Day 18 – Karumba to the Junction of the Mitchell and Lynd River (397k)

We left Karumba Point after a breakfast cooked by our hosts at the End of the Road Motel, a very good spot to stay. We refuelled before we left Karumba Point and managed to purchase a replacement swag and sleeping bag for the ones lost yesterday. Our photos were taken by the lady storekeeper who handed out free bags of sweets to Micko and Bruce and Miles scored a free can of Mr Sheen, the best bike cleaner in the world.

We then headed north west from Karumba on the Burke Development Road towards the Mitchell River. We spent most of the day crossing open grassland and woodlands. There was a lot more wildlife than we had seen in the past, roos, emu’s, eagles, brolgas, pigs, a croc, a goanna and heaps of cattle. Fortunately no one hit anything although there were some close shaves.

There was a lot of cattle on the move and yarded at various stations that we crossed and a lot means thousands.
The road was dirt but generally good, although heavily corrugated in parts and we could see where it had been recently flooded with the mud having dried into deep ruts. There were quite a few water crossings although at most the water level had dropped and the crossing was dry. We arrived at our camp site around 3pm and were soon set up for the night.

As we got closer to our destination we considered staying at the nearest accommodation, a resort that quoted $2000 a night per person and a minimum of 2 nights. Even the internet billionaire who is rumoured to be travelling with us balked at that price.

Overall a good day no falls and no injuries although Miles did have a rather terse discussion with a couple of pig hunters who did not appreciate him turning up. Liam turned up from his swim in the river with his bike covered in mud but denied he had fallen off.