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Published: July 21st 2009
Kakadu
Harry's afternoon sleep Kakadu styleKornies 5 have crossed the border into The Northern Territory. Ntimiluk National Park, near Katherine, was our first stop and on our arrival into the campsite we realised that we were not alone…the school holiday crowds had appeared but we managed to find a quiet spot not far from a resort-styled swimming pool with all of the five star trappings. After dinner we had a night swim which is always exciting and texted the Raik-Allens, who we knew were in N.T. to let them know of our whereabouts…you never know who you might bump into in the middle of nowhere.
Jojo engaged his four-wheel drive walking boots the next day to climb up to the lookout above Katherine Gorge. We spent the afternoon swimming making the most of the pool and were preparing our dinner when a large shiny Maui Motor home pulled up next to us. We turned; ready to give directions, when we saw Shimmie leaning out the window and the rest of the family sticking their heads out. The Dequilles had already parked their van and for the next hour the kids reacquainted themselves and the adults enjoyed the reunion with a few beers
Darwin
Shimmie catching sunset on Mindil Beach and a bottle of white. Shimmie was in good form and Punchie (Simon Dequille) expressed his gratitude that others could share in the listening role with Shimmies detailed and animated stories. After dinner another dose of night swimming ended a wonderful day.
We headed up river on a boat tour of Katherine Gorge, where we saw the “Jeddah Rock” which featured in a film made in the fifties that had the first indigenous actors starring in a feature film. We fare welled our Melbourne travelers, planning to meet up again in Darwin and headed to Edith Falls, another camping spot in Ntimiluk National Park. It had a huge natural pool close to the campsite, where we cooled off after setting up camp. Our caravan faced west and we enjoyed watching the sun set over the bush each night. Jojo had no trouble with the 3km loop walk and didn’t need his turbo booster. On the way we looked out over middle pool, which looked very inviting, but swimming was not allowed as it was an Aboriginal sacred site. Upper Pool was open for swimming and we all made the most of the waterfall and perfect cliff edges for
Kakadu
Max and Sam joining in with the rest of the clan more rock jumping. Max and Kathy spent the next day hiking the 8.5 km Sweet water Pool track, visiting more natural pools and met the Kornies 3 for lunch back at Upper Pool, our regular lunch spot.. Kathy and Max were heading for the kiosk to sneak an after-walk treat, when they bumped into Gabby Dequille and our Victorian travelers became our neighbours again for two nights. We returned to Upper Pool the following day and our visitors joined the cliff jumping, rock scrambling club. Shimmie however could not perform to his potential as he was paying for his extreme damper consumption over the previous few days and was concerned that he may sink instead of swim. He was yet to find an indigenous cure for the cause of his old stockman gait.
We headed to the Big Smoke the following day and saw traffic lights for the first time since Geralton. The Darwin Museum was impressive and detailed the devastation caused by Cyclone Tracey. I struggled in a special room that was enclosed and dark, containing the real life sounds of the cyclone. The Mindil market was buzzing with live music, delicious food and wares, overlooking the sunset.
Kakadu
I can see you... Georgie, Kathy, Zac, Tilly, Max and Sam, made a quick getaway and headed for the open air cinema to watch Mama Mia under the stars. We all sang along, although it was definitely Zac’s voice that was heard, often after the song had finished. By the end of the movie, Georgie and I couldn’t resist having a boogie behind the back row. The ski club was a perfect spot, by the water for our farewell dinner. A gorgeous sunset, live music and another chance to boogie made for a perfect evening.
Luckily the impending arrival of Nana Deanna and Papa Harry comforted our boys as they hugged and waved to goodbye to the Melbourne contingent. A return visit to The Mindil Markets also helped. Max found a very cool shark necklace and all three were mesmerized by a didgeridoo player and other street performers. We joined our friends Robyn, Grant, Joe, Will, Jakey and Bella, a Bellingen family that we met in Broome, and watched another gorgeous sunset. It has been great spending time with The “Bello” crew who are friendly with friends of ours in Bellingen (20 min inland from Coffs Harbour) which is where we are thinking
Nitmilik Gorge(Katharine)
The Raik-Allen Bus...Pure Luxury of heading towards the end of September and pulling up stumps for a few months. The kids may even enroll at the local school for a term… (Can you hear Adam and my shouts of joy from where you are sitting?)
Nana and Papa arrived at 2.30 am and their devoted daughter was there to meet them. The kids had to be restrained in the morning, to let them have a sleep in (no such luck for me) but were rewarded with an afternoon at a free water park with water slides and water activities. We met up with the Bello family and spent the afternoon submerged in water fun. Max convinced me to join him on a two seater ring in a fully enclosed, dark waterslide…I screamed the entire way down (I think I even called for my mummy) and took a little while to recover.
It was great to catch up with Michael Hines and his girlfriend Kylie for dinner in Cullen Bay. Michael is currently serving in the navy and we loved hearing accounts of his experiences. He is currently nursing a broken foot …we are not at liberty to divulge how this injury occurred
Darwin
Georgie and Kathy at the Ski Club (navy protocol etc.) but he has advised us that he may accept Kylie’s help with furniture removal next time.
After spending the afternoon packing for our trip to Kakadu and Arnhem Land, we decided to eat in at the bistro at the caravan park. The boys rode their bikes and parked them outside the restaurant. When we finished our meal, the boys could not find their bikes. They had been taken. We spoke to the managers of the caravan park but they didn’t seem optimistic. I jumped into the car to drive up and down the highway, ready to make a citizens arrest if I found the thieves. Adam circled the caravan park on his bike, but had no luck. The boys went to bed very upset and Adam reported the bikes as stolen for insurance purposes.
Hamish, our guide from Lord’s Kakadu and Arnhem Land Safaris arrived on time for our tour. Joe told him not to leave without me, as I was at the office returning mum and dad’s keys. While I was there I enquired about the fate of our bikes. The lady looked at me strangely…made a few calls, asked me the colour of
the bikes and sent me to the gardener’s quarters. There were the boys bikes….I did an “Oh what a feeling” leap in the air. The gardener had found them dumped under some trees in the back of the park. Our theory is that our vigilante hunt the night before scared them off.
Fog Dam was our first stop on our tour, a wetland area, home to a variety of bird species and salties. We saw a few more on the jumping croc cruise on the Adelaide River. (See photos of hungry crocs). We arrived at our camp in the late afternoon and went for a swim in another gorgeous waterhole and on our return Hamish had prepared a delicious cheese platter for us to devour, while he made us a dinner that was “5 star eating”. It was mum and dad’s first night in a tent for 40 years or so and by the sounds of dad’s snoring, they adjusted to camping life with ease. The following day we hiked to Koolpin Gorge. It was an uneven and challenging climb over rocky tracks. Hamish and Adam were on hand to give assistance and the effort was worth it as the
Kakadu
Maguk Gorge gorge was stunning and away from the school holiday crowds.
While Maguk, the following day was a bit more popular with fellow travelers, it was still breathtaking. Nana Deanna got her hair wet under the waterfall and Papa had a floating afternoon snooze. Joe examined the local fish with his mask and we all warmed up on the warm rocks before a yummy picnic lunch. The Yellow Water Sunset Cruise was magical with abundant birdlife: Jabirus, Fish Eagles, Cormorants, Kingfishers, Egrets, Ducks and Whistling Kites. The croc life was also plentiful and it was amazing to see the birds frolicking near or on top of the crocs oblivious to these ancient looking predators.
Hamish had camp set up at Mardugal. We slept without flys over the tents so we could see the stars as we fell to sleep. Marshmallows and stories were shared by the campfire. School punishments were the hot topic. Max discussed collective punishments. Adam described Saturday detentions where he had to clean all of the guns for cadets. Sam shared that he never got into trouble (just like his nana) and Papa Harry surprised us with details of his first caning. He was late to
Arnhem Land
Rock art walk at Openpelli a House meeting and the House Captain; a student reported him and was responsible for executing the caning himself. These were Harry’s words. “I quite liked it…I just had to bend over…” At this point we blocked the kids’ ears, afraid of what confession lay ahead. Thankfully dad explained that he saw the prefect’s face and could tell that he didn’t want to do it and that made him feel good……Phew!
We woke early the following day and made our way to Arnhem Land, with a stop at a scenic billabong for breakfast. Tony, our Aboriginal Guide, took us on a hike to some early Aboriginal rock art sites just outside of Openpelli. It is difficult to put into words the feelings that these ancient paintings aroused. We all felt honoured to be so close to the roots of such an ancient living culture. We visited a burial site, where photos were not permitted and were also reminded not to take photos of a particular mountain as ritual ceremonies were currently taking place. The views added to the spiritual atmosphere and Hamish again provided us with a perfect lookout where we enjoyed our picnic. On our return to the
Arnhem Land
Play on.... town we visited The Injalak Arts Centre where we saw Aboriginal Artists painting and crafting. We saw Isaiah Nagurrgurrba begin to paint a Barramundi and with fishing playing such a big part in our trip, as well as being such an integral part of indigenous life, Adam and I commissioned the piece which will be sent home when finished. Max chose a coil pandanus bowl, Sam a didgeridoo and Jojo some music sticks, while nana and papa chose a painting and bird sculpture made with buffalo horns.
Our time in Arnhem Land was wonderful, but it took an Arnhem Land footy grand final to top it all off. Two local teams (The Hawks and The Pies) were the contenders. All of the locals were there, dressed in their team colours. The cheer squad performed before the teams ran through indigenous styled banners. The game was old style footy…kick it long, play hard and play on. While we didn’t stay to the end we enjoyed watching the Hawkers beat the Pies on the big screen on our return to Darwin that evening. Thanks Hamish and Lords for a brilliant trip!
The Devines were here on our return and we
Nitmilik Gorge(Katharine)
View down the second Gorge enjoyed a buffet dinner with them overlooking the water last night. Kornies 5 +2 made sure that we got value for money, but will have to work it off over the next few days hiking at Litchfield National Park!!!!
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korny 1
rita kornhauser
yellow river
No yellow river pics yet, have you missed it , or are they still coming? love your adventures, may be "The Huckle Berry Fin Five"? down one of the N.T, rivers is now your new title? Love, the "Other grand parents"