Wenlock/Batavia Goldfields ........... My first gold stompin' grounds from back in my Weipa days .
Yes, you can 'free camp' there ......... and they are relatively easy to access.
After you cross the Archer River, (Stop for an Archer Burgher there, they're quite famous - and filling !)
turn right at the Lockhart Road turn-off [heading towards the East Coast] travel for about 18 -20 ks till you hit the Wenlock River.
This road is frequently graded as it is the main access route to the Lockhart River community
50 meters or so up over the crossing ..... immediately turn left, follow any of those tracks and you're there !!
Tracks are sometimes a bit rough, especially after the Wets but 'drive to the conditions' and you'll be OK.
Alternatively, take the second left turn-off (under one k from the crossing) follow for around 2 k's will take you past heaps
of diggings, shafts (some very deep!) and hills 'n gullies ..................
Some great level camping spots there, reasonably secluded, apart from the occasional but rare visits of local hunters from Weipa and the Archer areas.
Cattle sometimes also wander through from closer properties, brumbies, marsupials galore, echidnas, heaps of birdlife .................
........... and wild-eyed prospectors.
Rarely see snakes, sometimes scorpions (watch for them under rocks and dead branches) and the inevitable face-clinging Golden Orb spideys !
You can drive back down to the river crossing for a wash 'n a splash and fill the water tanks - but boil before drinking any.
If you wander from camp on foot when you're prospecting - mark your camp and take your GPS - getting lost there will give you anguish !
After the Archer River Roadhouse, they ain't nuffin' there till Weipa, 180 k's away.
Trust this helps ........ and your gold will be 'hard won' ...... but the trip will be great !
