Station life

While we have been at the Station, we have been driving back and forward to the homestead and the dusty tracks has covered the car in such thick dust that the original colour is barely visible. In Mareeba, we took the car through the carwash, and it sparkled, but by the time we got back to camp, it was covered in dust again.
Although fast flowing, we have not seen any fish in the McLeod River, other than small ones, as it is too shallow where we are camped.
However, there are red claw, which are similar to freshwater crays or yabbies, and only come out at night. Theo and Emma have had fun wading in the river in the dark with torchlights searching for the little red eyes that glow when light is shone on them. The red claw can move quickly, so you do have to be fast on your feet to catch them. We have enjoyed red claw for an entrée and have also had them as an after-dinner snack basted in garlic butter. A very tasty bush tucker meal, but a bit messy to peel. We have heard of other campers on other campsites that have caught up to 25 easily by hand in one night, but where they were camped, the riverbank was steeper and had overhanging branches where they like to hide.
To get from our camp to the homestead, we pass through 3 stock gates which need to be opened and closed, past a dam, and through a creek crossing. In the past 2 weeks we have noticed that the creek is drying out and we are no longer driving through water. Pretty sure the creek will be dry by the time we leave.
We like to slow down while passing the dam, and sometimes stop to watch the wildlife. Apart from the many cows, there are bush pigs which run off into the bush, some brolgas, cockatoos, galahs, parrots and many different types of birds, ducks and also wallabies. There are apparently lots of dingoes around but we have only seen one. Also have seen some cane toads around the homestead and near the river.
When we arrive at the homestead, we are greeted by the station’s 6 horses that like to stay near the main gate or the house. They are stock horses but have not been used for a while as it is not a working cattle station, although the owner has big ideas to expand the cattle side of things and upgrade the house and infrastructure. He has owned the property since 2017, but he has fingers in other joint ventures with his family. They have several restaurants in The Rocks and Circular Quay. (Google his name for an interesting read!)
We do a firewood run every so often and pick up wood on the ground to take back to camp. Most of our cooking has been on the campfire, which we light about 3pm. Sometimes it is a bit windy until the sun goes down, then we sit closer to the fire and cook dinner on the coals. Apart from one or two bites, there are no insects or flies, although I still spray the insect repellent out of habit.
About 20 minutes from the homestead is Cooktown Crossing, a large river where both the Mitchell and the McLeod Rivers have combined. Curraghmore Station has some paid camping on the side of the crossing, but there is also some free camping on the other side of the river, which we have been told is on crown land and listed in the Camps 11 book and other free camping sites. That side of the river is on Brooklyn Station, the adjoining property, and they don’t seem to worry about campers on their land.
Emma and Theo fished at Cooktown Crossing, but all Theo caught was a tangled web on the bait caster. He wore his ‘El Questro’ singlet, but in the photo, clever Emma had photoshopped it to read ‘El Nofisho’. It was so funny, because he did not notice it until people started commenting on his post.
Back at camp, we cleared some long grass and put the hammock up between two trees. It was relaxing gently swaying and watching the river flow by. We have a lot of time to relax, and we decided to take a ‘funny photo’ which involved both of us sitting in the hammock, back to the camera, topless looking out to the river, using the tripod and Bluetooth.
The photo shot was tasteful and fine, but the funniest part was when I tried to get out of the hammock. I am so uncoordinated. I was laughing so hard that I was not aware that Theo was clicking away still taking photos. Cheeky boy. My legs were heading east and west and the rest was heading south. Goes without saying that those photos have been deleted!
We have travelled about 18 years on outback roads and have never had any windscreen issues, but on this trip, we received one crack and two stone chips on the windscreen, all on the driver’s side while driving on the perfectly sealed Mulligan Highway. Lucky for us we have windscreen replacement on our vehicle insurance. We do not plan to replace it until we need to or have finished driving on unsealed roads, however we have done a temporary patch and hope that it will stop the cracks spreading.Read more