Onto Darwin

Rob & Charlie the buffalo- Adelaide River Inn

Adelaide River War Cementery

Memorial East Timor 

War Cementery 

Sunday night was our last night in Adelaide River and we enjoyed a lovely meal at the local hotel with Charlie the Buffalo a big hit!
A quick last look to pay our respects at the War Cemetery and we were onto Darwin!! Oh so hot & humid!!

The war cemetery at Adelaide River marks the final resting place of 434 service men & women who lost their lives in the Top End during WWII. There is a memorial to 287 personnel who were lost in Timor and other regions and have no known resting place. There is also a Civil Cemetery where 63 civilians including 9 from the Darwin Post Office who lost their lives on 19 Feb 1942 when bombed. It is an amazing place and meticulously maintained. Such a beautiful spot.

Litchfield National Park

The Lost City - Litchfield NP

Tolmer falls

Bythe Homestead

Florence falls

Sunday dawned and we were off to an early start to beat the heat - heading into Litchfield NP for some tourist duties.
First stop was the Lost City - at the end of a rough 12km we came across the most spectacular rocks and were amazed at how some of them are still in place.
We then moved onto Blyth Homestead (yes another rough 4wd track). This historic homestead is the location of a tin mine and stands as testament to the tough conditions faced by pioneers in remote areas. There was a book inside with stories written by the Sargeant children and I can only say we all had it easy. Dad sent them off to work in the mine from 9yrs (both boys & girls) and dropped supplies off to them a couple of times a year!! One story related to the 3rd child who said she could never remember a morning where they weren't already at work by sunrise. (14 children). Tough existence.
We then viewed Wangi Falls (quick swim), Tolmer Falls,Buley rickhole (quick swim) and Florence Falls (yes another swim) before checking in at the Magnetic Termite Mounds and heading back to the van. Big day and lots of beautiful places.

Adelaide River Races

Snake Creek info

Jenni & Rob at Adelaide River Raced

Adelaide River race day

What a surprise - race day dawned bright & sunny / no sign of rain!
We started the day off with a tour of Snake Creek WWII site just outside Adelaide a River. It was impressive to see the remains of this once busy site and the bunkers still there.
Below is a link for those interested :
http://m.exploroz.com/Places/80975/NT/WWII_Snake_Creek_Armament_Depot.aspx

We then headed off for an afternoon at the races followed by music and Daryl Braithwaite singing.
It was a great afternoon with about 700 in attendance and lots of activity around. Bet there was a lot of sore heads Sunday.

Adelaide River

Termite mounds on way to Daly River

Daly Rivet

Daly Rivet

Road to Daly River showing smoke haze from burn off

Thursday saw us head into Adelaide River - staying at the van park behind the hotel. Several dips in the pool to cool off and a walk out to the War Cemetery (more on that later).
Leaving the van behind Rob & I did a day trip out to Daly River today. The river itself was beautiful and would be great to see in full flood. The town itself appeared to be dying - at least at this time of year / very quiet! We had a look around Nauyiau aboriginal settlement but unfortunately the handicraft shop had closed down or at least we couldn't find it. Large mango plantation (as soon as one ripens I'm into my first mango for the season) which is irrigated from the River itself.

Edith Falls

Edith Falls top pool

Edith Falls

View above Edith Falls

We finally decided to leave our resort pool and move on towards Darwin. Wednesday saw us pull in at Edith Falls - with a lower and upper body of water it was a beautiful day spent lolling around in water (with a bit of a hard walk in between getting to the upper falls).
A lovely campground with showers & loo and lots of bird life made for an enjoyable evening.

Another day in Paradise

Katherine Gorge (no 1)

Katherine Gorge (no 2)

Freshwater Crocodile in the Gorge

Katherine River

After an early morning cruise up the Gorge we spent the rest of Tuesday laying by the pool - bliss.
The cruise was fantastic with great views, interesting commentary on the history, rock formations and plant life. We saw a couple of crocodiles, a turtle and a couple of buffalo ( plus the gorge of course)

Katherine Gorge

Katherine Gorge

Katherine Gorge 

Our rock climb

Part of our walk 

Katherine - A quick stop at our first shopping centre for 2 1/2 months to get supplies and then an hour to kill waiting for the bottleshop to open. Only one opens on Sunday in Katherine and then only from 2pm to 6pm. Three policemen on duty at entrance checking licenses and asking your plans. Then you have to hand your license over to buy wine. Beer is okay but 1 cask wine per person.
We then headed out to Katherine Gorge or Nitmiiluk National Park. Temperature when we arrived yesterday was 37c. Thankfully they have a beautiful, croc free, pool with a bar!!
Monday morning saw Jen & I up early to do a quick 10km walk to view 2 lookouts- bit of a workout but great fun / lots of laughs to the extent fellow walkers said there was no way we could sneak up on anyone. Now I know you will all find that hard to believe as I am normally so quiet - must have been Jen.
Cooler 36c now and we've spent the rest of the day chillin by the pool. (thanks Rob & Garry for doing the housework, washing & cleaning the cars)

Elsey National Park

Mataranka Waterfall

Rapids for swimming (we hope the crocs don't like it here)

We stayed 2 nights at Elsey National Park and could easily have stayed on longer - such a beautiful spot and so peaceful.
An enjoyable walk to Mataranka Falls and an amazing swim in the Thermal springs at 'Bitter Springs' whilst we were there. You hop in at on spot and float around 200mtrs to another. The water is luke warm and crystal clear. It was so good I had to go around twice!
There was amazing bird life in the park and at night you could here the wild donkeys. Sadly we didn't see any. Lots of swimming with one eye watching for crocs. Only freshies but apparently some big ones!
Ah well another few days in paradise.

Mataranka Springs

Sunrise at Daly Waters

Daly Waters Inn

Great sense of humor!

Rob in jail at Daly Waters

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Off to a great start at Daly a Waters with a spectacular sunrise and lovely breakie and then onto to town itself which isn't much more than a pub these days but an amazing history behind the town. Like a lot of places in this area of the NT they feature heavily with World War II and not much pre this. Still amazing stuff.
The staff were Irish this time for a bit of a twist.
Onward we visited the Pink Panther pub in Larrimah and then into Mataranka township for supplies before heading off to Elsey National Park. Beautiful quiet camping in the bush and lovely swim at the Rapids (to avoid the crocs)

Daly Waters

Cape Crawford (fuel $2 per litre)

Road train near Cape Crawford

HyWay park at Daly Waters

Sunrise Daly Waters

As I sit here at the HyWay Park & Fuel Stop at Daly Waters (there is even lawn) I am amazed at the fortitude of people who embrace life in regional Australia. It is a tough existence and out here certainly without any of the trimmings we enjoy in daily life!
We travelled from King Ash Bay through to here yesterday with a quick stop at Cape Crawford. This was along the Carpentaria Highway and like other states -NT has taken a liberty calling this a Highway. However it was bitumen so I'll stop complaining. Unfortunately a rock did in one of Garrys tyres so we all had a lesson on changing a tyre on a Prado. Here is a hint Alan & Gai - check it out and consider taking your own jack.
Mining is big in this area and it's sad to not only see the destruction to the landscape but there is so much info around in how they are unable to control the contamination to water and land. MacCarthur River Mines are the big player in this area and the Government should be making them more accountable.
We arrived at Daly Waters to find it whilst not lush, certainly green and welcoming. Like most places we've come across in the outback it is staffed mostly by backpackers. Where are all our unemployed Aussies?
One main exception was Burketown which had aboriginal staff with a few grey nomads. Good on them.
Onto Mataranka today.

King Ash Bay

River Crossing near Domadgee

Sunrise King Ash Bay

King Ash Bay fishing club

Jabiru

We woke Tuesday to another beautiful day (although slightly restless sleep fretting over gas) and back on the road to Borroloola. After a couple of hours of rough travel we arrived at the outback town situated within the Wandangula Aboringinal Shire. Pretty rough looking town but again everyone very friendly.
We stocked up on a few supplies and headed off to King Ash Bay.
This is a lovely fishing community on an inlet to the gulf and is run by volunteers. Great facilities including a nightly bar with happy hour and different activities (Karaoke last night - although none of us volunteered)
We are going to spend a couple of days here just chilling & fishing. Sadly no swimming yet again due to not only the snapping handbags but also a rumored 8 foot cod with lurks around the waters. Actually met a lady at Karumba who's young son was eaten by a large cod so we're not taking any chances with this one

Doomadgee

Across the river at entry to Doomadgee

The name of this town and its history is fascinating. In the middle of the Burke shire this Aboriginal tract of land (quite large area) is owned and run by the Doomadgee Aboriginal Council. The town itself was originally located on the Gulf and was a Mission run by the Brethern. After being hit by a cyclone in late 1800's they moved inland and settled on the banks of the Nicholson river The mission continued to run until early 1980's when Doomadgee then came under the Queensland government. The Aboriginal council was then formed and took control.
Like many Aboriginal communities it is a 'Dry' area and whilst travelers can pass through with alcohol - none is to be consumed or sold within the Doomadgee Council. Sadly on the edge of the town you can see the evidence of how they get around this.

Calvert River

Hells gate

Beautiful spot on the river 

What our poor van looks like now !

After Doomadgee we headed to Hells Gate. Named back in the early 1900's it signified the end of police jurisdiction and those who passed beyond were on there own. Sad little place now with just a servo, camp ground and airport. After a quick snack we headed off to the Northern Territory border. QLD Government you should be ashamed - this was the worst bit of road we've ever been on. Luckily it was only 50km as we were only doing 10km/hour on most of it. As soon as you crossed into NT the road improved significantly and after checking everything was still ok we continued onto Calvert River were we camped for the night. Our day wasn't yet finished though - as I was getting Dinner organized there must have been a gas buildup in the cupboard to the hws which took that moment to explode. Needless to say it was a bit of a scary moment for us all as the noise was deafning. Thankfully although we are now down one cupboard / seat - no one was hurt. Just took awhile to convince me to go back inside. Ahh well call to GIO when we reach civilization.
We enjoyed a beautiful night by the fire afterwards - a very pretty spot.

Burketown

River at Burketown 

We arrived back in Burketown on Saturday after another enjoyable night on the river to refuel and repower up. Unfortunately life had other ideas and we lost all 12v power to our van. Panic stations - we are in Burketown hours from anywhere. Firstly a Big Thank You to Jake - Manager of the park - he was so helpful and couldn't have done anymore to assist us. Secondly our thanks to Greg an Auto Electrician who stays in the park. Whilst we had to stay an extra night (Greg was off fishing) Greg was able to source the problem and patch it up to get us up and running again.
Late start Monday morning as our car battery which had been starting to pack it in - did. Pretty good going really as it was nearly 6 years old (original battery).
Luckily we were able to purchase a new one without paying an arm & a leg.
Burketown is a clean/tidy little town for the main town block however becomes a little dodgy beyond that. People are very friendly & helpful. But why would you live here - the Barramundi of course !!

Lawn Hill National Park

Gorge - lawn hill national park

Garry & Jen paddling

View overlooking Gorge

What an amazing view!

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Rob & I had the pleasure of visiting Lawn Hill National Park and adjoining Adels Grove last year - it was such a spectacular place that we couldn't wait to share it with Jen & Garry.
We had been warned that the access road from Gregory was appalling but we weren't to be daunted and headed off from Burketown full of anticipation of how our vehicles would handle the conditions. To our absolute delight the Council had just finished grading the road and laying dust inhibitor down - no corrugation or bull dust
Once we had set up camp we headed off to the lagoon for a well deserved swim and cool down.
Camp fires at night, long walks to enjoy amazing views of the gorge and a leisurely canoe up the gorge made our few days stay very enjoyable.
Sadly our time came to a end and it was back to Burketown for a couple of nights.