Sept 4...Fathers Day

It is our last day in Karumba and I have found this to be a really special place, so I thought I would record some of the things that made it such a wonderful week.
Each morning I wake up and all I can see is vivid blue sky through palm fronds; and each night we finish with a movie in bed and a view of the stars through the same fronds. It is so tropical here and the mornings always start so beautifully cool. Around 8am an easterly breeze starts and this changes to a cooler westerly coming off the water around midday. So despite regular temperatures of 35 degrees, most days here have been relatively pleasant, and there is always the pool to cool off in.

My view from bed each morning

Sunset Point Park

Garry and I are enjoying a great Fathers Day, doing all the things he loves! So, first thing we were off to the markets!!! Fortunately for him they were very small but I still managed to find a few things.

The waterhole near town

The markets in front of the hotel

From there we went for a walk out of town to the waterhole at which we saw so many birds and kangaroos the other day.It was pretty hot and there was not much to see today except the odd kangaroo, a few kingfishers, some waders, lots of ducks and a group of brolgas which flew over...and dozens of whistling kites. These seem to be the main birds up this way and their whistling call can be heard wherever you are. They are quite big birds but for size, it is the brolgas in flight that impress the most.

Kingfisher

Brolgas in flight

Walking back into town we passed another of the "rattle" trees. These are quite common in the north and when the wind blows their seeds pods rattle and they make quite a noise. We went via the hotel for a coffee with fresh donuts before heading home for me to record and submit my French assignment.

Close up of the "rattle" tree

Enjoying a coffee overlooking the Gulf of Carpentaria

It was just fabulous sitting on the foreshore and looking out across the river mouth and the Gulf of Carpentaria. As we sat there we noticed a family of brolgas perusing the beach for a snack; colourful little kingfisher birds darting about; and a nesting whistling kite in the tree above us.

Brolgas on the sea shore at low tide

Whistling Kite with chicks

Rainbow Bee Eater

This has been such a wild and inhospitable area to the white population during the past hundreds of years and now it is so civilized and lovely, with palms and flowers everywhere, and all your needs catered for including fresh bread and flights to Cairns. The only small inconvenience has been that the papers are irregular, days late or don't come at all, but the radio reception is good, and mobile phone coverage and the internet are both perfect. So we may be 2685 kms from Brisbane but we are certainly not doing it tough.

We returned to the hotel for a BBQ seafood lunch and some cold drinks around 1pm, just in time to see the haulage ship negotiate the channel. The food was delicious with fresh squid, mussels, scallops and prawns which were more like mini lobsters. Not bad for $15. But my favourite food here has been the barramundi which has been so tasty to eat.

Great seafood lunch ... and what a view

Linda and the brolga family

I think the standout feature of Karumba though has been the sunsets. We were lucky enough to be here early in the week when we think there must have been a lot of dust in the air and the whole sky blazed gold at sunset, but since we have seen many other beautiful ends to the day. Amazingly, each one is different and I have to rate them as some of the best we have seen anywhere this trip.

Sometimes it is pink ...

...and some times it adds some yellow

So, what has made Karumba so special ... the birds, the seafood, the beautiful weather, the tropical setting, and the sunsets. Plus it helps that everyone is very friendly and there is a very relaxed atmosphere about the place. I hope we come back here again...and I hope it is just the same.

Sunset over the Gulf of Carpentaria.