Flat Creek Station - Forsayth

 10 - 12 July 2025

We left Cumberland Dam and stopped in Georgetown to run some errands before making our final decision to move on to Flat Creek Station near Forsayth. We'd been before and I wasn't all that keen to return but agreed we should give it another try anyway. We travelled south from Georgetown and turned off towards Western Creek Station, which also offers camping, then on to Flat Creek. Most of the creeks were full of water and the road was a bit rough in places, but generally not too bad.

This time we were pleasantly surprised by a completely different experience starting with a very warm welcome from one of the owners (who were nowhere to be seen last time). We snagged the same spot we had on our last visit and found the other campers, most of whom were fossickers, to be a friendly and interesting bunch. Most were keen to learn about the birds and have a chat about their travels. Most were couples where as last time it had all been men - mostly solos - in the campground. The camp had a completely different feel and even though the birding wasn't as good, we enjoyed a couple of good days there.

Drinks at sunset - always a nice way to end the day

Mick went out looking for birds in the early morning and late afternoon, and we pottered around camp for the rest of the time. We had good shade as well as some sun for solar. We experimented with using both 200w and 100w panels at the same time - as suggested by our auto electrician - and were very pleased with the results.

After 2 nights we left Flat Creek and returned to Georgetown where we stopped to make a booking to stay at Undara, as well as to call to finalise out house sitting arrangements.

Cumberland Dam

 9 - 10 July 2025

We left Karumba after 4 fabulous nights and started to make our way back towards Ravenshoe where we would be house sitting again. We had nearly a week to get there so we had a few options for stops along the way. We decided to make our first camp at Cumberland Dam (also known as Cumberland Chimney) just outside of Georgetown.

We drove from Karumba through to Croydon where we stopped for lunch, fuel and a few supplies. Croydon has a mining history and a lovely lake where you can picnic, but we stayed in town and had lunch in the park as we still had quite a way to go. We didn't want to arrive too late at our destinationas we were aware it can get quite crowded.

Cumberland Dam is a well known free (donation) camp about 20km west of Georgetown and is very popular with the grey nomads, but our reason for staying there is for the birding. We drove in to the campground and had a bit of a look around before settling on a site that was a good size, reasonably level and not too far from the dam. We were only staying one night so stayed hitched up. Mick ventured off with the camera, as usual.

The dam is beautiful at sunset

In the morning Mick set off again to take photos before returning for a cuppa and to pack up ready to move on. We drove in to Georgetown where we stopped to make a call to Flat Creek Station - our next destination.

Flat Creek Station

 5 – 7 June 2021

We had made contact with the owners/managers of Flat Creek Station via Facebook Messenger and had received directions to get there. They had also alerted us that there might not be anyone at the homestead when we arrived. We set off from Cumberland Dam, and drove back through Georgetown, taking the Forsayth turn-off. From there it was on to the road to Western Creek Station, and Flat Creek Station. Flat Creek is about 26km along a gravel road, that was is quite good condition when we travelled.

Arriving at Flat Creek Station we made our way to the homestead and completed the self-check in. From there we drove down to the campground. Arriving at the campground, I was a bit underwhelmed. It was more bush camp than campground, with no clear definition to camping sites or even areas, and little level ground. Signs at the small amenities block indicated that campers are responsible for maintaining and cleaning the toilets and showers, are to provide their own toilet paper, and are also required to light the donkey boiler for hot water. This includes collecting firewood as none is supplied. This is quite different to other stations we have stayed at, and which I found quite surprising.

There were two spots occupied and so we went for a walk and chose a spot that looked OK. We settled in and Mick discovered a dripping water tap not far away – but closer to another possible campsite. Of course, he spent the rest of the day up there. We decided that in the morning we would shift to the other spot closer to the dripping tap so Mick could keep an eye on it throughout the day.

The next morning, after Mick had spent an hour or so up at the tap, we packed up and shifted camp. That would have to be out all-time record for shortest distance travelled between camps – probably no more than 50 metres! Set up in our new spot, we had morning tea and then took a drive along station tracks to where a fellow camper had told us we would find a bird feeder. We did find it – just over 1 km away – but it was the wrong time of day to get good photos. At least we knew where to come back to later. Back to camp and Mick continued to stake out the dripping tap throughout the afternoon.

We did not see the owners/managers the whole time we were there so were not able to ask about other birdwatching spots, something we found to be very disappointing given that was the reason for our visit which I had indicated in my initial message regarding camping. We decided to stay only 2 nights, leaving late so Mick could spend the last morning at the water tap.

Flat Creek Station wasn’t what we expected but it did turn out to be a nice place to stay. On the way back to Georgetown we stopped in at a nearby campground for a look, but it wasn’t really what we wanted. We had lunch in a park in Georgetown and decided to head for home and just go as far as we could.

 

 

Georgetown

11 - 12 August 2014

We set off for Cumberland Dam - just short of Georgetown - as Mick had heard of it as an excellent birdwatching site, and it certainly is. We had considered camping there but as there are no toilet facilities and lots of others camped there (with very little shade) we decided to spend the afternoon there, then move on to Georgetown. Mick was very excited to get a couple of good shots, and delighted a fellow birdo by directing him to the spot where he would find the bird he was after. 

Black-throated Finch

This is a great spot for finches. Zebra and Double-barred were also seen.

Masked Finch

White-winged Triller

We checked in to a motel room - the caravan parks didn't look very nice - and then took a drive out to the Race Track - again because it's supposed to be a good spot for Pictorella Mannikin, he was able to find the finch and get a reasonable shot.

Pictorella Mannikin at the race track