07 July 2011 - Gulf of Carpentaria, QLD Australia

Gulflander train



Purple Pub at Normanton

 Caravan Park at Normanton for two nights, a tiny little town just a 45 minute drive to the Gulf.  Has a couple of very old pubs, a couple of  stores which sell general goods including food (neither very good), a doctor's surgery,  a  government health clinic, very nice schools, both primary & college, a couple of fuel stops ( fuel back to $1.55 now) & the widest roads imagineable, not uncommon in these little old towns.  A fairly large aboriginal population all welldressed & clean. This area has a lot of artesian bore water which was established in 1896 & used to supply the town with up to 300,000 gallons of water per day.  Some experts  believe it takes 100 years for it to reach the surface, arriving at a scolding temperature of 66 deg Celsius.   There is still a town well in the middle of the main street which was the main source of water before reticulated water was introduced in 1965.  It still has the original gas light next to it.  The towns biggest attraction now is a crocodile named 'Krys', after one Krystina Pawlowski, a well known crocodile hunter in the Gulf region, who shot this largest of estuarine crocodiles in the world, measuring 8.6mtrs long.  The life-sized replica on display in the main street is enormous & unimagineably large - a real monster from the deep!


Krys the famous croc




Toe dip in the Gulf of Carpenteria

 We took an afternoon's drive out to the town of Kurumba, on the Gulf of Carpentaria where the aforementioned croc hunter & her husband were based for many years.   Several little wetlands on the way at which we spied more brolgas.  It is the only sealed access to the Gulf & is a commercial fishing base & very popular with recreational fisherman after the famed 'Barramundi', Australia's favourite fish.  The 3 caravan parks were jam-packed like sardines (don't know if jam & sardines go too well together)???  All for the fishing as there isn't anything else of interest in the area at all.  They go out there in little  tin dinghys etc among the crocs - don't like their chances if a large croc comes up under their boat.  There are signs all along the beachfront warning not to swim or even stand on the waters edge, but there are fisherman doing just that!  Must admit we took a photo of each other just dipping our big toe in the water extremely quickly.  I got stuck in the mud a little with my jandals so a quick takeoff would have been very difficult if a croc came up, but to be honest, the water was not deep there & was so clear you would see it coming.  Nevertheless we didn't hang about.  For a treat we had a beautiful but cheap  meal of freshly caught 'barra' on the waterfront then adjourned to the 'beach' to watch the sunset before driving back to Normanton, 45 minutes away.  It is the first time we have driven anywhere at night & were both too aware by the number of dead wallabies on the roads of what can happen in the dark.  Luckily we have an extra set of lights on the Landcruiser which gives a much longer beam than normal, so with that & extreme care, we managed not to hit anything though we saw many tiny wallabies on the side.  Because of the long beam I think the light hit them much sooner & they were stunned enough to stay still or turn the other way.  I'm not sure what type of wallaby they were as they were a lot smaller than I had seen before.

Next day, next little town is Croydon, where the general store has been running continuously since 1894 in the same building.  It is still set up with the shelves of goods behind the counter & lollies in jars etc.  Was really neat.  Of course it had a pub, though not much else.    The roads have been extremely good, but do have some more patches of one lane seal which is still to be widened.  Not much traffic here so it's fine as everyone does the right thing so the only problem is dust when you have to go off to the side, & also some of the edges of the seal are quite high & sharp so it's necessary to be choosy where you go off & on that you don't damage your tyres.  Road trains have the right to stay on the seal & make sure that you know it!

01 July 2011 - Barkly Highway, N.T. Australia.

The endless Highway



Brolgas at Camooweal Billabong

 Leaving Katherine we finally got to see what the annual migration of nomads was really like.  July 1st seems to be the opening of the real season even though many are already ensconced in their chosen area in the Top End long before.  Most of the caravan parks in Darwin are fully booked through till August now - unbelievable!  Anyway, we set off down the Stuart Highway once again, & were absolutely amazed at the number of vans coming north.  Some will head for W.A. from Katherine, some to Darwin & others will be heading to QLD.  We stopped at Bitter Springs once again for another lovely swim in the thermal pools, then again at Daley Waters for lunch.  The caravan park there was absolutely jammed with a queue of vans waiting to get in even at that time of day, unlike our previous visit heading up when it was pretty quiet.  We decided to count the caravans going north, & incredibly there were 62 in the first hour, not counting motorhomes & camper trailers etc.  In the afternoon there were 82.  It at least gave me something to do as it's pretty boring retracing steps down a highway you have already done.  We aimed for Newcastle Waters hoping that the road to the old town had now been opened as it sounded rather interesting.  It was opened, but was a total waste of time, so we headed for the overnighr rest area which was jam packed.  Luckily we knew of another unsigned area 2 kms further on, which we are sure must have been the original rest stop.  Obviously no one else knew about it as it is very hard to see from the road, so we snuggled ourselves in there for the night - great!  UNTIL it went dark & we were besieged with every insect imaginable.  Stu is very sensitive to mozzies, so he was going out of his mind trying to get these things out of the van, then crickets started to come in too.  We had no idea where they were getting in with all the flyscreens, but suddenly found it, & managed to settle down again to a good night's sleep.  If that wasn't enough, the


Dusk at Camooweal Bilabong





Clem Walton Dam Rest Area

 next morning turned out to be one of frustration.  Calling into Elliot for refuelling, we found that the tanker was refilling their pumps & we couldn't get access from that direction, so Stu had to do several circles with very little room & was becoming quite cross.  Eventually we got the fuel & headed on.   On arrival at 3 Ways later on, we  had to turn off onto the Barkley Highway  & knew there were few service stations, so Stu decided to top up again. You would NOT believe it, but just as he was about to drive in, there was the tanker again,  & again he had to drive round in circles to gain access.  You can imagine his mood?  Finally on the Barkly Highway &  the landscape is really flat & so easy to drive.   The roadside has lots of golden wattle which has deepened it's colour even more & looks truly beautiful.   From a distance it looks a lot like kowhai in flower but a lot more bloom.  Beside it the lovely Mistletoe Grevillia is showing off it's red flowers too.  Eventually even that dies out & the landscape is covered in light honey coloured grasses (Mitchell Grass), just begging to be cut for hay.  We laughingly decided that it was even too  boring to play I spy as it was all the same.  In actual fact it was quite nice but never ending.    It is scenery in which you feel minute.  The sky isn't so blue down here & I think because of the flatness the clouds seem to be really low & are huge, big, fluffy strata cumulus.  Some are quite dark & obviously dropping a little localised rain, but when we drove through it, the windscreen didn't even get a wash (unfortunately).  After a frustrating start to the day it seemed a good idea to stop earlier than usual, so we found a nice rest area at 41 mile Bore about 2.30pm & relaxed in the shade for the afternoon.  On arrival there were probably about 7 vans, but by the end of the day there were about 50!  Unbeknown to us, the area was much larger than we realised & had several entries & there were vans snuggled in everywhere.  We had found a nice secluded bit, so it was great for us.  There were lots of birds, mainly I think because there was a small waterhole there.  Many of them little finches, which were very hard to photograph, but also honeyeaters, willy wagtails & of course the inevitable black crows which seem to be anywhere & everywhere we go.
Although next morning we are away smartly, we discover lots have beaten us to it, & we have to follow along in a bit of a convoy behind some rather slow vans.  Today I see lots of trees with off-white fluffy flowers, which I think MAY be woolly butt trees.     They are rather lovely so I must find out if I am correct.
The Barkly is cattle country, where the stations are gargantuan in size, where the cattle are mustered by helicopters & aeroplanes, & is abundant in legends of ringers & drovers.  Along the highway we spot a rather large striped snake a python of some description),  not sure if it was basking on the warmth of the road, or had been run over during the night.  Either way, we couldn't stop to even take a photo.  Later on we were to see another one, though not sure it was the same variety.  The wind has whipped up a bit which is apparently quite common along here & there are signs warning of crosswinds.  Luckily it's not too bad & we are soon out of it.  Our next overnight rest stop is a much smaller one & opposite a Police Station out in the middle of nowhere.  At least we felt safe.  Nice sunset though not up to Mindil Beach standards.
Again we set off early & again we are in a convoy of 6 vans for some time.  At 8.30am we cross the border into Queensland & enter the little town of Camooweal for another fuel stop.  Stu had already chosen our next overnighter some 300kms away, but we happened to get into conversation with another couple who had just stayed the night in what they described as 'the most beautiful free camp'.  Although we had seen it in our 'bible' it sounded as if it was difficult to get to, but remarkably we had just passed the unsigned entrance a few minutes before.  Being told the birdlife was fantastic & even included brolgas, I persuaded Stu to turn around so that we could at least get some photos.    I was so excited when we arrived there & was running around like a chook with no head.  There were lots of beautiful brolgas, herons, whistling kites, ducks of many varieties, egrets large & small & all in a beautiful  river billabong setting .  Result was an overnight stay.We were able to park the van right alongside the river so we could sit there all day on the bank watching the birdlife come & go.  It was better than Kakadu in that respect.  Couldn't wait for sunrise next morning to see what eventuated.  Sadly the sunrise was mediocre & the birds nowhere near as plentiful as we had thought, apart from the most amazing aerial acrobatic display by two white necked herons.  Hopeless to try & photograph but Stu suddenly reminded me I had a video option on my camera, but all too late as they disappeared as if they knew.
On the road again towards Mt Isa which is a fairly large mining town whose population is an exuberant mix of people from many cultures.  The town began rising out of the desert in the 1920's & today is one of the biggest cities (in area), with 41,000 sq kms.  The population is 23,000, & they consider themselves the unofficial capital of the outback.  It is  one of the fastest growing areas in  QLD, now attracting 1000's of tourists throughout the year.  Apart from the mining associated attractions, one of the most interesting to me was the underground hospital which was built during the war in 1942 just after Darwin had been bombed.  Fortunately it never had to be used for that purpose, but did  provide  a cool, quiet place for nurses to use on night shift throughout the rest of the war as well as being a storehouse for the above-ground hospital.  We had decided not to stay in Mt Isa, as that means a caravan park which costs, so we travelled further along to another recommended free campsite.  If we hadn't been told about it we probably would not have found it as once again it was unsigned & there was a gate which at first appeared locked.  Fortuntely it wasn't so we drove down the dirt road, over a dry, rocky riverbed which turned out to be the spillway for the dam - wouldn't  want to get caught in it when the dam was overflowing!  On arrival there were already quite a few vans parked but we were able to find a great spot overlooking the dam itself which was like a lovely large blue lake & wetland area.  There is another campsite further in along the road, but it is not recommended for larger vans, but Stu & I took a walk along there after we were settled in & the road condition got worse as we got further along.  We were glad we hadn't risked it, but it was indeed a lovely site, with shady trees & a lovely clear, running river.  Serveral men were trying their luck at fishing & it was a most peaceful setting.  It had been nice to get a walk for an hour & stretch our legs before returning to relax back at the dam.  The sunset was not one to rave about, but with it's gentle colours & cloud formations was a lovely way to finish the day.  The following morning we were woken by the tuneful song of a little black & white magpie lark with a marvellous repoirtre. 
tIt was time to continue along the Barkly Highway to Cloncurry, which was named by the explorer Burke during his illfated journey in 1861.  However, the town was not founded tilll 1867 when copper was discovered in the area.  It has really large wide streets & the heritage buildings are all in beautiful condition .Today it's main industries include grazing, copper, gold mining & transport.  It was here that Qantas  was conceived & the original hanger is still in use at the aerodrome.   Also the Flying Doctor service began here in 1928.   Leaving Cloncurry the landscape changes & becomes undulating with rocky hills which seem to have erupted like pimples, surrounded by a large escarpment.  Needless to say it is lovely & sunny with blue skies AGAIN.  We do our usual 300+ kms & another free rest area, the 6th in a row which is a record for us & extremely helpful for the coffers.  This time it is a roadside one but still quite large & we tucked ourselves in as far from the road as possible in case of road noise, but we need not have worried anyway.
Along the road towards Normanton there are still lots of  small termite mounds, some like a community of red gnomes, & others like grey tombstones .  The conditions of the highway deteriorate & it becomes a single lane, sealed road which meant that when we met oncoming traffic, both vehicles had to have one wheel off the seal.    It is called a 'developmental' highway & now & then we are lucky to come across a length which had been widened.  Fortunately it is not as busy as most of the roads we have travelled, but we are glad to reach Normanton & a caravan park for two nights where we can catch up on washing etc.

29 June 2011 - Katherine, N.T. Australia

Flying Foxes



Jan at Lily Pond falls

 An early awakening by lots of birds on our last morning at Mary River, so I was out with the camera anxious to photograph & identify some new ones.  The very raucous cries of a flock of  blue-winged kookaburras, plus the red-tailed black cockatoos is not what one would call musical.  For all that it is marvellous to see them flying over even though they are  far too quick to snap.  Thankfully they weren't the only bird life around, & the trees around the caravans were filled with small birds singing & chirruping to their hearts consent.  Managed to snap a few in order to identify, but sadly they are not good enough photographs to display.  Among them one which sounded not unlike our Tui , but  I think was smaller,  & black, white & blue.  Also a blue-faced honeyeater.  I'm sure lots of them were honeyeaters of one variety or another as there are so many different ones.  Most I still have not managed to identify even with our trusty  Field Guide of Australian Birds, so I will be kept in suspense until I can find someone more expert than I.

The highway is now extremely busy with  caravans as the official ' season' starts 1st July.  We believe in the time we left Darwin a week ago, the caravan parks have filled up to capacity & will probably stay that way till August.  Thank goodness it wasn't like that when we were there.    As we were returning down the Stuart Highway the way we originally went north, it was a bit of  'je da vous', however it was only a two hour drive to Katherine.  The first time we came through & simply shopped for food & visited the Visitor Centre.  At that time it was still a bit cold & Stu thought it better to wait & do any sightseeing on the way back down, so this time we will stay two nights.  Katherine is a very tidy little town equipped with all that one would need.  It is the turnoff to Western Australia, so naturally is a halfway point for those going west or east to Queensland as we are, though we have to continue  further south first.  After settling into the caravan park & having lunch, we walked to the hot springs just 10 minutes down the road.  Not hot but a nice temperature & very busy as it is school holidays.  I think we must have forgotten our deodorant or something as a lot of people left just after we arrived.  We were not complaining about that. 

Early morning 4 hour cruise up the Kathryn Gorge today.  There are actually 13 gorges, all divided by little rapids & rocks.  The boats are only able to access the first 3, but it is necessary to disembark at each one & take a short stroll along a boardwalk or footpath to the next jetty where there is yet another boat awaiting us.The boatman/guide was a very nice young aboriginal from the local Jawoyn tribe, who now own this National Park 100%.  Since Stu's last visit here & since the takeover, the Jawoyn people have put in a lot of work & spent a considerable sum on improvements so it is very organised & tourist friendly.  Good to see the local people working it in many roles.  While we are waiting to board we are kept interested by 1000's of flying foxes in all the dead trees by the river.  They look as if they have been hung up to dry & there is a great deal of jostling for a place in so much as one has to occasionally fly off to another tree or branch.  They have the cutest little faces with quite bulging eyes, but also have a very musky smell which becomes quite overpowering with so many of them present.  I did hear someone say that they serve no purpose whatever in the scheme of things, but I will have to research that myself.

The leisurely trip up gorge No 1 we are given an informative commentary.  The sides of the gorge are extremely high & at this time of the morning many are in shadow so the better photos will be taken on the return journey.  Disembarking at the end of this gorge we have time to study some very good rock art on the massive cliffs - some of the drawings are quite high & several of us wonder how they would have reached that level.  Some are little handmarks, no doubt children, so I guess it's possible they were hoisted up on their dad's shoulders.  Also it was explained there could have been trees there & they would have climbed them, & possibly there were more lower rocks to climb on at that time, long disintegrated away.  Although the paintings have originally done in yellow, white, black & ochre, it is the ochre colour which survives the longest as it stains the rock.

Safely installed into boat No 2, we continue up the gorge, the scenery becoming more spectacular.  It is such a beautiful, sunny morning with a blue, blue sky, so naturally the water looks very blue too.  There a lots of small sandy 'beaches' in places & the trees are very green.  We see a freshwater crocodile or 'freshie'  lazing on the side but are told we will see more on the return journey as it gets warmer.  Gorge No 3 & another change to yet another boat.  At the end of this gorge we disembark for an hours break & climb to the Lily Pond Falls with a lovely swimming hole for those who feel like a very cold dip.  Morning tea is provided, fruit cake, muesli bars, fresh mandarins & plenty of nice cold water which is very welcome.   It's nice to take a wander around the area & snap a few photos, then it's time to repeat the whole journey in reverse.  We are lucky & see another 2 'freshies' & get good photos thanks to the boatman easing closer for us.  Freshwater crocs are apparently pretty harmless unless they, or their nests are threatened.  It is nesting time now & we see a couple of nests in the sand - just slight mounds where they have buried their eggs.  They lay them when the kapok tree flowers & return when they are due to hatch, Take them to the water in their mouths, & crunch them slightly to allow the little ones to escape, then they are on their own.  Great how nature has it all worked out!



Katherine Gorge




Freshwater Croc

 We had intended to do a bike ride in the afternoon when we got back, but by the time we had lunch it was 2pm & a bit too hot, so spent it finishing off the washing & a pleasant read in the shade, as tomorrow we hit the road en route to Queensland via Mt Isa, which will be very boring by all accounts.  Oh well, can't have excitement all the time, CAN WE???

26 June 2011 - Kakadu, N.T. Australia

Freshwater croc at Yellow Water



Suset at Yellow Water

 Time to move camp again to another part of the National Park further south.  On the way we stop at Jabiru 'township' to refuel only to find that the 'servo' was undergoing big renovations but they had a temporary site around the corner.  Stu was amazed with the setup, which was two very large rectangular containers filled with fuel (about the size of shipping containers) & they had to refill them both every 2 days - that's a lot of fuel!  Any building or maintenance work has to be done in the dry season which of course is the busiest tourist season,  so that makes things rather difficult.  It must be quite strange living out here in the wet season.  We asked the young girl serving us what they did, & she said it was pretty much eat, drink, sleep, & read, though the golf course usually had about 4 holes which were not submerged & still playable.  They are often totally cut off from Darwin & the south.  Last wet was an extended one, &  everything is a little behind in being put to rights, meaning that there are still quite a few of the unsealed roads closed.

We were to have a nasty little surprise at our next National Park camp site at Madugal.  We had discovered first thing that morning a few tiny ants in the van, & duly dispensed with them before we packed up to move.   However on opening out the awning again we were met by hundreds of them in the awning mechanisms.  Since then we have had more in the van so they must have come from the last site - surrounded by trees & long grasses on our lovely site. We have now noticed that lots of caravanners put talcum powder around their wheels when they set up - apparently the ants are not keen on it for some reason.
The camp here is on the South Alligator River & you may wonder why the rivers are named alligator & not crocodile.  The story goes that in the early days some American came out here & thinking the crocs were the same as the alligators back home, mistakenly  named the rivers .  The first thing we did was walk down to the boat ramp & honestly I don't know how some of these people launch boats without getting in the water.  Plus they go out in little tin dinghies which a big croc could so easily turn over.  We even saw a couple of guys from the camp go out in one of those rubber ones!  One good bite & it would be 'gurgle, gurgle'.   Our exercise for the afternoon was to a lookout up a steep rocky track in the heat.  The view was hardly worth it, but the lookout tower was large & very high with lots of seats & got a beautiful cooling breeze, so it was nice to just sit for awhile before we made our way down again.  That evening there was a Park Ranger slide show about aboriginal rock carvings & although we had seen a large number the day before, it was still interesting & informative.


At the top of Gunlom Falls




Motor Car Falls pool



Programme for the next day was to explore the immediate area by car,  headed off to Jim Jim Billabong along a very corrugated off road track (me driving), which we didn't manage to reach due to water across the road which had no depth marker on & looked very deceptive.  We learned from our next door neighbour campers that they did the same drive & watched two vehicles go through & the water was over their number plates.  Stu felt totally vindicated for not wanting to do it.  Our afternoon event was to have been a boat cruise down the Yellow River which has the reputation of being one of the best places for birds, crocs & sunsets.  The i-site had told us the boats were full for that evening, so we booked (but did not pay) for the following one, which was a bit of a pain as we really wanted to move on next morning.  As it happened the people in the next caravan did manage to get on it that night & weren't all that taken with it.  The crux of it all was that we cancelled ours, went down to the Yellow River ourselves, took photos of the hundreds of the very vocal magpie geese, white egrets, herons, water lilies etc plus a most beautiful red dragon fly.  After a couple of hours of relaxation in the hottest part of the day (now 32) we returned to the river again to take wonderful sunset photos which would have been every bit as good as on the cruise if not better, & a heck of a lot cheaper.  And to cap it all off we even watched a croc cruise down past all the visitors on the boardwalk, not real close, but we managed to get a reasonable photo using the zoom.  We had previously been feeling a bit disappointed with some of Kakadu (lack of birds in particular) but do realise it is dependant on the time of year you visit.  So finally a really lovely, positive end to our visit here.

Milly (Loo sign) Mary River Roadhouse

Willie (Loo sign) Mary River Roadhouse

23 June 2011 - Kakadu, N.T. Australia

Rainbow Bee eater



Grasses in the wind

 An uneventful drive from Darwin on another lovely morning.  Passed through 'Humpty Doo' (it's correct name - blink & you miss it),  stopped for morning tea,   through lots of wetland areas - marvellously green.  At one time an experiment to grow rice took place in this area but it was not  successful.  Arriving at Jabiru, the main centre for the Kakadu, a visit to the Information & Cultural Centre was a must in order to find out which National Park camp sites were open.  Some are closed due to poor road conditions etc.  Luckily the first one we wanted was OK & about 40kms away.  There are several private caravan parks available too, but they are all quite expensive, (like $50+ per night).  While we were asking about camps another tourist heard us & informed us we needed to get there early before all the rental motorhomes.  As it was only mid-day, we were not concerned but headed there immediately as we wanted our lunch.  Great camp with really large sites which all included a picnic table & seats plus a BBQ fireplace, & all separated from each other by strips of bush so nobody was on top of each other  The other great thing was that they had different areas for those who ran generators - naturally we chose the peaceful area as we don't have one & hate listening to them,  though they are supposed to turn them off by 10pm.   In actual fact we needn't have worried about it being too busy either - there were plenty of empty sites left at the end of the day.  We spent a leisurely afternoon just soaking up the surroundings & peace & quiet.  Late in the afternoon the birds appeared, unfortunately so did the mozzies.  There are at least 17 different varieties here apparently,  so Stu is not happy as he seems to be one of their favourite food items  & was quite badly bitten within the first couple of hours.   Fortunately they find me far too tough - must be the aussie genes in me!  The temperature was 31deg so is increasing a little each day,  but thankfully still not humid.   After a good nights sleep it was off to explore the immediate area before the heat kicked in.   There a little tracks everywhere around the camp so we chose the sandstone walk, through rocks formed as sandy sediments under an ancient lake about 1500 million years ago (before life on earth).  They were islands in a sea at the time of the dinosaurs 140 to 65 million years ago & as the sea eroded the sandstone as far as a shoreline of sea clifffs, it became the Arnhem land escarpment.  There are some interesting plants in this habitat, namely a particular variety of pandanus  which is recognised by it's 'cork-screw' leaf arrangement.  Aboriginal people use the leaves for weaving baskets & mats.  It bears a large, bright orange woody nut which contains a small peanut-like nut, only eaten if one is really starving as the trouble getting them open is hardly worth it.  Another interesting tree is the Sandstone Fig which has hairy leaves & grows on rocks where it's roots seek cool, moist crevices to provide strong support.  There is another fig , the Strangler Fig, which has also adapted to living on porous sandstone.  It finds a host tree which it in time strangles completely, rather like the rata vine in NZ.   The third type is the Sandpaper Fig which  has abrasive leaves, suitable for the aboriginals to use to smooth spears, didgeridoos & other wooden items.   One tree I thought could be quite useful  to  get rid of our NZ  possums is the Strychnine tree.  It has attractive yellow fruit & it & it's bark are poisonous to people & most animals.  On second thought, NOT a good idea at all!  One of the prettiest trees is the kapok tree with a lovely yellow bloom.

This environment is also inhabited by the Black Wallaroo.  Only the males are black, the females being grey with black paws, feet & nose.  It is only found in this rugged stone country of the Arnhem Land plateau.  They mostly eat spinifex grasses, leaves, fruit & yams, along with bush tomatoes which it eats with it's eyes closed to protect them from the plant's spines.  We were indeed lucky to see a female bound out of the bush ahead of us on the way home.  The other animal which flourishes in this area is the short beaked echidna (or spiny anteater) which breaks into termite mounds using their long sticky tongues to gather termites.  Sadly we haven't come across one of these yet, though I did think I saw a dead one on the road as we arrived here.  Of course the most talked about creatures  in the area are the crocs, both saltwater & freshwater.  There are signs everywhere warning one to be careful, NOT to enter the water under any circumstances etc.  Of course some people can't read it appears, especially fishermen.  Someone we met today was telling us he saw two standing in the water fishing???  Also saw someone hook a fish & bring it to the surface only to have it  promptly snapped up by the surprise appearance of a croc.  'Thanks for the meal mate!'   

We visited Cahill's Crossing which is the causeway through the East Alligator River to Arnhem Land -  it is necessary to have a special permit to do so as this is 100% owned by it's traditional owners.  I would love to have gone over to visit this special area, but Stu wasn't too keen on driving through even at low tide as someone got stuck the day before.  Only because they were doing it at high tide instead of low!    A tour was the alternative, but at $245 per person not really an option for us.  Instead we did a very interesting afternoon walk  at Ubirr where you can wander through several  fascinating  Aboriginal rock art sites, eventually climbing to a wonderful rocky plateau which offers superb views of the floodplains, incredibly green & covered in waterlilies & I believe particularly beautiful at sunset.  We should have chosen to do it all later in the day & stayed there for the sunset, which would have been quite magical.  To finish the day a ranger provided the campers with a 1 hour informative talk & slide show on 'The seasons of Kakadu'.  I'm sure most of us are aware of the 'wet' & the 'dry' seasons here, but we also learned of the indigenous peoples calender of six different seasons.  This calender provides them with a guide to the correct time for hunting certain animals & birds etc, & also for collecting different varieties of plants, seeds etc.  All very logical & environmentally sustaining, as is the seasonal burning which  is necessary to assist some plant seeds to germinate.  The burning takes place at the beginning of the dry season so that once the wet begins, the seeds then have the moisture to germinate.  Only small areas are burnt off each year, so that too much of their food gathering or hunting is not  affected.  These really are very clever people with 1000's of years experience behind them.


Rock Art at Ubirr




Aboriginal artist at work

 Another great experience was to take part in an aboriginal art 'class' one morning at the camp.  Arranged by the National Parks Ranger, a very well known aboriginal artist  showed us how they make their brushes from a reed-like grass, & provided us with paints & cardboard to try & emulate their style of art.  It was great fun with children & adults taking part together.  I spent more time being hypnotised by the skill of the artist himself, a man in later years whose grandfather was also a wellknown artist.  I would never have the patience or skill to paint as they do.

16 June 2011 - Darwin, Top End NT, Australia



sunset ay Mindil Beach



Waiting for sunset Mindil Beach



Sunset Mindil Beach

 Booked into Lee Point Caravan Park for a week to make the most of the lovely climate & relax a bit after all the travelling.  It's a big park with many, many nomads who make the  trek at this time every year & stay for 4-6 months (lucky sods).   Most book the same site for the coming year as they leave,  & are well set up for their sojourn with little gardens, vegies growing in buckets & pots.  They even run a small market every Tuesday morning in the camp with sewing crafts or jewellery made by the ladies, and caravan bits, tools etc sold by the men.  They had some lovely stuff at reasonable prices.  Apart from that they organise a 'Bocce' (petanque) tournament  over a period of weeks for anyone in the camp who is interested.  It's really great to witness all these 'seniors' enjoying themselves in later life.   Some of them have bikes, & as Lee Point Beach is only about a km away they can get a little exercise by cycling there. but  in general I think they just enjoy each other's company & the lovely warmth.   We found some walking tracks which led to the beach as well, so did that the first day, & it is a lovely long, long beach but unfortunately no-one can swim at this time of year because of the box jellyfish which invade the waters as soon as it warms up.  Very disappointing indeed.  Deciding to take a different track back from the beach we got ourselves a bit lost & although the journey TO the beach was only just over a km, the return walk eventuated into about 4kms.  We finally found a T junction & took a punt at which direction to take & luckily it ended up onto dirt road where we met a 4WD who I stopped to ask where it led.  Thankfully it ended just near the caravan park or we may have had a much longer walk home.
The next day was spent exploring Darwin city a little, getting info from the i-site & just generally getting a feel for the place.  It's not a large city & is very casual & laid back.  There are lots of parks & beach reserves with picnic areas which get very busy at weekends even though there is no swimming.
Thinking we might have more lucky on bikes than walking, we spent one morning cycling along waterfront tracks & managed to find some bush tracks as well which we always enjoy more.
Darwin has so many markets - it seems that every suburb has a market, so Sunday morning we spent visiting 3,  but although one was quite interesting, the others were mostly food.  But the food was so varied, & so international, as were all the fresh produce.  So many things I had never heard of let along eaten.  The only thing which really tempted me was a mango smoothie which was SO good.  It seems to be a regular Saturday or Sunday morning thing for the locals to visit the markets & eat up large.  There is also a very popular large market held on Thursday & Sunday evenings at Mindil Beach & it is has lots of crafts, clothes, food, entertainment etc.  One thing which took our interest was an asian man (possibly chinese) who did the most incredible paintings on site, with spray cans on shiny photographic paper which only took about 15-30 minutes to dry & they could be taken away.  They were assorted sizes & very reasonable & going like hot cakes.  The main attraction though had to be  the wonderful sunsets to be seen from the beach.  People take their own tables & chairs & relax, eat, drink & generally enjoy themselves while waiting, naturally armed with cameras.   We have never seen so many people on a beach waiting for a sunset.  Whole families including grandparents seemed to make it a gathering place.
The temperature has slowly risen each day we have been here & is now a very pleasant 29, no humidity at all which has very pleasantly surprised me in particular.  I fully expected it to be over 30 each day & very sticky.  However it appears this is the coldest June on record up here & all the locals are complaining about it being cold!  Anyway with beaches closed to us we sought out other swimming opportunities & spent a day at Berry Springs about an hour out of town.  There are three wonderful natural rock swimming holes, one with a lovely forceful cascade.  We expected them to be cold but it was a pleasant surprise to find them quite warm, especially right near the cascade.  We, with others, had a lot of fun trying to get close enough to duck under it , no easy task but  finally managed it by giving each other a push.  The roar was amazing.  We had to share the pool with fish but they mostly avoided us, but I managed to snap a few after I left the pool.  We also visited Howard Springs - could have saved ourselves the effort, as it was closed for swimming & is about to undergo a $3 million upgrade.  There were however lots of fish to see & I managed a snap of a turtle in the water.  Again we took a stroll along a small track & were followed by lots of lovely little butterflies.


Berry Springs




Casuarina Beach

 We are taking things very easy while we are here, so actually spent most of one day down on the beach stretched out reading a book in the shade.  There wouldn't have been more than 10 other people on the whole long, long beach.
Always conscious that we must not neglect our education on this trip, a visit to the Darwin Art Gallery & Museum was in order.  It was really very interesting, lots of aboriginal arts & crafts & history, & the display of Cyclone Tracey & the chaos she created extremely informative.  Museums in general seem to be much more exciting than I remember as a child.
As there is not a lot of attractions which involve long walks here in Darwin, an effort had to be made to get a little more exercise, so the bikes got  a bit of an airing & taken on a 15km bush track which ended at the beach not far from the camp.  Great fun, lots of ups & downs & only had to get out of the saddle twice where the track had been washed out.  We both much prefer this type of cycling to being on the roads.  For one thing you are so busy concentrating on what is coming up next that it never seems as far as it is.  So that is our last outing here on a beautiful 29deg day, not a bit humid & a light, warm breeze.  We shall miss the climate, but Darwin itself is not a particularly pretty place, at least not at this time of the year.  I imagine that once the wet, hot season begins there will be lots of tropical flowers & everything will be green & lush.  That would be nice to witness, but apparently once that season arrives, half of Darwin's occupants move to Melbourne, a complete reversal of the situation at present.  So tomorrow we head to the Kakadu which I have been looking forward to for a long time.  Do hope I am not disappointed but there's only one way to find out.

13 June 2011 - Litchfield National Park, N.T. Australia



Edith Falls




Jan by termite mound




Cycads after a burnoff

 Sorry to have left Mataranka & it's wonderful thermal springs, but nomads must keep moving so we hit the road again.  The highway is quite busy as far as Katherine which is the turnoff to W.A. so we lose many of the caravans at that stage.  Katherine is a lovely town with a big information centre & many tourist attractions in the area.  We however,  will not be partaking of any of them at present.  Stu visited here about 8 or 9 years ago & loved it, but the weather is a bit windy & cool, & we have to revisit this route on the way back down from Darwin so hope it will be more condusive to kayaking & swimming in the gorges then.  So we stock up our 'pantry' & fill up with fuel which thankfully has become cheaper @ $1.56 per litre.&  head on.  The road conditions have deteriorated slightly but still OK.  There have been some big 'burn offs' on the roadsides which rather spoils the look of the scenery, still it is obviously a necessary detterent during this dry period of their year.  Our next camp spot for one night is at the Edith Falls National Park, basic but clean.  It's a busy little camp, & a day stop for small tour groups.  Once we are settled we head off to view the well known water falls & walk for an hour to the top where there are wonderful swimming holes - it was  quite idyllic but not warm enough for us oldies to join the many young folk who were.   Next morning we're on the road again for anoter 200kms.  We pass some Brahman cattle on the side of the road, again no fences to prevent them wandering.  For the most part the cattle stations are so large & expansive that the cost of fencing their stock is too prohibitive so losing a few to road accidents is the cheaper option though not so good for the poor beasts.   We pass through Pine Creek which was an old gold mining town, then further afield there are lots of historical small airfields from the WWII period.   The roadside scenery changes a little, still burnt, but there are hundreds of small cycads & palms in the regrowth stage - they look soft & feathery in a delicate green.  The plants here are so tough or they wouldn't survive.  It's surprising how many pretty little wildflowers there are here & there.  One thing which is obvious to us now is the lack of rest areas, either daytime ones or overnighters.  There are still roadhouses with fuel stops occasionally.  As we near Adelaide River the small termite mounds change to quite large ones about 2 metres tall.  Unbelievably, there is also lush green grass & waterholes intermittently   Further evidence of WWII is apparent as this was the frontline, & we see a sign to a war cemetary from that period.  Although we have followed the Ghan railway track for most of the Stuart Highway, we have still not witnessed a train.   We enter the Litchfield National Park via the tiny town of Batchelor, gateway to the National Park.  Despite it's size it is known as one of the greenest towns in the Territory & consists of more parks than anything else.  In one there is a blue replica castle - no idea what it represents!  Shortly after we have found our caravan park for the next 3 nights so after a quick bite of lunch we make the most of the afternoon by driving to Tolmer Falls 42kms further on, most impressive & high with a viewing platform at the top.  It is also  home to colonies  of rare & protected bats, but being nocturnal beings we were not honoured by their presence.  Heading back we visited the Buley Rockhole, a very popular attraction with a series of  wonderful swimming holes.  It's a lovely hot afternoon so we take the plunge ourselves with many, many others of all ages.  Very refreshing!   Next stop Florence Falls which has a great lookout at the top but to swim here there are 135 steps to the bottom pool.  Alternatively there is an easy track of 1km to another set of smaller swimming holes.  All of the above are really photographic & in a lovely setting with lots of cascades & wonderful reflections along the still parts of the river.  Last place for the afternoon was to the Magnetic Termite Mounds.  Termite mounds are one of the most distinctive features of the N.T. landscape.  These earthen structures ranges from small domes hidden in the undergrowth to giant monoliths in the Top End.  Some exceed over 6mtrs in height but I must say we haven't witnessed any so large as yet.    There  are several types in Australia.  Termites are tiny pale skinned creatures (3-5mm) & slightly resemble ants & sometimes referred to as white ants.  One variety build at the base of trees & hollow out the trunk causing the tree to eventually die.  These hollowed out branches are those used for didgeridoos.  The magnetic termites build their structures with a flat surface to the north to provide maximum exposure to the morning and afternoon sun & so control the temperature of the inner chambers, especially as nights can be so cold in the north.

Day 2 we have a full day planned, so with picnic hamper & swimmers packed & hiking boots on, we head for the rest of the sights.  First off is to The Bamboo Creek abandoned tin mine.  There are still thousands of tiny pieces of tin on the ground although it was closed in the 1950's.  Interesting little place.



Pool in the Cascades




Curtain falls along the Cascades




Wangi Falls

 On to Walker Creek, with a lovely riverside walk of 4kms with various swimming locations  along the way.  Saltwater crocs are washed up into this area during the wet & have to be cleared out before the tourist season.  A bit offputting but the water is so clear you would see a croc quite clearly, though to be honest, the banks would hide them quite adequately.  The monsoon tropical forest reminds me very much of the 'Crocodile Dundee' movies.  As we venture further there are 8 little tenting campsites about 250 mtrs apart beside the river with their own table & BBQ,  really idyllic and all for $3.30 per person per night.  Of course all your gear has to carried in.   Several of them are occupied, but Stu manages to have a quick 'skinny dip' at the best one.  We continue on to the very top of the walk through burnt out sections which although they are not beautiful are interesting & quite photographic.  There are burnt cycads & palms with their black trunks & now dry golden leaves, some with new growth appearing from the top, some with seedheads as well. 
Next stop is The Cascades,  only recently opened, which has been recommended to us by the receptionist at the caravan park.  She tells us if we like walking it is fabulous at the top as few people are willing to walk that far & requires crossing the river several times by rockhopping or wading -  well worth the trouble.  We reach  'Curtain Falls' which  has a wonderful large pool at the bottom &  two young female backpackers are having the time of their life.  Apart from those two there is not a person in sight, so we venture further up & find a gorgeous sandy bottomed pool in the sun all to ourselves & oh so clear.   How can it be better than that?.  The rocks are beautiful colours, slightly marbled in tones of pink, white, grey & ochre & mostly smooth like granite.  There a lots of tiny pools where the small birds come down to drink & chirrup or chatter.  Wonderful place to open up the picnic hamper & lunch in peace & quiet, before we have to move downriver again through the tropical jungle-like forest.

Last stop for the day is yet another waterfall called Wangi Falls, actually two falls one much larger than the other but both falling from a great height.  The pool here is very large indeed but is now closed for swimming for several reasons.  Mainly I think that it is difficult to clear of crocs, secondly there are apparently a lot of fish & snapping turtles present.  It is very popular with the tour buses so is exceptionally busy so we take snaps & climb the many, many steps to the treetop lookout.  On the way up there is a magnificent spider in it's web on the railings & several people were trying to photograph it, some unsuccessfully including me.  Somehow my camera just would not focus on it.  Looking down from the lookout over the tops of the monsoon forest is lovely with distant ranges in the background.  Everything is so, so green.

Back at camp we relax with a nice glass of wine, & while dinner is cooking I do my usual wander with the camera trying my utmost to snap birds so that I can identify them.  I am surprised at the length of my list of identified species IF  I am correct.  It's not easy as they vary so much in colouring etc from juvenile, female or male.  Great fun though just the same.

Next morning it's off towards Darwin, only 2 hours drive.  Again we are surprised that it is not all flat, in fact quite hilly in places, & the road is so pretty with all the NT wattles clothed in golden bloom.  The outer suburbs of the city begin about 35kms out from the city & it's always great to have the comfort of our GPS to guide us to our caravan park.  That accomplished we can breathe easy in the lovely warm temperature & realise we have finally reached 'The Top End'.