After a sleepless night of dog barking and bin banging (the locals not us), we left and headed into town to check out Krys the crocodile. Krys is an exact replica of the largest crocodile killed in the entire world which was near Normanton in 1957. He was 8.67 metres and killed by a woman hunter. It was hard to believe that the measurements used to create the replica were real because the croc just looked so big!

We headed to Karumba, also known as the “End of the Road”. We didn’t actually think we would get to Karumba and the Gulf of Carpentaria on this trip but since we didn’t get to the top of the Cape York Peninsula, we just had to come here. 

We weren’t expecting a thriving community but that is what we got. Three caravan parks, a butcher, pharmacy, supermarket, bakery, post office and a couple of taverns. We were really surprised. The town is full of grey nomad fishermen with their boats and caravans, spending the Winter up here gushing for the big ones… barramundi. 

We set up and took a look around town, going out to the point and walking along the beach. Even though this is croc country, we couldn’t resist the temptation of standing in the Gulf. The water was warm and we felt a sense of achievement just standing in it. We walked along the beach collecting shells, chatting to other tourists and enjoying the view of the Gulf. 

It was particularly warm so we headed to the “Sunset Tavern” and enjoyed a cool drink overlooking the water. There is not a lot to do here, the main pastime is fishing for barramundi so our 4 days here will be largely relaxation while Ray tries his hand. If he can’t catch a fish here, the mecca of fishermen, I just don’t know what we will do!