OK, so on to Lawn Hill NP & some fun with the neighbours

[humdingerslammer]

Having refreshed at Mt Isa I headed west toward Camooweel which is just inside the western Qld border. Half way along I took a right-hand turn and headed north along the Gregory Downs Development Road to Lawn Hill NP. This road was all dirt but in pretty good nick considering the amount of traffic it gets, and with a lot of big vans. On the way I took a look at the Riversleigh Fossil site (not very inspiring, the sites at Winton and Lark Quarry are far better) and continued on to Lawn Hill NP.

I had pre-booked to stay at the Miyuma campsite at the southern end of the park but this was pretty desolate, dry, hot and dusty and without a working toilet. This had been awaiting repair for more than a year, even though it was only a hole in the ground with a toilet seat above. How can QNPWS justify waiting a year to fix a dunny hole in a national park that has frequent daily and camping visitors. And what the hell could be wrong with a dunny that was nothing more than a hole in the ground? Just another example of the “can’t care less” attitude that one sees throughout our national park system… I suppose one or two people are kept at work pondering what they might next do, to keep busy. If needs were pressing, you had to travel 15km to Riversleigh for a crap in their toilet. Just not good enough!!

I decided to stay, instead, for a couple days at Adel’s Grove, which is always nice, and it was. If you are up this way, Adel’s Grove is worth the visit. From the south, as I had come, there were a couple of creek crossing but these were no problem although they could be if deeper and faster flowing, as when there is more water in them. Most campers here had come from the north, via Gregory Station and Burketown (this section of road is a one lane bitumen strip). Some had come via Boorooloola and Doomadgee, which is (still) a very rough and corrugated road.

I met some nice people at Adel’s Grove. One 4 kid family that had been on the road for a year. They had a humungous van plus a GMC 5.8L tow vehicle. Probably all this was needed for such a trip. I worked out that the guy was paying $1.00/km for petrol and they had already done 30000km. Just think of the wonderful experience for the kids over this time.

I moved on to the main Lawn Hill campsite and spent 5 days there on walks etc some of which were quite tough. The gorge itself was beautiful and the caravan park, very busy, was also worth the stay. There were agile wallabies, kangaroos etc around and in the park. And there were just heaps of birds. Azure kingfishers, kookaburras, lesser Friar Birds, Barking owls, a huge variety of honey eaters, wattle birds etc, etc, etc. all of which showed how healthy the environment was. It certainly looked like it. One lesser friar bird spent its day in a tree immediately above me and “sung” all day with I don’t know how many different songs… at least 20 that I counted. Quite remarkable!

As nice as Lawn Hill Park was, it was here I also encountered some of the nastier sides of people “on the road”. One couple with 2 kids had a camper trailer (looked new) and had booked into a powered site. Instead, they straddled 2 powered sites and would not move onto their single site when others came for their booked camp spot and that this couple was straddling. During day 1, the woman/wife had a crack at me wanting to know why I had such a big site and told me that I should use a smaller one so that my site could be used by larger families. Apparently, I am not a preferred camper (according to her) because I was on my own. She had a few goes at me along this line of attack so I eventually told her that she should mind her own business, that this was the site I had been located and that I had paid for. She would not give it a rest so I asked who had made her the prefect of the park and had she considered taking herself off and getting well and truly stuffed? She laid off after this when she realised that I could give as good as I receive.

On day 3 some people turned up in one of those Campervan thingies and could not access their site fully because of the encroachment of these people. There was a bit of a barney and, in response, the Campervan people parked right in front of the camper trailer (like within 1cm). Next day, when the encroachers wanted to leave, the campervanners would not move their vehicle. Instead, they left for the day on a walking trek. The encroachers had a hell of a job eventually moving their trailer by hand in order to hitch up. Oh, seriously, it was so good to see!!

If this was not enough, it gets better (or worse depending on your point of view).

A group of 4 families with 4 very new camper trailers in tow, turned up. The sun had already set and they had booked unpowered sites but, instead, because they felt entitled, set up on the 4 powered sites directly in front of me and that were the sites of the drama described above.

But wait for it…So then the people who had booked these sites turned up. The usurpers refused to move and had a barney with the park people, who eventually gave in, refunded the monies of the legitimate users (so they told me next day) and put them on unpowered sites. I mean, really!!!

Well, as if this wasn’t enough, I turn my back and bugger me dead if one of the young sheilas of the group and her boyfriend decide to pitch a tent on my site. I asked them what they thought they were doing. The girl said said that I had plenty of room and so they would set up camp “here” on my site. “Like hell you are” I told them. “I paid for this site for myself and not for your or anyone else to share”. She got a bit lippy so I told her that if she sets up her tent I would pull it down. In no uncertain terms I told them both to ”bugger off!”

So next thing, the muscle boy of the group comes over (you know the type…tight and too small t-shirt, tight pants, and trying hard to look 20 years younger). He starts having a go at me and moves closer to me and gets right in my face. I opened the Jeep door and pulled out a tyre lever, put it to my shoulder and told him that if he touches me and doesn’t back off, he would not walk out the park. He tries to call my bluff so I yell at him “Back off! Back off! Back off” and I move toward him with the tyre lever on full wave. He decided not to chance it.

What a pack of wankers… who do people think they are to act like this. I encountered milder forms of this behaviour in other parks, of entitlement, and just plain arsehole behaviours. I am sure a lot of it occurred because I was on my own. Perhaps I looked poorer than them. All I know is, I own everything I had with me and all they had was an entitlement driven by conspicuous debt. Pricks!!


I will post some pics soon.

[drover]

Be buggered, you really attracted them them like bluddy flies............ You were very constrained............. Would certainly be letting fly at the park management but these sort of self entitled people are becoming more abundant........ It does pay to a threat leveller handy, never leave home without it/them.

[humdingerslammer]

Originally Posted by drover

Be buggered, you really attracted them them like bluddy flies............ You were very constrained............. Would certainly be letting fly at the park management but these sort of self entitled people are becoming more abundant........ It does pay to a threat leveller handy, never leave home without it/them.

No but seriously. I am not bullshittiing!!

For the vast majority of my time (6 weeks) on the road I encountered really nice people and had lots of chinwags of the "where have you been?" and "where are you going?" type. Often people would just want to envelope me with their life stories, which I always find interesting. And some of these stories are just plain awful!

Whenever any one (blokes usually) wanted to compare their rigs etc or asked what am I travelling in or wanted to show me that their balls were bigger than mine, I would walk away.

Yes, I noticed on this trip that there was considerably worse behaviour by some than I have previously encountered. I don't know why. You soon learn not to get close to anyone who has just pulled up and is setting up camp... more than likely he and the wife have got sick of each other over their time on the road and you might end up copping a spray of bad temper.

Perhaps it is because so many people are taking to the road for the first time that they don't know how to behave. How about "polite" and "considerate" and "nice" for starters.

But mostly I think it is a sense of entitlement, and the "look at me. Mine's bigger" attitude.

Really, who gives a shit and mate, just look around.... others have ones that are bigger than yours.

It is really funny how over the years, the need to present a threat leveller has always been in relation to white blokes behaving like arseholes about to burst open.

[Jeeper6]

Bit sad isn't it, that attitudes have denigrated to where they are now...
Good on you for holding your ground...literally...lol...but the just walk away response is often the far better choice when confronted by these losers.
You never know what their true mental state is, or whether they are in some drug induced stupor.

I'll need to pack a decent tyre lever, as I don't really carry one. I know most truckers carry a decent wrench within reach in case of trouble, and i used to in the past.

At the very least by the sound of it none of these wackers stooped to damaging some one else's person's property in retaliation!

Take care mate...

[drover]

As an Old Coot with an old van fully modded for off grid and certainly no catalogue pony I get a few that wander to question especially when I had my Coloradao the set up attracted attention of folk genuinely interested, I assumed because it just looked totally functional, no bling crap, anyway mostly nice folk but would encounter the mines bigga and better, sometimes tactful retreat or a sensitive shut down was required but now with another Jeep I have a look, if they start the Jeep Knock, the look clearly states tread carefully fella, usually pull their head in when I say I'm on my 3rd and no warranty drama ............ On the rare occasion I have encountered someone with a threatening attitude, to keep them safe I have walked well away, I usually have more than a tyre lever handy and can do with out the agro ..............

Great photo's its great to travel around the place I reckon......

[Jeeper6]

gotta admit, I did feel a little insignificant a few months ago, when a bloke pulled in to the park beside me, with a massive brand new Tri axle Kedron van towed by a very nice F250 with extras dripping off it...we did get in to conversation and didn't even talk about our vans...he was an ex truckie so we had a fair bit in common.

Not even a snide remark about the Jeep for a change...lol

[humdingerslammer]

I would not mind one of those F250 or F350 thingies... they do look nice and with the extra big vans one of these is needed to stay legal when thing such a mass. Many of "ordinary" 4x4s not not meet legal tow requirements for such large van.

But if I had such a big van, and big tow ute, where would I put them?

Maybe if I sell the house I could live permanently in the van somewhere. Dream on, I guess.