Day 332 – Darwin, NT (11 August)

Did a heritage walking tour today around Darwin city and learnt about the Darwin bombings in 1942, the impact of Cyclone Tracy, the Port of Darwin and visited Parliament House.  I didn’t realise that Darwin was bombed 64 times?  It was a very interesting tour and we both really enjoyed it was a 2 hour walk and the guide was so informative that it ended up being 2.5 hours.  A town is so more interesting when you know its history and a local can point out historic places and places of interest.  Parliament was sitting today and we sat in the public gallery for a short time and watched proceedings.  Here is a link for more info on the Darwin bombings.   We then visited the Darwin Museum which has a great display on Cyclone Tracey which was also very interesting with audio accounts from actual residents who lived through the cyclone, pictures of the devastation and an enclosed sound booth that depicted the noise and feeling of what it would have been like to have gone through the cyclone, scary stuff.  There was also a great display of the fauna and flora that live in NT.  The mangroves, the reef, crocodile stomach contents, birds, box jellyfish, sea life etc, shells, butterflies to name a few.  The nice thing about this museum is that is focussed on the NT not general as a lot of museums are.  Well worth a visit.  There is also an indigenous art gallery.  The indigenous art here is quite different to other parts of Australia.  A piece of trivia is that the didgeridoo is not a tradition common to all Aboriginal tribes, it is only traditional to the NT Aboriginals with other tribes picking up the didgeridoo over time.  There must be a colony of bats nearby as every night at dusk heaps of bats fly overhead to start their night of foraging.  Lovely to see.  There is a bird called the Curlew that sounds like a child crying, quite an incredible sound and these birds come out at night and start their calling.    The weather has been perfect, a constant 32 during the day and down to about 17 at night which believe it or not it a bit chilly!  The cost of living here is quite high compared to other parts of Australia and housing is very expensive.  Unable to buy anything for under $500K and that is a fairly average house in an average suburb.  Rents are very high and very few available.  Similar to north WA the demand exceeds supply and hikes up the price which makes living here very difficult for those people who earn a low salary to survive.  In saying that it is very easy to get work here and businesses are ok if workers only stay for a few months at a time, I guess as it is such a transient town they have had to adjust accordingly.  We voted today at an interstate polling booth, so that is one less thing we have to worry about, who knows where we will be on the 21st!

     

Days 330-331 – Darwin, NT (9-10 August)

Started some sightseeing on Monday in Darwin.  We toured the WWII oil storage tunnels. Two tunnels are open to the public.  Darwin was the only refuelling point between Sydney and Singapore and was being bombed by the Japanese fighters in an effort to destroy the tanks and the war effort.  After having above ground oil storage tanks bombed and replaced many times it was decided to store the oil underground.  400 engineers were sent up from the southern States to build these access tunnels nd storage tanks.  As it turned out not all of the 11 planned tunnels were built and those that were finished  weren’t used to store oil as the war ended before completion.  In the 1970s one was used to store aviation fuel but the fuel had to be destroyed when water got into it.  The tunnels are based at the wharf and across the road is a man made wave lagoon.  This looked like great fun especially for the kids who are given huge inner tubes to sit on to amongst these huge waves.   We were then heading to the Darwin Museum when we had major problems with the car, John suspects the clutch. Luckily when we were in South Australia we decided to join the RAA (Royal Automobile Assoc) who provide roadside assistance.  For $165pa we thought was good insurance given where we are going to be travelling with the van on tow.  We called them and the mechanic agreed it was likely to be the clutch.  Fortunately a clutch specialist was 200m away and John was able to get the car into first gear and we managed to grind into the workshop.  So there the car is and we probably won’t get it back until Thursday.  We are waiting for a call from the workshop to tell us what is wrong and the $$ damage - we know it is a big job.  RAA have supplied us with a hire car to tide us over in the meantime.   We are grateful that we took out the cover as just in this scenario it has paid for itself.  It was nice when we got home and a beautiful fish dinner had been cooked for us – can’t beat that!  The following night we all went out to the Palmerston Tavern for 1/2 price Tuesday.  Had the best herb crusted barramundi for only $11 and John had fettucine carbonara for $9 – can’t beat that either.  All the meals looked good and such great value.

Days 329 – Darwin, NT (8 August)

Arrived Darwin on Sunday 8th and are staying with friends, The Ellis’s we have met on the road (through Scott and Joanne from Dubbo).   Murray, Julie, Sam and Monique are staying on a 2.5 acre property at Howard Springs which is 30kms south of Darwin.  They are staying with another couple Shaun, Jeannie, Alex and Oscar in their respective rigs.  The property belongs to a couple who are happy to have them park themselves on their land and pay a minimum weekly rent to cover water, power etc.   It is an ideal setup and the two families are very well setup here and have been here about four months.  Park accommodation in Darwin is very expensive during the dry season and literally doubles in price from May to September making it difficult for anyone who is semi permanent to stay in the parks.  Both families are working and staying indefinitely at this stage.  There are two dogs on the property, Jake who is probably about 7 and has obviously had a hard life as he looks much older.  He has the sweetest temperament.  Not a pretty dog a real bitsa probably a pit bull cross with who knows.  He is a large dog and was used for pig hunting and has the scars to show it.  His owner is in Kakadu indefinitely so he now lives a life of luxury.  The property owners have a lovely dog called Jedda who is a kelpie german shepherd cross.  She is a gorgeous dog but unfortunately she doesn’t like Coco so we have to keep them apart.  Sunday was the beer can regatta at Mindil Beach in Darwin.  The regatta is an annual event that has been running for 35 years and is very well known and popular with many interstate and I think, international competitors.  After setting up we all headed down to the beach for an afternoon by the water and to watch the regatta and visit the Mindil Beach markets which are very very popular.  The markets are known for their large variety of food stalls and it is almost a tradition to buy dinner and sit and watch the sunset for locals and visitors.   It is hot and dry in Darwin constantly at 32 degrees in the day so it was nice to catch some shade and it was certainly cooler at the beach than where we are staying. Jeannie and Julie are distributors for Vanilla Mozzi.  Vanilla Mozzi’s core product is an all natural insect repellant but they also make and sells other natural products as well such as wonder oil, arthiritis cream, anti itch.  Their stall was very popular and they had really good sales that day.  Mindil Markets are on every Thursday and Sunday evenings during the dry season.  Other than the variety of stalls they have free entertainment such as bands, musicians and fire eaters.  It was a really good day.  There was a chap selling landscape paintings of Uluru and Kakadu using paint from spray cans.  It was fascinating watching him paint these pictures using spray cans and it took him no time at all to produce these lovely pictures.  Very very clever.  There was lots of entertainment on the beach during the regatta with thong throwing and sand sculpture competitions and of course the beer can races itself.  Some people of very creative with their ‘rafts or ships’ and I reckon a lot of alcohol must have been consumed to get the number of cans required to build a raft.   There were hundreds of spectators lining the beach and of course the weather was just perfect with the ocean being calm as usual.  The sunset was one of best sunsets I think I have ever seen, it was magnificent.  It seemed to last for ages and the colours were incredible from pastel yellow, orange to vibrant reds, pinks and oranges.  It was definitely worth the wait.  Unfortunately our camera isn’t taking good sunset shots (we need to look into changing a setting) but gives an idea of the great colours. 

Day 328 - Litchfield National Park, NT (7 August)

Second day in the park.  First stop was to Greenant Creek where we took a 1.7km walk to the top of Tjaetaba Falls.  The walk was very nice a little rocky and steep as we got closer to the top but so worth it particularly as there was a plunge pool on the top of the pool where we went for swim.  We had the whole place to ourselves for quite a while which was wonderful.  It was so peaceful and quiet and to sit and watch the waterfall tumble over the edge was quite unique.  Eventually though the peace was broken by some other people.  It is surprising how lush and tropical the foliage is around the creeks and how much water is running. From here we drove to Buley Rockpools which are a series of small waterfalls and rockholes.  Sounds wonderful and it was quite lovely except for all the people that were there.  Too many people for our liking, the whole place was full of them and couldn’t get away from them.  The pools are only 80m from the carpark which is why they are so popular.  Different crowd to what you normally get during the week as well, today there were families, kids and a hoon factor which insist of boozing it up and taking over pools so not a good atmosphere.  I guess this is to be expected on a Saturday a lot more locals.   So we took some pictures and then went on to Florence Falls and couldn’t even get a carpark after spending some time circling waiting for someone to leave so decided another waterfall how different can it be from the others we have seen and we were lucky to have had so much time this morning at our ‘own waterfall’ and yesterday was magic as well so we are happy with what we have done.

Days 325-327 – Litchfield National Park, NT (4-6 August)

Heading to Litchfield Park which is 360km north west of Mataranka and 108kms south of Darwin.  Quite a cool morning when we left Mataranka and by the time we got to Katherine 90kms up the road it was raining and it was very cold!  We stopped in Katherine to stock up at Woolies and heading back onto the road.  While we stopped for petrol we saw Ian Thorpe (the swimmer) didn’t know he lived there!  Not a particularly attractive town.  Finally we got to Batchelor which is the closest town to Litchfield NP filled up with petrol yet again and heading about 5kms to the caravan park.  Another long day.  The following day we decided to have an lazy day and just dropped into the entrance to Litchfield NP to find what info we could find about walks, drives etc.  Loaded with info we spent the rest of the day working out a plan of attack for the following day (Friday).  Looks like we will have to do a couple of days in the park to see what we want to see and decided that on the first day we would do the sights furthest away.  The great thing about Litchfield NP is that there is no cost to get in. Our first stop was the magnetic termite mounds – there is literally a paddock full of them. “The wedge-shaped mounds are aligned in a north-south direction as a response to the environment. The termites which build them feed on grass roots and other plant debris found in plains which are seasonally flooded. Therefore, the termites are forced to remain above the water, in the mound. The alignment of the mound acts as a temperature regulator, and allows the temperature to remain stable”.  Quite amazing.   Our next stop was the Lost City which was 10.5km off the main road on a rough 4WD track.  The Lost City is a collection of rock formations of sandstone that have been left behind as the softer sandstone cap of the table top range eroded away over the years.   The formations certainly do look like man made structures and could have been an old civilised city.  They are actually quite spectacular and we spent sometime guessing what some of the rock shapes resembled to us.  Our next stop was Tjaynera Falls which again was 9kms on a dirt road.  The fun part was that we got to go through quite a broad water body that was 0.3m deep!  We then had a 1.7km walk to the falls where we could jump into a wonderful cool, blue and deep plunge pool.  It was fantastic.  Cold at first but so refreshing.  We swam underneath the waterfall and idled sometime there.   The water is so deep can’t see the bottom just rays of sunshine that go into deeper and darker blue water.  We had a mask and did see some fish, the ledges of the waterfall were very colourful and looked like marble.  It was such an amazing spot and so pretty.  After we had cooled down we then had the 1.7km walk back but took us a while to get hot after being so cooled from our swim.  From here we to Wangi Falls.  Wangi Falls has two waterfalls which drop into a large pool.  This pool is closed at present due to a crocodile being sighted in it.  There are lots of fish in there including black bream but no fishing allowed.  There is also a colony of black flying foxes in the trees edging the pool, there were hundreds of them.  Considering it was the middle of the afternoon they were quite active spreading their wings, cooling themselves with their wings – when they spread their wings surprised to see how large they are and almost transparent we could see the veins in them.   Wangi Falls are the most popular falls in the park due the ease of accessibility.  At the end of our first day in the park, we finally stopped at Tolmer Falls.  Aren’t able to get to the bottom of these falls as this is home to several colonies of rare and protected bat species the Ghost Bat and Orange Horseshoe Bats.  Spectacular falls specially as we could view them from a lookout where we could see the top the falls.  So off home to prepare for another big day tomorrow.  The caravan park we are staying at is 2.5km from Rum Jungle Lake.  Rum Jungle Lake is now a recreational lake but in a past life was an open pit uranium mine!  Imagine that!  By all accounts it is safe to use - no residue of toxins from the old mine and no crocs.  I took Coco there for a walk and a dip (her not me).  If interested here is a link on Rum Jungle.

Days 322-324 – Mataranka, NT (1-3 August) Week 48 - Month 12

Drove another 400kms to get to Mataranka.  Along the way we stopped at Daly Waters which is a historic town known for its quirky outback pub.  Mataranka has a population of 250 and edges the Elsey National Park which is known for its thermal spring pools which remain a constant 34 degrees.  From our campsite we can walk 500m to Bitter Springs thermal pool. The pool is crystal clear and you can drift with the current for 200m to the end.  This area is also known as the “We of the Never Never” land as the author, Jeannie Gunn, of the well known book stayed here for a year in the early 1900s and the story is based on some of the local characters she came into contact with during that time.  The book was made into a movie in 1981 and a replica of the author’s house that was used in the movie remains as a tourist attraction.  We had a wonderful couple of days kayaking on the Little Roper River and Roper River.  The Little Roper River backs onto the campground we are staying and flows into the Roper River in the nearby Elsey National Park.  It is a beautiful river lined with palm trees and gum trees it is very very pretty and the riverbank shubbery is so green.  Barramundi is supposed to be in the river but John has had no luck catching any. There are some really nice fishing spots and a couple of kayaking spots in the national park.  Whilst we had a lovely time kayaking on the river I was a little cautious in case crocs are around.  Parks and Wildlife say this area and the national park are free from saltwater crocs however they can come into the river undetected and people should be on alert at all times. They have croc cages strategically placed in the river.  Freshwater crocs are around but they are apparently very shy and it would be unusual to see one.  The ranger does regular surveys checking for croc activity and remove saltwater crocs as soon as they are detected.  We then went to compare Mataranka Thermal Pool with Bitter Springs (the one near our campsite).  Mataranka pool is more popular and was chocca with people and no room to really swim or move. The one near our campsite is much nicer although we didn’t tell anyone at Mataranka pool, keeping that to ourselves.  Floating with the current is fantastic, we took our snorkel and mask and saw turtles.  It is quite deep and crystal clear. The current is surprisingly strong and trying to swim against it is good exercise! The water that flows into the thermal pools has its origin thousands of kilometres away in Papua New Guinea and bubbles to the surface at an incredible 30.5 million litres per day.  There are heaps of wallabies around and they come into the park, so nice to see.  One night John got up at 3.00am to go to the loo and Coco charged past him at the door to get outside and chase wallabies.  She went hurtling past some people in a tent waking them up while chasing at least two wallabies but luckily she came back very quickly. Bit hard to yell after her at that time of morning.  Early one evening we were walking her near the river and she disturbed a wild pig that went charging into the bush - luckily she had the sense not to chase that! It was at least twice her size! There are heaps of caravanners around and lots of WA licence plates – we aren’t the novelty anymore.  It is the busy time of year up here, although we have been told it is starting to slow down so hopefully we will catch the tail end from now on.   The manager of the park was telling us that this area has on average 160,000 visitors each year and last year they had 170,000 (they were expected less due to the downturn) and it is unknown at this time what this year’s number is but she thinks it will be more than last year.  Amazing when you think about it.  Unfortunately there are cane toads around.  Dead ones but still here.  We had one die overnight right in front of the car wheel.  It was huge.  Its such as shame they are invading all Australian states they are very destructive.

Day 321 – Northern Territory (31 July)

Crossed border, Renner Springs
Well after four months in Queensland we have finally crossed the border into NT – yayy.   We left Mt Isa at 8.00am this morning with the intention to drive as far as we could.  From Mt Isa it is 188kms to the NT/Qld border and 634kms to Three Ways which is the joining spot for the Barkly Highway (from the east) and Stuart Highway (north/south NT).  It is called Three Ways as there are three ways to go, south to Alice Springs, north to Darwin or east to Queensland.  We had intended to stop before Three Ways however once crossing into the NT we gained a half hour (daylight saving!) and decided to continue on.  Whilst we knew it would be busy this time of year we are still amazed at the amount of caravans on the road (also seeing more and more WA licence plates) – all the free camps were busy even in mid afternoon and one caravanner told us to get a spot at the more popular free camps you have to be there by noon!  Anyway we continued on and ended up doing 800kms (our biggest day yet!) today stopping at a place called Renner Springs.  We arrived at 7.00pm Qld time – meaning we were on the road for 10.5 hours!  It was a looongggg day!  We paid the highest price we have paid yet for petrol today at $184.9/litre to fill up was over $130!  We are getting too scared to look at the petrol price out here and of course the roadhouses don’t advertise their prices.  In Renner Springs it is $1.97/litre!!!  The good thing is that there is petrol here.  The speed limit in NT is 130Kmh, fast hey! (although up until recently there was no upper limit…. a few dickheads in Ferrari’s put an end to that freedom!) It was extremely windy today and there are signs warning of the danger of the crosswinds and apparently there was some rain last night and we have seen puddles on the side of the road.  The terrain once crossing the NT border was very flat but with those gorgeous outback colours, oranges, pastel and blue sky.  As we got closer to our overnight stop it has become greener with rocky outcrops that were red and brown.  Watching the sunset with these colours is just glorious.  Just love the outback.  Our overnight stop is very basic, we missed out on a powered site but we are lucky enough to have a nice spring come lagoon as our backdrop with some very noisy geese (so that plus the odd road train will mean a “Stilnox” for John tonight!) There is an abundance of lovely fresh water available being right at the spring.  There are loos and showers but certainly wouldn’t call them luxurious!