If the saying 'It's my way or the highway!' is true.....
Our last day in Darwin was spent visiting the Aviation Museum (which houses a B52 Bomber!) and a quick trip into town to have a look at the wave pool (all of the swimming beaches were closed due to massive E. Coli counts - Darwin still has raw sewerage outfalls into the harbour!) We left Darwin early morning just as the RAAF Operation Pitch Black commenced – as of 9:00am on the dot, we were buzzed by numerous different fighter jets, including F-111’s and FA18 Hornets. Operation Pitch Black includes 130 fighter jets from Australia, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand, taking off from the RAAF bases at Darwin and Tindal to go play war games over the Territory....earth shatteringly noisy! Happily, we said goodbye to the noise and all the Carnival Folk setting up for the Darwin Royal Show.
We were surprised upon arriving at Kakadu to find the Merl campground relatively empty, in what is meant to be the busy season! So we found a nice shady spot, set up camp and kicked back for a couple of hours reading and playing a couple of games. Maybe it was the $25 entry fee per person that they just introduced...
The campsite is near the Ubirr rock art sites, which we headed out to explore just prior to sunset. We saw images depicting the larder of food the surrounding area supplied, including detailed x-ray art demonstrating which part of the turtle is best to eat. Buried amongst the various images, there are figures they believe to be recent images of white buffalo hunters. There was also a very ancient image of a thylacine! We timed our walk to hear the three free Ranger talks given every evening throughout winter. The final talk was given from the top of Ubirr at sunset, with a spectacular view of vast floodplains.
When we returned to camp for dinner we were greeted by the most intense mosquito swarms either of us had ever experienced! We had to cover every inch of skin we could bar our eyes, and decided to cook dinner from what we had in the back of the ute, as we didn’t want to risk opening the camper for fear of letting the little buggers in! After a quick meal and storing the dishes until morning, we turned off all lights, unzipping the smallest opening we could and quickly dove inside. We also stuffed any small gap in the canvas with clothing and lay listening to an army of buzzing trying to infiltrate our fortress! It’s amazing how noisy hundreds of mosquitoes can be! No wonder the campground was empty!!
The next day we packed up thankful we only paid for one night in Mosquito Hell. We dropped by the Bowali Visitor Centre and spent an hour or two reading up on the history of Kakadu, before continuing on to the Muirella Campsite further south. We had the afternoon off, as we decided that the following day we would do the longer 12km hike up and over Nourlangie Rock, rather than the shorter drive/walk options. It was great to get out and stretch our legs on a longer walk, given the hours we spend driving. The art sites were really good, and the views from the top of the ridge back towards the escarpment were pretty good, even though there was a bit of haze around from all the burning off.
That night we sat in on a Ranger talk about the history of the campground, which turned out to be built on the airstrip of an old Buffalo Hunting Safari Camp. The old safari camp was mostly used by rich Americans out to ‘bag a buffalo!’
Our last day in Kakadu was at Jim Jim Falls, which is at the end of a fairly physical 1km walk over large fallen boulders to the 150m high waterfall. Another beautiful spot with crystal clear water (although it was freezing, Stuart still jumped straight in!). It was beautiful and cool just at the base of the falls, and we sat and for some time chatting to another young Australian travelling the country.
The next morning we got up early and packed up, heading towards Yellow Water and the Warradjan Cultural Centre. We only did the short boardwalk at the Yellow Water wetland, seeing a variety of birdlife! The cultural centre was interesting, as it pulled together all the little snippets of information we had read around the park into a bigger picture.
Although we had originally planned to stay another night in Kakadu, after visiting Yellow Water and the cultural centre, we changed our minds and decided to start heading for Alice Springs and some desert country. Although Kakadu is unique and spectacular in it’s own right, both Stuart and I didn’t feel it really stood out any more from the other beautiful places that we have visited. Our thoughts aren’t in the minority either, as we regularly hear conversations in the caravan parks about ‘Kaka-don’t’ rather than ‘Kakadu’! Most people are now heading for Litchfield National Park instead.
As we were driving along and talking, I excitedly realised that I might still be able to make it to a cross cultural arts gathering I knew about in Katherine called Barthula Web. A quick phone call and the organisers said I could register for the following day! YAY! I attended three workshops learning traditional weaving techniques and coil basket making using dyed pandanus leaves. I also learnt how to use natural plant dyes and dyed a silk scarf. It was interesting to see how the basket making methods varied between Aboriginal communities, and also to see the amazing skills these women have. Their hands weave so quickly and produce such neat and artistic designs. I loved it!Hi everyone! We’re in Darwin! Our first capital city.... of sorts.
Our trip to Litchfield was beautiful. We saw the Magnetic termite mounds that are flat and narrow, and aligned north south to regulate the inside temperatures. Apparently the instinct to build the mounds facing north is genetic and bred into the colonies. But sometimes a breeding line will have a misdirected compass and build their nests on a different angle. These nests fail and all the ants die, therefore by natural selection, only the ants with good working internal compasses survive to breed! I find this fascinating!
We also visited the Blythe Homestead which has remained untouched since the family left in the 1960’s. The family gave birth to 10 kids on the main homestead, and when they were old enough (like 7 or 8!) they were sent to live at homestead (without parents), getting up in the dark and mining tin in the surrounding rock walls until dark. There was a book of family history and accounts from the children who had no medical attention, no understanding of money, and ate whatever food they grew and preserved for the year! And their father brought them up to think that seeking assistance was weak, so when one sibling’s hand was crushed by a horse, two of them held her down, while the third reset the bones and strapped it! And this continued until late 1960’s which is quite disturbing!
The drive into the homestead was also pretty interesting, as there were a couple of creek crossings on the track. They all had depth markers (with the water level around 40-50cm deep) except for the last one which didn’t have a depth marker. Stuart had a close look before doing it, but given it had been recently used (wet banks on either side) he decided to keep going. Let’s just say that it was a little deeper than the previous ones, with the water just about flowing back over the top of the bonnet! Funnily enough, the visitor book at the homestead had quite a few references to the last water crossing!
We spent a couple of nights camped in Katherine. Not sure if it is a good thing or not, but we saw our first live cane toad! He was a big fat one too. We checked out the local markets (and bought another painting) and the Mimi Art Centre, which had plenty of beautiful weavings, carvings and paintings from Arnhem Land and the central desert. We also spent a morning in the museum checking out the local history involving World War 2, the flying doctor service and the Old Telegraph Line to Adelaide.
Stuart had to do a bit of maintenance on the car – He replaced both of the headlight globes as one had blown (probably from all of the corrugated roads!) and the other one was looking pretty dodgy. He also made up a new 12v cord for the car fridge as the old plug had melted with all of the hard work it was doing chilling the beers!
NITMILUK NATIONAL PARK
Katherine Gorge Kayak
Having previously booked an overnight paddle in Katherine Gorge, we headed to the impressive Nitmiluk visitors centre to check in and get our permit for the 6th gorge campsite. (Very different from Geikie Gorge, as this gorge provides hired kayaks and booked campsites with toilet facilities.)
We headed out with the throngs of other paddlers and tour boats which operate in the first three gorges (if you take a boat tour you have to walk over the rock bars between the sections of gorge, changing boats each time, and then in reverse going back!).
The paddling was very peaceful and the scenery was beautiful. The further up the gorge we paddled, the less people we saw. Lifting two laden sea kayaks over seven rock bars with rapids was another story! Now I fully understand why Stuart said to pack lightly!
The first rock bar took 40 minutes (we probably could have paddled up the rapids, but had to portage around to keep clear of the tour boats!) The third rock bar had lots of water and huge rocks....in trying to cut corners and avoid carrying the kayaks over the rocks, we attempted to float the kayak up the rapid pulled from the top with a tow rope...... kayak hits a rock, tips 45 degrees, partially fills with water and Michelle loses her camera! It’s now somewhere on the bottom of the Katherine River taking happy snaps of the crocs!
By the fourth rock bar, I was mumbling profanities about recreation under my breath. We thought both the fifth AND sixth rock bar was the last ones....surely.... but no, the map was wrong and there was still another one awaiting us around the corner!
By this stage, we were considering just pulling up on any piece of flat rock for the night. I waited at the bottom, while Stuart scouted ahead on foot to see if the campsite was in view. It was!!! We left one kayak up on the rocks and decided to carry only one over this last rock bar, stuffed full of everything we needed out of both kayaks. Stuart would swim back in the morning! Hooray!
After all of our efforts, it was well worth it! The campsite was a beautiful spot and we had it all to ourselves (I’m sure it’s because it’s so bloody hard to get to!).
Despite forgetting to bring our drinking mugs (saucepan of tea anyone?), not getting a sunset due to cloud cover and a windy night blowing fine sand through the mesh of the tent all night, we woke the next morning to sunshine and a slight breeze at our backs, still smiling.
The going downstream was much easier and enjoyable as we floated the kayaks down most of the rapids and paddled (more bumped) our way down one . At one of the biggest rock bars (where we lost the camera), Stuart decided to ride both the kayaks down. Saved us having to carry them around, and he had the biggest grin on his face afterwards!
To finish of the day we saw a baby freshwater croc (~1metre) and an adult (2+metres). In hindsight, we agree that it was all good fun, that we both have very sore muscles and the XXXX beers we had at Pine Creek never tasted so good.
LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK
Today we were aiming to head into Litchfield National Park, via the southern 4WD entry road. However after confirming road conditions on the website that morning, we arrived to find the road closed to all traffic. Back out the highway and a quick review of our plans! Given it is really busy with school holidays, we decided to stop in Adelaide River township to visit “Charlie” the buffalo from Crocodile Dundee! He’s been stuffed and now graces the .303 bar in the pub! Had a little ride around the town this afternoon looking at all of the local heritage sites, quite a nice little town!
We’ll be packing up early tomorrow morning and try to get to Litchfield again by the northern bitumen road this time!
Timber Creek Pub
As previously mentioned, we headed to the Timber Creek Pub last Monday night for dinner and free entertainment by the Tamworth award winning country music band, ‘The Boundary Riders’. It was a great night, and I could even sing along to the Johnny Cash songs! (Stuart always raises an eyebrow at my country music knowledge)... As it turned out, we were camped right next to the band in the caravan park, and the next morning, Stuart spent almost an hour having a good yarn with the band members.
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