Alice Springs

Sat (31/8) to Sun (1/9) we were on the road at 7:30am. This could become a habit. But we have 500 km between us and a footy game.

Our first stop was the Rainbow Serpents's eggs aka the Devils Marbles. Quite something...

Then it was the long straight Stuart Highway. We are now truly in the red centre - the land of wide horizons. But even so changing all the time. More tunes to push us along. It was a great drive.

We made it into Alice at about 12:30 and set up in the G'day Mate caravan park in plenty of time for the footy match. We are now seated in the stands at the oval - strange to be the minority group in a sea of black faces.

We arrived half way through the 1st division grand final - 2 aboriginal teams - and the crowd is predominantly indigenous. This is the end of the game when the fans poured onto the ground....

And this is the winning team.....

This is the beginning of the premier league grand final - many more white players compared with the previous game. And the crowd demographic has noticeably changed - many more whites and less indigenous.

On Monday we visited the Desert Park (see separate post), voted (because we are heading west tomorrow and don't know where we'll be on Saturday) and went up to the Anzac Hill lookout for the sunset. Anzac Hill is a place of cultural significance for the aboriginals, but all you see there is a monument to white men's wars, the Australian flag and the NT flag. We still have not got it right!

There was cloud cover so the sunset was muted, but still a very pretty spot with 360 degree views of the Alice nestled in the Macdonnell Ranges....

Tennant Creek

Fri (30/8) We were on the road at 7:30am - a new record. The plan was to drive about 400km to Daly Waters and have dinner at the iconic pub. However, we bought a paper in Katherine when we stopped for breakfast and fuel and discovered that it was Friday and not Thursday as we thought and there is an AFL grand final in Alice Springs tomorrow(Saturday). Change of plan - we put on some tunes and headed for Tennant Creek. We ended up doing about 800km - another record for the day.

The Stuart Highway is long and straight and flat....

But it was a great day. We shared the driving and at least had a look at the Daly Waters pub. We stopped for a pie just past the pub and found another photo opportunity for Mike and his slingshot - Brett beware!

We got to Tennant Creek at about 5:30pm and checked in to a lovely motel - our first night not in the van. This means I get a night where I don't have to crawl over Mike to get in and out of bed. A dip in the pool, nice hot shower and dinner at the restaurant in the motel and we are in heaven!

Early to bed - we have about 500km to get to a footy match tomorrow.

Tjuwaliyn (Douglas) Hot Springs

Wed (28/8) to Thu (29/8) we are now on the way to Alice and had planned a "big" driving day. 150km down the road, not too far from Pine Creek, we found this campground at a hot springs - about as close to heaven as you can get. The campground itself is not much, but about 20 metres away is the most amazing water. There are hot springs bubbling up through the rock and sand - VERY hot. But there is also a cool creek that it all feeds in to. So that means depending on where you sit, you can regulate the temperature. It is a whole network of little springs, streams and waterholes. And no crocs, so perfectly safe to swim.

No one has mentioned this spot and there are very few people here. It is so close to Darwin, Litchfield and Kakadu, it's hard to understand how it hasn't been exploited.

It is still very hot during the day - mid to high 30s. So readily accessible water is worth it's weight in gold.

The campground has 1 shady spot - and yes we got it! People that have come in after us are looking longingly at our site.

We decided to stay a couple of nights and enjoy the springs at all times of the day. Early morning had beautiful mists on the water. Middle of the day there are some lovely cool shady spots. Evening is gorgeous as the light changes and fades.

On Thursday our auxiliary battery that runs the car fridge was a bit low so we decided to go for a drive to Butterfly Gorge, about 17km further along the road on a 4WD track. We bumped our way out there and walked a track along a creek to the gorge. At one point we had to climb up and over a rocky escarpment with Mike telling me where to put hands and feet. We got to the most spectacular spot I've ever seen. A gorge with steep faces and a beautiful big pool with a big sandy beach. On the other side of the pool was a narrow opening in the gorge that you could swim through. We floated on our backs on the way through and looked up the steep faces on either side. On the other side was another big pool with a cascading waterfall and more pools above. Mike made it right up to the top. I made it through the narrow bit into the second pool. And the added bonus was that there was no one else there.

On the way back we decided to swim down the river for a bit rather than tackle the steep climb again. Mike made 2 trips carrying the camera and backpack above the water. I just tried not to drown!

On the drive back we played in the bull dust....

 

I think this couple of days would have to be the highlight so far.

Litchfield NP - Florence Falls 4WD Campground

Tues (27/8) We liked this spot so much we decided to spend a night. There is a 1km fairly steep track in, the van made it in and out no worries. This was another "big" driving day - 30km.

We spent the day dipping in the creek (ignoring croc warnings), reading and relaxing. This late in the season the salties couldn't get to this spot and there were rock cascades that they would have to climb over to get to us - so it wasn't particularly daring.

Litchfield NP - Wangi Falls

Sun (25/8) to Mon (26/8) We left Darwin Sunday morning. We are on the way south and home. But lots to see and do yet!

We headed in to Litchfield NP via Berry Springs where we stopped to have a dip in the coolish hot springs. Very pretty picnic spot about 40km south of Darwin. On the way out there was a fire near the road (it was attended by 3 or 4 4WD landcruiser trayback tankers)....

Then into Litchfield NP via the "back door" and a bit of dirt road. We stopped at Wangi Falls campground - the most popular site in the NP because the swimming hole is right there. They monitor for salties so it's safe to swim.

We had a swim as soon as we were set up and sat on a rock off to the left where we spied a small freshwater croc. We wondered how many people would stay in the water if we let them know. It's quite safe and I think there are probably quite a few in the swimming holes. I went snorkelling a couple of times looking for them, but no luck.

There are a few very tame small wild pigs around that visit the camp sites in the wee small hours of the morning. I had a chat to a couple on an early morning walk.

On Monday we did a day trip exploring some of the area. We drove part way down the Reynolds River track but decided against this crossing (couldn't see the bottom and here they don't monitor for salties, so no one was going to walk it to test it).........

On the way in we came across some huge termite mounds......

And some signs that afforded more photo opportunities.....

We had a picnic lunch at the Florence Falls 4WD campground, a lovely spot beside a creek. 

Notice Mike's facial hair has all gone. We both went to a barbershop in Darwin and got shorn. Mike's "beard" is starting all over again.

From here we walked a pretty track by the creek for about 10 mins to the Florence Falls swimming hole. Another beautiful swimming spot.

We then went and had a look at the magnetic termite mounds which are all oriented north/south to reduce exposure to the sun and therefore keep them cooler. Smart little termites in this part of the world!

Then finally a 9km judder on a 4WD track into the Lost City - one of the big attractions here, but not a patch on the Southern Lost City where we camped in Limmen NP.

We had a "dinner party" that night and invited a couple (who have a van the same as ours) to share some spaghetti bolognese for dinner. We had done a big cook up in Darwin and had a few pre-prepared meals. Another couple joined us for drinks before dinner. I was the only non-teacher. Now I know what happens to all the retired teachers! Very pleasant evening.

Darwin

Wed (21/8) to Sat (24/8)

Happy Birthday Brett - 22/8/2013 - 27 today. Love you.

We left Jabiru and traveled about 250km to Darwin. We found out that Kakadu has had record high temperatures for August this week. We felt every degree!

Another photo opportunity for Mike as we were leaving Jabiru....

We chose a caravan park in Malak (not too far from town and not too near the airport runways) - over half the vans are permanents or long term. There are no tent sites and each site has a concrete slab and a concrete ensuite. I find it a bit depressing, Mike calls it quirky. Luckily we spend very little time here.

On our first afternoon and night we drove around the beach areas, spent some time at the museum, watched the sunset at the Darwin Ski Club and had dinner at the Magic Wok (Mike last ate there in 1991). We finally got to see the ocean after many weeks....



Then on Thursday we went to Mindil Markets - a must do for all tourists. It was good fun. We had yummy things to eat, I bought another sun dress (it's been so hot and I only brought one from home with me), watched another sunset and saw some live entertainment. The Canterbury Girls College (Melbourne) concert band, a fire eater/thrower and a duo of drums and didgeridoo who whipped a bunch of aboriginal kids into a frenzy of dancing, even had a fight thrown in for good measure.

Notice the clouds in the sunset. We got a big rain shower on Thursday night - very unusual for this time of year. Lots of speculation about whether the "hot dry" has now turned into the "build up to the wet" and whether or not there will be an early "wet". Very complex when there are 6 seasons up here.

Friday morning we put the car in for a service and walked into town. It's the last few days of the Darwin Festival and we saw several art exhibitions. Here's one at the old town hall.....

We also saw some free entertainment in a town park. This is synchronized swimming...

Then later in the afternoon it was African music in the Botanical Gardens....

Followed by a movie at the open air Deck Chair cinema....

We are all cultured out!!!

Saturday we drove out to a couple of beaches and put our toes in the water. The water is incredibly warm. But you can't swim because of crocodiles and sea wasps. There is something terribly fickle about nature that teases you with gloriously warm water that you can't swim in!

Then a big shop before we head out to Lichfield NP tomorrow.

Map of the trip

http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm?user=KarynAaker&tripid=507562

Here is a link to a map of our trip. I will keep updating it as we go.

Kakadu - Jabiru

Sat (17/8) to Tue (20/8) We headed 60km north to Jabiru, which is a town specifically built for the Ranger uranium mine. There are large deposits of high grade uranium under Kakadu, but the original owners have managed to block all mining except for Ranger. So far at least. It is very political and there is lots of money involved, so the aboriginal community is divided on the issue. Let's hope nature wins out over big business!

Here's Ranger mine from the air, taken during our scenic flight (read on..)

There are 2 caravan parks in Jabiru, 1 with a pool, 1 without. Guess where we are! Yes the pool is lovely. This is an interesting park, ruled by the nazi groundsman. Thou shalt not choose a site with the sprinkler on or a sign saying "I'm tired and need a rest". The only problem is that almost all the good shady spots fall into this category. Anyway, a good spot was finally spotted. This is how I do my blogs.....

The park is arranged in 3 concentric circles around the pool and from lunch time on you can watch the "new" vans circling trying to spot their shady spots. Here is the biggest rig we've seen yet.....

We are basing ourselves here for a few days and doing day trips. Some of the highlights...

Nourlangie Art Site.....

Just south of Jabiru. Lots of rock art. We went to three 15min ranger talks at different parts of the track. I really learnt a lot about the richness of aboriginal language and oral history and the complexities of kinship. The ranger talks definitely enhance the whole experience.

Scenic flight.....

We did a 1 hour flight in a little Cessna over Arnhem Land, the South Alligator River and the rock country. It was great to see it all from the air to get the "big picture", but we were a bit underwhelmed with the commentary and the fact that the pilot flew right above the most interesting stuff instead of a little off to one side so that both sides of the plane could see it. I'm sure Brett would do a better job.

Bardedjilidji guided walk.....

North of Jabiru near Ubirr. A very interesting 2.5 hours to cover 2.5km seeing more rock art, beautiful rock country, billabongs and the South Alligator River. Once again learned lots more about the nature and culture of the area. Annie was a great guide.

Cahill's Crossing.....

This is the crossing of the South Alligator River into Arnhem Land. We were there at high tide to watch all the crocs. And there were heaps of them. One perched himself in the middle of the crossing and a car that went to cross had to stop in the middle, rev his engine and sound his horn to move him out of the way. We went back at night and used torches to spotlight them. All you see is the eyes shining when the light hits them. Very eerie!

This one had a rock on it's back!

Ubirr at sunset.....

This is iconic Kakadu. Ubirr is about 50km north of Jabiru. You climb to the Nadab lookout, which is a rock that has a 360 degree outlook, and watch the sun set - with masses of other tourists.

We are 2 days off full moon so we also got to see the moon rise.

 We waited till the very end when the sun was gone and it was getting dark. Everyone else scarpers off as soon as the sun goes to get down before dark and mosquitoes set in. We were the last ones off the rock and walked down with the 2 rangers. A bit like skiing down the last run in the evening with the ski patrol sweep!

Red Lilly Billabong 4WD track.....

This is a 50km track that takes you past several billabongs and lagoons and through a wide variety of different country. The track itself was fine - a bit rutted with a few dodgy creek crossings, but Mike is quite good at that stuff. We desperately wanted to site a buffalo, but all we managed was a few crocodiles, some wallabies, 2 emus, a jabiru, a flock of magpie geese and some other birds. The track meets up with the old Jim Jim road. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. 

 We followed it up with another spectacular sunset and moonrise at Nourlangie.