway west
to the Normanton & Karumba

Mount Surprise

The Old Post Office & Telegraph Station
Mount Surprise

Terry & Steve at Mount Surprise Railway Station

 

 

The Savannah Way
(The main highway west to the Gulf of Carpentaria)

 

The distance from Ravenshoe to Karumba is approx 630km.  Our first overnight stop was at Croydon.  The main highway west is at best one lane each way and for much of it, the road is only one lane which means when you meet a vehicle coming the other way, each vehicle has to move over with 2 wheels on and 2 wheels off the road.  This is fine except that the highway also caters for Road Trains and when you meet one of these you have to move off the road completely - not always easy when towing a caravan!  The first Road Train that we met was when I was driving - slowing down as much as possible and moving onto the sloping sandy verge is pretty bumpy and a bit nerve-racking & guess what - Tezza slept right through it!

A Road Train can be up to 50m long