Traveling from Cobbold Gorge to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpenteria was a history lesson amidst a flat featureless landscape. We were advised that Croydon was a worthwhile stop and considered staying 2 nights…until we arrived and discovered it was about 4 blocks square. Indeed, it has a rich heritage from the 1885 gold rush that local historians are proudly displaying, particularly admirable since the population was 7,000 at its peak and is now less than 300.  But we were able to walk the splendidly restored buildings, visit the library, info centre, oldest general store in QLD and local pub in just a few hours.

En route to Karumba we drove through another possible highlight along the Savannah Way: Normanton.  A population hub with 1500 souls we were not terribly impressed by its best known attractions: the Big Barramundi (a giant structure of an Aussie icon, the freshwater/estuarine angling species); Gobble n Go Cafe (the most popular take-away restaurant, rated 4.5 on TripAdvisor); the Stop Shop Supermarket (!?); and the railway station, the one site worth a few minutes of our time. On to Karumba!

In 1981 our simple nuptials took place before a few stalwart friends and my small wonderful family in a somewhat remote and relatively unknown spot in the northeast Bahamas.  Marsh Harbour wasn’t picturesque but its water was a stunner. It was where we met and our romance blossomed during a hurricane there.  Karumba is the Marsh Harbour of Australia with a major exception.

We came for the seafood and we got it. Fishing and prawning are the draw here and really, there isn’t much else, for it’s not exactly a visual paradise.  The water is a unique green but its infested with crocodiles, so unlike Marsh Harbour,  no one would dream of swimming here.  With a population of 600, Karumba is located at the base of the Gulf of Carpenteria and it is “flat as” in these parts. Which is why it can flood to the point of being cut off from the rest of Aus for 6 weeks in a “wet” wet season and be seafood-less in a “dry” wet season.  The township is actually 2 towns: Karumba and Pt. Karumba.  It’s 8 km by road between them but 4 km by footpath. We attempted the footpath one morning but the start in Pt Karumba is so poorly marked that the 4 km became 7 km (after walking 3 kms aimlessly we were startled when we came upon the CP where we started) and by the time we reached Karumba we were seriously in need of coffee and food. The temp was already 30C/86F at 8:30 and the shadeless path was pretty featureless as well. We stopped at the bakery to fortify ourselves then had a chat with the baker and his wife. I nonchalantly mentioned our wish for a taxi and he offered us a ride back to our CP. Lucky us, we got ourselves a tour guide in the process. Jim took us through the backroads and imparted some interesting “local” lore. Plus a splendid jar of his very own tomato chutney for our trouble. Both evenings in Karumba we caught the famed golden orb finishing the day at the Sunset Tavern with an array of shellfish that satisfied our palate.