Camping on the Robinson River at Seven Emu Station
Borroloola might not tick the 'off the road most travelled' category for a caravan road trip, it isn't accessible year-round and it admittedly doesn't make the first impression. But stick around and you'll avoid the crowds for an authentic outback caravanning experience with a frontier vibe.
How to get to Borroloola and the best time to visit
It’s a roughly 1000km drive from Darwin or 380km from the Stuart Highway at Daly Waters to Borroloola in the Northern Territory’s Gulf country, so it’s remote. And as part of the tropical north, this town is best visited during the dry season between May and October when weather and road conditions are good.
In part one of this series we made the trek from Darwin to Borroloola, stopping in at some iconic destinations such as Litchfield National Park, Grove Hill Hotel, Katherine, Nitmiluk National Park and the thermal springs at Mataranka Homestead. If you missed it, click here to read that section of this Northern Territory caravanning trip.
Those exploring the alternate route along the Savannah Way might perceive Borroloola's self-effacing main street as just a quick stop for fuel, but as we found recently, first impressions can deceive.
To be fair, getting a sense of community was challenging when we first drove into town recently. The settlement spreads out for a kilometre along Robinson Road, with shopping opportunities at roadhouses with groceries, a stand-alone general store and the broken promise of a hotel. All the signs were there, but it was closed years ago. We settled into the McArthur River Caravan Park, midtown on the main street, before exploring with the picturesque river as our starting point. It looks inviting for a swim, but the crocs are numerous, so I’d stay dry and take care even when fishing.
Seven Emu Station
History and heritage of the region
The first European through the region was Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 on his way from Queensland to the Cobourg Peninsula, and he reported savannah grasslands and regular water holes. This encouraged cattle drives along what became known as the Coast Road. Wentworth D’Arcy Uhr drove the first mob of 400 cattle from western Queensland to the Pine Creek goldfields in 1872. By the mid-1880s, leases were established over a dozen stations in the Gulf region, quickly decimating the Indigenous population with disease and massacres, which still plays a big part in Indigenous oral history. Borroloola was gazetted in 1885, and it was a wild and lawless place until the police arrived with a station a year later. Great hopes for the town to become a major centre and the natural port for the Barkly Tablelands have never been realised, and by the turn of the century, many stations were abandoned.
Despite the mysterious oddity of a 3000-book library in the 1930s, the town of Borroloola was a virtual ghost town, servicing local stations and sporadic travellers. It developed a reputation for sly grog and lawlessness, and in 1937 a cyclone ripped away much of the infrastructure.
In 1967, fledgling journalist David Attenborough rolled into town with his BBC crew to interview three bushies living on the edge of civilisation. Attenborough went on to greater things, but Borroloola struggled on. The past 40 years have seen gradual development with the establishment of the nearby McArthur River Mine, a fishing mecca at King Ash Bay, housing and services for the Traditional Owners and a growing retail workforce. Tourism now plays a big part in the economy during the dry season, with thousands of modern-day overlanders exploring the Savannah Way. It’s a different story in the wet season because the road across long sections to Queensland is often covered by floodwater, and the road to the east is impassable.
King Ash Bay billabong
Borroloola is home to a majority Aboriginal population across five local language groups, the Yanyuwa, Marra, Garrwa, Gudanji and Binbingka people. Significantly, the Yanyuwa group are saltwater people, and they were the first to win a claim under the Federal Land Rights Act to their traditional homelands of Borroloola and the nearby Sir Edward Pellew Islands.
Some of the best Indigenous art in the NT
Waralungku Arts is an Aboriginal-owned and controlled arts centre on the main street opposite the caravan park. The centre has a laid-back vibe, and visitors are encouraged to call in and mix with artists. On our visit, we were welcomed by the group chair, Annie Roberts and her mother, Clara, prolific artists with a wealth of local knowledge.
Borroloola artist Clara Roberts
Representing some 60 artists, Waralungku Arts offers many styles and mediums, including jewellery, screen prints and clothing. They take pride in being a busy, less polished studio where artists create authentic original artworks. Sixty per cent of sales go directly to the artists, so it’s a worthwhile contribution to the community.
The NT’s oldest police station
The original police station, just off the road in the centre of town, was restored to its timber and corrugated iron facade on its centenary in 1986. The station closed in 1946, and it now serves as a museum and information centre under the auspices of the National Trust. It’s a valuable example of colonial architecture and the oldest police station in the Northern Territory. Interpretive displays talk of the history of the past, and they have the only remaining book from the old library, handed in by a family who forgot to return it 50 years ago. Keys are available from the caravan park and motel.
World’s second largest zinc mine
The McArthur River Mine, a subsidiary of Swiss-owned Glencore, is the biggest employer in the Gulf and has its share of controversy. Still, it has a limited impact on Borroloola, with some local employment and a mainly fly-in fly-out work crew.
Mineral riches have been known since 1888 when Tom Lynott discovered zinc deposits at McArthur River Station. However, decades passed before mining began with an underground mine in the 1990s. During its life, the mine has been in a fight between development and the wishes of Traditional Owners when plans for an underground operation and the 5km diversion of the McArthur River were unveiled. Court battles played out, and the Federal Labour Government’s Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, eventually signed approval in 2009. I doubt it was his best day as a parliamentarian.
The mine processes lead, zinc and silver, and the concentrate is trucked 120km to their port at Bing Bong, where a barge ferries the load 15km across the shallow water to a bulk carrier and its journey overseas. A viewing platform at Bing Bong looks over the loading facility, and a nearby concrete boat ramp has easy access straight into the open sea. In 2023, 262,206 tonnes of zinc, 50,352 tonnes of lead and more than 1.2 million ounces of silver were processed.
The loading facility at the port of Bing Bong
Glencore ran tours of the mine before COVID, but they weren’t available during our visit. It’s worth checking their office near the post office for some displays and collecting one of their publications on local wildlife.
Go fishing for barramundi ... but avoid the crocs
Some 42km down the McArthur River is King Ash Bay Fishing Club, home to arguably the best fishing in Australia. The thousands of anglers arriving each year think so at least. These fishos include a semi-permanent population that stays for months and returns yearly for the many species on offer.
The King Ash Bay Fishing Club dates back to 1985. Some thoughtful planning saw them sign a permanent lease with the NT Government over a 200ha site on the riverbank. More a small town than a club, it has its own water and power supply, a small supermarket, a fuel store, a clubhouse with a restaurant, and a nine-hole golf course. The fishing club offers houseboats and 5m dinghies for hire.
King Ash Bay crocodile
Members can own and build houses, and there’s a good range of camping options and caravan sites. Like back in town, you can fish from the riverbank, but numerous crocodiles live in the river system, so it’s not a great idea.
The twin boat ramp at the club provides access to hundreds of kilometres of rivers, creeks and offshore islands, so you need a boat, and we saw a wide range of vessels and methods of transporting them. Rooftop tinnies were popular for the river system, but you probably need to tow a larger model for offshore trips. My favourite setup that I saw was a tilt truck with a 6m boat on a trailer alongside a quad bike on the tray and towing a 20ft (6m) caravan.
Happily, we hooked up with Ash Graner, a local guide and pro fisher who treated me to a tour of the river and the nearby bays. We found monster crocs on the banks, a remote crab fishing camp and flocks of birds. We took advantage of the tour to troll for a fish, but try as Ash could, and despite the prolific bass, coral trout and pelagics on offer, I only managed a couple of small queenfish, so I guess we will have to return for a rematch.
Local guide and pro fisher Ash Graner 
Crab fishermen’s huts
Culture and camping at Seven Emu Station
About 98km east along the Savannah Way from Borroloola is a station stay with unique cultural experiences in store. Owned for decades by the Shadforth family, current custodian Frank, told me his great grandfather, Robert, worked as a stockman on the property before a substantial win on the Melbourne Cup gifted him the fortune to buy the place.
Frank Shadforth shares his knowledge at Seven Emu Station
It’s thought explorer Leichhardt named Seven Emu, now a 4300sq km organic cattle station with a 55km coastline and a 50km frontage of the Robinson and Calvert rivers.
We signed into the station with Frank’s daughter, Marissa, who handles the tourism side of things and introduced us to Frank and his son Clarrie, who manages the cattle business. Frank oversees things and mentors Indigenous youths in a cultural and job preparation program, so a lot is going on. We learned our visit coincided with a cattle muster the following day, and we were invited to spectate.
With camp sites along the high sand cliffs above the river about 5km from the homestead and remote sites at the river mouth, you will find a variety of offroad driving and self-contained camping on the station. We settled into a spectacular sunset next to the river and hit the sack for an early start.
Sunset at Seven Emu Station
The muster involved finding a mob of 30 wild scrubbers to clear the giant paddock for some stud cattle that were arriving from a recent sale. Clarrie’s crew set up a metal yard with a shoot of hessian to trap the cattle. We waited quietly while a helicopter rounded and chased the wild mob into the yard with the help of three modified LandCruisers that jumped and bashed across the countryside. It was a wild and dusty display, and by lunchtime, the team had loaded the truck. We all enjoyed a billy of hot, black tea before Frank led us into the bush to show us traditional medicine plants and explained how the landscape was changing with fewer insects pollinating the plants and changes in the weather over time.
Clarrie gives instruction to the chopper
Choppers rounding up the cattle at Seven Emu Station
Marissa had more in store for us, and we headed with three young trainees for an afternoon of fishing, where I was outclassed big time by the trainees, another camper and a roaming croc. Marissa’s masterclass of netting soon had bait, and we all hurled a line into the water. Small barra landed on the bank on either side of me on handlines, and fellow camper Carol soon had a 90cm prize on a rod. My only bite was soon chomped by something big. I’m calling it a croc.
Seven Emu Station welcomes travellers along the Savannah Way. They recommend a 4WD vehicle to cross the river on the way in and a self-contained RV for camping. You can enjoy fishing tours, cultural experiences, station life, 4WD tracks, well-maintained river camps or remote solitude.
Clarrie prepares the hessian shoot to trap the cattle
Epic landscapes at Caranbirini Conservation Reserve
Limmen National Park to the west gets most of the attention for its ‘lost city’ sandstone spires in tourist brochures. However, similar formations are just a short drive off the Carpentaria Highway, 46km south-west of Borroloola. You will see the sign to the 1200ha Caranbirini Conservation Park on the way from or to Cape Crawford.
Walk among the 25m high sandstone formations on a choice of two- or five-kilometre return tracks from the car park or a 1km stroll to a lookout. A semi-permanent waterhole has a hide where waterbirds gather, so bring the binoculars. There’s no camping available, but there’s a picnic area and drop toilets.
Caranbirini Conservation Reserve (Image Sean Scott — Tourism NT)
What did we think of Borroloola?
The Savannah Way is an iconic journey across the top of Australia, and many travellers may take Borroloola at face value as they drop in for fuel. From what we saw, that would be a mistake because rich adventures await those prepared to dig a little deeper.
Where to stay near Borroloola
Batten Road
King Ash Bay NT 0854
P: 08 8975 9800 (business hours)
E: contactus@kingashbay.com.au
194 Robinson Road
Borroloola NT 0854
P: 08 8975 8734
E: mcarthurcaravanpark@bigpond.com
Savannah Way
85km south-east of Borroloola
P: 08 8975 9904 / 0408 436 025
Must-visit locations
Old Borroloola Police Station Museum
1 John Street
Borroloola NT 0854
P: 0438 331 465
191 Robinson Road
Borroloola NT 0854
P: 08 8975 6718
E: waralungkumanager@mabunji.com.au
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Caravan road trip to Borroloola, Northern Territory