Just after 5pm the vehicles turned off the highway onto a graded gravel road. They followed this for about twenty minutes before turning again and going through a wire gate onto a rough vehicle track. This was just two wheel ruts in the grass but was flat and easy to follow. By then the sun was low in the west and already the trees were casting long shadows. Tina found the flickering of the sunset through the trees a bit hard on the eyes. She also realized she had a headache. ‘Not drinking enough water,’ she told herself.
To her relief they came to a stop in a dusty clearing under some large trees. About 50 metres away she got a glimpse through a gap in the trees of a large lagoon. Both vehicles were parked side by side and everyone climbed out.
“Well, this is it: Pink Lily Lagoon,” Mr Creswell announced. He then pointed towards the lagoon and said, “And you kids don’t go and play near the water. There could be large crocs in there.”
“Crocs!” cried Michael in disbelief. “We are hundreds of kilometres from the sea aren’t we?”
“A couple of hundred, yes,” Mr Creswell replied. “But don’t be fooled son. Big crocodiles love to live in lagoons like this one.”
“But isn’t the lagoon freshwater?” Michael queried, still obviously not convinced.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t find saltwater crocodiles in it. Crocodilius Porosus is quite happy to live in freshwater,” Mr Creswell explained.
“But this is a lagoon isn’t it? How do they get here?” Tina asked.
“Yes it is,” Mr Creswell replied. “But it is part of the river system and crocs are really just big lizards.”
“Saurians, Dad,” Michael said.
Mr Creswell snorted. “Don’t be a smart arse Michael. They have four legs and they walk around. You find them hundreds of kilometers from the sea. So just be careful.”
Tina stared anxiously at the now sinister looking waters of the nearby lagoon and noted the reeds and water lilies and shivered. ‘What lurks in there?’ she wondered. Resolving to be very wary she turned and began helping her parents to unload their vehicle. Then there was the family tent to set up and here she had plenty of experience and was able to make herself very useful. It gave her mild satisfaction that they had their tent up with much less effort and well before the Creswell’s had erected theirs.
Cooking was then begun. While the parents set up the camp Michael and Aiden both went to look at the lagoon. That got Tina anxious so she strolled over to keep an eye on them, making sure to keep well back from the edge of the water.
While she stood there Tina admired the sunset and then scanned the water for birds. There were plenty but they had retreated away from the vicinity of the campsite. She observed various types of herons, mostly brolgas and sarus cranes but also a few white ones and even a few pied herons and a blueish coloured one she could not clearly identify. There were ducks of several varieties and a couple of pelicans. To add to Tina’s pleasure a black swan glided into view in the distance.
Then Aiden began wading into the shallows at a small sandy beach and Tina anxiously scanned the water for any tell-tale ripples. ‘But a real croc attack will just come without warning,’ she told herself. ‘They swim underwater and just emerge with jaws open. That thought got her worried as she noted how close the boys were to the water. “Aiden! Come back away from the water!” she called.
To her relief he did and soon after that they were called back to camp to have their tea. This was mostly cold meats and bread but there was tined fruit and cream and some fruit. Tina sat on a camp stool and relaxed. Darkness set in swiftly, with the added interest of dozens of fruit bats: ‘Flying Foxes’ as the North Queenslanders called them, flapping over head. There was also the occasional swish of unidentified wings that Tina hoped were owls.
“There might be tawny owls or frogmouths,” she commented as another large bird flew low overhead.
The families talked for a while but it had been a long day and the boys were both obviously tired so bed was organized early. Tina set up her own bed, glad that the family tent had a floor and a zip-up door to keep out creepy-crawlies and reptiles. After saying goodnight she lay down and relaxed- or tried to as she knew they were a very long way from any sort of civilization. Even the station homestead was about thirty kilometres away and in the dark on bush tracks she knew that would be a long way.
Despite her fears Tina slept well. She woke just on First Light and lay in her sleeping bag listening to the bush sounds. The distant laughter of a Kookaburra told her what had woken her. ‘Cheeky bird!’ she thought. Then the Kookaburra chortled again, closer this time. Tina grinned and slid herself out of her sleeping bag. She pulled on a dressing gown over her pyjamas and then slippers and quietly made her way out of the tent, taking care not to wake anyone else.
Outside it was cool and still and apart from the chatter and cackle of birds was very quiet. There was no sound from the Creswell’s tent so she tiptoed past it and stared carefully towards the lagoon. There were no tracks to indicate nocturnal visitors of any size and the water of the lagoon was a smooth as glass.
The Kookaburra cackled again and Tina moved to try to spot it. As she did she stretched and felt a twinge of guilt at her sensations of loneliness. In her heart she sensed that the trouble was psychological. Like all Australian children she had been brought up to believe that ‘The Bush’ and rural life were the ‘Real Australia’. But like 95% of Australians she lived in a city on the coast so the bush was just a myth to her. Now she was in it and a long way from a city and that made her uneasy. That in turn made her feel slightly guilty for not being more at home in the bush environment.
But it was a beautiful morning and she stretched again and breathed deeply, then moved to try to spot some black cockatoos that had begun their raucous cackling further down the lagoon. Then a voice behind her made her turn. It was young Michael hissing to Aiden to get back in bed. A moment later Aiden’s head poked out of his tent. He saw Tina and grinned, then slipped out to look at the view.
Michael followed and then Mr Creswell called in a grumpy voice, “Be quiet you kids! I’m trying to sleep!”
The boys giggled and then hurried off to look at the lagoon, prompting another reminder from Tina about crocodiles. But for the adults sleep was now impossible and soon the whole group was awake and bustling around the camp. Tina snuck back along the road to go to the toilet and then went to her tent to get dressed.
Breakfast was cereal followed by bacon and eggs all washed down with Milo for the children and coffee and tea for the adults. There was also fruit juice and Tina had a cup of that. By 0730 the men were ready for fishing. The boat trailer was backed to the water’s edge and the boat slid in. Mr Creswell got the motor working and the boat was loaded with fishing gear and then the two men and the boys climbed in and they set out. Tina had no real interest in fishing but did help the two mothers to clean and tidy up. Neither mother wanted to go in the boat so the females were left in camp.
“Typical silly males,” Mrs Creswell commented as the boat stopped in the middle of the lagoon and fishing lines were cast in.
Tina agreed but the gender bias of it nettled her a bit. However she did not dwell on it and instead got her bird books and binoculars and moved to a safe spot where she could see along the lagoon. There she settled to see what birds she could spot.
In the next three hours she spotted many and was rarely bored. The most common birds were ducks of various kinds but she again saw black swans and pelicans. A variety of water waders worked the shallows and both white and black cockatoos flew by in flocks that settled noisily in the trees before rising in screeching swirls when the boat with the fishing party got too close.
The fishing party returned to shore somewhat disappointed, with only three small fish to show for their efforts. The largest had been caught by Michael, much to the embarrassment of the men and the amusement of Mrs Creswell.
Mr Creswell grunted. “Last time we fished here it was full of big barra,�
�� he grumbled.
“Well your boozy mates have fished them all out it seems,” Mrs Creswell replied.
Tina’s mother then said, “Anyway, it is getting late. We are booked in at the Croydon Hotel tonight don’t forget and I’d like to be there in daylight.”
So they set to work packing the camp. Tina’s mother had already been busy and all of the Babcock’s bedding and personal gear was already tidied away and stowed. All they had to do was strike the tent and roll it up. This was soon done but then they had to wait while the Creswell’s got their camp pulled down and loaded on their vehicle. They had such a litter of gear around that Tina and her mother finally went to help. Tina had already been a little bit annoyed by the Creswell’s camping style: lots of gadgets and luxury items and very untidy. They weren’t exactly grubs but it still irritated Tina’s tidy senses.
The expedition set off after a late lunch with each family in its own vehicle. An hour of driving along dirt roads brought them back to the bitumen. Here they turned left and continued on west. Another hour of driving had them at the small and to Tina very isolated town of Croydon. She had often seen it on the map but as usual found that the reality had very little relation to what she had imagined. The town was laid out in a grid pattern on flat land to the west of a range of low hills. The first impression was of distance and space as the streets were very wide and the buildings were mostly widely scattered and with many vacant allotments between them. Only in the main part of the town were the buildings closer together.
The older buildings of the ‘heritage’ area at once caught Tina’s attention and she studied them with approval. They were mostly made of timber and iron and were single story and obviously old. They gave the town a very ‘historic’ feel and Tina at once decided she liked the place. ‘Although it’s a bit isolated and I wouldn’t like to live here,’ she thought.
They drove straight past this part of town and on along a street with a couple of houses and a shed beside it and came to a railway station. This also surprised Tina and she said, “I didn’t know there was a railway here. Where does it go to?”
Her father answered. “Normanton, over near the Gulf.”
“Is that a port?” Tina asked.
“It used to be, back in the old days. Now the town of Karumba is the port,” her father replied.
Tina had seen these places on the map and nodded but was still puzzled. “Does this railway connect up with that one back at Mt Surprise, the one that goes to Cairns?”
“Nope. It just goes west to the sea,” her father answered as he pulled the vehicle to a stop outside the station.
“Will they ever link them up?” Tina asked, thinking that a sensible thing to do.
“Nope. No chance. It would cost too much and there is no reason. As it is this railway only exists for tourism. There is just that one train and I think it only runs for one day a week.”
Tina saw that the station was really just a big shed with a semicircular roof over two rail tracks. A couple of offices and platform took up the rest of the space on their side. Visible through the open doorway was a red painted rail motor with the word Gulflander painted in yellow on its side.
‘Oh, I’ve heard of that,’ Tina thought. She was feeling slightly embarrassed and foolish at her lack of knowledge and told herself to keep her mouth closed until she was sure.
Little brother Garth looked at the remains of an old steam locomotive and tender sitting beside the car park and said, “Can we get out and look please Dad?”
“Tomorrow. We are going to check out the dam while it is still light,” her father replied.
“Dam?” Tina asked, immediately forgetting her resolution.
Her father pointed to the hills. “Up in those,” he said.
As he explained this the Creswell’s, who had pulled in behind them, pulled out and drove back the way they had come. Tina was a bit upset by that because she could see that Garth really wanted to look at the trains but she told herself it was a fishing trip. Her father put the Jackaroo in motion and followed. They drove back to the main intersection and turned left. This took them past a couple of nice old buildings and to another intersection with a large old ‘traditional’ Australian hotel on the far corner. The hotel was made of timber and was the usual two-story structure with the upper level built out over the footpath and supported by posts.
As he swung the vehicle up the side street to the right Tina’s father said, “That is our hotel.”
Garth craned to look past Tina and said, “It needs some horses and hitching rails for the cowboys.”
“Stockmen or ringers son, not cowboys, not in Australia please,” Tina’s father chided.
As they drove past the hotel Tina studied the building and felt slightly uneasy. She hoped they were not in one of the upstairs rooms but assumed they would be. One of her recurring nightmares was being trapped in a burning building and she knew it was one of her phobias.
Mr Creswell led them along one more block and then turned left and drove out of town and uphill. The road at first did a couple of gentle curves through open bush on the lower slopes. On the first curve to the right Tina saw a parking area on the right. Chinese Temple Site read a sign. She looked but could only see a few pathways through the scrub. When her mother said she would like to visit that Tina could only agree and wished that the fishermen were more considerate.
The road then climbed straight up a steep slope and did a sharp right at a Council Depot. Then the road wound around the side of bare, open hills. They passed a lookout and Tina got fleeting glimpses out over the flat country beyond the town. The words ‘endless plains’ flitted through her mind and she again experienced that sense of isolation and distance that told her she was a long way from anywhere.
The road then curved left and wound through the open hills for a kilometre or so before coming abruptly to a picnic area on the shore of a large lake. Seeing that amount of water in such a dry area quite surprised Tina. ‘Oh! I didn’t expect anything like this,’ she thought.
The picnic area included a building and a shelter shed surrounded by a bitumen ring road. A boat ramp led steeply down across a small beach.
The vehicles were parked and everyone climbed out. Tina’s priority was a toilet but she did stand and study the lake for a minute or so. “Is it natural?” she asked.
“In this country? Not likely!” Mr Creswell answered. “It is here because they built a dam.” He pointed to the left and in the distance Tina could just make out the line of the dam wall. Beyond it to the right she noted a gravel road leading over the low hills and down to the water. After studying that for a few seconds she swept her gaze around to the right, taking in a series of bays and low hills which extended of to the south east out of sight behind the spur they were standing on. She now saw that the lake was much bigger than she had thought at first glance.
By the time she had been to the nearby public toilet the boat had been launched and the vehicle was being driven back up to a parking area on the right. Spotting some distant water birds Tina went to the vehicle and collected her bird book and binoculars and moved to a clear area on the grassy slope. Here she sat and used her knees to steady her elbows. Carefully and with practiced hands she focused her binoculars on the tiny shapes.
“Burdekin ducks, I think,” she told herself. She squinted to refocus and studied the ducks. As she did her eyes caught sight of the gravel road leading down to the water on the far side of the dam. ‘Looks like another boat ramp,’ she thought. After a quick study of the distant landing space she went back to observing the ducks.
To her annoyance the boat with her father, Mr Creswell and the boys disturbed the ducks as it went roaring out across the water. The ducks flew away with a honking that mirrored Tina’s annoyance. As no other birds were visible she went and joined her mother in the shelter shed. Here she sat and talked or read her book while the males fished out in the middle of the lake.
They returned an hour later without catching
anything. Mr Creswell shook his head. “Last time I was here I caught three big barra in half an hour,” he grumbled.
“Maybe everyone else has heard about your luck and come here to fish,” Tina’s mother suggested.
Disgusted with their poor luck the men went to haul the boat out of the water. Once that was done they drove back down to the town, stopping briefly along the way at the lookout to admire the vista of vast plains. Down at the town they drove to the hotel and parked outside. Tina’s father went inside and returned a few minutes later with the keys to the rooms they had rented.
The rooms were in a long prefabricated building on low stumps. The building was double sided and the side they were in faced a high metal wall across a narrow driveway under trees. The building was some way from the old timber hotel and had other small buildings under trees between the two. Another pre-fabricated building stood at right angles to theirs beyond a small grassy car park at the rear of the layout. The Creswell’s vehicle and attached boat were parked out on the end of the grass and Tina’s father drove their vehicle in between the fence and driveway and parked it close to the short flight of steps leading up to the timber veranda that ran the length of the structure. Unloading and unpacking then took place.
The rooms were small and typical pre-fabricated and Tina shared with Sarah. The two girls placed their bags beside the two small beds and then went to investigate the amenities. Finding a washing machine Sarah at once took an armful of dirty clothes to it and set to work. Once the machine was working Sarah rejoined Tina in the room.
By then was dark. Tina’s mother knocked on the door of their room and said, “Time for dinner. You girls go over to the hotel dining room now please.”
Sarah stood up and said, “I will just hang the washing out first Mrs Collins.”
“I’ll help,” Tina offered.
“Don’t bother. There isn’t much. You go over and I will join you in a few minutes,” Sarah replied.
Tina nodded and made her way outside onto the veranda. By then the adults and younger children had gone so she set of to catch them up. Then her troubles began. While she was on the veranda things were OK because light from the amenities gave some light but once down the steps in under the trees and between the darkened building and the high metal fence it was so dark she could hardly see. Carefully she made her way out past the end of the building to the footpath she knew was there.
Cockatoo Page 8