Bustling Burketown has a population of not much over 100 souls, and is further beyond the black stump than Bullemakanka or the back o' Burke..

Frontier country. Some love it. Some don't. The beauty of the place is very much in the eye of the beholder. Certainly the Savannah has its share of tourist attractions - the local wetlands, the meandering river system, historical relics, Islands of the Gulf, the Morning Glory, cattle stations, fishing and wildlife etc - but what no word picture can describe is the remoteness of the area, the vast distances which must be covered to get to anything like a major town or city. The vegetables are trucked in on a weekly basis all the way from Cairns, over 1000 km away. A newspaper is usually two days old by the time they see it. They only got the phone on in 1970 or so, and the power is supplied by generator. If you like heat and dust, this is the place for you.

Remote! Try going out onto the saltflats, which cover tens of thousands of hectares. Just a few miles out of town you can look in any direction and see nothing but unending saltpans and the occasional sandy ridge. Imagine how Burke and Wills must have felt when they got to this incredible expanse of .. nothing. And the way to the coast blocked by myriad waterways, saline and crocodile infested. Enough to break the stoutest of hearts.

However, if you're determined to come to Burketown against all advice to the contrary, you'd better find a good place to stay. Actually, you'd better find any place to stay. There's not much choice.

Savannah Lodge is not too bad. You get used to it. And the sheets are clean, and the air-conditioning works as long as the generator keeps going, and the water is potable and abundant (that's one thing Burketown is never short of, fresh water -  it's pumped from the upper Nicholson which is spring fed - they say it's been underground for 2000 years!) so you can shower all day if you wish.

The people who run the place are mostly harmless, and well meaning. They just come across as, well  ..  sort of back-woods.

No, seriously folks, Savannah's a professionally run establishment, a virtual oasis of shade and sprinklers and carefully tended lawns, with a great barbecue area under shadecloth, and several motel style units with en-suite, air-conditioning and TV. The larger units also have cooking facilities.

Savannah Lodge is built on the site of the old Commonwealth Hotel, Burketown. All that remains of the original pub is the kitchen, which for several years was used as the office and briefing room.

Amanda and Paul work tremendously hard. Their day starts before dawn and they rarely finish before 10 at night. If there is a Search and Rescue function, they'll be in the thick of it, cooking the barbie and serving drinks, cleaning up and locking up, always first to arrive and last to leave. If the army's in town, they'll play host to officers and grunts alike. Council meetings: Paul's a councillor. Somebody lost in the Gulf : the Search and Rescue boat is parked at Savannah. And on top of all this they manage the Lodge and an aviation business with a fleet of planes and several offices. All accomplished with smiles, friendly banter and a fair deal of shouting (no, not really).
 
 

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