Karumba

Leisurely start to Saturday morning, for the 3-hour drive to Karumba.

We don’t usually book when we travel, but I did book into Karumba as it is a long way to travel if we could not get a campsite, and is a very popular destination for travellers especially grey nomads who spend months up here. Also, there is no free camping in the area. I booked into the caravan park by phone, and we have a ‘premium’ site on the fence for 2 nights at the Karumba Point Sunset Caravan Park.
Looking forward to some sun and sand and sea.

We drove on the Burke Development Road, which runs alongside the railway line used by the Gulflander.
The iconic Gulflander train runs an overnight return trip between Normanton to Croydon once a week, and it provides tourists with an historic journey through savannah country on original and unique termite resistant, heritage listed steel rails and sleepers. The bridges along the line were designed to be submersible, as the area floods in the wet season. Today the line exists as a tourist attraction and is said to be more of an adventure than a train ride. The passengers are treated to morning tea, trivia, wildlife spotting and an overnight stay in Croydon. We stopped at the Blackbull Siding which has been a refreshment stop for the Gulflander since the 1890’s and took a few photos. The train only travels on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so we missed it passing by, as today is Saturday.

We had a brief stop on the way, at the town of Normanton. Normanton started as a port for the Gulf of Carpentaria's cattle industry, and it grew with the discovery of gold at Croydon. The town's greatest tourist attraction today is the historic Gulflander Train, and 'Krys', a replica of the largest recorded saltwater crocodile captured/shot in the world, in 1958 measuring 8.63mts. Back then you could shoot crocodiles, but crocodiles have been protected since 1971.

Normanton is also famous for the Purple Pub, officially known as the National Hotel and partly relocated from Croydon. It is a typical country pub, the one claim to fame (which shows you don't need much to make you famous) is that in the past, a publican painted it purple. Now the 'Purple Pub', as it is known, attracts tourists simply because it is purple and stands out in the town's main street. It is one of the most photographed buildings in the town.

We continued driving on the road for about 70kms to Karumba, passing wetlands with more brolgas that we have ever seen in one spot, arriving in Karumba just after midday.

We visited Karumba about 2 years ago and stayed at the other caravan park, but we think this one is in a better location. We are close to the boat ramp and the small beach, an easy walk to the Sunset Bar, and also to Ash’s café down the road.
Once we were set up and had lunch, we walked over to the boat ramp and beach and spoke to some people fishing from the beach. Looks like this is the place to throw in the line. We saw a young guy with a 70cm barra he had just caught, so ‘El Nofisho’ may finally have some luck here. Finger crossed.

Karumba is a town that revolves largely around fishing. It is home to extensive prawn, mud crab and the barramundi fishing fleets. The Karumba port services the fishing industry and the local Century Zinc Mine.

Australian band Goanna mentions Kurumba in the song "Every Passing Day", and The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Animal Bar" talks about the infamous Animal Bar in Karumba, which had a wild reputation, and at one time, was so wild and unruly that the furniture was bolted to the floor to prevent furniture-throwing. We had a burger at the Animal Bar on our last visit to Karumba, and have to agree, it did look a bit rough then. I do not know the songs but will have to google them.

Luckily for us, there is no furniture throwing at the aptly named nearby Sunset Bar where we went for a drink.
The place is filled with travelers, locals and families today. It is within easy walking distance from our camp.

We walked down to Ash’s for fish and chips for dinner, then over the road to have a drink at the Sunset Bar. We shared a table and a few drinks with Gail, a solo traveler a retired policewoman from NSW who is camped next but one from us and chatted to her for a couple of hours and then we all walked back to the caravan park together.

While at the Sunset Bar, I took a lot of sunset photos. I never get tired of sunsets, and the outback sky is unlike any sunset in the city. The deep reds, yellows and oranges changing by the minute have to be seen to be believed. Once the sun has gone down past the horizon, the sky becomes a soft blend of pastels and is simply unforgettable.
I just keep clicking away trying to capture the beauty and the memory.Read more