Wed, 17th to Thurs, 18th August - Mataranka

We had a good sleep at Harriet River.  We were the first to arrive there, but by nightfall were joined by 4 other groups.  In the morning we drove about 40kms to Pine Creek, where we were able to dump the toilet, before continuing another 90kms to Katherine.  This was a bit of back-tracking but the only way to go.  We shopped, filled gas bottles, refuelled, had lunch etc. and generally wasted a bit of time until Woollies Liquor opened at 2:10pm.  The pubs open at 2pm but Woollies opens ten minutes later, so avoiding the mad rush.

While having lunch in the park we witnessed our first road accident on the trip ... a four wheel drive turned right in front of a car towing a van along the Stuart Highway.  Suddenly Police came from every direction!  No-one was hurt fortunately but the four wheel drive was a bit of mess courtesy of the roo bar on the front of the other vehicle.

After stocking up we drove on another 100kms to the Elsey National Park at Mataranka on the Rober River.  On the way we clocked up 20,000kms on our trip.  We found a great site in the Park for $13.20 per night with drinking water, toilets and hot showers but no power.  The river was a short walk from our site and we were assured by the camp hosts that the river had been checked and cleared of crocodiles, so was safe for swimming.  Swimming pontoons were provided in the river and a short distance away were some little rapids on a side creek. Unfortunately, the temperature of the Roper River was a bit too cold for Barramundi at the time we were there.

On Thursday we drove into Mataranka township and had a look through the small but very interesting museum.  We then found a laundromat at the local service station.  While the washing was being done we drove 2kms to the Bitter Springs Thermal Pools which were beautiful.  The was was so clear and such a beautiful colour.  Quite a few people were swimming but we had to get back to the washing.  We decided to save our swim for the other thermal pools closer to our camp area.

There is a nice park in the main street of Mataranka with a number of statues displayed.  One is of Jeannie and Aeneas Gunn ... Jeannie is the famous author of the book 'We of the Never Never' which is her story of the couple of years she lived in Mataranka.  Sadly, her husband Aeneas died two years after they moved there so Jeannie returned to Victoria where she wrote 'We of the Never Never' and 'The Little Black Princess'.

At 1pm we attended a Barramundi feeding at one of the local caravan parks.  If ever you are ordering Barramundi at a restaurant, be aware that there are 'ocean' Barra and 'river' Barra.  Ocean Barra is the one that tastes good.  At one point, the guy feeding the fish was able to pick one up.

Before heading back to our camp we drove into a car park in the main street.  Under an adjacent tree was a group of Aboriginals with a cute young baby aged about 18mths.  The baby had a very young kitten with him.  I was a bit disturbed though to see he/she had two hands around the kitten's neck and was bouncing it up and down by the throat like a toy.  Interestingly, the following day as we drove through town, the same blankets and stroller, etc. were under the same tree, minus the people.

We went into the pub across the road to have a look as a lot of these towns have some interesting historical photos, etc.  We backed out again very quickly as it was full of Aboriginals and there was nothing of historical interest to be seen.  The only white person in sight was a young girl of around mid-twenties, five foot nothing and pure white short hair.  She was the one telling the blokes to stop hassling her customers (us) on our way through the pub.

Later in the day we visited a re-creation of the old Mataranka homestead that was built for the movie 'We of the Never Never'.  Adjacent to the homestead was the Mataranka Thermal Pools ... not quite as natural looking as the other pools, but we both enjoyed a swim in the constant 34 degree water that flows from Rainbow Springs at an amazing 30.5 million litres each day.

Our Elsey National Park campsite

The pretty Roper River

Bitter Springs Thermal Pools

Note the clarity and colour of the water

Statues of Jeannie and Aeneas Gunn

The fish take the food from your fingers

Pity they weren't that easy to catch in the wild

A huge tree in the car park across the road from the pub

Some of the costumes used in the movie

The lovely Mataranka Thermal Pools

Mon, 15th to Tues, 16th August - Kakadu

Approximately 250kms from Darwin is Kakadu National Park.  We were both looking forward to this part of our trip and each had a mental picture of what we would find.  I think in the end we were both a little bit disappointed, however we're glad we visited the Park.  If you live in Northern Territory it is free to visit Kakadu, however if you are from anywhere else the privilege costs $25 per person.

We drove further into the park and had a look around Jabiru.  This is where the Holiday Inn is shaped much like a crocodile.  We then went into the Bowali Visitor Centre and spent quite a bit of time looking at the displays about the Aboriginal way of life.  We picked up a hitch-hiker here Ume (pronounced You-me - emu backwards for those who are a bit slow) .

We all know the Aboriginals used to burn off the country now and again to promote new growth.  All through the top end of the country this is still done ... it has been proven that to stop fires from occurring actually causes more harm than good.  We often drove past fires right at the edge of the road, seemingly unattended and left to run their own course, even in and around the suburbs of Darwin .  The air around Kakadu was very smoky which made it hard to get good scenery photographs.

We decided to spend the night a bit further into the park at an overnight stop called Malabanjbandju (don't ask us to try to pronounce it).  Camping there cost $5 per person per night (on top of the $25 each to get into the park) and was via an honesty box.  It was a nice spot with toilets and some shade that we appreciated as it had been 35 degrees during the day.  There was a billabong close by, but we chose not to get too close to the water as there are crocs everywhere.

The next morning we continued on to a place called the Nourlangie Rock Art Sites.  This was a fascinating walk among huge rocks with caves where Aboriginal people once gathered.  All of a sudden right on the edge of the path was a small snake, curled up and well camouflaged.

At the site of one of the paintings a Ranger was giving a talk and explaining the story behind the artwork.  One thing we learned from this talk was that Aboriginal people have 'skin names' which are inherited from their mothers.  Certain skin names are not able to associate with some other skin names ... this is a way of ensuring in-breeding doesn't occur. 

We enjoyed our walk and continued on to Yellow Water.  This was the first place that looked like we imagined Kakadu would be.  It was a beautiful wetland with lots of birdlife and the usual crocodiles and fish.  After a walk on the boardwalk around the billabong we stopped for lunch.

We called into Cooinda to refuel on our way out of the Park.  There were a lot more areas we could have visited within the Park but a lot of them were along rough dirt roads which are not suitable for the type of van we have.  We said goodbye to the park and made our way to a place called Harriet River.  Along the way we saw our first few wild buffalo on the side of the road.  They are a bit unnerving the way they stare at you ... you don't know whether they are thinking about making a charge for your vehicle or what.

Kakadu National Park gates

Ume

Burning off

Our overnight camp spot

Quite a climb up before walking among the huge rock formations

Well blended with the pathway

Fantastic rock art still clearly visible

Some of the beauty from atop a nearby lookout

This is a pretty standard sign throughout NT

Click to enlarge the photo and you will see a croc in the middle on the far side of the water

Part of the Yellow Water Wetland

Wild Buffalo on the side of the road

Another large road train

Mon, 8th to Sun, 14th August - Darwin

On Monday, after checking, we were told we could move back to our old site in the park ... it was much nicer.  Rick had to take it easy with his wrists still bandaged so I had to unhook the van, drop the legs, peg down the flooring, open the awning, etc.  It proved to be quite frustrating for Rick as I wasn't as experienced at doing all this stuff, therefore it was all a bit slow. After getting set up we had to re-stock the fridge and pantry with food.  Later in the afternoon Rick went for a swim in the pool making sure not to wet his wrists.

On Tuesday afternoon we drove out to East Point Reserve and Lake Alexander.  Lake Alexander is a beautiful picnic area with many walkways and cycle paths and provides safe swimming all year round.  A bit further on is the East Point Military Museum which houses an extensive collection of photographic and informative displays and lots of old military equipment.

On Wednesday we visited the old Fannie Bay Gaol and got a close up view of the gallows which were last used in 1952.  The gaol was in operation from 1883 to 1979. We then headed up the coast a little to Rapid Bay and had lunch overlooking the water.  We had some salted crocodile which was really tasty.  On the way back towards town we followed a sign to the old Qantas Hangar. This has now been turned into a shed full of 'stuff' ... lots of old vehicles, car parts and general interesting memorobillia.


On the way back into the town area we passed Government House (built in 1883) and Parliament House before walking through the old disused WWII oil storage tunnels.  Five steel lined tunnels were built to protect the Navy's oil supplies from bombardment during WWII but were never actually used.  They extend from the wharf and run under the city, but by the time they were completed the bombing of Darwin had ceased.


On Thursday I finally had my K-mart injection at Casuarina Square Shopping Centre.  Rick kindly dropped me off and went off to do 'boy' things and have a swim while I had a relaxing window shop.

On Friday we drove roughly 100kms to Litchfield National Park pausing to call into Manton Dam along the way.  Manton Dam was constructed as a water storage facility to serve Darwin during the wartime period.  It now offers safe swimming with shady barbeque areas.  We then drove on to Litchfield where we stopped at the Magnetic Termite Mounds.  They stand up to 2m high with a north-south orientation which is a temperature control mechanism.  Further into the park we stopped at Forence Falls which is a double waterfall with a swimming hole at its base.

One of the most spectacular scenes in the park is the Tolmer Falls.  There is no access to the plunge pool at the bottom of these falls as they are home to colonies of the rare and protected Ghost Bats and Orange Horseshoe Bats.  Also located in the park is the ruin of the Bamboo Creek Tin Mine.  Tin was mined here for two years from 1906. Adverse conditions caused its closure so early.

On Saturday we drove back towards the beach area to visit the Museum and Art Gallery  of Northern Territory.  Inside we saw Sweetheart the crocodile.  In the 1970s this croc gained notoriety for attacking several aluminium dinghies at a popular Darwin fishing spot and on 19th of July 1979 was caught in a trap and anaesthetised.  Sadly, in an effort to pull him ashore, Sweetheart got entangled with a sunken log and drowned.  The Museum also houses a display on the greatest natural disaster in Australia's history ... Cyclone Tracey.  The destructive winds, the highest ever recorded on the Australian mainland, virtually destroyed Darwin on 24th December, 1974.  By dawn on Christmas morning most of the population of 48,000 were homeless.

After the museum, we went to the Darwin Casino and had a lovely lunch overlooking the water.  This was one of the best restaurant meals we have had on our entire trip.  What's more ... we came out $10 ahead on our poker machine investment!

Sunday was not a good day for us.  I turned on the computer, or should I say, I tried to turn on the computer.  It just would not start ... not happy!!  I ended up spending the entire day installing Windows 7 and some of our programs all while packing up and getting ready to move on to our next stopover the following day.  Rick decided it was best to stay outside and wash the van and car.  

Another view of our campsite

White Ibis stroll around the caravan park

There are a lot of Peahens and Peacocks living in the park also

Looking down the barrel of a gun ...

The trap door below the old gallows

A typical cell in the old gaol

The old Qantas hangar

Government House

Parliament House

Oil Storage Tunnel #5

Looking down the tunnel

Water lillies on the Manton Dam

Magnetic Termite Mound

Florence Falls from the viewing platform at the top

Rick swimming in one of the many waterholes

Part of the old Bamboo Creek Tin Mine

Tolmer Falls

What the ...????

Isn't he a sweetheart ...

Sat, 23rd July to Sun, 7th August - Tuross Head

The flight home was awful as we both suffered from terrible ear pain due to our head colds.  We flew to Melbourne and had a stopover there before flying into Canberra.  By the time we picked up our car and drove the 2.5 hours home it was quite late in the day and we were both exhausted.

We spent the following two weeks catching up with family, celebrating birthdays, attending to business and making sure all was OK at home.  Johnno and Kel did a marvellous job of looking after our home for us while we were away ... thanks guys!  On Tuesday the 5th of August we drove to Canberra for Rick to have his carpal tunnel operation on both wrists.  We stayed overnight and drove back to Tuross on the Wednesday.  The operation turned out to be extremely successful and Rick didn't need to have any painkillers at all.

On Sunday the 7th, Johnno, Kay and Jordy drove us to the airport in Canberra to fly back to Darwin.  Once again it was a tiring day as our first flight was delayed and we had to go through Melbourne again, so we didn't arrive back at the caravan park in Darwin until 6:30pm.  Our van and car were placed back on a site as promised, although this time it was close to the road at the front of the park.  We decided to check the following day to see if our old site would be available for us to move to.

Jordy and Johnno

Jordy and Mikayla

Sun, 17th to Fri, 22nd July - Darwin

I went down like a ton of bricks with a really bad cold, so I spent the next four days in bed.  Sightseeing had to be postponed until our return from Tuross.  Rick went to the car races at Hidden Valley on the Sunday but was disappointed in the quality of the meeting.  He spent his days washing the car and swimming in the pool and generally catching up on maintenance while I was so sick.

Earlier we had organised with Kellie to pick us up in Canberra when we arrived so we could surprise everyone else.  But, on the Tuesday we heard that John needed Kellie to go with him to Hay on the day of our arrival, so poor Kel had to let the cat out of the bag about us coming home.  Never mind, it still worked out OK as John and Kel were able to leave a car in Canberra on their way through to Hay so we could drive ourselves home to Tuross.

Wednesday I was still not well, but was able to get up so we went for a short drive to get out of the van for a while.  While out we had a phone call from our bank to say that someone in America had used our credit card, so we had a bit of mucking around to get that sorted out. Thankfully, the bank was on the ball and got on top of it quickly.

On Thursday Rick also started feeling a bit off colour.  We spent the day getting a few things done in  readiness to fly home, and drove to Fannie Bay to have lunch.  On Friday neither of us were feeling 100% but we managed to pack up and get the van and car ready to go into storage.  We had a cab booked to pick us up at 6am the following (Saturday) morning to take us to the airport.
 

Hidden Valley Raceway

The beach at Fannie Bay

Sat, 16th July - Darwin

One of the big sellers at the Mindil Beach Markets on Thursday nights is leather stockmans whips.  We were woken early to the sounds of children all through the park trying to master the art of 'cracking' these noisy things.  We were soon to learn that we would hear this day and night for the next week.

The day before we went for a drive and ended up buying two new doona covers from a Spotlight store for the van.  On opening one of them we found that it contained two pillow cases but they didn't match each other, so we had to return to the store to swap the set.

Rick decided to go to the Speedway at Hidden Valley in the evening so he rang Steve (Steve and Linda were staying in another park a short distance away) and invited him to go too.  I stayed at the van as I was starting to get a sore throat ... I'm not sure if I picked something up at the markets or from the park's swimming pool. There are some interesting signs to be seen when driving around the Northern Territory.

 

Leave your dirty books at home!

Darwin Speedway at the Hidden Valley Race Complex

Fri, 15th July - Darwin

After fiddling around all morning we drove to one of the wharf areas but found access was for authorised vehicles only.  We then headed to the Darwin Aviation Heritage Museum which is home to one of only two B52 bombers outside of America.  An excellent and informative display of aviation both civil and military and well worth the visit.  It has an excellent display of the bombing of Darwin and we were both surprised to learn that there was more bomb activity in Darwin during the war than there was in the attack on Pearl Harbour.  This information was generally kept from the Australian people at the time to avoid panic.  We spent quite a few hours here before heading back to the park.

Port of Darwin with its cyclone warning system

B52 Bomber wing (note Rick to the right of the pic)

Did you know .... ?

Small aircraft parked under the tail of the B52 Bomber