Kununurra to Darwin

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Before heading into the NT we spent a few days in Kununurra getting undusted, resupplying and checking out the surrounds. We discovered the “Hoochery” - a cane farm distillery with some delightful products (if you like Rum do yourself a favour and mail order yourself the 40% proof bottle, it’s well worth it =) ). We also discovered a delightful new vegetable at the Kununurra markets - Baby Boab roots! They look a bit like a sweet potato and taste quite clean, a bit like a water chestnut. We took a daytrip to Wyndham via another gravel track which took us past a Billabong with an amazing amount of birdlife, set up with platforms for bird watching near a spot called Parry’s lagoon. We got to Wyndham and drove out to the port and then up to the 5 rivers lookout, where you can overlook a bay which is the emptying pot of 5 very large rivers! A photo does not do it justice the panorama is so large. On the way back to Kununurra we detoured to visit the prison tree, a massive Boab tree used in the past to house criminals somehow! There was a tidal creek along the way where I attempted to catch a barramundi but all I did was lose a couple of lures =/. We left Kununurra with a quick trip out to Lake Argyle before heading into the NT towards Darwin. Kakadu was on the to do list but unfortunately most of the spots in the Park were long walks which meant we couldn’t see them as it was too long to leave to dogs in the car, so we basically drove into Jabiru from the South and then out again towards Darwin on the Northern arm of the Arnhem highway. We stopped for a Break at the East Alligator River and as I walked down to the boat ramp I was spotted by a large estuarine crocodile! He hovered at the edge of the boat ramp eying me off, and at one stage I was sure he was securing his footing for a launch so we backed off after a couple of snapshots! That was our only highlight of Kakadu, but we put it down on our list of places to visit the next trip when we are dog less. From Kakadu we went to Darwin and set up in a van park about 30ks out of town at a place called Coolalinga. We had a good drive around the city and found Darwin to be quite nice (for a city). About the only touristy thing we did in Darwin was visit the Mindil beach markets, which was well worth it for the food alone! Lots of interesting stalls and we were treated to a set from local Didgeridoo act Emdee whilst eating dinner there. We did find a nice beach with shady trees to camp under called Gunn point, but after we arrived and set up we realised why no one else was there, it stank! (literally, campers to the area obviously don’t posess or don’t know how to use a shovel......) so we only spent a night and then headed back south to Katherine where we were to tee up with Kym’s Aunty Cheryl and hubby Pete to join them on a trek up the Central Arnhem highway to Nhulunbuy to see Kyms Dad and Di!

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Photos

Five River's lookout
Wyndham

Boab Prison tree
Between Wyndham and Kununurra

4 mtr Salty
Waiting for me to go for a swim, East Aligator River boatramp, Kakadu

Tidal victim
Gunns point, east of Darwin

Kym and the girls
Katherine river (where I caught my first barra!!)