Into the Territory

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Into the Northern Territory

Keep river NP
Day 80
May 13

Crossed the NT border - finally! The kids did the usual trick and jumped from one state to the other. Keep River is just over the WA/NT border. Lovely place to camp. Ridges of sandstone giving an impressive vista. Went for the quick lap of the 1 hour walk before dusk and one again the next morning - with camera and video. Found the national park system different to our WA ones. The payment is based on an honesty system with an honesty box to put payment in - ie it seems though that not many actually do pay. You don’t see the ranger at all, which makes it difficult to get local information, which is always useful. C’est la vie.

Also seems you can have campfires, which is nice - so we can use those marshmallows I bought!


Gregory National Park - Limestone Creek Gorge / Bullita Homestead
Day 81 - Day 82
May 14/15

An out of the way spot - ie not a lot of people. Enjoyed the three days we spent there - although the majority of our time was spent up at the Limestone Creek waterhole - or getting to and from it!

Even though it is mid-May a lot of roads aren’t open - same in Keep River N.P. There are a series of 4WD tracks (old station tracks / stock routes) which are challenging - but alas not open whilst we were there - much to Russell’s frustration. . You are supposed to notify a security firm if you are going to attempt them, or at least someone else, then they can send out help if you don’t return when expected. Another trip.

Went to Limestone Creek Gorge the first day. Looked at Calcite flows and tufa flow (where the calcium carbonate had formed from being precipitated out of the water onto natural sandbars and trees roots and over the years building up and causing dam-wall like structures). Also saw a stromatolite ‘reef’ which was 550million - 1.4 billion. y.o. Amanda was pretty impressed. Pointed out the stromatolites to the kids and that the area was once like the stromatolites we saw at Hamelin Bay / Shark bay, with supra-saline water.

We continued down the road, but it was closed. We had spoken to another couple at the previous evening who had told us there was a lovely swimming hole - after about a ½ hour walk. Definitely worth the walk, the lush green waterhole had the clearest water I’ve ever swam in.

The last morning there we spent a couple of hours at the Bullita homestead and around the Bullita stockyards which had been faithfully reproduced from working plans and drawings. Really interesting.

A bloke by the name of Charlie Schultz was the first person to make it profitable, he essentially ran it as an outstation of Herbert Station, which was his main focus. Although it was better watered than Herbert station the rocks were very hard on horse and cattle and made it difficult to muster and maintain the head of cattle. Apparently when using Bullita as a staging post and droving his cattle towards Wyndham he would actually shoe all his cattle as well!!! Tough old life.

The house had some old letters reprinted displayed on the wall. One from a cattle hand, talking about branding the cattle and that the bloke in charge had got rolled on by a horse as he was trying to tie it up to be branded. The cow/bull kicked the horse that went down and rolled on the bloke - twice. He had head injuries and went a bit loopy. The bloke decided to ride to Timber Creek initially for help and was told the doctor had just left (via motor car) to go on to the next station west. He then swapped mounts and continued on to finally meet up with the doctor who drove back to Bullita and took the bloke on to Wyndham hospital. The other letter was from the most recent owner (Lyn Bertiz….??) prior to the station being bought by the governernment. She survived a wet season flood and gave a graphic account of her ideal. Fascinating reading and you realize how isolated and alone they were in times of real trouble. There were other historical letters from the Aborigines Department and agricultural board reporting on improvements Charlie Schulz had made to the station lease and the conditions in which he kept “his aborigines”. It was generally remarked that they were afforded much better conditions than on most stations. Interestingly though Herbert station indigenous stockmen were very quick to follow the Wave Hill walkout so I guess things might not have been as good for them as you might think - all depends on your perspective. Like with most things there are three sides to every story - “Yours, mine and the facts!!!”

National Park - Bullita to Sullivans Campground
Day 83
May 16

Back out along the rough road to the Victoria Highway, thence to Timber Creek again for supplies and fuel. You wouldn’t want to be relying on Timber Creek to stock up if you were planning an extended trip in the region as what little is there is overpriced. Back along the Victoria Highway, via Joe Creek National Park, and a walk up along the escarpment to see a number of aboriginal paintings. A quick dip in the creek at the base of the valley to cool off and again on our way. Passed Victoria River Homestead, viewed the old Victoria River Crossing which now leads nowhere, and carried on through to the eastern extent of Gregory National Park and camped at Sullivan’s Campground - which in reality is not much more than a 24 hr roadside stop. Certainly on the lower end of well thought out campgrounds that we are coming to expect from the NT Parks and Wildlife service.

Sullivan’s Campground - Flora River National Park
(Yarrayan Campground)
Day 84
May 17

Primarily traveling along the Victoria Highway to get to the park.

One major drama along the way though….

On the way in while collecting and cutting firewood RP managed to mistime one of my sawstrokes and bounced the saw off the back of my hand. Given that the saw was pretty sharp it went straight thru to the bone with a ragged cut. Quickly washed it, “Betadined” it and bandaged it up with Amanda thinking we should turn and head straight for Katherine(and a doctor/hospital) and me saying “She’d be right”! Onwards we went to the park only to arrive when the local indigenous groups and the Parks management were having a big gab fest about land management issues. Consequently there were a cast of thousands out there when we were expecting only the odd person if any at all. Bummer.

We went down to the river where they had an amazing boat ramp with a winch to allow small boats into the river - a drop of about 5 metres. Went further along the road to Yarrayan campground (which was / wasn’t a camp dependent on which sigh you read). As it was away from the madding crowd we thought we’d just park up there and leave the camper closed until nightfall - on the premise of doing some fishing. As it happened the Parks blokes decided to do a fair bit of burning off around that area that afternoon so yet again we were in the midst of a significant fire. A ranger came by to tell us of the burn off but didn’t tell us we couldn’t camp there so using the’ logic of omission’ we decided that camping there was allowed, so we set up and stayed.

At nightfall we had our first experience with the dreaded CANETOAD!!!
What a piece of work these ugly bastards are! Anyway we thought we did the righty by dispatching some of these toads into oblivion. Later found out that this is a bit of double-edged sword (and it did cross my mind as well) that if left on the ground some local native fauna might eat it and die as result.

I trust that there is something that can be done to slow their progress towards WA. So if you’re reading this and think the same donate to the Toadbuster organizations in Kununurra who are on a hiding to nothing trying to stop these creatures advance into our precious Kimberley region.

Flora River National Park - Katherine
Day 85/86
May 18

After packing up we headed back to the main part of the park to see both Kathleen Falls and Djarrung Falls. Both these falls were formed from the tufa (calcite / calcium carbonate depositing from the water on reaction with carbon dioxide) and are far more impressive than what we had seen previously in Gregory NP. Kathleen Falls in particular was quite impressive with a myriad of small waterfalls winding its way down thru the pandanus and cadjeput (paperbark) trees.

Brayden found a large handline which was snagged tight and with no one around claiming ownership… we did. It was near impossible to break the line so BKP ran back to the car to get his knife and we cut the line and he scored a thick line handline - bonus.

The previously packed campground was now deserted and would have been a great place to stay had we been a few days earlier or later. We stopped for a bit and had pikelets for morning tea - which kept the kids pretty happy as they had made up the batter.

Thence onto Katherine….

Katherine - Nitmiluk Gorge NP
Day 87/88
May 20/21

A short drive to Katherine Gorge / Nitmiluk Gorge National Park and set up in the campground. Went to the impressive visitor center and booked in for a gorge cruise - we decided on the cultural cruise thinking that would be more educational than simply cruising down the gorge. We spent the afternoon doing a smallish walk that allowed views up and over the first gorge. Any chance for seeing wildlife was pretty well reduced to nothing by the kids wanting to talk incessantly for some reason. Then again the walk took you past the local water filtration plant that had Danger Poison / Chlorine Gas / Radioactive signs for water treatment purposes - this seems to be at odds in a National Park and even more so on a public walk thru the area!!!

The following day we went on the cruise - which was nice enough - but the “cultural” side consisted of an aboriginal guide playing the didgeridoo for about 2 minutes and showing off a few dilly bags and a spear. Bit disappointing. Still you “Never Never know if you Never Never go” as the advertising campaign of a few years back said!

One thing I couldn’t quite fathom though was that the Nitmiluk park is joint managed by the Jawoyn people and the Parks and Wildlife commission. OK no dramas. All commercial operations in the park are fully owned by Jawoyn people / companies. This was, according to all the blurb, to allow self determination, self respect, employment/training opportunities etc. Ok that sounds great non reliance on handouts. Yet we saw one aboriginal bloke working as a guide and everyone else was a whitefella. The critical / cynical part f me tends to wonder….. “why work if you can still get the handouts from either money generated from the park or the myriad of other government agencies doling out taxpayer dollars…”. Hmmmm?!? Might be wrong but….


Nitmiluk Gorge NP - Edith Falls
Day 89/90
May 22/23

Arrived at Edith falls early and set up in their well set out campground. All unpowered, which is good, as it means any caravans that do come in cant put on their TV’s and aircons and make a great racket!!! The falls are great for a swim and you can swim up to and under the falls - along with the small 30cm barramundi - and its simply a great place to relax. We swam several times a day and it was difficult to get the kids out. With the nice shady campground though it was also a good spot to again catch up on some schoolwork for the kids. Groan groan…

The following day we walked the loop trail that takes you above the principal falls and to the “Upper Falls” - imaginatively named for obvious reasons. These are also quite scenic and also a good swimming spot - albeit surrounded by a much smaller pool. You get a few decent views out over the escarpment at various stages of the walk with a cooling dip midway followed by another swim at the main falls once you get to the end of the walk. Good stuff.

Edith Falls - Pine Creek - Umbrawarra Gorge
Day 91/92/93
May 24/25/26

From Edith Falls we headed to Pine Creek to send some mail and restock supplies a bit. Whilst in Ah Toys General Store we were told about a fundraising event - an Australia wide morning tea…”The Big Cuppa”. We decided to partake as it was late morning/nearly lunch. There were all sorts of goodies to eat so we made a sizeable donation to their cause ($40.00) and that also passed as our lunch - small meat pies, sandwiches, cakes of various types and scones and jam. Not bad at all. Also spoke a a local lady of ‘venerable vintage’ who had some stories to tell and also gave us a bit of local knowledge. She and her husband had done quite a few amazing things and would have been enjoyable to talk to over the course of an afternoon to hear about some of their exploits.

Umbrawarra Gorge was our destination and after driving along a variably corrugated gravel road for 20 odd km’s we arrived to find we were the only campers - Bonus! With firewood in hand we cranked up the fire and settled down to an evening under the stars with no-one but ourselves and the noise of the bush. Magic. This however was not to last unfortunately…..

The following day we trekked into the gorge with school books in tow. Found ourselves a nice little rock pool a little way in but further along from where the general crowd seemed to stop and congregate. Met a couple from Victoria on long service leave and had a chat with them for a little while. Had the kids alternately swimming in the waterhole / rockpool / watching the water monitor with whom we were sharing our swimming hole / schooling. Obviously this classroom situation was a little less than optimal for 100% concentration and before too long the schooling side of things went by the wayside. Back to camp for lunch, and some more formalized schooling in the piece and quiet of camp, but then late in the arvo another vehicle arrived with some NT locals. This family and their friends that were to follow later in the evening were definite leading contenders for the worlds noisiest family/ies. From the minute they arrived until their kids fell asleep it was full on noise. Crikey! Not my ideal way to spend time in the bush at all! Over the course of the next 2 days though our kids began to play with their kids so I had to bite my tongue! However after one of the blokes pushed over a tree with his vehicle in the campsite, to see if it was hollow to try and make a didjeridoo and then they took all their kids firewood collecting on top of their car (with Rhiannon also - unbeknownst to us) my opinion of them and their parenting style was confirmed….!?! We had also planned to look for some wood that had been hollowed out by termites for a didjeridoo but our search was in vain as anything straight was either not eaten out enough or eaten right through or ones that were eaten out enough were too curved to be of real use. We’ll have to keep looking.

The following day we went a little further into the gorge taking our lunch with us. We found a few rock art sites - although nothing of huge detail. A few very faded animals and one site, under a rock ledge, which was the ubiquitous sprayed handprints that were well preserved. Adjacent to this last site was a great pool with a sandy beach where we spent a bit of time having a good swim. Not sure how much further the Gorge continued but it would be nice to explore it to its end and look for further sites as there was supposedly quite a few. Although the gorge was small in magnitude compared to many others we have seen on this trip, it was still marvelous and because of the great swimming opportunities and rock hopping of a moderate nature it was great to explore with the kids.
Umbrawarra Gorge - Katherine
Day 94
May 27

Traveling day from Umbrawarra back to Katherine

Katherine
Day 95
May 28

Town stuff, schooling, catching up, kids swimming in Springvale Hsd pool. Brayden met up with a couple of boys of similar age and they had a fat ol time in and around the pool and down the slide. Good way to tire them out.

Katherine -Cutta Cutta Caves - Mataranka - Elsey NP (12 Mile Yard Camp)
Day 96
May 29

Finally away from Katherine and heading south for a change - didn’t quite feel right after having spent the last three months with a northward bent. Not far from Katherine we stopped in at the Cutta Cutta Caves (nee Smith Caves , then 16 Mile Caves ). We sprung for the guided tour, although you don’t have a choice really if you want to see them, and with our idiosyncratic guide and his list of well worn jokes and repartee into the caves we went. The caves were well set out with lights and the guide was a bit of a character although I felt that the tour was just a tad rushed. Several interesting features though - the usual stalagtites / stalagmites (not many due to the nature of the cave being flooded), shawls and several specific features such as walking thru a section which resembled the inside of a whales belly, Elvis profile, Puff the Magic dragon (albeit upside down), and a few others.

Continued on to (and quite quickly) through Mataranka. We decided on not staying in Mataranka and continued out to the National Park campground at 12 Mile Yard - an old stockyard used periodically when mustering occurred in the area. The Parks and Wildlife Commission have installed a good campground here although it appears to have been designed by two different people who didn’t speak to each other - one did the roads and camp bays and the other did the facilities. It was quite weird, as the camp bays and tables/BBQ’s didn’t seem to match up. Having said that it was a good place to camp.

Mataranka / Elsey NP (12 Mile Yard Camp)
Day 97/98/99
May 30/31 June 1

With a lot to do in the park but also a fair bit of schooling to catch up on we tended to do schooling in the morning and headed off to do something in the arvo. With temperatures now quite pleasant the order of things is not as critical as it once was - although anything that helps to maintain the kids attention span whilst schooling is a good thing.

Visited the Mataranka Homestead where the replica of the house used in the film “We of the Never Never” is located. Further on from there is the “Hot springs” which was originally used by the early pastoralists, then the Army during WWII (commissioned officers only of course) and subsequent to the army being demobilized it was then developed into a tourist site / operation which is now widely frequented by NT travelers. The spring which feeds the pool spews forth at a rate of 30.4 Million litres a day apparently and whilst not a true hot spring it is still a very pleasant temperature and nice, clear water. A little too popular for our liking though and I could imagine in full swing during tourist season you would be lucky to get in without rubbing shoulders with all and sundry!

Mataranka / Elsey NP (12 Mile Yard Camp) - Katherine
Day 100
June 2

Traveled back from Mataranka to see the Norstock Rodeo that evening in Katherine.


Katherine - Pine Creek - Emerald Springs - Hayes Creek - Fenton WWII airfield - Douglas Hot Springs
Day 101
June 3

Traveling day primarily.

Stopped at Fenton WWII airfield on the way in to see where a squadron or three of American Liberator Bombers was based during the war. It’s a bit weird coming across this great big airstrip (albeit in decay) in the middle of nowhere. There was a “graveyard” for the planes that had either been destroyed in accidents /collisions or from the several Japanese air raids that occurred over the course of the war. Its one aspect of Australia’s involvement in the war that is not even touched upon in schools when learning about our recent history. It seems that the vast majority of the population (us included) has no idea how far inland Japanese air raids occurred - or how frequently.

Remainder of day was spent at Douglas Hot Springs. In comparison to the thermal pools at Mataranka these are true hot springs and blinkin hot - around the 67oCelsius mark at the main pools. Accordingly there is a little spot further downstream where a cold tributary joins the spring water where it mixes and forms an area that invariably goes from hot to warm to cold. You eventually get a nice spot only to have someone move and the water equilibrium is upset and either hot or freezing cold water engulfs you. Gives you a nice feeling though. Many people get out of the water and have a red line on their bodies where they have been sitting in the hot water - poached to perfection!
Kids met up with a couple of other kids from Victoria on a 10 week holiday. They hit it off pretty quickly and had a good time mucking about with them. Played UNO after dinner and we cooked up a batch of popcorn for them, which went down well - although their game degenerated into something, they all made up their own rules for as they went along.

Turned into a cold night that night…. Could have even used the bigger sleeping bag.

Douglas Hot Springs - Douglas Daly Esplanade Reserve
Day 102
June 4

Amanda had decided that we were to go for a family ride - this lasted for about a km along the closed road to Butterfly Gorge before Rhiannon chucked a sad and decided she couldn’t go further. Admittedly it was a gravel road and corrugated but she didn’t last long. It was probably good she didn’t continue, as the road only got worse anyway. Brayden and I continued for approx 8kms over two creek crossings, sandy road, corrugations and a black soil plain that had been pockmarked with cattle/buffalo hoofprints and was like riding across a moonscape. We saw 4 water buffalo at a waterhole along the way.

A final swim/bathe in the springs and head off - although by the time we had packed, swum and got organized it was nearly 12 noon! We were to go briefly to the place known as “The Arches” but our information wasn’t very detailed and we didn’t realize it was part of the Douglas Daly Tourist Park and drove right on by towards the Douglas Daly Esplanade Conservation Park. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as we found a beaut campsite on the margins of the Daly River and decided to park up for the night. Tried our luck at fishing - which had its usual degree of success… me spitting the dummy as I had just put on a brand new lure and before it had even had time to get properly wet it had got snagged and lost - I was pissed to say the least. I don’t get mad at many things but this fishing just really annoys the hell out of me when you lose gear and don’t catch any fish!!! We haven’t fished much in the NT yet but all we have caught is a blinkin’ catfish.

Anyway we had a great campfire and BBQ that night and we had a place away from caravans and the Germanic Britz travellers…. so that cant be a bad thing.

Douglas Daly Esplanade Reserve - Oolloo Crossing - The Arches - Adelaide River - Batchelor - Litchfield (Sandy Creek Camp)
Day 103
June 5

With Amanda feeling the urge to push on we reluctantly packed up camp from our shady campsite and zipped down to Oolloo crossing. This is a now disused crossing on the way to Fish River station. You would be pretty game to try and cross now as both banks were sandy and the opposite side was washed away leaving a 2.5 metre drop. I guess this was a crossing used mainly in horse and cart days perhaps? A few other blokes (from WA) were on the bank fishing and they had had not bite as well so I didn’t feel so bad from my previous evenings exploits.

Went back via the Douglas Daly Tourist park, which is the entrance to the “Arches” which we had missed on the way through. There is a small NP behind the park which protects the small river system - a tributary to the mighty Daly River. The Arches is an eroded limestone formation that opens up into a nice enough waterhole. We swam up against the current thru the Arches and into the small waterfall before turning around and floating with the current back thru the arch and into the waterhole beyond. Nice enough waterhole but our expectations now are somewhat high having seen so many great swimming spots! Sounds very conceited but true enough!

Pushed on towards the ubiquitous Litchfield National Park via Adelaide River and then to Batchelor ( a very tidy town but very different - seems a government town in all respects and had a unique feel to the place). Coming out of Batchelor a few unnatural noises became apparent…..uh oh. A quick check simply revealed that the hub covers had not been reseated correctly by the mechanic in Katherine and they worked their way loose. If only everything was as easy to fix. Continued in along the road to Litchfield passing many of the attractions as we were rapidly running out of daylight and needed to make camp. We had decided on the campsite that appeared to be most out of the way and difficult to get to in an effort to get away from as much of the maddening crowd as possible. The road into Tjaynera Falls and sandy creek campsite was a bit of a doozy. Principally made so by the Parks and Wildlife who put all these great whoopdeedoos along the track - probably in an effort to stop every man and his dog barreling along the track at great rate of knots and having head ons - at least it kept the caravans out! After we crossed a creek with a water depth of 600mm, which kept us all entertained, as it was the deepest crossing to date, we finally arrived at the Sandy Creek Campsite only to be greeted with 2 remaining spots. A foreign bloke in the spot adjacent to us pulled out his didjeridoo and started playing - he was quite good and obviously had been doing it for a while.


Litchfield National Park - Tjaynera Falls - Termite Mounds - Florence Falls - Buley Waterfall
Day 104
June 6

Our first stop had to be our local waterfall!!! So with swimming togs in hand (well actually on as we seem to live in them nowadays) we headed off to the falls. After a 1.7km winding walk along the small river valley we arrived to a beautiful scene of the falls cascading down the variably shaded red/orange/brown/black of the siltstone, sandstone and quartzite rocks into a superbly clean natural waterhole approx 50m in diameter at the base. The water was clean and clear, albeit refreshingly cool, and we wasted no time in dipping our toes in….the bodies followed a little while later because, as I said above, the water was ….invigorating. Having said that, once you were in and used to it it wasn’t too bad. We all swam over to the waterfall - which is now becoming a bit of a custom - and the kids swam thru it under it thru the cascading water, as the flow rate wasn’t so much to push you away. I had to look on as my ear infection was far from being fixed. Ill have to admit its not quite the same having to look on whilst everyone else is frolicking about! Yet again we ended up being lucky in that after a while the few people that were there all left and we had the place to ourselves. It’s a beautiful place and whilst it still attracts a steady stream of visitors it isn’t overloaded like the remainder of the parks attractions.

The afternoon saw us backtracking to the Termite Mounds of the magnetic variety which in Litchfield have an orientation 10 degrees east of North apparently - as this allows them to maintain the most consistent temperature throughout the course of the day. The magnetic termites confine themselves to the black soil plains, which are the low lying areas, whilst cathedral termites tend not to like the potential for being waterlogged over longer periods and consequently build their high cathedral like mounds above the black soils on the well drained soils. The other type of termite in the park is the mound or pipe termite that tends to build its mound around the base of a tree and proceeds to eat out the heartwood of the tree. It has been estimated that almost 50%!o(MISSING)f the NT trees are eaten out on the inside. It was surprising to see how cut and dried the differentiation between termite species was - at the slightest hint of a change in gradient the termites went from the magnetic variety to the cathedral variety. The cathedral variety builds huge mounds -apparently up to 6m tall!
Visited the very popular Buley waterhole / waterfall only to find it inundated with daytrip coachtours and a cast of thousands. As we are now so used to having large waterholes to ourselves we all had a similar response - too many people!!! Needless to say we moved on after walking the length of it and not seeing much room in any of the pools without rubbing shoulders with someone!

Florence Falls is only a small skip away and is quite nice. Not as spectacular in terms of height as the other falls in the park but a waterfall is always a delight to see and it emptied, as most seem to do, into a beaut swimming hole at the base. After taking the obligatory photos from the scenic lookout we walked down the 135 stairs (this is explicitly stated at the start of the walk, although I’m not sure whether this is too warn people who aren’t as nimble as they used to be or to stop the arguments within families as to how many steps each family member counted….which would obviously all be different!!!). We had our swim again heading out to the watefall, thru it under it etc. If you stood still long enough there were some fish in the water who would seek out any small sores on your legs and start nipping / nibbling at the scab. After a while this became quite annoying, as it was more than just a little nip - so you had to keep moving to avoid being eaten alive…….. only joking. After dragging the kids out we headed back to our camp (this time with some firewood in tow) and cooked dinner over the fire.


Litchfield National Park - Lost City - Tolmer Falls - Wangi Falls - Blythe Homestead -

Day 105
June 7

Headed off a little earlier today (these things all being relative of course) as we had a lot to see. Our first stop on our itinerary was the lost city - an area of sandstone columns that has resisted erosion in comparison to surrounding areas. This has resulted in isolated features standing above the surrounding plain that, with a bit of imagination, looks like deserted buildings.

Across then to Tolmer Falls which is a haven for both the Orange Horseshoe bat and the Ghost bat. Accordingly access to the falls and waterhole is from the lookout only as these bats are very sensitive to disturbance from humans and will often abandon a roost once disturbed. We took the circuit route along the Tolmer Creek past some ghost cycads (from the dinosaur age) and thence to the falls lookout. Impressive falls again cascading into a pool down the bottom with a few caves to be seen at the base and halfway down.
We then proceeded to Wangi Falls - along with all the coaches / tour buses etc etc. unfortunately this was still closed to swimming as it was supposedly above a set limit defined by the coroner after there had been 11 drownings in 10 years - although this seemed to be from a fair while back. The walk was also closed due to flood damage so it was only a view from the lookout. Still very picturesque but would have been nice to swim - although swimming would be a bit like being in a public swimming pool with a whole swag of characters.

Collecting firewood on the way “home” for cooking the roast and apple pie on the fire for tonights dinner! On the way home we diverted to the old historic Blythe homestead. This was an outstation to Stapleton station and generally inhabited by the older kids of the Sarjeant family who looked after the cattle in the Dry and worked the adjacent small tin mine show in the Wet. A family album and some quotes from some of the 14 kids (!!!) showed how tough these people were and how self-sufficient they needed to be. It’s a somewhat humbling experience to read about these types of people and the hardships they endured. Interestingly during the war years the ‘Father’ had to contend with a significant degree of “vandalism” from soldiers either shooting and killing cattle, vehicles running through and over fences and aircraft pilots using cattle as moving target practice. There were various news articles showing he had made a claim for compensation but none indicating that he received anything other than a paltry amount with the government/armed forces not accepting any responsibility.

Arrived home and there was only us and one other vehicle. Rather than heading the 1.7km to the falls we found a little spot on the creek emanating from the falls and had a quick dip there. After we had removed a couple of logs and pandanus fronds we had a perfect little spot with cool clear water and a sandy bottom. The kids designated this a Sandy Creek paradise bay! It was surrounded by palms, had a nice sandy bottom - a good little cooling off site.

Litchfield National Park - Tjaynera Falls - Berry Springs - Darwin

Day 106
June 8

Couldn’t leave our camp without revisiting ‘our falls’ so we trekked back and had another swim. Again we had the whole place to ourselves and swam out to the waterfall to again appreciate the falls from every angle. We reckon that this would probably have to be one of the better places in the park as the waterfall cascades into a natural amphitheatre with many palms fringing the waterhole.

Left via the alternative route to Darwin, some of which was gravel, past Berry Springs and finally into Darwin……and aaarrghh - traffic and traffic lights!!! We went directly to the post office to collect our mail -of which there was a fair amount, then headed back to the Shady Glen Tourist Park to set up camp. Turned on the phone and received several calls from a mate of mine with some bad news - a friend we used to ski with had died from bladder cancer. This bloke was a first class triathlete who was fitter than the vast majority of the population. Apparently it was a bladder cancer so rare they did not know how to treat it and he finally succumbed to its effects on Monday. Sad news indeed……this brings home to us just how important this trip is to us as a family as fate can intervene at any time. I know its clichéd but you need to live for the moment - not just plan for the future!!!

Had dinner on the Stokes Hill Wharf - the Darwin equivalent of Fremantle and had the ubiquitous fish n chips of a Friday night! I think this is only the second time we have eaten out on the whole trip!!! After dinner you could see a whole heap of various fish in and around the jetty all vying for scraps that people would throw down. Some rather largish fish - nice if we could catch them!

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Photos

WA / NT border
Standard photo at the border...well you just have to do it no matter how kitschy!

Gregory Tree
Early graffiti...now a cultural icon.

Rock art
Joe Creek rock art

My ever present rear view
Always checking that the bikes are still following....

Rhiannon's bed mate one night...
...luckily she didnt see it till the following morning when I had to catch it.

My first loaf of bread....
My first attempt at baking bread - pretty good if I dont say so myself. Kneaded by hand, rolled by beer bottle and cooked on camp stove. Not bad!

Katherine Rodeo
An enjoyable night - although the bulls seemed to win out on balance.

Douglas springs
Brayden thought the quick sand sign was pretty impressive! The water is really hot at around 60 degrees celsius plus.

Tjaynera Falls
These falls are a little way off the beaten track in Litchfield and are less popular...and probably the best in our opinion.

Tolmer Falls walk
Rhiannon the can-can girl with a ghost cycad head-dress

Wangi Falls
Unfortunately it was still closed for swimming when we went thru but wa opened only a few days later ...great park a definite must see whilst in NT

Comments

[Monique]

And on to Darwin!
We've enjoyed reading about your next part of your journey - we love the pictures! You will be very happy in the years to come to look back on this magnificent journal you are taking the time to write. Well done Bro'. Love Monique and family