Page 248 - Mit dem Wohnwagen durch Australien

MAREEBA
Once more we are glad for one of the little service towns. This time it is Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands. We
have had a little mishap on the road. An oncoming Caravan propelled a little rock into our windscreen and chipped
it. “Watch out for rock falls” has a complete different meaning here. Now every child here knows that O’Brien will fix
every chip with their special raisin, since they are told so constantly on TV. Mareeba has an O’Brien affiliate and they
are as good as their ads. They would have filled the chips right there and then. However, since one of them was in
the visual field of the driver, this is not legal, so they changed the whole windscreen within an hour. We should do
that more often. The sight is so much clearer. We wonder if the fog from a fortnight ago was due to a dirty windscreen.
The best is, our insurance pays for the whole trouble. That’s the way!

These little towns are magic. You can get everything, except for the one thing we actually came here for, the best
pineapple worldwide. They are called Mareeba gold and are grown here. They are sweet and juicy without the sting
which usually hurts your tongue. But none of the shops in town had them in stock. So we drove out to the plantation.
It is the largest pineapple plantation of Australia. We have seen thousands of lovely ripe fruit from small to large
highly stacked in crates, ready for transport to the markets. We wanted to buy two. First the friendly employee
wanted to give us two crates, but after a charm offensive, he was ready to part with just two individual fruits. We will
eat one of them at our next overnight stay. We will go back to the magic free camp we had near the Undara tubes
and are looking forward to the campfire and the impressive starlit sky.

ALL BAD THINGS COME IN THREES
Murphy was smirking behind his little fist. Granted, he gradually introduced us to every more difficult task. First, a
flat tyre in the campground, before we wanted to drive off, then a flat with a blown tyre shredded to bits in the middle
of nowhere on a natural road. And now, Third: A flat with a blown tyre shredded to bits on a lane country road with
soft shoulders and the hooked on caravan. Needless to say, that we have also mastered this task with bravado.
Secured the caravan with chocks, then unhitched it (note the sequence, we have learned). Then we lifted the
Troopy up with both jacks, defective tyre down, spare tyre on, hitch up the caravan, get the chocks from under the
caravan!!!! And off we go again. Being in the outer Outback, there is no Cooper Representative within many hundreds
of kilometres. The local gas stations in Croydon just shake their heads and recommend cheap Japanese tyres and
doubt the quality of the Cooper Tyres. Slowly I also start t have questions on this subject. A new tyre every 10’000
km is a very costly thing particularly if they have 60’000km guaranteed. Well, the small print says, that the guarantee
extends to Metropolitan areas only. What a feat, I have yet to see an off Road in a major City. Well, a garage in
almost nearby Normanton, only 150 km, is willing to order the Cooper tyres upon our telephonic request. We will
drive to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria and hope that the tyres will be in Normanton on our way back.

OUTBACK STORIES
Croydon had its hayday end oft he 19th century, when gold was discovered. Now it lives of cattle industry and
tourism. Whoever read “A Town like Alice” by Nevil Shute or has seen the movie, knows what I am talking about.
The little town works hard to keep its treasures in fettle. The old general store looks the same as a hundred years
ago and still offers similar wares as then. As a special treat the owner has baked scones and colourful cup cakes.
The whole village comes by and indulges.

In front on the kerb we spot a pick-up with some cages with 6 large scruffy dogs. Two men in work clothes and
visibly bush experienced, tinker in the hanger. On my question, what they would do with the dogs the on with the
metal eyelet in his ear said: “ Well, you know, we own a Chinese restaurant in Sydney...” full of fear I complement
the sentence: “ ... and the dogs make you chop-suey?” “No, no” laughed the second guy. “We go on a pig hunt, and
the dogs are trained on pigs.” I sigh in relief.

GULF OF CARPENTARIA
Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria is well known for its prawn fleet and its marvellous sunsets. The campground
prides itself as the friendliest on the gulf. Saturday evenings they invite all the campers to a free of charge fish B-B-
Q at the camp kitchen area. We bring our plates and cutlery, something to drink salads and chairs. Raffle tickets are
sold to benefit the little local hospital unit. They need a new oxygen unit, the raffles have almost got the necessary
amount. More than 100 guests get generous portions of lovely bluenose tuna. After dinner there is music and
entertainment from the campers and as special guest, the flying padre. He flies in once a month with his private
plane, similar to the flying doctors. This time he brought his guitar and his daughter Viktoria who has a lovely singing
voice. On Sunday he will preach in the little local church, followed by coffee and muffins. Whoever only wants to
come to the muffins is also welcome.