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Published: November 4th 2008
We made it to Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia in one piece. The last three weeks have been pretty amazing, with new experiences every day -most of them good- and incredible sights and impressions. I’ve opted to give a day by day account, which means it will be long, again. If you get bored at any point, just jump ahead to the pictures.
It all started on the 14th of October, when Janine, Natalie, Manu and I left Port Douglas and headed north towards Cooktown. The good bye in Port was pretty hard. It’s different than saying goodbye to people back home, because you know they will still be there when you get back. Here the community ends for you the moment you depart. Sure, there will still be a Port Douglas next season, and no doubt there will be lots of interesting and good people, but it won’t be the same community and many of the people that made it up will never see each other again. The Port Douglas of 2008 is done. Most of the people that remained after we left have since moved on as well, leaving behind only the small group of people
willing to weather the wet season.
We made for Cape Tribulation the first night and were rewarded the next morning with our first wildlife spotting: a big monitor in the car park. After a quick stop in the fishing town of Cooktown, set in a beautiful location along a bay, we made for Lakefield National Park and our first taste of the off-road adventure. Upon arrival at our first campground -nine sites beautifully spread out along about 3km of river- we were greeted by a big pack of wild pigs with the next morning bringing another big monitor and several wallaby. We stayed in the park another night, driving all the way up in the north to a remote campsite that is only reachable by a rough 4wd track. The waterhole sported a pair of freshies, the first real wild crocodiles I saw in Australia although they would by no means be the last. Lakefield is a truly beautiful, wild place and you could easily spend a lot longer there. The north and south offer completely different scenery, with a large arid plain in the middle. Like much of outback Australia the area is completely covered in termite mounds,
some of which can be up to 6 meters high.
Driving out of Lakefield towards the Musgrave Roadhouse and the first bit of civilization in days, we punctured one of the rear tires with what would turn out to be a pretty decent sized rock. So, in the extreme heat, on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere, Manu and I replaced the tire with one of the spares which I had forgotten to inflate properly beforehand. It took the little air compressor about 45 minutes to get it up to 40psi and then we continued to the roadhouse for a much deserved shower, some beers and a burger that was big enough to last us most of the day. Typical of outback Oz, the owners were friendly and helpful. They also told us that the road we intended to travel was closed and that we would instead have to make our way straight across the peninsula to the Aboriginal community of Pormpurraaw which was probably a blessing in hindsight because the drive was beautiful and it gave us a glimpse at the life of the ‘modern’ Aboriginals in their traditional land. We camped out next to the
beach after watching the sun set in the sea again for the first time since leaving home. The beach was gorgeous, with millions of seashells everywhere, making up the very ground that we walked on. Even more amazing was the night sky there, with no moon and no light to contaminate it. We’ve been sleeping in just the inner tent for the whole trip and that expanse of starry sky with the milky way spreading across it is the best ceiling you could ever have.
The next morning we were introduced to another typical feature of outback Australia: highly inflated diesel prices. We paid $2,10 per liter (as opposed to $1,54 in Cairns) but soon forgot about this as the road south through Aboriginal land was amazing. Most of the land is former cattle property so it’s still filled with feral cows while the roads are nothing more than a trail through the bush. Usually there are three of four trails going in the same general direction since the roads quickly deteriorate in the wet and people choose instead to create a new track. After five or so long hours and 250km of these tracks we arrived once again
on the main road, a dirt track called the Savannah Way which runs from Cairns all the way to Broome. I gave the wheel over to Janine at this point and we drove the rest of the 250km to Karumba, a nice little town on the Gulf of Carpenteria. After beers and food in a local pub we couldn’t be bothered to camp anymore so instead we rented two cabins in the local caravan park and enjoyed the luxury of an air conditioned bedroom.
After this we had an uneventful and mostly uninteresting drive on part dirt and part bitumen roads to Normanton, the first bigger town that we had seen since Cooktown. We did some shopping, got fuel and tried to get the tire repaired but it was a write-off, which was obvious as soon as the mechanic managed to wrench the small glacier stone from the rubber. $195 for a brand new replacement wasn’t too bad though so before long we were on the road again to our destination for the night, Burketown, the self-proclaimed barramundi capital of Australia. I don’t think anything could’ve really prepared us for what we were to encounter there, in what we
expected to be a sleepy, small outback town.
We rolled up to the Burketown Pub, the only pub in town, and in short order met some of the locals as well as Greg, the owner, who told us a little bit about the area and also mentioned that he had beds available at $10 a night, so no camping again! We got some beers, drove down to the river and watched a beautiful sunset with the music of Sting and the Police in the background before heading back to the pub. By now the pub was kicking off and was surprisingly -and unusually- busy with locals and travelers alike. According to the Canadian girl behind the bar we were the first backpackers to visit the place in the eight weeks that she had been there, something I’ll take as a compliment to our trip. Besides us there was a group of four people, three white and one Aboriginal, who were also passing through. The Aboriginal was a local called Alec, at least that’s his English name, who has since moved on to work in the radio industry in Sydney and Brisbane. Until age 13 though, he had lived a
traditional life in his tribe, the traditional owners of the nearby community of Doomadgee. Because he was the most white of his age group he was thought to have the best opportunity to make something of life in modern Australia and was sent off to get an education. Alec explained a lot to me about his culture and the way of life of the Aboriginals and has definitely opened my eyes to the beauty of these people and their lifestyle. Although I prepared for months for this trip and read anything I could get my hands on about Australia, I had never really thought about learning more about the traditional and original owners of the land and I am neither bigot nor racist. I guess it stems from the same source as the typical Australian view of Aboriginals; they are somehow associated with the negative. With being drunk on the street and loitering around, wasting the money they get from the government on alcohol and generally not being productive members of society and I although that may be sadly true for a large number of them, the same can be said about a lot of white people, as Alec pointed
out correctly. The difference is, you see them because they aren’t white and even educated westerners aren’t impervious to a bit of xenophobia. But once you meet them and talk to them and see how friendly and helpful they are, you realize that people should never be judged as a group. I think Burketown is also a good example of how Australia should be, because there is very little racism or discord between new and original landowners, something that sadly isn’t true for a lot of the country.
After talking to Alec and his travel mates for a while, he introduced us to TJ, his brother -but actually his second cousin or something similar- who would turn out to be an absolute hero for us the next day, but more on that shortly. TJ has lived in the area his whole life and currently works in construction, building the local bridge together with a contract crew from Victoria. He’s also an avid croc hunter and in short order invited us to go croc hunting/spotting with him that night, an offer we understandably jumped at. By one o’ clock at night, when we had just about given up on it,
we finally set off on the boat on an adventure both hilarious and surreal. Everyone was drunk, singing and swinging the spotlight left and right to find crocs while we cruised the river in a large tinny, filled partially with oily, muddy water which still smelt of the catfish that had been lying in it from a previous fishing trip. Surprisingly to me, considering the noise we were making, we still spotted several salties, including one that TJ estimated to be around 3 meters and therefore too big to catch. So unfortunately no crocs caught but the thrill of seeing the eyes light up in the beam of the spotlight and getting right up next to the big croc are memories that will stick with me for a while.
The next morning, after a very short night’s sleep due to the sun being directly on our beds, we sat around talking to Alec and his friends for a bit more. One of his travel companions, Josh, told me how he had been pretty skeptical about coming out here with Alec. He had told him before hand that he came from a pretty racist background, had never really been out
of Brisbane in his 20-odd year life and didn’t know if it would be a good idea to go and live with Alec’s family out in the bush for a week. However, it would turn out to be a life changing trip for him. He told me how they had been hunting for wallaby and he’d been asleep in the car when the gunshot went off. He woke up, saw the wallaby was still hopping off and ran off after it barefoot, tackled it to the ground and held it. After they came back to the village, Alec had explained to him how he had now fed all the members of their little community for a few days. All the kids came up to thank him and he was offered the choice piece of meat from the wallaby. There were many more examples like that but I think this demonstrates the point enough. In one week, the racist city boy had grown to see this whole new, incredible side to his own country that he never knew existed. People who could survive in his country comfortably where he would have died of starvation and dehydration. Sure, there are many bad
apples, as TJ and Alec were quick to admit themselves, but when you see the people that are still taking care of the land, their knowledge and wisdom passed down over tens of thousands of years, in your own country, it must be a magical thing.
Although we had opted to skip Lawn Hill National Park because we needed to make up for some lost time, Alec convinced us to come with them there to stay the night. It’s a religious place to his people, where wounded warriors used to come to lie in the waterfalls and springs to heal their bodies. We decided to go ahead and they would meet up with them there later that day. Unfortunately, that never happened. On the way there, about 35km out of Burketown, I felt and heard something in the back of the car. Thinking it was another popped tire, I stopped the car to discover one of the rear shock absorbers had come off. Nothing too serious but it would still need to be fixed and the next town was another 400km or so away. So we headed back and found Alec still at the pub, drinking with TJ. The
latter jumped straight under the car, had a look and called one of his friends who came over in 10 minutes with the spare part we needed to fix it back on the car (the rubber, washer and bolt). After fiddling with it for about an hour and a half, we managed to get it back on, but as soon as we settled the weight of the car on it, the whole shockie snapped off on the base plate. Stupidly, we had forgotten to check if the shockie had been damaged, something that would’ve taken two minutes and could’ve saved us hours of work. Never fear, TJ is here. He got someone to give us a ride, we loaded the tools in the car and set off to his friend’s house nearby, where an assortment of no less than 10 toyota landcruisers and hiluxes were sitting in the backyard. We got a spare shock absorber and while we were dismantling the leaf spring suspension to get the base plate off -a tricky and dangerous procedure due to the pressure of the leaves- the owner of the cars came home and offered us a better and easier solution. Grind off the
old connection, weld a new bolt on the base plate and then fasten the shockie with some washers and a nut. Sounds good, but where to find an angle grinder, welding equipment and someone to use them? Did I mention that TJ was a hero? He mobilized his work crew, who were conveniently camped across from the pub and just enjoying their first beer after finishing work and they drove their whole mobile construction unit over. Generator, big welder, floodlights, the works. The boys set to work and within 30 minutes the car was good as new. No payment accepted other than a couple of beers. I’m still amazed and moved by the efforts and generosity of these people towards a couple of foreigners they had met the day before and would in all likelihood never see again. We were very lucky, yes, but I strongly believe that in outback Australia this is the rule rather than the exception. There is an inherently friendliness in people that live in remote areas like that, which may just be the lack of weariness and distrust of others that comes naturally to city dwellers as a matter of experience, but it is also
simply Australia.
By now it was fully dark, so we decided to spend another night in the Burketown pub before finally setting out to Lawn Hill NP without incident the next day. Unfortunately this meant we were without our local Aboriginal guide to tell us the stories of the land and explain the importance of the area, but we still enjoyed its beauty and cooled our sweaty, dusty bodies in its fresh waters. Because make no mistake about it, it is bloody hot here. We’re right before the rainy season and although it’s not quite as hot as it will get, the average temperature is still around 35 degrees and often more. It’s HOT, dusty, fly-infested and just generally unsuitable country for pale western European travelers. That’s not to say we don’t love it, or are sick of the heat, but it does take a toll on the mind and body and requires adaptation and lots and lots of water.
After Lawn Hill we tried to find the shortcut back to the main road that the locals had told us about but were unable to, so instead opted to take the scenic route back to the Savannah Way,
which is another beautiful and rugged track through the hills and bush, crossing many cattle properties. We stayed the night in a remote camping area called Kingfisher Camp where we were greeted by a big herd of wallaby as well as the friendly owners who responded to our arrival after darkness with a typical: “Running a bit late, are ya’s? Just set up on the campground and we’ll sort out the rest tomorrow morning”.
Back on the highway the next day, through the now closed Hell’s Gate Roadhouse where we stopped for pictures and on to Borroloola and the local campground. For 10 bucks a head you get to stay on a piece of semi-shaded land with an ablution block you share with cockroaches, spiders, frogs and various other nocturnal animals, oh, and they have fuel at the reasonable price of $2,25 a liter. The one really good thing is the river, which allowed us to chill out in the rapids the next morning before travelling the rest of the way to Katherine and Darwin.
In Darwin we met up with Joris, one of my best friends from back home. He was going to travel with us for
about a week while we went through the region east of Darwin: Mary River and Kakadu NP. It was great to see him and catch up on stuff back home and I’m glad I got to share some of my life here with another one of my friends, after having travelled with Jurjen earlier in my trip.
After restocking, we drove towards Kakadu, spending the first night at a beautiful free campground in Mary River, overlooking a large billabong. The road there featured some of the roughest 4wding we had done so far, with steep climbs and descents over rocks and through sand and a nice water crossing. We played some guitar and Didjeridoo, ate some good food and enjoyed what would be our last beers for a while.
The next day we drove all the way through Kakadu, staying at Ubirr at the border with Arnhemland. Ubirr is a world heritage site where a lot of rock paintings can be viewed. Even more impressive than that is the view from the lookout, showing Arnhemland on one side, the wetlands in front and the rocky bush behind. Kakadu is quite big, about 25.000 square km and encompasses various
different ecosystems. We watched the sunset and drove back to the campground where we had to pay our first and last camping fee for the trip, but at $5,40 a head we really didn’t have much to complain about.
Next morning we went for a walk in the nearby area, choosing a walk along the south alligator river. We weren’t really early and didn’t expect to see much but it didn’t take us long to spot our first croc in the river, soon followed by another, and another. All up we saw six or seven salties, either swimming or simply floating in the river. Not bad for an hour’s work. Afterwards we headed south to the center of the park, staying at Sandy Billabong, an aptly named campground around a billabong at the end of a 4wd track. Remote and end of season equals no other people there, which suits me just fine.
As soon as we got to the park, we had decided to do a cruise on yellow river billabong, which both Janine and Joris had done before with good results. After driving to a bigger campground for a much needed shower, we headed out to
buy our tickets and arrived early to get the best seats on the boat, right at the front. The cruise was absolutely epic. We saw so much wildlife and up so close, I still can’t believe it. Different species of duck, thousands of magpie geese, various different types of small water birds, two white-bellied sea eagles in a tree just next to us, a family of Jabiru -big, black-and-white stork- which included two juveniles, as well the massive nest they had come from which is more than a meter deep and wide on the inside. Perhaps most impressively, apart from the crocs, was an azure kingfisher which allowed us to come within 2 meters of it with the boat. Such a beautiful little bird. After seeing a couple of smaller crocodiles, we spotted the dominant male of the area, an impressive beast of between 3,5 and 4 meters. Due to the heat, the crocs tend to stay in the water so you don’t get as good a look at them as when they’re basking in the sun, but the sight of such a magnificent animal swimming alongside the boat is something you have to experience to understand. They move with
a grace that belies their size and without causing more than a slight ripple in the water. Because of the direction he was swimming in, he was getting closer and closer to the boat until his head, which was exactly next to my seat, was maybe a meter and a half away from me. When he got too close, he decided the show was over and dove under to vanish into the murky water within the blink of an eye and without causing so much as an eddy in the water. Breathtaking, truly amazing and the best $50 I’ve spent in a long time.
Our next campsite was near Barramundi Gorge, a beautiful swimming hole fed by a nice waterfall, even this late in the dry. Although I didn’t see any barramundi there -I did on the yellow water cruise- there were plenty of fish in the little lake and they weren’t shy at all, swimming freely around us. Every day in Kakadu had given us something different so far and this day was nice again, just walking around and swimming in the clear, perfect water. In the afternoon we drove out to the edge of the park to
spend our last night before heading back to Darwin the next day. On Sunday morning I dropped Joris off at the airport. He flew out to Adelaide to meet his relatives and will return home next week, probably with a better understanding of just why I don’t feel much like coming back yet.
So that’s our trip so far. It’s impossible to describe just how impressive and diverse the landscape and the country around here is. We’ve seen hundreds of kites and wallaby, kangaroos, emu, wedge-tailed eagles, lizards, monitors, geckos, fireflies, frogs, toads, strange bugs, brolgas, bustards, dingoes, crocodiles and even had a glimpse of the life of the native people. Australians and foreign travelers alike should take the time to see the real Oz if they can because it’s a wonderful place and the remoteness and yet relative accessibility are unique in the world.
We’re almost ready to move on again after having spent a few days in the civilization that is Darwin. I for one won’t be sad to leave the city and it’s many people behind. Through the Kimberly and to Broome should be another trip to remember. More arid, more rugged but no less
beautiful and even more wild. I hope we can spend some time in the various Aboriginal land trusts in NT and WA on the way to learn more about their way of life and share in their knowledge of the land. The way I've planned the trip now, we should arrive in Broome on the 27th of November, but we're dependant on the wet season staying away for a while. Last year it didn't start in earnest until around new year's, so fingers crossed. If it does start to rain, we'll have to short-cut and leave out most of the good bits as the off-road tracks will become impassible. That means travelling 2400km on the highway instead of 4000km through the outback and would not be a good thing.
I’ve included quite a few pictures this time, I had to choose from about 5000 already, which is not a bad score for three weeks. Unfortunately my batteries turned out to be dead when we got to Kakadu and I left my charger in the hotel in Darwin with our luggage (doh!!) so I missed the opportunity to take some truly spectacular pictures of the wildlife there, however I’ve taken
some of my friend’s pictures instead. I’ve tried to show some of the different landscapes as well as the people we’ve met and traveled with and I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do when I view them now.
Until next time, be safe.
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Jurjen
non-member comment
Good stuff
Yup, I was there too shortly...