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Thursday 26th September - Lucinda to Bilyana Rest Area

We're off to the Bilyana Rest Area today - another free camp. This one is situated 22km south of Tully. 23 degrees overnight and upto 30.6 today.

We arrived at the rest area about 11.30 after a quick stop in Cardwell to take a few photos. We missed the one of the Big Crab. The rest area is also a driver reviver spot but this was closed which is surprising seeing as it's school holidays. There's a small track that leads between the trees that allows you to get to a grassy area behind the main rest area. Clive saw a van there so off he went. There is also a kombi van here with a girl sitting out the back playing a guitar, but we chose to camp far enough away so that we couldn't hear her.

We are right beside the train line - literally, probably 20m from it. The Spirit of Queensland just flew past, heading south, with a very loud honk of the horn. There are some railway workers just up from us loading rail tracks onto a low loader that they are moving elsewhere. Well it should be peaceful at least. Where we are with the trees acting as a buffer it blocks out most of the noise from the highway.

No TV reception here, so Clive set about setting up the satellite dish, which is why we bought it. Both the TV and the satellite decoder are running off 12v car adaptors to each device. 90 minutes of Home and Away tonight and I'm ready for you.

Clive went for a walk around and found an information board on Bilyana. This is one thing that they do well up here. Lots of information about towns or nature. There is also a little creek near the rest area and it's not too hard to imagine this flowing once the rains start. In the afternoon around 2pm we had another Spirit of Queensland train heading north.

By dusk there are 8 vans parked up where we are and another 6 in the rest area proper. Another popular spot by the looks of it. Two freight trains went past before we turned in and then it was a peaceful night. About 10 minutes after we were in bed the heavens opened up with a very heavy shower. Lighter showers continued throughout the night.




Hinchenbrook Island
from Cardwell.

Zoomed
in.

Bilyana
Rest Area.


.

Taking away
some train tracks.

Satellite dish
all set up.

All camped
up.

Just the two
of us so far.

Bilyana
information.

Murray
Falls.

Kirrama
Track.

Droving and
stock routes.

Tully River
Station.

Bilyana
Siding.

Murray
River.

The Cardwell
Region.

Dry section
of the creek.

Further
upstream.


.

They left
some rails.

North to
Cardwell.

A few more
in now.


.