21^st May

Well I sit here writing this with my feet soaking in Radox – I didn’t realise how sedentary my last 10 years of work were.  Paul you should have given me a standing desk as preparation!   

The last heard there were 2 remaining Quoll of the test still alive – both females (go girls).  They will do an occasional check on them but otherwise its apparently back to Canberra and come up with another better idea. 

After 2 weeks in Darwin are boss’s are back, although it will be another month before Christy can resume normal duties.  My cooking skills – well no reports of food poisoning as yet!  We actually had a good 2 weeks, with no drama’s and enjoyed the pace.  Rob is getting heaps better with the cash register and we both are finding the local indigenous much easier to understand now.  Anyone who thinks they don’t have a drinking problem though is kidding themselves.  By no means am I saying all of them but boy do we sell some alcohol.  We had a group of 7 turn up in a Holden Commodore (go figure but they have lots of Holden Commodores here) – now I’m talking 7 adults in the one car.  They must have come into the bar at least 5 different times buying cartons of VB, casks of Chardonnay and bottles of Rum.  They would take what they purchased out to the car and pack it in and then when they found an empty space they would come back in and buy more to fill it.  Now I don’t know how long it was to last them or how many was really in their group but I’m just saying….       When we sell takeaway alcohol, NT licencing laws say that we must get their name, where they are from, and where they are going to consume it.  We don’t have to sight ID so they can really tell us anything and usually when we ask where they are going to consume it – they say “Fishing”. 

Our ‘local’ Buffalo is starting to get closer to the campground and I suspect that it will have to be dealt with soon.  You can see it’s tracks in the driveway around the camping area and last week it even crossed the camping area.  I for one wouldn’t like to get up during the night and be confronted by it.  However an interesting fact from Ranger Joe – you can tell the sex of the Buffalo from it’s hoof prints.  A solid outer circle indicates a male and a softer line on the inside of the hoof mark indicates a female.  On a bright note the tracks I’ve been seeing are from a female. 

Rob and I haven’t had much time off in the past few weeks (like nothing together) but we do have Tuesday off and we are really looking forward to it.  We were going to go to Gunlom and see the waterfalls but to be honest for all you down south – its just to hot unless you go really early or late.  Thinking we will go to Katherine instead and then sunset at a local viewing point.

Hah a funny story – I popped into Pine Creek on Friday morning to make a few calls. Had to leave early as I was due back to work by lunch time.  Heading off and Rob says to me “watch out for Kangaroos!”   Like talk about set me up.  I usually sit on 120 but thought no I’ll go a bit slower although it was already 8am.  Come around a bend at Moline Golf Club (not what you think) and here’s 3 Kangaroos sitting on the left hand side of the road.  Good responsible driver that I am I slowed right down and then WHAM a Kangaroo charges me from the right side and I’m not sure if it head-butted or kicked the car above the wheel arch but hit me it did and then they all just hopped away.  No damage but you could see the mark where it hit. 

27^th May

Woke up this morning to the usual beautiful chorus of bird sounds, but you know when there is one that just always tries to be better & LOUDER?  Well he was here this morning – felt like going out and throwing something at it!! 

We had a new staff member start on Wednesday and have another 2 due to start on the 17^th June.  Bringing more staff on board as the season is starting to hot up and we are seeing more traffic every day.  Also Rob & I will be finish late July/Early August, unless they find themselves overstaffed in which case we will leave earlier.  Looking forward to being a tourist again ourselves!  The big plus in the meantime should be that Rob & I will get to have a bit more time together. 

No photo’s with this post I’m sorry – using satellite coverage and it just doesn’t cut it with uploading photo’s..

The end of the First Month!

In our time off up here we’ve been going to some of the local tourist attractions to update our knowledge  so when we chat with tourists we know a little more about where we are directing them.

Just 6km up the road is our ‘local’ waterhole.  Now this is normally just used by the locals but at this time of the year when tourists are starting to come through and none of the other swimming holes are open yet due to crocodile sightings and road conditions – we suggest a swim at Moline Rockhole.

Moline Rockhole

Reflection was beautiful

The local Ranger station is another 6km on from Moline and has an interpretative display.  Pretty rustic but as you need a park pass for Kakadu a great place to stop and get a pass at the same time.  

We’ve also been to Yurmikmik which has a 2km walk to a lookout and a loop walk through Boulder creek.  There is also a 3.5km each way walk to Motorcar falls which we have yet to do.   The main attraction at this end of the park however is Gunlom which has amazing waterfalls and swimming holes at both the top and bottom.   Gunlom however isn’t open yet – yes that’s right – due to crocodile sightings in the bottom swimming hole.   Damm crocodiles are everywhere although as I say to Rob – at least they stay in the water which is better than the Buffolo’s.  Why does everything up here want to kill you I ask???

View Yurmikmik Lookout

Its such a facinating area

Loving it !

Boulder Creek

At the back of the Ranger station is a group of sheds and housing which the rangers use.  They work on a 10 day on / 4 day off roster and usually live here whilst rostered on.  Whilst I don’t think the Rangers over work themselves they do have a pretty varied role here and keep themselves busy with  things like Crocodile studies, checking road conditions, moving illegal campers on, wild animal control (including shooting of cranky buffalo’s).  Wild animal control involves horses, donkeys, dogs, dingo’s and the maintaining of sustainable numbers of these.  Apparently they did a big cull a few weeks ago.  Without harping on it – not enough buffalos culled for my liking!   Another thing the park rangers are responsible for is the control burning of the park.  They do this both from the ground and the air – using helicopters.  A traditional owner of the land is in attendance with them and they plot which areas to burn and when.  At present the fires are little and don’t burn too far due to the green growth, however they tell us that this will soon change as things dry out.   Tony (boss) has already had a go at burning around the roadhouse but it’s still too green to do much good.

After burning

How amazing is life - the day after

We also had 2 days off and used this time to travel to Mataranka to catch up with niece Aimee.  It was lovely to have some time with Aim’s and a big thank you to our hosts Betty and Jimmy at the Territory Manor & Caravan Park – we thoroughly enjoyed our night.   Aimee and I went to the thermal pools at Bitter Springs (3km away) for sunrise and it was just beautiful.  We were lazing in the water listening to all the bird life and watching the sun rise and we had the place to ourselves.  Much better than the last time I was there when  the place was overrun with people.   And what a small world it is – Jimmy said that he knew a Robert Burns which turns out to be young Rob and they went to school together.  

Aimee Barramundi feeding at Mataranka

Rob's a bit worried about size of bait !!

4^th May.     The traffic passing through is increasing now and we are getting busier.  Good for the owners but can be a bit daunting for us as we learn everything.  The owners are away quiet abit at present attending to medical issues and that only leaves 3 of us to cover everything.  We had another couple turn up last Friday but they only lasted until the Monday.  They really weren’t suited to the work and hadn’t been completely truthful with the owners when they applied.  The next couple aren’t due here for another 10 days AHH…

At present we have 10 staff from the NPWS staying in the motel.  They are here for approximately 10 days with the release of 8 Quoll into the park.  Yes more NPWS staff then Quoll!!  They collected the Quoll elsewhere and spent time training them to not eat Cane Toads.  They do this by feeding them chopped up Cane Toads laced with Laxatives.  The poor Quoll poo themselves so much they no longer touch the Toads (well that’s the theory).  Once this is instilled in them they brought them here with little collars with monitors and released into the park.  Of course they then have to contend with Snakes, Wild Dogs, Dingos and everything else up here that wants to kill them.  Day three and we have 5 Quoll still alive.   Twice a day they take a helicopter up and check the monitors and see who is still moving.  It they detect a death they then send in a ground team to the spot and they collect the dead to investigate what happened.  Stupid idiots bring them back here and put them in the motel room fridges.  YUK.  You would think with the $1M budget (yes $1M for 8 Quoll) that they would buy their own damm fridge.   At least with the release of Billibies by Western Plains Zoo they had enough sense to release them into a sancturary where they had a chance of survival.

Day Five and we have 3 Quoll remaining.  They will have to do autopsies but looking like their toad training wasn’t as effective as they thought.  They say that they’ve collected lots of great data – doesn’t really help the poor dead Quoll though does it! 

It’s been helicopter central here the last few days with the NPWS coming and going and we’ve also had the NPWS fire lighting (yes lighting not fighting) helicopter based here as well.  Lots of burning happening and some days the air is just thick with smoke & ash.  Tony did more burning off around the Roadhouse again yesterday which can be a bit confronting when it’s so close.

My cooking skills have really been put to the test over the last couple of days.  I’m okay with a couple of meals at a time but not sure how I will handle a big order – might have to be a few free drinks given out whilst they wait for their meals 😊   And we received news today that the other couple are no longer coming.  Anyone want to be Roadhouse cook for the next 5 months?? 

Helicopters at front of Roadhouse

Burning around the Roadhouse