Gulf Track

The Gulf Track

Maps and guides for the Gulf Track region here

The Gulf Track travels along the southern end of the Gulf of Carpentaria, from Queensland to the Northern Territory.

This trip will see you travel around the southern regions of The Gulf Of Carpentaria from Normanton in Queensland westward to Borroloola in the Northern Territory.

The overall distance of the trip will be about 750 km but can be substantially increased if you decide to take advantage of the many places to visit along the way.

Travelling in the dry season between April and October will give you a magnificent trip through some of the wildest and remote country that has Australia has to offer with volumes of historical significance.

Gold was discovered at Croydon, inland from Normanton, in the late 1800's which helped to turn Normanton into a boom town. A railway line was later laid between Normanton and Croydon that still operates. The Gulflander, as it is called, does a regular run each way once a week.

There are many historic buildings in the town and there are several hotels and a council run caravan park.The Albert River is fairly wide and deep at Normanton and offers an excellent opportunity to throw a line in to catch your dinner as fresh as it comes. If you have a boat with you there are launching ramps in town and a large expanse of water to travel.

Having set your trip meter back to zero, the first stretch of the trip sees you picking up the gravel road a little out of town and heading for Burketown.This is bull dust country and you will probably see your fair share, particularly towards the end of the dry season after the road trains have loosened things up a bit.The road is maintained during the dry season so you could strike it on a good day and have a good surface.

Take care on the the creek and river crossings as they could be washed out.About 40 km out of Normanton, just before the Bynoe River crossing, you can take a left turn and visit the historic camp site of Burke and Wills. There are some good camp sites around here on the banks of the Bynoe River.Remember, when you are camping near rivers in this part of the world, that the rivers are most likely crocodile infested so always set up camp at least 50 meters away from the water. Back on the road and heading for Burketown.

There are river crossings along the way but take particular care at the Alexandra River crossing about 150 km west from Normanton as it can be a rough crossing with large holes.Further on you will come to the causeway crossing the Leichhardt River. This is a lovely spot and a good place to camp. If you have time have a look at the Leichhardt Falls. They vary in intensity from a raging torrent of water in the wet season to a mere trickle towards the end of the dry season. Worth a look though all the same.

Continuing on your journey you will see a sign post Floraville Homestead. Here will will find the monument to Frederick Walker, who was a leader of one of the search parties that looked for Burke and Wills after they went missing.230 km west of Normanton sees you arrive at Burketown, situated on the Albert River. In the old days Burketown was Australia's "wild west' gun toting town.

Today it is a hospital and friendly town that welcomes visitors.There is motel accommodation in town as well as camping facilities.It is also an opportunity to replenish fuel and food stocks.There are several historic sights in town as well as a drive towards the coast and Kangaroo Point.Fishing, once again, is excellent and if you have a boat there are lots of waterways to explore.

Offshore are Mornington Island and Sweers Island resorts that also offer fantastic fishing experiences. Both are accessible by light plane that regularly fly from Burketown.If you have the time head out of town south on the Wills Developmental Road for a while and visit the well renowned Gregory Downs Hotel on the banks of the Gregory River and a trip west of there to the spectacular Lawn Hill National Park is well worth while.Having finished your stay in Burketown your next heading will be for Wollogorang.

If you have been down to Lawn Hill National park head back towards Burketown and pick up the road about 30 km west of the town. No need to go back into Burketown.There are several river and creek crossings with a normally reasonable road for about 100 km from Burketown when the road starts to deteriorate a little through scrubby flat country.

From Hell's Gate the scenery becomes a bit more interesting for the rest of your travels into Wollogorang.Wollogorang is a large cattle station that includes the land right up to the Gulf. There is a track from the Wollogorang Homestead that goes up to the Gulf. distance of 80 km. It is slow going but worth it when you get there.

There is a roadhouse on the main road through the station which also has camping and accommodation facilities. You can also pick up any fuel and other supplies you may need.From here going westward you travel up the ranges for a bit and at the top the view becomes quite interesting.

Later on, and further into this leg of the journey you will cross the Robinson River, which is a picturesque spot. However if you decide to camp here you will need a permit from the locals based at the Robinson River Homestead some 15 or so km past the river crossing.

There are also camping facilities further on at Managaroo Homestead, Greenbank Homestead and Seven Emu Homestead. You must make arrangements first before you just set up camp.From here you have less than 60 km to travel till you reach Borroloola on the McArthur River.

This is a historic spot that was originally built in the late 1880's. Whilst the town did fall somewhat into disrepair, it was restored by The National Trust sometime later only to suffer further damage in the 1984 cyclone.Nowadays it is poised for another revival as they have started mining at Bing Bong, a little over 50 km due north on the Gulf.

This is not a bad place to stop for a break as there are all the modern conveniences available as well as charter fishing boats, houseboats to hire and scenic flights over the area.There is a choice of hotel, motel, caravan and camping facilities in town.

From here you can head on up north to the Roper River ( Click here for details of that trip ) or you can head south west for Cape Crawford from where you can either go south on the Tablelands Highway until the junction with the Barkly Highway.

Turning east at this point will take you to Tennant Creek and west to Mt Isa in Queensland.Alternatively you can go due west on the Carpentaria Highway and pick up the north south Stuart Highway at Daly Waters, then north to Darwin via Mataranka and Katherine, or south to Tennant Creek and beyond.

Thanks for visiting,
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