Australia here we come!

8/4/12

We had a little sleep in before having breakfast and venturing up to the barramundi pond to view the park owner hand feeding 8 very large and hungry barramundi. He has them trained to appear when people start congregating at the fence. They know a feed is not far away. He is a character and even grabs them by the mouth and lifts the hugh fish out of the water. It is amazing how fast they react when food is presented. After the fish feeding show it was in the Prado and off to the Thermal pools for a swim. The Thermal pools are in a different location from the Bitter Springs but the same type of water coming from an underground aquafer. The carpark at the Thermal Pools also houses a replica of the homestead from the book 'We of the Never Never'. The woman who wrote the book lived in the area for about 12 months and the book relates her experience and the people she met while there. The replica is the actual homestead build for the 1960 movie 'We of the Never Never'. After seeing the homestead I'm glad I have my caravan with air conditioning. Then it was a pleasant walk past the Thermal Pools resort and caravan park to the actual thermal pools. What a different setup from the Bitter Springs. Here the banks of the creek have been lined with rock and hand rails and seating platforms were positioned just under the water for short people and the infirmed like me. There was even sand on the bottom which could be easily seen through the crystal clear water. We splashed about for about half an hour before Karen said it was time to take a short walk to Stevie's Waterhole. Mary-Anne and I were a bit dubious about Karen's definition of a short walk but we reluctantly agreed. After about 8kms of steep, windy snake infested track in 50 degree humid heat and no drinking water, we came to a lovely shaded tree area of creek with white sandy beaches. It was a lovely oasis and I expected to see Gilligan come out of the bush. I thought a swim here would be lovely to cool off after out walking ordeal. Then I saw it. A SIGN, telling Mary-Anne and I that this ideal location was in fact the home of Mr S W Crocodile ( Salt Water Crocodile). We were deflated, hot, sweaty, thirsty and tired. Karen on the other hand was leaping from tree to tree like a monkey with boundless energy and suggested that we jog back to the Thermal Pools and have a swim. Mary-Anne and I suggested that she swim HERE instead and we would ring a taxi. As usual, Karen won the day and we drudged back to the Thermal Pools. What a relief to fall into the pools, feining a heart attack and floating face down waiting to be rescued by two female German back packers. Just my luck they were both male and gay!!! I can't win. Then it was in the car and a short 12km drive to the Elsey Cemetery where many of the real life characters of the book 'We of the Never Never' were actually buried. A short distance down the road is a stone monument locating the actual position of the original Elsey Station Homestead.

9/4/12

Again it was not an early start and we are leaving today. We eventually packed up but before leaving the caravan park there was something special we had to do. Mary-Anne and I led the way to the dining area at the kiosk and put in our orders for SCONES, JAM and CREAM!!!!. Even Karen enjoyed them. Then we left and headed for Katherine. When we arrived we went straight to the Information Centre and found out everything about, and near, Katherine. Then we drove 9kms along the Victoria Highway to the Manbulloo Homestead and caravan park. What a different type of caravan park. It had the usual power and water but the ancient African Mahogany trees lining the driveway to all the caravan sites were unbelievable. The whole area was in total shade from these hugh spreading monstrous trees. I thought for a split second “we won't need the air conditioning” then I slapped my self for thinking such a thought. After setting up we drove back into town and the girls booked us all in for a boat cruise up the Katherine River to see two gorges. We then went to the Katherine Hot Springs but due to the recent flooding the whole area was still in a mess. We then drove down to the Low Level Recreation area on the banks of the Katherine River. This was a really scenic spot but evidence of recent flooding was visible. From there we continued on for a couple of kilometres and went to the Springvale Homestead. This is supposed to be the oldest surviving original homestead in the Nancy Territory. How people could build something so nice out of local stone and wood in the middle nowhere, back then in 1879, has got me beat! I doubt many people today could do it even with access to modern machinery and tools.

10/4/12

It was the 6.00am alarm that woke us this morning. We have to be at the Katherine Gorge visitors centre before 9.00am for our cruise. After a pleasant drive we arrived and waited with about 60 other people for the boat captains to arrive. We didn't have to wait long and we were all loaded aboard an aluminium tour boat. The cruise was great. There was a pleasant breeze blowing as we sailed up to the end of the first gorge. The Captain gave a running commentary as we cruised and looked and photographed everything about us. Again we were confronted by towering sandstone walls and lovely white sandy beaches. As this is now the official 'Dry Season' the water level has dropped and exposed rocky rapids which are the boundaries between each of the thirteen gorges. In the 'Wet Season' it is possible to travel up the full length of the Katherine Gorge in a speed boat as the rapids are covered by about 5 metres of water. We have to be happy with two. At the end of the First Gorge we had to abandon ship and walk about 300 metres around the rapids to another boat moored in the Second Gorge for the second part of our cruise. This one was spectacular as we cruised through the Katherine Canyon. It was similar to the Grand Canyon with 200 to 300 metre high cliffs towering above us. Every now and then there was a small waterfall coming out of the face of the cliffs. There were even pirate caves and the hint of buried treasure at the base of the cliffs. On the way back a lonely fresh water crocodile was spotted sunning itself near the water's edge and it became the most photographed object of the morning cruise. We had to change boats again on the way back and then it was all over. But it was well worth the $73.00 cruise fee to have seen such a wonderful place. After lunch in the picnic area near the car park we decided to visit the Cutta Cutta Caves back down the Stuart Highway 30 kilometres south of Katherine. We made it in time for the 1pm tour and were sent along a 600 metre walking track lined with lime stone rocks and death adders. At the cave entrance we were met by our guide who led us into a dark and beautiful fairyland filled with poisonous snakes, spiders and bats. All these creatures must have heard that Karen was in the cave and we never saw any of them. However the limestone stalagmites and stalactites and sparkling crystal formations were impervious to our presence and shone from the hidden mood lighting like glittering jewels. It was a 200 metre walk to the end of the walking platform and from there we would have had to crawl, duck and weave our way through narrow crevices in total darkness because our guide, who had the only torch, was not going any further. Reluctantly, we decided, with everyone else, that we would turn around and walk back to the entrance. To our estonishment we found that as we walked back the air rushing in from the entrance was like air conditioning as it blew past our sweating bodies. The walk in was with the breeze and was very hot and humid. It was back to Katherine and the girls had to have some retail therapy and empty Woolworths. I used my retail therapy time more purposefully and emptied the Liquor Barn of XXXX Gold. Then we went to the Katherine Museum and viewed photos of early pioneers and artifacts from the past. There was also a good WW2 history at the museum. They even had pieces of exploded bombs dropped by the Japanese on display. There is sooo much WW2 history up this way as the whole top end of the Northern Territory was one huge army, airforce and naval base. Add to that - the top end was bombed 64 times by the Japanese and many people were killed and injured. It was the front line for the defence of Australia at the time and the launching place for allied air attacks on Japanese bases and shipping in places and waters north of Australia. After tiring ourselves out at the museum it was back to the caravan park for tea, beer and bed. Maybe not in that order!!

11/4/12

We left our leafy caravan park and drove into Katherine to refuel before heading north to our first destination for today - Edith Falls. On arrival at Edith Falls we saw evidence of recent flooding. There was debris 5 metres up in the trees. To our shock there was a NO SWIMMING sign on display at the waterhole that Edith Falls deposits all its water into. It was the type of waterhole that you could imagine Adam and Eve would have swum in back at the beginning of time. It has crystal clear, cool water and a back drop of craggy cliffs and the waterfall that would make a Cecil B De Mill film look amaturist. The National Parks have not had time to check the swimming hole for salt water crocodiles. I suggested to Karen and Mary-Anne that the Ranger should get some back packers to test the waters. Another wasted suggestion!!!!! Then it was on to Pine Creek which is a little town further up the Stuart Highway. I thought it should be nominated for a 'Tidy Towns' award. It was so neat and tidy. We had a walk around the Water Gardens situated in the centre median strip and then we went to the Railway Museum. The people manning the museum are from Esk. They came to Pine Creek last year and stayed for a couple of months. They decided to come back again and are staying for an unknown time. The museum has a fully functional steam locomotive but no-one qualified in town to fire it up. We left Pine Creek and were intending to get to Adelaide River. However on the way I saw a sign “WW2 Airfield”. I braked hard and swung left onto a dirt road. Luckily for us it only lasted 100 metres and then we were on the old Stuart Highway. Eventually we saw signs of a clearing and a driveway through the low shrubs. We turned into the driveway and there it was. A long expanse of bitumen runway that disappeared into the distance. The first thing to do was a run along the full length of the runway with a smile a mile wide. After driving back to meet Mary-Anne, who had arrived by this time, (the old Stuart Highway is not maintained and has quite a few potholes - she is more careful of her caravan and drives a bit slower over rough roads) we were all so excited that there was no discussion about where we would spend tonight. A lovely flat solar panel friendly site was selected and a wonderful afternoon and night lay ahead.

12/4/12

It was wth a pang of sadness that we left our airstrip haven and we drove back along the old Stuart Highway to meet the new Stuart Highway. We turned left and headed for Adelaide River. We had a quick stop at the Emerald Springs Roadhouse before continuing on and eventually we arrived at Adelaide River. A quick drive through town was conducted and then we headed for the WW2 cemetery. To say it is well kept and cared for is an understatement. It is pristine, and so it should be. There are the graves of many of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians who lost their lives during the Japanese sneak attack on 19/2/1942. This was the first of 64 such air raids to be inflicted on the Top End during the war. Then we headed for the ARSS. This stands for the Adelaide River Show Society. The show ground has facilities for caravans and is very well kept and run. We selected two nice sites and setup. After lunch I fired up the computer and started clearing up a back log of 5 days of travel on our computer diary. The girls read books and went for a swim in the afternoon. About 6.15pm we went for tea at the show grounds. On certain nights there are meals available and a bar is run. This is great you don't have to leave the show grounds to have a good time.