Caranbirini Conservation Nature Reseve

Fri 5 June… yesterday we intended to camp at Borroolola fishing club camp ground by the side of the McArthur river, but we didn’t get there. Today Peter thought we were going to see the Gulf of Carpentaria, we didn’t get there. We turned round with less than 40K’s t go. We have returned to Cape Crawford on the way south, which is so far from anywhere the diesel here is double the price we paid in Katherine. This site at Heartbreak Hotel is quite good, nice shaded grassy spot with basic amenities. We did spot a bar in the hotel but we are scared to ask the price of a pint, it may be cheaper to drink diesel!
On the way down from Borroolola we stopped to look at a small conservation reserve called Caranbirini. It’s a small water hole with lots of birdlife, and is surrounded by sandstone pinnacles or spires some of which look like organ pipes, obviously because of their shape and are up to 25m tall. There is a very rough footpath though the spires with very narrow shaded passageways, teeming with butterflies. The birdsong seems very loud until we realise that there is a distinctive echo. As we are the only people here birdsong is all we all hear. The walk is just about 2K’s and takes just over an hour of scrambling, then at the end there is a hide looking out over the water hole. We sat for quite some time and watched several species of birds, which we will have to look up in the book later. Possibly photos to follow!