Advertisement
Published: August 9th 2009
Litchfield National Park was full of special places for Kornies5+2. Wangi Falls was a busy, but impressive waterfall. Florence Falls provided another picturesque spot for a swim and we met our first water snake…a harmless python, although I did not know this initially and was almost ready to evacuate the entire waterhole! We enjoyed a picnic lunch at Buley’s Rock Holes and I think even Hamish, our Kakadu tour guide, would have been proud of our spread. Nana Deanna and Papa Harry joined the rock jumping ranks, as they plummeted into a small, but deep pool. Even Jojo got some air! We enjoyed dinner each night at Lake Bennett Wilderness Resort, overlooking a serene sunset over the water. The kids’ meals came with ice cream, but, one night, the adults ended up with the ice cream and the kids had a serve each of Pavlova! It’s great to have nanas and papas! Max is full of surprises at the moment. He hung out at the caravan park one morning while Adam and I went on separate errands. Adam returned to our site, proud that Max was practicing his guitar outside. As he got closer he realised that
Max had a hat out in front of him and was actually busking. Apparently he had quite a captive audience and earned himself a few dollars to boot. It was time to farewell the Ross crew (after a bit of last minute shopping with Nana Deanna…thanks mum) and prepare ourselves for the Blecher invasion.
The wave pool next to the Blecher’s hotel was a good place for a reunion. The kids got on swimmingly (ok very bad pun) and the big boys seemed to have the most fun. Sim and I did a monster shop to stock up for a week in the bush. Again Litchfield served as a beautiful spot for our first two nights. It was great camping at the National Park, as come 5 p.m. the crowds dissipate and we walked to the pool and had it to ourselves (with The Devines as well). It was quite eerie swimming as the last light disappeared and hundreds of bats from the nearby trees took flight for their evening revelry. It was completely dark when we got back and we had to do a head count to make sure that we had all the clan (6 adults and
Gunlom Kakadu National Park
There is no monkey business in this family...11 children). I enjoyed the early morning swim where I had the lake to myself. I waited for Peter and Natty to arrive, however (my anti croc body guards) before braving the swim to the waterfall.
Evenings by the fire were a highlight and not just because of the marshmallows. We continued our tradition of “amnesty” where each camper confesses to a wrong doing without having to face retribution. Confessions varied (mine usually involved the consumption of chocolate or lollies). Max again surprised us with his description of a secret mission to the service station, not the jumping pillow as his innocent parents naively believed. He consumed a can of coke (fully paid for out of his wallet) and returned back to the caravan, his parents none the wiser. Adam explained where the missing packet of marshmallows disappeared to and Jeremy confessed to a whole lot of crimes he never committed. Sam still maintains that he never does anything wrong, but Natty’s confession was supreme. He explained that while Peter told one of his very long stories by the fire, he and Max went exploring in the bush and came upon a cane toad. Each of them tried to
Douglas Daly Hot Springs
Muma and Jojo enjoying a hot bath together. hit it and Max managed to flatten it before Natty stabbed it and something squirted out into his eye. As you can imagine Peter sent Natty to wash his eye out pronto but could not get Natty or Max in trouble because of the rules of the game. Natty was anointed Captain Frog’s Eye that night and the name stuck to him for the remainder of the adventure.
After Litchfield we headed south to Douglas Daly Hot Springs, which were hot (funny that) and particularly inviting in the morning when it was cool outside. Adam and Jojo were there from sunrise and shared their “bath” with sea eagles, whistling kites, herons and a rainbow bee eater. The kids (big and small) had fun practicing cracking a whip which was kindly leant to us by a neighboring camper. Jeremy was clearly a cattle musterer in a previous life and Peter looked on with both fear and amazement as Sim took to the whip as a fish to water. We packed up again and headed for Kakadu Lodge Caravan Park in Jabiru. The Blechers headed for the Yellow River Cruise, Adam and Max headed for Ubirr, and Kathy, Sam and Jojo
Kakadu Cultural Camp
Sam getting the final hints before chucking the spears... set up. Ubirr had a beautiful lookout over the floodplains of Kakadu that looked spectacular at sunset, as well as some rock art to view along the walk. Adam was reasonably impressed with my set up on his return, but did mention that I had forgotten to put the legs down to stabilize the van…oh well…but I did manage to have dinner on the table as well.
The next day was spent relaxing by the pool before our night time adventure to Kakadu Culture Camp. We learnt about Aboriginal hunting methods, cooking and weaving before attempting to play the didgeridoo. It was a great opportunity to get rid of all our hot air even though it sounded like a group of hippos after a very long lunch! The Blechers and Kornhausers shined in the spear throwing activity (it is a miracle that we are all in one piece) and I am beginning to wonder if the fellow representing Hungary in the javelin at 1976 Olympic Games was in fact Peter Blecher. The highlight of the evening was the night cruise along the billabong. Our guide was up the front using a spotlight to find sleeping birds and the reflecting
Kakadu Cultural Camp
Sim has just picked up a new hobbie...for all her spare time orange eyes of salt water crocs. The boat was very quiet and allowed us to feel the vibrant but tranquil atmosphere of the billabong.
The Kornies5 /Blechers5 tour of Kakadu continued to Gunlom, after a rather long drive on a gravel road. The Blecher’s Maui Van came alive with glasses jumping out of cupboards and cans shooting out of shelves. The walk and swim at the rock pools above Gunlom made it all worth it. From the pools you could see down to the valleys of Kakadu below and we had it all to ourselves which was a bonus. While lying on the rocks between pools, Sami shouted, “There’s a snake!” and I turned to see a shiny green tree snake slither across the warm rocks. I made for the side (after ensuring that Peter would save my children) and took some time to regain my composure. The snake was pretty indifferent to our presence and disappeared within 3 seconds. Apparently tree snakes are harmless, but anyone who knows how I am on planes realizes that rational explanations don’t always work with me!
The following day, Adam Peter and the BIG boys ventured to Maguk where they were
Maguk Kakadu National Park
The white spirit of Maguk made a surprise visit... able to rock jump from great heights without the sensible voices of caution there to dissuade them (mums stayed at camp). Sim, Ruby, Kathy and Jojo held down the fort and busied themselves with painting, baking and cups of tea (or was it G and T’s?) Our last night together was spent by the campfire, playing charades and one more round of amnesty. Peter’s story involved hotel rooms and order in movies, while Sami spent his charades opportunities acting out entire scenes from movies instead of the title words. Suffice to say that his presentations were entertaining but very lengthy. We really had a magnificent time with the Blechers5. Cricket, cards, gorges, hikes and sunsets with great friends…thanks guys for making the effort to drop in for a visit.
Bitter Springs, near Mataranka, has been the site of a week long rest, recuperation and school work catch up before we begin the long drive east to Townsville, Queensland. The warm springs are surrounded by a tropical forest, filled with bird life and we swim each morning and drift down the river, watching fish, fresh water turtles and monitor lizards scurry about. The water is so clear that, with goggles,
Bitter Springs
Water Monitor next to the springs one morning... you can see an egret catch fish under the water. We loved camping next to the Finnegan family who are from Black Rock in Melbourne. Our kids got along beautifully and Ads and I enjoyed Ivan and Kate’s company around the campfire or for a cup of tea after dinner. We look forward to catching up with them when we return to Melbourne.
We are spending our last day here with The Devines (they arrived last night) before a final farewell as they head south and we head east. Sunday pancakes were devoured in usual style and I am sure a campfire tonight will serve as a perfect venue for a last hurrah. Then it’s out with the cookies and lollies as we begin our trek to the East and add 1500 km to our odometer over the next few days. Fun Fun Fun!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.171s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 11; qc: 59; dbt: 0.0755s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Deanna
non-member comment
O what a feeling!
We had a truly wonderful active holiday with Kornies5 in Darwin, Kakadu and Litchfield Parks. Thought it would be fun to jump in at Buley's with the kids - and it was!