Our night time spot was very quiet and private and not dusty. We headed off again along the Savannah Way. Stopping at Cumberland Chimney it has a lovely lake with amazing birdlife.
Only the chimney from the Cumberland Battery and the man-made lagoon remain from this once thriving mining town. Cumberland was born when gold was discovered in 1872. The first prospecting claim was registered in that same year. It grew to be one of the major gold producers in the Etheridge goldfield. The Cumberland Company dammed nearby Cumberland Creek to create a permanent water supply for the township. The mine and tramway closed in 1897 and the town population numbers declined; the town is now a ghost town. There is a rest area which can be used by overnight campers. The myriad of birdlife attracts keen birdwatchers to this pretty lagoon. Information taken from https://www.drivenorthwestqld.com.au/things-to-do/cumberland-chimney/
Next stop was Georgetown. Considering the floods early this year in March we are surprised that all the rivers and creek beds are all dried up and things are so dry.
We called into the tourist info to ask about the road from Forsayth to Einasleigh and then from there back up to the Savannah Way. Forsayth to Einasleigh to supposed to be ok to tow a van or do a day run from Forsayth but she advised against going from Einasleigh up to the Hwy and looking at the map looks like it’s all dirt. Anyway we have a few days to decided what we want to do.
We have opted to stay at the Forsayth caravan park to put us closer to Cobbold Gorge tomorrow for the drive. This park is basically a dust bowl, no grass, no gravel just bare dirt with so much use it is very dusty. Again it would benefit from some gravel down. There are lots of trees for shade but they also drop lots onto your van, amenities are clean, old and basic. Many of the sites are small with not much room to manoeuvre a van into. We have seen several people struggle and neighbours having to move their cars out of the way. It is pretty cheap though at $25 for a powered site and many use this as a base to explore the area.
We did a walk around town which didn’t take long, not a big place. There are some mining relics in the park as well as some carvings in the trees. All up it’s an interesting little town.
The Savannahlander from Cairns ends it’s route here with an overnight stay.
We found out from our stay at Cobbold Gorge that the person who owns Cobbold Gorge now also owns the pub and post office at Forsayth.