Relaxed and refreshed

Well we left Mount Isa and hit our first dirt road after nearly 2100km. It was to get us to Adels grove, the grove is a private caravan park and camping area situated right on the side of Lawn Hill creek. The NP by the same name is the main attraction. There are two areas intense camp ground, fixed site vans that allow generators and dogs and then there is the grove with no fixed sites but closer to the river and both allow fires. We opted for the second option.

We arrived around 4:30 after popping into the World Heritage Riversleigh fossil site for a quick stop and squiz at some amazing fossils. They were quite you get at 430m years young! The walk around the hill and view from the top was just what we needed after a few hours in the car

Pic of big bird

Pic of panarama from the lookout 

When we got to reception at Adel's it was like we had hit Pitt street with a queue of people waiting to check on in, Queensland holiday traffic had found us!

We found a spot in the grove that was very secluded, so much so when trying to explain to other people we met where we were, we resorted to a general direction and a description of "in the bush that way". It was certainly a nice spot. We finished off the setup with a quick swim in the creek. Lovely and cool but not spanner water at the same time. Left us somewhat refreshed. 

The next morning we were greeted with a sunny day and a pre-breakfast swim. All but Katie was in the water before 7:39 and as it was a spring fed creek no temp change from yesterday!  So it was a quick swim indeed. 

We chilled for the rest of day mixing together a few house keeping duties of washing with another swim. Treated in the afternoon by one of camper lending us their kayaks to play with. The boys did really well and I think it has sealed the deal for their purchase this summer. At the end of a relaxing day we were in bed by 8:30!

We had booked into a cruise of the lawn hill gorge at 2:30 the next day. We headed to the NP around 10:30 which was only a short 12km down the road. We checked out the walks available and decided that something with a swimming option would best suit. We opted for a 1 km walk to Inidira Falls. And what a paradise awaited us. From the pictures below you can see that it was a lovely spot. 

Pic of falls 

During the boys swim they spotted one fish eating another. We just weren't sure how they match as one seemed quite determined to not be eaten. I.e long tom vs zebra fish

On our way back to the car for lunch a

we took a different track home that gave us views from the top of the gorge as canoes cruised down below. The cliff were stunning and has a great echo which Andi was more than proficient at using by the time we got back to the car. 

Impressive walk

We returned for a quick lunch and then off to the gorge cruise at 2:30.  It was a nice balance as it took us up to the same falls as before but in a different way. The cliffs as we went through were peticulary impressive as their reds and ocars came out in the afternoon sun. The other impressive feature was the figs growing on bare rock, with roots exposed and into some reaching the waters surface. 

A pic of a new sapling, it's a grey streak in the middle of the picture.