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The Daintree and Gulf Country...The DaintreeThe Daintree Valley is surrounded entirely by the McDowell Ranges that slopes gradually into rolling green cattle pastures to the edge of the majestic Daintree River. The river always carries a cool breeze, no matter how breathlessly hot it may be elsewhere but this is just the first delight offered to any visitor. The area boasts an abundance of native plant life, birds frolicking and butterflies gaily flitting from flower to flower, and Australia's most prehistoric reptile, the Crocodile basking contentedly in the sunshine on the river mud banks. Daintree's first settlers (and the Douglas Shire), were timber getters (in search of Red Cedar) followed by dairy farmers and then beef but now the town's lifeblood is tourism. Gulf CountryThe Kennedy Highway heads inland from Innisfail or Cairns and passes through Georgetown, (a former "gold town" with some historic buildings), some mining still continues here. The route - part of the extensive Beef road network which stretch across the North of the continent from Mackay to Broome - passes through Croydon and Normanton and another 70 kilometres on, reaches the Gulf of Carpentaria shores at Karumba on the Norman River mouth. Normanton is the main town in the Gulf and has fewer than 1,000 residents. It originally began last century as a port for shipping cattle and wool (although it is 80 kilometres up the Norman River). The wharf is disused today and rotten. Mount Isa is now the principle Centre of the Northwest with road trains now moving cattle. Croydon today has a pub, a store with a shadeless main street and a population of no more than a handful. It is hard to believe that in 1883 when two station hands discovered gold, it was the leader in settling North-West Queensland. Looking around the countryside today, it is difficult to think that 7000 people lived here and there were 20 gold crushers operational. The boom at Croydon was the reason for opening the "Gulflander" railway that turned 100 years old in 1994. The wise people of the 1890's envisioned the Normanton-Croydon line as being the start of a sprawling rail network over the Northwest region. But it did not happen, and today it looks stranded, going nowhere on its solitary track. The "Gulflander" train is a travel-scarred single carriage "rattler", with a top speed of only 40 kilometres per hour. Being an old train it does not have the comforts of most modern trains. Should you want air-conditioning then feel free to open a window. If you want something to eat for the journey take your own food. Rail Motor 74, - the Gulflander's more humble destination - is an essential service in the Gulf Country of North Queensland and one that you should not miss. Leaving from the tin barn, that is the Normanton Station, at 8.30am every Wednesday, it rattles down the single track across flat black soil plains and grasslands without fuss or hurry. The train takes four hours for its 151 kilometres run to today's almost empty town of Croydon. The following day the Gulflander makes the return journey to Normanton. Floodwaters generally cause little damage and when flood levels fall, the track becomes usable almost immediately, ensuring that its' Gulf Country has an important transport service. |
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