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Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998To: studio@toysatellite.org From: Don Pattenden <dpattenden@pegasus.com.au> Subject: Life in Herberton - Part Three
UPDATE Before I continue from where I left off last time, here is an update on my movements. This will probably be the last time for quite a while that I send mail from Atherton, at least until I return here by pedal power which of course won't be for a couple of months. Hopefully the Big Wet will be well and truly over by then. Because I have at last got around to making arrangements to return to Brisbane, to the extent of actually booking my rail fare; departing from Cairns station on Saturday morning (i.e. February 21; 8 AM) and arriving in Brisbane (after sitting in the same seat for two days and one night) on sunday afternoon around 5 PM depending on how late the train is. Not sure yet how long I'll be staying in the Big Smoke, but it will probably be about a week. Not because I like Brisbane, but because I have quite a few boring things to see to e.g. dental treatment (ouch!) and a few repairs to my tent (needs a new zip fastner, though by and large it has stood up fairly well. At this rate I should be on my way north round about, say, early March. With a bit of luck I should be able to send email from Brisbane while I'm there, so that's where my next instalment will be coming from. A bit crazy though because I've still got lots to tell you about Life in Herberton. Now where did I get to? I was just commenting that this "sneaky preview" of North Queensland will not spoil things for me after all - i.e. detract from the adventure of it all when I finally get back here on my trusty bike (which has also stood up to the test very well. I had some maintenance done while here on the Tablelands (a very nice man here in Atherton) and was assured that it was in good shape. I was saying that "All I saw of Queensland through the window of the train was fairly boring farming country, interspersed with nondescript bush." Continuing:- So when I make the journey by bike, keeping to the coast as much as I can, it will still be a great adventure seeing and exploring places I've never seen before. In fact nothing at all will seem familiar to me until I arrive finally up here (Atherton/Herberton & surrounds) and recognise it as a town I've spent quite a bit of time in. I'll be able to say "Here I am at last, back in the Atherton Tablelands, my old stamping ground. I got here. I know where I am." So all in all, it's going to work out well, even though it's all a very long way from my original plans. Another good thing about this interlude is that I've been able to get some wense of the country I'll be passing through when I move on from here, on the next leg -- through the Gulf country to Darwin. And I've been able to do quite a bit of planning of the route I'll take on that leg. [Even so I have to keep on reminding myself that I'm much closer to Darwin here than I am to Melbourne. And that this is the furthest north I've EVER BEEN on the Australian mainland. The only time I went further north was when I travelled overseas for my first and only time, by ship -- back in 1962] Also I'm much closer to the Northern Territory here than I am to Victoria. Sometimes it's hard to really believe that, though the climate should be enough reminder. And while I can't exactly claim that the NT border is "just down the road" the Gulf Savanna as it's called is not all that far. In fact Normanton is only 600 odd km from here. And Normanton is in turn just 70km for the Gulf itself (i.e. the Gulf of Carpentaria). I've been studying maps since I've been here and looking particularly at a very interesting book called "The Great Top Road". This is the "road" through the gulf country from Normanton to Mataranka (where the Australian classic "We of the Never Never" is based and was written. I'm looking forward to visitting the museum and cemetary there. This book ("The Great Top Road") has just about persuaded me to change my plans. I had been intending to go the other way, i.e. opt for tyhe sealed road via Cloncurry, Mount Isa, Camooweal and Daly Waters. Naturally I always prefer a sealed road option, other things being equal. Because, in spite of it's grand title, "The Great Top Road" is dirt just about all the way. It goes through Burketown, Boroloola and Cape Crawford. That is 700 km of dirt from Normanton to Borolloola. That's one hell of a lot of dirt!!! But it's still a "short cut" compared to the Mount Isa alternative. Every time I ride on a dirt road with my laden bike (and I've done it quite a few times now) I end up saying "never again"!! Yet here I am actually considering letting myself in for 700 km of it. What a sucker for punishment!! Am I a sucker for punishment or what? But it does pass through some amazing country, not like anything I've ever seen before judging by the photos in the book. I'll need to get some accurate information about the road surface as well as about camping facilities along the way, but I've just about convinced myself. Doesn't time pass quickly when one is sitting at a keyboard. Where did that last hour go? I'll continue this when I get to Brisbane. Don. |