Day 68: Sat 2 Jul - Mount Surprise to Cumberland Historic Chimney

Day 68: Sat 2 Jul - Mount Surprise to Cumberland Historic Chimney

Towed 104km of total 5,768km towed


(Delayed post as we had no phone or internet reception today)


18  -  24 , Rain fell steadily overnight, and thankfully it cleared by daylight. We even got a beautiful red sky for about a minute - luckily I was looking in the right direction at the time. It stayed overcast for the rest of the day, and started raining again from about 7:00pm. We were on the move again a little before 8:00am heading west along the Savannah Way (Gulf Development Road), which apart from a few stretches of single lane but sealed road and a few minor roadworks, it was very good road. After 84km, we stopped in Georgetown for an early morning coffee and a wonder around town. I’m amazed at how much you can find of interest in the smallest country towns. Georgetown, a historic gold mining town, is a pleasant, sleepy little town on the Etheridge River, and apparently has some of the best gemstone areas in Queensland. From Georgetown, I would have preferred to be turning left towards Cobbold Gorge, but that will have to another trip. Instead we continued west towards our original destination the Gilbert River Campground. However, about 20km out of Georgetown we stopped for a look at the History Cumberland Chimney just off the main road. It appeared such a lovely place to camp so we decided to stay for the night instead of continuing to the Gilbert River. This donation campground has some lovely grassy areas where we secured a prime spot located next to an old Gold Mine Pond, now a lovely dam with an abundance of bird life and other critters. In its day, the Cumberland Mine was the largest and most successful of the gold mines on the Etheridge Field. The Chimney built in 1889, and Dam are the only remaining remnants. Soon after setting up, Greg and I set off for a bike ride back along the main road towards Georgetown to pick up some phone reception to let everyone know that we won’t be contactable tonight, but after 8km we couldn’t pick up a signal, so turned around and came back to the vans for lunch. Afterwards, we went for a walk around the pond which appears to be very popular with keen bird watchers. We noticed some parts around the edges of the pond have been badly damaged by wild pigs. We had a quite afternoon sitting outside under the awning relaxing and chatting to each other and other campers before we had our pre-dinner drink, followed by dinner - stir-fried ginger chilli chicken and vegetables with hokkien noodles - still roughing it. By evening the camp ground was full, with some doing laps to find a parking spot for the night. Despite the number of campers here, it is incredibly quiet, apart from the rain falling on the roof.


Beautiful sunrise at Mount Surprise

Sunrise at Mount Surprise

Bridge across the Etheridge River in Georgetown looking east

Across the bridge entering Georgetown - a lovely small town

Stamper Battery beside the Etheridge River which was in operation from 1937 to 1941

War Memorial overlooking the Etheridge River

The Georgetown Peace Monument honouring 'heroes of humanity'

A quiet street in Georgetown

Etheridge Shire Hall built in 1908

The old Pie Shop - In 1884 it started out as a general store and converted to a bakery and pie shop in the 1920s

Old machinery

Thankfully we didn't encounter any of these big beasts

A dry Etheridge River

Mural on the side of a house - 'Pop's Farm'

Butcher shop since the discovery of gold

The Cumberland Historic Chimney 20km east of Georgetown

Cumberland Historic Chimney - all that remains of the old Gold Crushing plant built by Cornish miners built in 1889

Cumberland Historic Chimney

Pardon me - just passing through

The Cumberand Dam, now a popular bird sanctuary where more than 140 different bird species have been sighted

Dry creek bed on the opposite side of the pond

Another local inhabitant spotted on our walk around the dam

...and flora

Plenty of healthy looking cattle grazing, and many more ant hills 

Magpie Geese on the dam

Our camp overnight at the Cumberland Campgrounds

Aerial view (Drone) of the Dam and our camp site

Aerial view (Drone) of the Chimney

Aerial view (Drone) of the Dam

Aerial view (Drone) of our vans


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