Normanton is on the Norman River which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Gulf is a shallow sea linking Australia and New Guinea. It's maximum depth is only about 70m. One of the claims to fame at Normanton is a statue of Krys - The Savannah King, an 8.63m (28'4") long crocodile, the largest authenticated crocodile ever shot, in July 1957. We stayed in a caravan park to get ourselves organised before we head into the bush again. There's an excellent free camp (2 nights limit and a permit required from the visitor centre) right on the river, just over the bridge which we've pencilled in for our next visit.
About 75kms from Normanton is the port of Karumba. This town exists for 3 reasons - mining, fishing and live cattle exporting. There's an active prawn industry, with banana prawns the specialty. Many people stay in one of the 3 caravan parks or other holiday accommodation so they can go fishing for barramundi. Karumba has the limited facilities required for a fishing village - caravan parks, a pub, a general store, fuel, mechanic and a post office - and has a large export facility for live cattle. The semi-processed ore from the Century zinc mine several hundred kms away is also loaded and shipped out from this port.
We bought prawns and barramundi at a caravan park - fresh and delicious!! We were amused by this crocodile notice being ignored by the fishermen, who stood chatting in the water for at least 30 minutes. The nearby mangroves and rocks looked like perfect crocodile country. We had packed a picnic lunch for our day trip from Normanton but couldn't find any tables or parks so sat in the car watching the sea as we tucked into our sandwiches. On the 45 minute drive we saw many brolgas alongside the road. These large cranes are so graceful to watch.
After a couple of days in Normanton we hit the road again to drive to Adels Grove, near the Lawn Hill National Park. We stopped off at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse south on the Matilda Highway for fuel, then turned west towards the Gregory River. There's an unofficial (no camping) campsite at Gregory over the bridge and close to the river. We drove down to have a look and were surprised to see about 40 caravans parked there. Some looked as if they were in for the duration. This was too crowded for us so we camped overnight in the Official campground closer to the town. 
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