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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Have done most of this travel blog you did. Loved it. Sorry I’m late reading this one ��
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