Day 81: Fri 15 Jul - Burketown
10 (felt like 4.6) to 25 Deg. Another very fresh night and the heater was put to use again this morning when we woke. Who would have thought beanies, gloves and trackies would be needed up here. The wind picked up before daylight; gusting around 35km/hr making it feel much cooler. The wind eventually eased by early afternoon, and without a cloud in the sky, it turned into another beautiful warm sunny afternoon. Greg and I went out for an enjoyable pre-dawn walk out to the Thermal Spring, down some dirt roads and around town before returning for a very relaxing morning in the van. It was the perfect opportunity to spend a few hours planning our route back home - leaving our arrival for as late as possible in August to avoid the cold Canberra weather. At 11:00am, Noel and I drove to a local cafe (the only one in town) for a coffee. Here we struck up a conversation with a young lady who recently moved to Burketown and is thoroughly enjoying her simple life here. From here we drove out to the Albert River Wharf (about 7km) and a couple of nearby historical sites: The Boiling Down Works and The Landsborough Tree. The Boiling Down Works, built from 1891 to 1901, is a heritage-listed works that was built to cure beef in brine for export to Batavia, but it eventually closed. The Landsborough Tree marks the site near the Albert River where explorer William Landsborough established a depot camp while searching for the missing Burke and Wills expedition in 1862. He buried supplies near the eucalypt tree in case the explorers should come up upon it; carving the word "Dig" into the tree. Vandals burnt the tree down in 2002, and in 2009 a sapling was replanted beside the dead tree to replace it. Noel and I then drove across to a fishing bridge across the Albert River 5km on the other side of town where we chatted to an elderly guy who's been coming to Burketown fishing for the past 12 years. He complained that the fishing at this time of year is normally pretty bad due to the colder weather, but this year was the worst he'd ever experienced. From here we drove back past the thermal springs which is amazing to watch bubbling away at a very hot 68deg. The different colours of the minerals that have built up over the many years is amazing. Back at the van, I did a few running repairs to the microwave bracket, re-fueled and started packing to start our trip south towards Julia Creek tomorrow. At a distance of more than 500km, we'll stop at a free camp on the way. Sundowners was had to celebrate an enjoyable and relaxing stay in Burketown, followed by another lovely meal cooked in the Air Fryer - its first run again since Karumba.
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