Start me up........eventually!

Burketown, Gulf of Carpentaria, Middle of Nowhere, Outback QLD

Saturday 20th - Tuesday 23rd August

We made it to Doomadgee via the alternate Savannah Way route (which was a great road). We were making good time and thought we’d easily make it to Hell’s Gate Roadhouse for the night. The starter motor had other plans for us though! After filling up at the Doomadgee Roadhouse the car would not start!!!!! We sat blocking the bowsers for half an hour trying to work out what to do (it was Saturday afternoon, the local mechanics had gone to Brisbane for a week and we were reluctant to call RAVQ as they’d tow us to the closest mechanic but we first needed to find out who had a starter motor available as we didn’t want to spend weeks sitting in an Outback town waiting for one to be delivered). As the guys from the Roadhouse got ready to tow us out of the way (we were bad for business), Daniel tried the car and it started! We now had to quickly decide whether to drive the 5 hours to Mt Isa (where we thought we’d have more luck getting a starter motor) or try Burketown which was only 90kms away. After a few phone calls to auto parts stores in Mt Isa we discovered that there were no Landcruiser starter motors in town and it would take 5-7 business days to get one in (once they ordered in on Monday). We decided to try our luck in Burketown….and lucky we were. When we finally got to talk to the mechanic on Monday morning, we were pleasantly surprised (well actually ecstatic) to learn that he had a starter motor, and he could put it in on Tuesday!

We spent a few days filling time (there is not much to do in Burketown without a car) and by the time Tuesday came around we were starting to get bored. The kids made the most of the double basketball courts, which they used for roller skating and roller blading, we visited the library, played pool in the pub, the boys had a fish off the bridge, we walked up to the hot bore (that has now created wetlands) and we relaxed at camp and tried to stay cool. It was quite hot and there was no pool, so we were grateful to have power to use the air con in the van. The little green tree frog that lived in the ladies toilet kept us amused - each morning Emilia went to find where it was hiding.

We rolled out of Burketown Caravan Park early afternoon on Tuesday, happy to be on our way ($1200 poorer but the situation could have been a lot worse). We got about 5 minutes down the road when Daniel noticed the car was lacking power – he put his foot down on the accelerator but the car just wouldn’t pick up speed. We reluctantly turned around and went back to the mechanic. We had to check into the caravan park again as the mechanic wasn’t sure how long it would take him to fix the car. So about 20 minutes after we left, we were back again! We cranked up the aircon and just waited. We really didn’t want to spend another night in Burketown as we were running out of time to get over to NT, where we had nights booked in a few national parks. Finally at about 4.30pm the car was fixed and we left (again). We drove until about 6pm then found a gravel pit on the side of the road to camp. It wasn’t ideal but at least we’d be able to cross into NT the next day.

I don’t think any of us will be rushing to get back to Burketown any time soon!!

Broken down at the bowsers at Doomadgee :(

The Burketown Bore was the only 'attraction' in Burketown that we could reach by foot. It was drilled in 1897 but the water was unsuitable for drinking or irrigation so it was just left. Over time the minerals in the water built the mound around the bore opening and the surrounding area is now wetlands and home to many birds and animals. The water from the bore is so hot (68degC) that it was steaming which looked great in the morning and evening sun.

The bubbling Burketown Bore.

Jackson's hair was getting a bit overgrown (it has a life of it's own in this video) so Daniel gave him a haircut, shaving off the sides so his mullet (his pride and joy) stands out more!