Day 36 Croydon to Georgetown

We had two lovely neighbours last night camped in a big dual cab truck fitted out completely for camping with a high tent on the back. Although they were booked in for two nights they started packing things up when we were. It seems that last night the man on the other side set himself up in the caravan with his radio on high volume then carried out a shouting conversation with his wife who was sitting outside with her ipad. She couldn’t hear what he was saying because of the radio so she had to shout back at him. When the radio started up again this morning with “Australia All Over with Macca” they decided they had to move. It was quite a sight seeing the still erect tent going to the far side of the Park on the back of truck.

Although we crossed a multitude of floodways and marked river crossings very few had any sign of water in them at all. Beside the Gilbert River was a free camp which looked great so we stopped to check it out then The Prado Pilot had to deal with one of his favourite bridges – no guardrails and very low edges. The Passionfruit Vine we were told was a terrible weed was growing near the bridge.

We were very surprised to see a very big orchard on the other side of the river, possibly Mango Trees.

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I was expecting Georgetown to be bigger than Croydon but it seems smaller and less impressive. It is Sunday and most places are shut, the Information Centre was open and there is a big display in there of gemstones but I only looked at the displays in the foyer because I didn’t want to spend the money on going in for only a short time. Alex was dogsitting.

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We spent some time sitting in the cool Park beside the Swimming Pool. There were mining relics in the Park left in place after the mine was abandoned in 1941. Back at camp we had a nice refreshing drink then I went for a swim in the pool. If you’re staying in the Caravan Park you can get a free token for entry to the local pool, you need to sign a disclaimer saying you understand there is no Lifesaver on duty. That would have been perfectly clear when I got there, I had the pool to myself. The token opens the gate and when you’re ready to leave you push a button to open the gate and let yourself out.

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After my swim we went up to the Golf Club for a drink but it was shut.

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Tomorrow we’re moving on to Forsayth (posh Edinburgh for Forsyth?) where we could only get a site for 1 night. iIt’s a crazy time caused, I think, by a combination of the usual Grey Nomad migration plus Covid escapees.