Homeward Bound

Sat 3 Aug – Filled water and left the Katherine Gorge for the short drive back into Katherine where we shopped and then drove 100kms to Mataranka and a camp at Bitter Springs. After lunch we walked to the Springs. This is a hot water spring which flows down a river. The idea is to hop in with a noodle and float down the river for about 300m and then walk back along a path. No noodles so we just swam down the river. At the top end the water temperature is about 30C and slowly gets cooler at the bottom. We did 2 trips. Very unusual!! A bit like the warm lazy river at Hanmer.

Sun 4 Aug – Our drive back to Townsville really starts today with a 415km drive, so we got away to an early start. (less wind and cooler). Val drove the middle stint which made it much easier for me. We were driving south down the Stuart Highway and stopped for the night at Renner Springs Roadhouse, backed right onto the highway. Fortunately, hardly anyone drives at night including the road trains.

Mon 5 Aug – Pancakes for breakfast as we have a slightly shorter trip today. (323kms). We stopped at Three Ways. This is where the Stuart Highway meets the Barkly Highway. We had now completed the western circuit of Australia. We turned east onto the Barkly Highway and are now on roads we travelled last year. Our overnight stop was at the Barkly Roadhouse and we stayed here almost exactly a year ago when we were going west. This is a great roadhouse, always busy and a lively atmosphere. We had a good meal and enjoyed a two piece band singing some great songs.

Tues 6 Aug – Back on the road east for 400kms. Val again drove the middle stint over some rough Northern Territory roads until the border into Queensland and Camooweal where we had lunch. We also had a ½ hour time change. Our overnight stop was at a rest area 60kms short of Mt Isa.

Wed 7 Aug – We are now about the same latitude as Townsville and the temperatures have dropped at least 5C to around 11C in the early morning. The road was very rough and bumpy and we discovered this was due to the floods around this area. Most of the roads after the hills around Mt Isa and all the way west to Hughenden had been underwater. No wonder the tar seal was rough. We stopped at a free park beside the Julia Creek. It was a great spot and we decided to take a day’s break. Happy hour under a tree with many of the campers.

Thurs 8 Aug – A rest day! Hopped on our bikes and rode into the town of Julia Creek. There was a good information centre with very interesting stories of the history and the geology of the area. Another great happy hour.

Fri 9 Aug – The road today was even worse than before. We spent a lot of the trip at 70kph dodging the pot holes, ridges and slumps. Fortunately, we have covered the majority of the trip and stopped for the night at Hughenden at another free park. A camp draught was happening in the show grounds over the fence. Lots of horses and cowboys. We walked in to find out what it was all about. A competitor (on horseback) had to separate one steer out of a group and then try and guide the steer through a series of gates, all timed. It went on for three days. This was day one. We watched for about an hour! There were 250 competitors in the open grade alone. The day’s competition finished at around 9:00pm and we were amazed to here on the P.A. that the competition would commence at 6:00am in the morning.

Sat 10 Aug – We were woken at 5:30am by the P.A. announcer getting the day underway. It was a bit cloudy and cooler as we drove on much better roads over the great divide and on to Charters Towers and a camp.

Sun 11 Aug – We spent some time walking around the historic town of Charters Towers with its lovely buildings. It was a rich town due to the discovery of gold. It was a bit like Kalgoorlie. It was only a short drive down to the coast to Townsville. We had not seen the sea since leaving Darwin. Our camp was at Rowes Bay where we will stay for 5 nights before flying home on Friday. We walked along The Esplanade and The Strand following the beach and the parks. Lots of families enjoying the beaches and swimming in the large Rockpool.

Mon 12 Aug – We drove out of the camp and checked the storage for “Andy”, all good. We checked that the people fixing our windscreen had the right one. (All on insurance). Managed to buy a replacement running light (lens fell off on the rough roads), and a small food shop to get us thru to Friday. Back at the camp we washed “Andy” and the bikes and installed the new running light. That pretty much filled in the day!! Quite chilly today (23C) due to a cool change from down south. NZ temperatures could be a shock!!

Tues 13 Aug – We spent the morning tidying up some of “Andy’s” paint work and getting rid of some surface rust much to the amusement of our fellow campers. The end result was very good for a couple of amateur spray painters even if we say it ourselves. In the afternoon we biked along The Strand and into the CBD. Townsville is another Aussie city with a great sea frontage.

 

Wed 14 Aug – Out to the windscreen place by 8:00am to have our cracked windscreen replaced under insurance, thank goodness. This crack has been here for 6 weeks and slowly getting bigger. In the afternoon we walked along Rowes Bay where our camp is. It is a beautiful golden sandy beach with Magnetic Island in the distance. Unfortunately, it has been low tide while we are here with no swimming possible.

Thurs 15 Aug – We spent most of the day cleaning and doing laundry ready to go home tomorrow. Cooled off in the pool. Later in the afternoon we caught a bus into the city. We walked along the main streets. All very quiet and lots of empty shops. We ended up going into the Cowboys Leagues Club for a drink and a meal. It was very busy. Caught an Uber back to camp.

Fri 16 Aug – We did the last checks and drove 14kms to our storage place. Covered the windows and put the bikes inside and then caught an Uber to the Townsville Airport. A 3 hour flight to Sydney and then on to Christchurch arriving early Saturday morning. Since leaving Perth 16 weeks ago, we have travelled 9,200kms with no problems. Well done “Andy”!!

The Top End - NT

Wed 17 July  - We left Katherine early and drove 40kms up the road and then turn east for another 20kms into the Edith Falls National Park. Checked in and waited with all the others to be let into the camping area at 10:00am. We got a great site with sun on “Andy” until 2:30pm for the solar panel but nice shade for us. It was a very short walk to the Lower Pool with the Falls at one end. The swimming was great, with warm water and no crocs. There were nice shady lawns to dry off on. Booked another night and bought ice-creams.

Thurs 18 July  – Followed an easy climb to the upper pool and another waterfall. Stunning! Again the swimming was great and I even ducked under the waterfall. We returned to the lower pool via a more challenging track and had some more swims. We booked another night and signed up for pizza night. At 6:00pm we walked to the café and sat listening to a great duo singing and enjoyed a delicious pizza.

Fri 19 July – Our plan was to follow a much longer track to another pool. As soon as we climbed out of the camp the cellphone went crazy. Some bad news! Mary had had a serious brain aneurysm and was in Dn hospital. Not good news with no hope of recovery. After a few phone calls to Alan, Claire and Nicola we decided there was no point in flying home. Paul and Lynne were on a month-long trip to Europe and as Mary wanted a memorial service, time was on our side. This event could have happened any time in the last 9 years of our travels. We continued our walk and had lunch at Long Pool before returning to the Upper Pool for another swim. One last swim at the Lower Pool. What a great little National Park! At sunset we did a bit of planning of our route and timing.

Sat 20 July – North towards Darwin for 200kms and then another short drive to the small town of Batchelor where we stopped at a great camp set in the bush. We needed water and a dunny dump as tomorrow we are heading into yet another National Park. Haircuts and a swim in the afternoon. Val is spending some time on the phone communicating with ‘rallies’ and friends. We need to stay in phone and internet range.

Sun 21 July – We drove 50kms into the Litchfield National Park and to a camp at Florence Falls. We put on our togs and climbed down the 135 steps to the waterfall and pool. What a dramatic pool with cliffs all around and 2 waterfalls dropping 50m into it. We thought the water was quite warm, but the Aussies were moaning at the temperature. Back down the steeps again later in the afternoon for more swims.

Mon 22 July – Packed our lunch and followed a track to the Buley Rockholes. These turned out to be a series of pools in the bush where you can swim in the clear water. We swam in a couple and had lunch before following another track back to the Florence Falls for a last swim around the waterfalls. Back at camp we got the sad news that Mary had passed away and Val spent most of the time on the phone and internet. With only Alan in Dunedin he has being doing the hard hours!

Tues 23 July – Only a shortish drive of 120kms into Darwin. We stopped and shopped before arriving at our camp where we will be for the next 4 days. Managed to leave all our fruit and veg behind. Bugger! Too far to go back so wrote it off. We cooled off in the camp pool before Graeme and Marylyn Johnston arrived with their friends Murray and Sharyn. They had hired campers and will spend 4 weeks in this area. We have re-planned our trip and will still go into the Kakadu area before heading east to Townsville and fly home. It will not be too rushed as Lynne and Paul still have another 3 weeks before they return from Europe. Drinks with the Kaiapoi folks.

Wed 24 July – An early start as we have “Andy” booked in for a service at 8:00am. The garage is not far from the camp, so we walked back and returned at 10:00am and still had to wait 1 ½ hours for it to be completed. There is no way you can talk these service centres into just changing the oil and filters, so the bill was a bit of a shock. All good however for another 10,000kms. After lunch we caught the bus into the CBD and wandered around. Darwin is a very modern tropical city. It was the first time we had seen the sea since Broome. Back for a swim.

Thurs 25 July – Drove to East Point and parked ‘Andy’ in the shade. We rode our bikes following a cycleway for about 16kms along the waterfront. Some lovely views of the various bays and beaches. No swimming however, as there are many crocs in the Darwin area. Back to ‘Andy’ and the Darwin Military Museum where we spent an hour looking at the exhibits and the fascinating story of the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese during WW2 with a great A/V presentation. We did not realize the bombing went on for nearly a year. The 9” gun and associated tunnels and control rooms were also interesting.

 Back at camp we swam, and changed into our good duds, and caught a taxi with Marylyn, Graeme, Sharyn and Murray to Stoke Hill Wharf for a dinner cruise on the Spirt of Darwin. Drinks and canapes cruising past the city with a beautiful sunset. Buffet dinner to follow. A real treat and nice to share with the Kaiapoi folks. The Darwin Royal Show is on next door and side show alley is just over the fence. The noise of the rides and the screams of the riders is very loud!! Fortunately, it all went quiet at 10:00pm.

Fri 26 July – We spent the morning with laundry, cleaning and booking a couple of cruises for next week. The show got underway around 11:00am. In the afternoon we rode to The Chemist Warehouse (sorry Claire) for some cream for Val’s midgey bites which look nasty. Back at the camp we spent a couple of hours and the second pool further away from the show and with some nice shade. Noise on our site so we went back to the Kaiapoi folk’s site for drinks.

Sat 27 July – We said goodbye to everyone, shopped, fuelled up, got LPG and headed east into the Kakadu National Park where we stopped for the night at the Aurora Resort. It was 34C so we opted for power (aircon). Swam in their lovely pool and listened to the ABs v SA 16 all draw.

Sun 28 July – A short drive thru the Park and north to Ubirr and a N.P. camp at Merl. This is the furthest north we will venture, and we are about 400kms further north than Cairns on the east coast. It was a short walk thru the bush and the great rock outcrops to Cahill’s Crossing. This is a ford across the East Alligator river, the border of the Arnhem Land (restricted entry for us white fellas!) This is a great place to view crocs and we spied a huge one sunning itself on the banks of the river. On very high tides, the salt water pushes the Barramundi up the river and the crocs line up on the ford and have a feast. Not the right tides for us however. 

The fishermen stand knee deep on the ford and fish for the Barras ignoring the crocs. Very brave or foolish. We biked 3kms to an Aboriginal Art Reserve where there were amazing rock drawings on the walls of the caves they had lived in. Very fine detail as they were at least 30,000 years old. We also climbed onto a rocky outcrop overlooking Arnhem Land and the wetlands. An ice-cream at the border store before checking on the crocs and biking back to camp. Another walk and check of the crocs in the evening. We saw crocs every time we checked out the crossing.

Mon 29 July – Drove out of the camp and checked out Cahill’s Crossing for the last time and headed south to Jabiru for fuel and on to Cooinda Lodge for the night. As we were too early to check in we went to the Warradjan Aboriginal Culture Centre. The displays were good and told the stories thru the eyes of the tribe members. At our camp there was a really great pool and we spent the afternoon swimming and reading in the shade.

Tues 30 July – A REALLY EARLY start to the day (out of bed by 6:00am) as we are on the sunrise Yellow Water cruise. A very short bus ride to the waiting boats (4) and we cruised off into the mist hanging on the water. It was quite eerie as the sun rose and slowly dispersed the mist. Birdlife everywhere with our guide/driver pointing out the various species. Some very rare. The boat was half full, so everyone could move around. This is all a wetland with huge water lilies lining the banks. As the sun warmed, up the crocs started to move out of the water and onto the land and we saw some huge ones 3-4m long. We could nose right up to them and they are quite scary up close. We also saw a few water buffalo. They are introduced and are a pest as they effect the drainage of the wetlands. It was a great 2 ½ hour trip and we enjoyed a free breakfast on our return.

Wed 31 July – We managed to convince ourselves that the free breakfast was for anyone staying at the camp and lodge so walked over and had another. We drove out of Kakadu National Park and 150kms down the road to Pine Creek. This is where the Stuart Highway meets the Kakadu road. We walked up to the Railway Museum and watched a fascinating film of the restoration of a small steam engine which was in a shelter nearby. The small resort had a great swimming pool and we seemed to have exclusive use of it.

Thurs 1 Aug – Drove the 90kms south to the town of Katherine and then 30kms into the Katherine Gorge where we booked in for 2 nights. In the afternoon we braved the heat and walked Baruwei Loop. The first park was a climb out of the gorge and onto the rim which we followed for 2kms with views down into the gorge. After a lookout we descended back into the gorge via metal steps. A great 5.5km walk and we enjoyed a swim in the camp pool on our return.

Fri 2 Aug – We were booked on the 9:00am boat to cruise 2 gorges. The first gorge was very pleasant with rock walls and a lot of vegetation. At the end of the first gorge we walked over a rocky area before boarding the second boat. This gorge was much more spectacular with vertical sandstone cliffs on each side. The guide/boatdriver was very good with an informative commentary without the bullshit you often get on these trips. All in all, a great 2 hour trip. Back at camp we relaxed and had a swim.