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October 8, 2001
Overland Australia - Update 60
October 8, 2001
Day 77
Timber Creek
'Days off'. It must seem funny really. A bunch of people riding their bikes through Australia taking a ‘day off’ from doing so.
Yet a day off, if not two, was what we all needed. Friday the fifth we rode into Gregory National Park’s Limestone Gorge and set up camp for a two day lay over.
While the truck, John, Jason, April, and Git took off for some cattle mustering, Crister, Josh, Todd, Bel, and myself, hunkered down for a two nights stay at the Fly and Crock Bed and Breakfast, otherwise known as Limestone Gorge. There were indeed lots to see and do. There was no real danger being away from the truck. We had the fifty gallon water drum from the truck along with the EPIRB, (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon: which you can learn more about on our i.t. educational update), so if anything was to go wrong we would be able to contact the necessary people.
We were able to swim in what was called a Billabong but what was really a dead tributary known as Limestone creek. The swimming hole was no more than 100 metres away from the croc-infested East Baines river. A river in which Limestone Creek fed during the wet. It still amazes me that while we were swimming in this beautiful, crystal clear oasis, just a few blocks down the road Saltwater crocs were feasting on the same Barramundi fish we were trying to spear.
We took in all that Limestone Gorge had to offer. Some great hikes that showed off some of the Gorge’s most sought after attractions. One hike was that of the Calcite flows - one of the main statements that represent the making of the Gorge itself. That, along with the Tufa Dams gave us quite a rich understanding of what an important and wonderful site Limestone Gorge is to Gregory National Park.
However in the fly infested, 38 C days, we found that most of our time was spent fully submerged, much like a croc, in the Limestone Gorge Billabong. Climbing up trees that hung to the waters edge and diving into the clear thirty feet deep water hole waiting for the sun to go down so that there would be no more flies to deal with, or just swimming around watching the many different varieties of fish in the Billabong.
Due to the weather and the local wild life our days off were quite regimented. To that effect, I would like to speak for the biking group that had two days off playing around in Limestone Gorge and say that “The group, though looking like a bunch of water logged prunes, had a somewhat restful time in Gregory National Park and is quite ready to get back to biking a few kilometres to Darwin.
If you would like to learn more about Limestone Gorge please go now to our educational site for more in-depth and serious write ups.
Mick
* Aboriginal place-names for the day:
WALGEEMARRBIMCARING: A Place where Crows stole the Meat and carried it Away
QUANDIALLA: A Porcupine
DENILIQUIN: The Headman of a Local Tribe who is said to have killed the First White Man he Met
GOORINGAMBONE: Hair growing out of the ears
WASHIMBERRIBIN: A Flying Squirrel
YAMADAGOOLBURRA: I Understand You
COOTAPATAMBA: Where Eagles Drink
COONKIE: Place of the Evil Spirit
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Posted on October 8, 2001 3:32 PM