Burke & Wills Camp 119a - QLD

On 11/2/1861 this is as far as Burke and Wills got. The ground was muddy. Billy the horse had become bogged in the mud twice and it took all effort to get the animal out. Burke and Wills noted the water level was tidal and, although they could not see the waves of the ocean, they could hear and smell the salted air. The area was full of mangrove swamps and there was no clear dry land to make camp. Standing in ankle deep mud, with water to their knees, Burke and Wills made the decision further progress north was futile and impossible. Exhausted, they retraced their steps back to Camp 119 the same day.