First camp...was along the beautiful Walsh River before the Walsh joins the Mitchel River adjacent to Wrotham Park Station.
We were settled in nicely for the night enjoying the ambiance of the campfire and admiring the starlit night when we were disturbed by 2 carloads of aboriginals ...they crossed the river and one of their cars broke down...they didn't seem to be aware of us camped nearby...there were torches,revs,towing ropes and swearing +++....Obviously Chef Ramsey has had an influence on these people as well!!!...Twas enough to make Billy Connolly blush!
With Robyn's breakfast loaf, that she so kindly made us for our 1st few days travel in our tummy's with several cups of billy coffee we were back on the road...
Seen along the way...Brolgas,Red wing black cockatoos,Whistling kites,Galahs,Bustards and of course crows!
Rivers now drying up...only waterholes around...croc territory....no traffic to speak of ,a 4wd every 2-3 hours...badly corrugated dirt road and long stretches of bull dust...terrible stuff!
Second camp....well off the road in bush near a place on the map called Wyaaba river on the western edge of Stark national park.Looked ideal till dusk....then the mozzies came out in full force,buzzing round us all night....wore my 'mozzie hat' for the 1st time ever...Mozzies don't bite Hans but they love me...protected my self with spray and clothes...thought I had it covered didn't I?...only the next day my butt and other areas I wont expand on, were covered in bites!!!...didn't think to spray that area for when I had to answer the call of nature did I?
Today we saw more Brolgas, Jabirus, a beautiful large Goanna, pied ducks, brown ducks, spoonbills, wedge-tailed eagles, blue winged kookaburras, wallabies, all around waterholes both natural and man made.Good photo opportunities!
Refilled the petrol tank from the reserve tank on the roof rack...worked out we have a 650km range with the 2 tanks....(plus we have another 10 litre tank on top we haven't used yet)
Next morning headed for Karumba....no sealed road till Maggievale but remember we are taking the scenic route!...That's where the turn off is to Karumba and sealed again...
Karumba...What a beautiful little fishing village...a sight for sore eyes after so much dry and dust.
Beautiful blue/green water.
Its a grey nomad town at this time of the year....dedicated fishermen come from all around the country to spend time here fishing....
Caravan parks are bursting at the seams...4wds, camper vans, caravans, buses, boats all of varying sizes ....millions of $ worth of gear...
Booked into a cabin for 2 nights but extended it to 3 as we loved being there so much.It was good to have a decent shower and wash of the dust and dirt,wash clothes and download photos onto the laptop....went out each night and photographed the sunset this coast is renowned for...just beautiful...
Then it was on to Normanton...and being a Sunday the place wasn't exactly humming!!!...bit like Mossman on a Sunday!...bought food supplies and tanked petrol...$1.98/litre!...cant buy any grain bread for love nor money out in these towns...bread is white and usually frozen....diet products of any sort are out of the question...you wonder how diabetics get on out here!....
Then headed onto Burketown...230kms of dirt road..had 2way contact with another couple on the road and ironically met them again several times in different areas...Ingrid and John...they're headed up to Darwin ...John is to play in a Hockey tournament whilst up there...nice people...
Camped that night alongside the Albert River which runs through Burketown....wide river...bit like the Daintree and inhabited by crocs..threw the fishing line in whilst having a sunset drink...caught several large catfish which put up a good fight....not good 2 eat though so they were thrown back...was just tending my line when out of the corner of my eye saw something move....it was an olive python coming up the bank to check us out...all 8ft of him/her!!!...nearly shit myself!!! (as you do)....but Hans identified it as a 'friendly snake'....so got the cameras out and took some great pic's!...(I didn't sleep well that night)
Next morning...Monday and the shops (all 2 of em) were open for business in Burketown again.....Refuelled, bought a few food supplies and went to buy some wine.No such luck!...can't buy wine in Burketown, only beer or spirits.No room for a carton of beer so resorted to a bottle of rum...because we were headed in the vicinity of Doomagee, an aboriginal 'dry' settlement, we had to fill out forms to buy alcohol...name, DOB, rego of car, drivers licence no....penalty if caught with alcohol on the Doomagee settlement is to have your car confiscated...not something we can afford to do!...So we skirted around Doomagee which led us to Lawn Hill National Park...Wow....it is an 'oasis in the middle of a desert'...
Camping ground there - Adel Grove....was absolutely beautiful in a very natural way..it catered for every sort of traveller....so we were able to bush camp there and have our fire for warmth and to cook on....Stayed there 3 nights....we loved it so much...and also gave us the opportunity to visit the Gorge, which creates this oasis.
Got up at the crack of dawn and walked 3 of the tracks there to catch the morning light...ideal for photography....and also best time to walk as it gets so very hot there during the day.
Swam each day in the river...so refreshing and invigorating! (took awhile to get in, being so cool) but once in it was worth it...there are fresh water croc's in the river but they didn't bother us.
Then it was on the road again...corrugated dry and very rough road back to the Savannah Way.
We crossed the border into the Northern Territory at 1610 hrs.
As we crossed we came across a young Swedish couple who had a flat tyre...offered assistance but they were ok...there 'welcome' to Qld wasn't quite what they had expected...they had bee n on the road for 5 months and this was their first flat tyre....felt for them as it was stinking hot out there.
Found a beautiful place to camp well off the road....plenty of wood around so had a great fire that night ...played music from the mp3 player through the stereo of the car.Another beautiful starlit night!
Next town Borroloola...a further 200kms of very corrugated roads.
Refuelled...$1.88/litre..Just glad we haven't got a large 4wd and towing a caravan!!!
There was a Corroberee going on in town where neighbouring tribesmen/women were coming in all week to celebrate Aboriginal week...were given permission to take photos of some of the dancing.
Then back on the road heading for Cape Crawford...(which is nowhere near the sea as the name suggests!)...couldn't find a suitable place to camp so booked a 'motel room'...$75 for the night and when we drove around to it found it was really just an old Donga!...with 2 single beds and that was it!...Toilets/showers were shared by everyone...no cooking facilities so you really didn't have a choice but to eat in their 'restaurant' at $25pp buffet dinner....lets just say it filled the hole!!
And guess what this place is called?? The Heartbreak Hotel!
Met Tony and his son Josh who had just come back from a fishing trip at Bing Bong (sorry having a chuckle here!...they say kiwis have strange place names!!!)...anyway it was a fruitful trip and after a drink or 2 he cooked us up a beautiful big mud crab and gave us a fish he caught which we put on ice and had for dinner the next night.
Another patron in the line of Donga's we were in we named Mr Grumpy...wouldn't even acknowledge you or say hello!...later that night after many rums in the bar Tony told us that he actually became Mr Happy and shared the fact that he was a cleaning product and toilet paper salesman!...can you imagine trying to sell that stuff the the local communities?..what a job!...no wonder he was a Mr Grumpy!
The Donga walls seemed paper thin and you could hear your neighbours snoring and talking...not to mention other noises!
Brewed billy coffee and made cheese on toast on the deck on our little burner the next morning for breakfast...packed up and back on the road.
Oh, now that we are in the NT there's a half hour time difference to QLD.
Long day on the road...long, long, seemingly unending straight roads...everytime you go over a crest you see more km's of the same long straight road...but eventually we hit Daly Waters...Don't know why its called that cause there is no water there!...refuelled and continued onto Larrimah....had a beer in an old pub there ...full of character and old relics...and they guy behind the bar, Fred was from Yorkeys Knob!...he was going to live out his days here...had enough of the city...
Continued on to Mataranka hoping to camp there and have a dip in the hot springs the place is known for, but no luck....place was full of caravans/camper vans, backpackers and all accommodation was taken so carried onto Katherine...accommodation at a premium here too especially as we didn't arrive till 1915hrs but were fortunate enough to get a cabin for the night.
Travelled 550kms that day.
First mobile/Internet coverage since we left and it was great to be finally in communication with loved ones again.
After speaking with other people, we found out that the V8 races were on in Darwin this w/end and accommodation was fully booked so people had come down this far to find a place to stay...add to that school holidays, grey nomads, tourists and self drive tourists and backpackers the Katherine is fair bulging at the seams!
Had to move out of cabin next morning as could only have it for one night....went out to Katherine Gorge to check out camping in National park but not suitable for us and there's a fire ban on here at the moment...Spent another 2hours going from place to place to find any sort of accommodation with very little luck...so here we are now in the Katherine Motel...nothing flash...but at least its a place to stay and has given me the opportunity to finally get this blog up to date.
Caught up for dinner with Dean and Anja Clapp from the Daintree...they are riding a tandem bike from Kuranda to Broome via the Savannah Way....pretty much the way we came...they left on their bike on June 6th...we left 25th...and Saturday we both arrived here in Katherine....I take my hat off to them....it would be total hard yakka doing what they're doing....the atrocious roads, the heat, the sore bums!!!...Never the less they are looking great and enriched by their experience.
Today ....Monday, is Hans's birthday!..
So to 'celebrate'....we got up at 0600hrs and went down to the Gorge with a picnic breakfast and canoed our way up and down the first part of Katherine gorge for 4 hours...another great photo opportunity as its beautiful especially in the morning...the arm and shoulder muscles had a bit of a work out and I'm sure we will be feeling the pain tomorrow but heh!...no pain, no gain!
So that's the story up to date.....Till the next time! :) .
3 comments:
Can you hear Michael hollering from where you are? His whoops of excitement at your pictures and commentary would make you laugh right out loud! He's posted a huge map of Australia on the bedroom wall and would have taken the same route as you have chosen. We hope you do Kakadu before you head south or west.You big-hearted kiwis are well-suited to the big-spirited country of Oz, aren't you?
Wow, the conditions can be itchy, huh? Michael and I have bought a big SEADOO and are exploring some little islands around here. You inspired us!! Thanks.
Hope the food is good and you're sleeping comfortably. Mike would like to know how your parents are taking this...
Love you guys, Monica and Michael
With you, in spirit.
P.S. There will be no consupmption of red wine on this trip unless it is good Tasmanian wine. (?):)
Awesome mum! im so jealous. loving the photos and stories, they are what great memories are made of. so glad that you guys are having a blast. that oasis looks devine, lucky nothing gave you a nip on the bottom! lol
sucks about the red wine situation, i know how you love a good few bottles. didnt know you liked rum?
cant wait to see more of your adventures, you already have travelled so far.
have fun, take care out there.
missing ya heaps, love you always,
me xoxoxoxo
“If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not be withheld from you.”
Best of luck, Monica
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