BITTER SPRINGS TO TIMBER CREEK

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Late in the afternoon the day we arrived at Bitter Springs we went for a walk down to the springs and the surrounding vegetation. The area is very lush and pretty. The springs themselves are small but have been set up with areas where you can view the bottom if you choose not to swim. Apparently there are turtles on the bottom. The most noticeable things about the area is that the vegetation has not been degenerated by the sheer number of people who overrun the Mataranka thermal area and it has no fruit bats, hence no stench. Personally we were put off by the amount of algae along the edges of the springs themselves. That did not deter anyone else but us. When we went through Mataranka in 1990 it was smelly but lush and beautiful. When we went through in 2004 it was looking sparse and was very smelly. We choose not to visit this time. We walked around Bitter Springs for about an hour taking photos before wandering back to our van. On the way we passed an Ibis which was standing in a tree, obviously there were people in his pool!

During our absence another of the outback adventure tours for young singles had turned up and you had to stand in line to get to the loo. They had so much energy they were running around and playing a very vocal game of Frisbee in between making their dinner in the camp kitchen. Even the camp owners dog just sat and watched them. One fellow walked past me and muttered, “hopefully they will pass out by 8:30”. Next morning they were all up at 5am waking everyone in the park and dominating the amenities again, however they were in their bus and on the road by 6pm so we all went back to sleep. I was up and went outside to discover that it was 24c and 78% humidity at 5:42 am (yes we travel with a small weather station). No wonder my fingers were like pork sausages and my feet like footballs¸ I just don’t handle the humidity well at all. I had celery in bulk for breakfast and kept at it. Being a natural diuretic it has helped a lot.

We left Mataranka that morning and still were of the opinion that Bitter Springs was an expensive place to stay, and not attractive to us especially if you do not want to partake of the waters, and will avoid it next time.

Because we will be travelling with Shirley and Dave through the area from Kununurra to Mataranka later in the trip we chose not to do any sightseeing.

We travelled the 106 kms to Katherine and filled up with fuel and were very happy with the $1.599 we had to pay for diesel. We then headed west and stopped very early in the day at a travellers stop we think was called Matheson. There were only 3 vans and one ute there overnight. One thing we have noticed since being in the area north of Mataranka and west as well that the local government shire (probably Katherine) have placed sewage dump points at their overnight stays. This is a great thing as people are able to dispose of their waste sensibly – there are some people who would have just dumped it anywhere. The toilet facilities at these stops are also in good nick.

Sally and Chris who are looking after the Princess had told us of a place they stayed at which they really liked – Jasper Gorge. We duly noted it on the map and headed off down the Victoria Highway. We stopped at Victoria River to try and get some CC’s to have Frijoles con Queso – no luck but secured Red Rock plain chippies 45 gms for $3 they seemed a trifle expensive. As we passed over the VR we noted how beautiful it was and wanted to take some photos but we couldn’t find any way to do so because the bridge is very narrow and long and if you venture out there on foot you will be road kill for sure. Leaving VR I took over the wheel for the first time in 15 days after I pointed out I had not been given the privilege of driving. We headed down the VH watching dingos bound across the road before turning down the Buchannan Highway. What a misnamed road, the Buchanan works, but the Highway is a bit over the top. Having said that it really wasn’t too bad.

About 45 kms in we entered the gorge and the scenery is magnificent. We found the camp site and set up for a stay of several days.

We wandered around and got some photographs and sat down to read and try and identify some of the birds we keep hearing not necessarily seeing. Graham is working his way through Lee Childs again and I am working on Robert Crais's Elvis Cole series. Ladies if you like me are finding it difficult to even read the latest Jack Reacher novels because of the serious miscasting of a 5 foot 7 brunette with a major ego issue into the part of a 6 foot four blond super hero, nil desperandum. Crais features a side character in the Elvis Cole series, Joe Pike, who will fill the fantasy hole.

Late the first afternoon at Jasper Gorge a camper trailer pulled in with a family of 5 aboard. They made it fairly obvious they wanted the camp site where we were in!

First thing the fellow did after opening up his tent was get out his chainsaw and commence cutting up wood for a fire (38c at the time). Guy Fawkes would have been proud of the result. They eventually wandered off to bed leaving the fire blazing and us praying because we had passed two patches of smouldering bush on our way through. Thank heavens there was no wind. Next morning they got up and stoked the fire up again, had breakfast, packed up and left. We wandered down to check on the fire and it was still smoking though there was no live flame. We were in the process of bucketing water from the spring to ensure it was out when another car pulled in. He also shook his head in wonder at leaving a fire in such a condition. We are still getting the smell of smoke when it is very still, but we think it is coming from the fires we passed on the way in.

At peace with the fact that the fire was out we headed for a nanna nap and we just drifting off when there was a very loud bang of something on the roof. We lay there and there did not seem to be any adverse things happening and started to settle down again thinking we would check later. Next thing we heard hop, hop, hop across the roof, skipperty, skipperty skip. We think the birds were having a boot scooting social up there.

On our way down to recheck the fire last evening we saw our first live kangaroos since leaving home. There was a whole mob of them. Wallabys really they are so small compared to the reds and greys we are used too.

We are struggling with the bird identification. We flick through the books and just cannot find an illustration which matches what we think we have seen. HOWEVER we have identified a Great Bower Bird who has been visiting and whom we think is collecting red. He was absolutely taken with the orange power cord on the ground and headed off with a cherry tomato. We also think we have discovered where his bower is and I will head off shortly and try and take a discrete look.

The discrete look revealed he is collecting white and that his bower is about 20 feet from our caravan under a tree. Thank heavens for digital cameras with good zoom lenses so we don’t disturb him. A sort through our caravan has revealed some white plastic cup hooks which are not man enough for the job and some white clips from our new mosquito fighting bandanas. They have been thrown on the ground around our van for him to collect and place in his bower hopefully to lure some unsuspecting female in.

There is a parrot flying around and when I checked the books the only two which should be in this area so I figure it is the red winged parrot.

Because we have been parked in shadow for a couple of days we need to either park out in the full sun to make our solar panels more effective or move on. We have just noticed we have been using more power than we have been generating. In the end we decided to move on and so this morning we packed up and headed back to the Victoria Highway and on to Timber Creek.

Heading out of the gorge was just as spectacular as heading in. The scenery was wonderful. The road did not seem as bumpy and I was given the privilege of driving again. Unfortunately I managed to hit one really big hole hard, neither of us saw it. I think it was full of bulldust. When we set up camp we were happy to see no damage and no things flung about the van.

Just outside of Timber Creek we stopped at the Durack Memorial and let the boys out. they have been sweltering in the back of the car for the last three days.

Because we wanted power we have booked in to the Timber Creek Hotel Caravan Park and like it so much we are thinking to staying here tomorrow as well rather than heading to a free overnight stay. We are less than two hours drive to Kununurra so it isn’t an issue.

The first thing we noticed when we got into the park was that just about every site is covered by enormous trees. No grass where we have settled in but that isn’t too bad. I was looking around and saw an eagle sitting on a pole about 25 feet away from me and finally managed to get a reasonable photo of one.

First thing I did was clean up the black bean sauce from the fridge, a filthy job

I am out of white wine so wandered over to the hotel to buy a bottle and came up against the licensing laws for the first time. No wine or spirits on Wednesday’s or Thursday’s. Oh well red it is, what a shame.

We have been doing some summing up of our trip so far and have come up with the following.....

BEST MEMORIES

· Anzac Day service at Arkaringa Station.

· Watching the Great Bower Bird at Jasper Creek in the Northern Territory.

WORST MEMORY

· No Water!

· Hot Beer (GMan)

· Showers at Arkaringa Station

BEST SIGHTS

· Painted Desert

· Devils Marbles

· Victoria River – even though we couldn’t get a photo.

LEAST MEMORABLE MEAL

· Yiros and chips at the Pink Roadhouse closely followed by chips at the BP in Katherine.

MOST MEMORABLE MEAL

· Lamb shanks in spiced lentils done in our ecopot at Jasper Gorge

· Breakfast after the Anzac Day Service at Arkaringa Station

USING A LOT OF

· Blue dishcloths

· Flyspray

· Lime Cordial

· Bottled water

· Diesel

· Beer – of course the wine consumption is much more modest and hims drinks most of that as well.

NICEST CAMP SPOT

· Jasper Gorge

GOOD THINGS WE HAVE PURCHASED / BEEN USING

· Rubbish bag thing which hangs on the spare wheel at the back of your car.

· Water filter jug

· Webber Q

· New Vacuum cleaner

· Quality of the o/n stays in the NT Katherine Shire

MISTAKES

· Water heater and inbuilt shower in the van, we are too water conscious to use them

· Black bean sauce leaking all over the fridge

. Bought too much stuff with us. Unbelievably we are not drinking as much coffee and have not yet finished the first container from when we left. We bought 4 kg of the stuff. Oakleys you will not need to buy additional coffee as we travel as long as you like Arabaca.

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Comments

[Delores]

Sooo jealous!!!!
We are so jealous, we are so pleased you having a great time, yes the humidity is terrible I hated it but all the good days you have you soon forget about the heat.

[sue y]

what bird is this
we looked in our book and think it could be a Black Kite just going off the wing colour where it is darker, the other bird again going off the length of tail could be a Wedge Tail Eagle. loved the photos of Jasper Gorge it looks lovely, we were in Mataranka 1989 and 1992 it was really nice then, look forward to your next blog.