1770 - Where the Richards' Meet the Reef

We were all very excited to arrive in the town of 1770. Named in honour of Captain Cook, 1770 is the site of the first landing he made on the Queensland coast during his epic adventure through the south Pacific in that year. The reason we were so excited was that it was from here that we would finally go out to the Great Barrier Reef. We had four days up our sleeve here so again, we took things easy. We booked to go on the cruise to Lady Musgrave Island on the Sunday so Saturday was spent at the beach swimming and building sand castles with the kids. My work colleague who’s covering my job whilst I’m away (much appreciated Matt) has a sister-in-law who runs the Mango Motel in Agnes Water with her husband so I dropped in to see them in the afternoon. Unfortunately Fiona wasn’t there but I had a long chat with her husband about politics, the overdevelopment of the area, fishing and his plans for the restaurant they had just taken over.

The next morning, the kids were up early, itching to get down to the jetty and on to the boat to take us to Lady Musgrave Island and its surrounding coral lagoon. Unfortunately the wind had been blowing all night which didn’t bode well for the conditions out to the island so with Leanne and the kids dosed up with sea sickness tablets we set off.

The excitement was buoyed by a close encounter with two humpback whales and a pod of dolphins about 10 minutes into the voyage but it was not long after that Timmy succumbed to the effect of the 2m swell. Two sick bags and several cold compresses later (the crew were obviously well versed in dealing with this sort of thing) he eventually fell asleep in Leanne’s arms (she herself feeling pretty queasy). Ashleigh and Sean soldiered on as they watched a movie that was showing on the TV. As time passed however, Sean started to turn a peculiar shade of green and he too dispensed with his breakfast just before we arrived at the Island!!

Once the boat entered the protected waters of the coral quay lagoon around Lady Musgrave, everyone felt much better and it was not long before we were downing coffees, hot chocolates, cakes and biscuits for morning tea. After morning tea, we were taken over to the island on a glass bottom boat for a short guided walk where we were told a bit about the island’s history and the importance it plays to the birds and turtles that visit it throughout the year. One we were back on the boat it was lunch then snorkelling for the rest of the afternoon. Seeing the kaleidoscope of colours that the coral and fish displayed was absolutely fantastic and it was great that we were all able to experience the beauty of the reef together. Who knows, when the kids grow up to be our age, there might not be a reef left to show their own kids!! We had a wonderful day on the Reef and none of us wanted to leave! The trip back to 1770 was much smoother and we got back without anyone getting sick again – much to everyone’s relief!!

When we arrived at the jetty, we were told that as a special offer, we could do the trip again another day for half price!!. I jokingly said lets do it but Lea felt that her stomach had had enough punishment for quite a while so we decided against it. The next morning we were all up early again. The wind had dropped the previous evening and the morning was clear and bright - perfect conditions for a boat trip. It didn’t take Lea and the kids much persuading (back on the boat to the Reef again – or fishing on the beach?) and we were back down to the jetty to do it all again.
Thankfully the conditions out to the Reef were much better this time and we all arrived with our breakfasts where they should have been!! We skipped the island tour in favour of more time in the water and I also bought a cheap underwater camera to capture for prosperity some of the magic we were seeing. The camera was a film camera (remember those?) so I won’t be able to see if my career as an underwater photographer has any promise until I get the film developed (how do I do that again??!!).
Our trip to the Reef completed the last of our Must Do’s for this trip and a memorable Must Do it was!!

Hey Billy, We’ve found Yeppoon!!

And it’s not between your knife and fork!! “Where’s Yeppoon?” has been in the repertoire of Leanne’s Dad’s corny one liners since I have known her so it was a must stop town on our journey southward. The town is the gateway to Great Keppel Island (do they still do those “Great place to get wrecked” ads?) and also for some reason has a museum dedicated to race driver Peter Brock (I thought he was a Victorian?).

We actually stayed in Kinka Beach just out of Yeppoon (possibly around the knife area) in Cool Waters Caravan Park. Our site was immediately adjacent to the play ground which was great for the kids as they could shoot over to it anytime. Unfortunately it was also very close to the Park’s gray water processing plant which seemed to only run (quite loudly) in the middle of the night!! Between the noise of the water plant and the local crooner station playing in the toilets (also quite close by) all night, I didn’t get a very good sleep the first night!!

Not having any great desire to do much whist we were in Yeppoon (R&R remember), we spent the next morning site seeing and swimming at nearby Emu Park – home of the singing ship (a large sculpture in a stylised shape of a sailing ship dedication to Captain Cook that has pipes that hum when the wind blows). After hot chips for lunch we went into Yeppoon proper to look around and do a bit of shopping.

One thing we have noticed as we venture further south, the weather is becoming much more changeable (windy, cloudy, sunny) and the temperature is starting to drop. After nearly two months of near perfect warm weather, the realisation that our travels are coming to an end is starting to sink in :-(

Big 4 - Big Bucks

Our R&R continued in Airlie Beach – the gateway to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. We stayed at our first (and most probably last) Big 4 caravan park. Big 4’s are supposedly renowned for being the ultimate in family friendly caravan parks with big pools, playgrounds, mini golf etc. and we always said that w would stay at a few along the way to give our kids some play time of their own from time to time. Up until now we (and they) hadn’t really missed this sort of thing however the photo’s of the Airlie Beach Big 4’s water slides, jumping castle, and mini golf in our trusty guide book sold us. Once I made the booking I thought I might have to sell my right leg, or at least one of the kids to pay for it!! $77 per night is beyond a bit steep, it was bordering on mountainous!!!

The CP was certainly very nice, with the best amenities that we’d had on our whole trip. The playground, pool and especially the water slid were all terrific fun and we made the most of our stay. As we did in Townsville’s (free) water park, we didn’t get past he CP’s pool for the first two days however we did manage to venture into town on our final day and I was amazed how much Airlie Beach has changed. I was first up here in the early 1980’s on a family holiday and I have fond memories of Mum and Dad and my brother venturing out on charter yachts each day, sailing, swimming, snorkelling and even doing a scuba dive around the reefs and islands of the Whitsundays. I was next up here in 1993 with Leanne on our honeymoon (sailing on our own this time) and I remember Airlie to be a quiet town with no beach and lots of palm trees. Fast forward 16 years and how things have changed. The place has obviously been a developer’s paradise with resorts and hotels everywhere. Every second shop of the main street is either a bar, a clothes shop or an internet café and the mangrove swamp that was the “beach” that I remember has been replaced by a huge man made lagoon and promenade. We kind of knew all this before we came but I still couldn’t believe how completely everything (and I mean everything) had changed.

As we were to go out to the Great Barrier Reef when we reached the town of 1770 in a week or so’s time and with the hip pocket still smarting slightly from our last three nights’ accommodation, we bid farewell to Airlie and went looking for Billy’s spoon!

Lazy Days in Townsville

Our journey down the east coast was always going to be a bit of R&R after seeing and doing so much up through the Red Centre. I didn’t really thing we’d hit veg-out mode so hard once we arrived in Townsville though!! After dropping the two caravan wheels off at the local Bob Janes for new tyres, we found our way down to The Strand and the super impressive water park. This thing was great! It had fountains squirting water in all directions, water cannons (the boy’s favourite) and the piece de resistance – a huge bucket that filled with water and then tipped out onto to screaming kids (both young and old) below. And all for free – who needs Wet ’n’ Wild Water World? After spending our second day at the same place, we were feeling that perhaps Townsville had more to offer than a free council water park so with roars of protest from the kids, we trundled off to the Townsville Tropical Museum.

The museum turned out to be so good that even the kids enjoyed it. It had an exhibition dedicated to the HMS Pandora, the ill fated ship that was sent by the British Navy in 1791 to arrest and bring to justice the mutineers of the Bounty. The expedition found 14 of the 19 in Tahiti (the remainder were living on Pitcairn Island after scuttling the Bounty) and on its return journey, ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef and sank. The exhibition displayed artefacts recovered from the wreck and shows what life would have been like aboard the Pandora. They even had a reconstruction of a 6 pound cannon together with daily firing demonstrations which myself and three other (press ganged) volunteers participated. The boys thought it was very funny that my job was that of powder monkey!!

Apart from the Pandora exhibit, the museum had a hands-on science section which was great fun and also scientifically proved that Leanne is tone deaf (there goes her Idol aspirations!!), a marine life section showing a variety of corals and sea life, including some very strange looking fish from the inky depths. Of course the kids instantly recognised the Angler fish from Finding Nemo – who says cartoons aren’t educational!! There were also sections on dinosaurs, rainforests and mangrove habitats (all very interesting). The small crabs with the large orange claw that we saw in Cairns we learnt were Fiddler crabs.

After a late lunch I took the boys to the showground next door to the caravan park to see a Ford car show that was on. There were about 80 cars on display and whilst I’m certainly no car enthusiast (hence why I don’t insure with Shannons) they all looked pretty impressive. The boys liked the Hot Rods the best but I had a soft spot for the 1970 V6 Capri (I once owned a ’69 V6).

Forgetting that Queensland shuts down on a Saturday afternoon, we tried in vain to find a souvenir shop that was open so we drove up to the top of Castle Hill for a spectacular 360 degree view of the city and nearby Magnetic Island instead.

Townsville or Bust

After the wide open spaces and long stretching roads of the red centre, driving on the windy undulating roads of Far North Queensland has been rather harrowing at times. It’s much more difficult for cars and trucks to overtake us bothersome caravaners which leads people to become very impatient and sometimes downright dangerous! I had to slow down several times when trucks were passing me to let them back in before creating another statistic with a car coming the other way. Road lunatics aside, the countryside is very beautiful and lush. The drive between Cairns and Townsville takes you through many tens of kilometres of sugar cane and banana plantations and we even a few places where the harvesters and cane trains were operating.

About 20km out of Townsville, one of my greatest concerns became a reality as a tyre on the caravan suddenly blew out. Fortunately we were on a stretch of highway with a very wide shoulder and I was able to quickly pull over and stop before things got any worse. The remains of my tyre was lying slap bang in the middle of the road and was posing a bit of a hazard so I went back to collect it and dispose of properly when I got into town. I now know why no-one ever bothers to do this and why you see so many shredded tyres on the side of the road. Firstly they are stinking hot and secondly they stink!! Burnt rubber was not a smell I was going to put up with in the car so tinged with guilt, I left the shredded remains with all the others to be (hopefully) picked up by a good Samaritan on some future clean up Australia day. It seems as though the good people at Jayco did not foresee the need to change a wheel that has no tyre on it (why would you?) because the jack wouldn’t fit under the jacking point. After a few cool and calm word with no-one in particular (the kids were out of earshot), and with the aid of several blocks of timber, I eventually managed to get the spare tyre on. Concerned that the same fate would befall the other tyre I was relieved to finally set up camp in the Town and Country Caravan Park. My concerns were well founded when I got round to checking the other tyre out as I found a whole section of side wall ballooning out like an appendix ready to burst!! First job in the morning – tyre shopping!!!

Paradise in the Sun

Ellis Beach Campground was an idyllic spot to stop and recharge the batteries. The CP itself was nothing really to write home about (yet I am) however only a line of coconut palms separate the park from the beach itself. As I mentioned before, my Mum and Dad had flown up to be with us for the week and the outlook from their beachfront bungalow was to die for. Our van site was on the road side of the park but who cared when we spent most of our time on M&D’s veranda when we were “home”!

We quickly made ourselves at home, replacing their 4 seater outdoor setting with the 8 seater fold up table and chairs we had from the van – who could have asked for a better place to enjoy happy hour and dinner?

Our first whole day in Ellis Beach was spent frolicking in the calm waters of the beach, building sand castles and watching the pippies (small clam like shellfish) frantically burying themselves back in the sand after being uncovered by the odd large wave.

Having the 7 seats in the car proved its usefulness yet again as we were all able to pile into the Territory to get about and see the sites. Friday we moseyed on up the coast to Mosman Gorge and then onto the Daintree National Park. This was a bit of a trip down memory lane for us as we had done the same thing 8 years ago when we were last up here. Our exploration of Mosman Gorge was a cut short by the fact that half of the walking trails were inaccessible (much to the boys’ relief) as the rope bridge over the gorge was closed due to structural concerns! We decided not to go for a swim; partly because the signs said it was extremely dangerous and that deaths due to flash flooding had occurred in the past, but mainly because it was so busy with all the tourists swimming there wasn’t any room! We settled for a photo of the five of us by the river when Leanne’s hat decided it was too hot and went for a swim on its own! We watched in dismay as it drifted down the river a short way before it decided finally that it couldn’t swim and promptly sank! Lea said “leave it” but I was having none of it – I wasn’t going to be responsible for polluting a world heritage area so off I went to retrieve it! There were cheers all round when I triumphantly returned – soggy hat in hand.

After the Mosman Gorge we continued up the Cook Highway to the Daintree National Park. Crossing the Daintree River by ferry you plunge into dense tropical rainforest and it’s just as the ad says – were the Rainforest meets the Reef. We stopped off at the Daintree Ice-cream factory for ice-creams (naturally) then continued on as far as the road would take us, ending our journey with a refreshing swim at beautiful Cape Tribulation – so named by Captain Cook way back in 1770 following the tribulations he suffered beaching the Endeavour here to repair damage sustained when hitting a nearby reef.

The next morning we took the Kuranda Scenic Railway up into the hills to the market town of Kuranda. The town has become much more commercialised since our last visit 8 years ago but the old charm we liked so much could still be found if you made your way past the newer commercial (read tacky touristy) centre to the original “old markets” on the other side of the town. After buying a few souvenirs and some yummy lollies from the Kuranda Candy Kitchen for the kids (thanks Grandma and Papa), it was back down via the Skyrail cable car.

As we’d travelled nearly 13,000km since leaving Sydney, the car was due for a service. Of course it had to be the major (read expensive) one which was going to take most of the day so we spent the day walking around the Esplanade and shops in Cairns. Queensland sure knows how to build kids parks. There was a fantastic water park with fountains and water jests of all descriptions to keep the kids amused whilst we sat and chatted with Mum and Dad. After the water park, we walked along the Esplanade to the large man made lagoon at the end for a swim.
As they say, all good things must come to an end, and unfortunately our week in tropical paradise with Mum and Dad was no exception. We’d had a fantastic time together and although the temptation to stay longer was great, we said our goodbyes’ to M&D as they boarded the shuttle bus to the airport and it was not long after that we too were heading south – next stop Townsville.

Fires and Brimstone

The Undara Lava Tubes are a unique geological feature in North Queensland that I had read about quite early on when planning this trip and it sounded like an interesting place to visit. The lava tubes (or “chubes” as Ash tried to write in her diary) were formed around 190,000 years ago and consist of 100’s of kilometres of underground tunnels formed by rivers of lava that solidified on the outer edges and then drained in the centre. It was only by chance that I rang up the camp site the day before we arrived to book as the CP was full and we had to be put in an overflow area. No power and water (again!) but we were located right next to a camp kitchen so it didn’t really matter (except that the woes of our fridge were continuing with it not working at all off the gas). We had booked in for a 2hr tour the following morning so the rest of the day was spent veging out and the kids catching up on their diaries and a bit of school work (including a few extra spelling words for Ash for her previous indiscretion!)

Part of the Undara Experience (as the resort is called) includes nightly entertainment around the campfire. That night was “Star gazing with Mal”. Once everyone had got comfortable around the campfire, Mal then proceeded to move us all to a large open area well away from it so that the light from the fire and nearby buildings wouldn’t impede our vision. Why we didn’t just do away with the fire and meet at the viewing area in the first place is beyond me!! Although the stars weren’t quite as bright as they were when we star gazed at the Devil’s Marbles, it was much warmer and we spent a very nice evening as Mal pointed out the various constellations and planets (Jupiter and Saturn). We even saw a couple of shooting stars and a satellite.

I found our 2 hour tour of the lava tubes the next day to be a little disappointing. The guide was very good and quite knowledgeable but the tubes themselves were dark (the only light being from the guide’s torch) and did not present very well – certainly not as well as the glossy brochure showed them to be!! That night we had our own fire and finally got to toast the marshmallows that we had been carrying since Port Augusta!! It was a beautiful night and with the wood being so dry, the fire was one of the best I’ve ever lit (if I don’t say so myself!) – 10 smoky bear points!!
We were keen to leave for the beaches of Ellis Beach (north of Cairns) the next day as we were meeting up with my Mum and Dad who were flying up for the week after themselves spending 6 weeks in Europe!! It was a bit hairy negotiating the narrow winding roads between Atherton and the coast but after pulling over several times to let the traffic that was banking up behind us pass, we eventually arrived safely and the kids had hardly waited for the car to stop before jumping out and racing over to Grandma and Papa’s beachfront cabin to announce our arrival to them (and the rest of the caravan park too!)

Aye Karumba!!

We were due to meet may Mum and Dad in Ellis Beach (FNQ) on the 13th and somehow I had miscalculated the day we had to get there from Gregory Downs. With one day less than I had expected, our planned 2 day stop in Normanton was cut down to a short overnighter. Being so close to the Gulf of Carpentaria, I couldn’t resist taking the “short” 70km drive up to prawning town of Karumba, where the Norman River meets the sea, so after setting up the van, a quick swim with the kids in the caravan park’s huge 25m pool, it was back in the car again. This was to be our last opportunity (for this trip at least) to see the sun set over the water so we brought 2kg of prawns (why not when they were only $12/kg!!), a loaf of bread, and sat on the beach to enjoy the view. I never thought I would ever say this but we have never been so full that it was a struggle to finish the last prawn!! They were absolutely beautiful. With the sun below the horizon, it was back in the car again. I was on edge the whole drive back to Normanton – paranoid that I would add to the road kill statistics as this was the first time I had really driven at night, apart from short trips in various towns. Fortunately the wildlife was kind enough not to jump put out in front of me at the last minute and we made it back to Normanton with the car and the local fauna unscathed (except for a few squished bugs on the windscreen – do they count?). Next day it was off to the Lava Tubes of Undara National Park.

No Horse Town

Before I continue I would like to add a small disclaimer regarding my blog site. As you have most probably noticed, I usually update this site late at night after everyone has gone to bed. As a result, I have no-one to proof read or rebuke what I write so please - take it as it comes and forgive the typos, mis quotes and incorrect place names!! I'm not after a Purlitzer (or is that Pulitzer)!

Gregory Downs is a one pub, two horse town minus the two horses!! The reason you go there is that it’s the closest you can get to the beauty of the Lawn Hill National Park whilst staying on the bitumen. The road into the NP is 95km of gravel, bull dust and road trains that service the Zinifex Century Mine on the edge of the park. If you’re feeling up to it, you can camp at Lawn Hill or the nearby Adel’s Grove but you may live to regret it as one pair of not so happy campers did, as they managed to rip the suspension out from underneath their van on one of the deep floodways that cross the road. Speaking later to the people they were travelling with, we learnt that they had arranged for a tow truck to come from Normanton (350km) to recover the van and take it back for repairs!! Luckily their insurance covered all the costs. Our problems were much more minor as our fridge had stopped working on both gas and battery and since we were on yet another unpowered site, we couldn’t test it on the mains power. With no services within cooee of the town, there was nothing much we could do about it except eat as much of the frozen (but rapidly defrosting) meat for dinner as we could that night!

Lawn Hill Gorge is absolutely spectacular. It’s much smaller than the more famous Katherine Gorge but I think it is much more visually stunning. We braved the road into the National Park twice over two days, the first day we just did some walks and went swimming but we saved the best for last, hiring a couple of canoes for an early morning paddle up the gorge (the best time of day to see it). We didn’t get to see any fresh water crocodiles (much to the boy’s disappointment and Leanne’s relief) but we did see a few turtles and plenty of fish. We paddled up to the Indarri falls where we had walked to and swam the day before, stopping for another swim and frolic in the falls before reluctantly heading back before our time expired. It was a magical morning and after the disappointment of not paddling the Katherine Gorge, I had finally built my bridge went well and truly crossed it (ask Leanne)!!
We returned to our van via the road to the World Heritage Riversleigh Fossil Grounds, stopping to take a look at a site that had been specially set aside for visitors. It was a long drive to see very little so unless you plan to get a permit and visit the more interesting sites further into the grounds, I’d stick to the museum in Mt Isa!

I had another crack at trying to get the fridge going with help from Mike, the resident caretaker. He kindly let us get power from the laundry (all the sites in the park were unpowered) to test the fridge on mains and luckily for some reason it kicked into life. We stayed hooked up to power for the night, giving us the chance to recharge DS’s, camera batteries and use the toaster in the morning for breakfast (Note to self: buy a camp toaster for the gas burner when you get to the next town with a camping store). Let’s just hope that

Rodeo Comes to Town

We arrived in Mt Isa and a new state on August 5th to the stark realisation that there was not a single vacant site in any of the caravan parks in town!! Why I hear you ask? Well it’s Rodeo time in Mt Isa of course! The biggest social event in the town for the whole year and naturally we didn’t have a clue that it was on (what was I saying before about doing some research before we went away?). Not all was lost however as the entrepreneurial people at the local Mt Isa Hockey Club had set up an overflow area specifically for us dolts that were not organised enough to book ahead to secure a site. It turned out to be not such a bad outcome for us. Although we had not power and water (only the battery and tank in our van) we had use of the change room toilets and showers, all for $20 (we stayed 2 nights).

We only planned to stay in The Isa to stock up on provisions before heading north again into more remote areas. It would have been nice to stay longer and see the Rodeo and the Mardi Gras parade on the Friday night but we were due to meet up with my parents who were flying up to see us in a week’s time and we still had other places to get to before then.
We got the laundry and shopping done in between visiting the Riversleigh Fossil Exhibition (short but good) and the Mt Isa Experience Museum (longer, interesting for me, not so much for the kids!).

We left Mt Isa heading the long (but dirt road free) way, for the small town of Gregory Downs. The steady stream of cars towing caravans and camper trailers led me to believe that the Mt Isa Hockey Club were going to have quite a few more visitors before the week was out!!

Wild Wedge Tail Eagles

After being engulfed with dust from the Oodnadatta (which we are still finding in the van), and getting bogged in sand in Kakadu, my romantic notion of heading back east along the dirt roads of the Savannah Way, camping by billabongs and generally getting back to nature have disappeared in a figurative plume of dust!! It’s bitumen all the way from now on baby!! As a result we had to back track along the Stuart Highway all the way to what’s known as the Three Ways, the intersection of the north –south Stuart Highway with the east west running Barkly Highway. Camp for the night after leaving Kakadu was the Daly Waters Pub. This place is a bit of an institution for travellers of the outback, not because of the campsite so much but for the pub and its entertainment. We arrived at Daley Waters to find several police cars and twenty or so members of the Odin’s Warriors bikie gang! Not your typical clientele for an outback pub. It was quite obvious that gray nomads and locals alike were quite apprehensive of this new contingent of travellers. It turns out that the bikies were returning to Queensland from a meet in Darwin and the NT police were tailing them the whole way to the border.

After booking in for the night ($24 with power but no water) we were directed to our designated site next to a very nice couple of GN’s and their two border collies – Jessie and Jackson. The dogs immediately befriended the kids and we were told by their owners that the dogs were missing their grandkids, so Ash, Sean and Timmy became surrogate grand kids for the afternoon.

We’d heard about the famous “Beef and Barra” and the ensuing Wild Wedge Tail Eagle show dinner during our travels so we booked in for the 7pm sitting. The show was quite funny and the more risqué punch lines sailed over the kid’s heads (although Ashleigh has grown taller since we’ve been away!!) The bikies were well behaved much to everyone’s relief and the food was also very good.

We were woken early the next morning to the roar of Harley’s starting up and not long after we too were on our way. If the countryside was non-descript and repetitive on the way north, it was even more so on the return trip. The monotony was only briefly interrupted by the occasional Harley as it roared past us. Our stop the next night was the Barkly Station Road house. Again we shared it with the Bikies but we didn’t venture into the bar this night as we had drinks and nibbles with Brian and Jan, a couple of GN’s or Geriatric Gypsies (an hilarious term we picked up from the show the night before) as we have re-dubbed them, from Sydney. They were great company for the evening as we swapped travelling tales over a few cold drinks.

Thongs for Nothing

The Nott’s Crossing Resort (there’s that word again) in Katherine was to be our home for the next few days. We randomly picked it out of the accommodation guide we had and it turned out that all the sites had ensuites (fancy French name for an outside dunny and shower). We’d never had one of these before although we hear they are a favourite amongst the GN’s (gray nomads). After we’d checked in we made a B-line for the Cutta Cutta caves about 20 minutes out of town to catch the last guided tour for the day. Ashleigh was a bit apprehensive about going underground again but once she saw how big and well lit up they were she was OK. The caves had some beautiful stalactite formations and flow stones in them. The name Cutta Cutta means many stars in the local aboriginal language and when the lights caught the crystal structures the right way they sparkled just like the stars.

The next day we planned to hire a canoe and paddle up the gorge but when I found out the price I nearly had a heart attack. Being the 5 of us, we had had to hire two 2 person canoes and a single kayak, all for a grand total of $168 for 4 hours!! I could just about buy a canoe for that! It was only marginally more to go on a cruise which took in two gorges (the canoes you could only do one) so we bit the bullet and booked in for a late afternoon cruise. This gave us the morning top head off to Edith Falls, a beautiful part of the northern reaches of Katherine NP. The walk to the top of the first falls and then back down the other side, finishing with a swim in the lagoon at the end was a wonderful (and cheap!) way to spend the morning.


The afternoon boat cruise was very good. The gorge looked spectacular in the late afternoon light and I was glad we got the opportunity to see the second (of 13) gorge too as I thought it was more breathtaking than the first. We even saw some freshwater crocodiles basking in the sun. For some reason, this put an end to any ideas Leanne might have had about going for a swim in the river before we went home!

We couldn’t leave Katherine without having a dip in the hot springs in town so we decided to visit them in the morning after we broke camp. The springs were every much as good as those in Mataranka we had visited several weeks ago. The only problem was that Leanne had here thongs stolen (her best town thongs with the sparkly bits on the straps)!! We were warned by some people when we arrived that the local aboriginal’s come down and steal clothes and we thought we had covered everything up well enough. I guess some people’s the desire for free footwear is stronger than any sense of community or respect for the tourists that come and put money into the local economy.

We departed Katherine late morning for a (relatively) short drive to Daly Waters and its famous pub.

Ka-Ka-Du-Du-Du (Push Pineapple Shake the tree)

We left Darwin’s lucky Leprechaun and headed back south on what was technically the start of our return leg however we don’t really want to look at it that way for obvious reasons. On the way, we stopped in at Fog Dam (a wetlands area of international repute) which was something we meant to do when we went to the croc jumping tour on the Adelaide River the day before but we forgot!! After spending so much time in the arid regions of Central Australia it was quite a spectacle to see these vast wetlands and the abundance of birdlife – and this was the dry season!! We had to drive along the dam wall instead of the usual walk as there were signs out warning us of a Large Estuarine (Saltwater) Crocodile in the area. Driving along the wall we saw the croc trap in the water so we thought we better not take any chances!! Fog Dam is a short stop well worth making if you are ever in the area.

Our next camp was Kakadu Resort, Jabiru in the Kakadu National Park. For those of you astute enough (or of the right musical vintage), I got the title of this blog from Black Lace's 1984 one hit wonder Agadoo. When I started singing my version of the song in the car on the way into the park, the play on words flew miles over all the kids heads – and Leanne just looked at me in that “sad Dad joke” way. I laughed!!

Unlike the Kings Canyon “resort”, Kakadu Resort was a truly luxurious campsite (as far as luxury can go in a campsite anyway!!) It had proper grass (this is a big deal after so many weeks of red dust), a large covered pool, and plenty of clean amenities!! This place got two thumbs up from all of us. Jabiru is a good place to base yourself in Kakadu as just about all the main attractions are readily accessible from here. The town of Jabiru itself is there to support the Ranger Uranium Mine (more of that later).

We were keen to see the famous Aboriginal rock art galleries and we were not disappointed at the two sites we went to during our two day stay – Nourlangi and Ubirr. The rock art in the north is very different to the dot art of Central Australia. The style used here is known as x-ray painting where the figures are very long and slender and the animals are shown in a kind of see-through fashion, with depictions of bones and internal (and some quite obvious external) organs being shown. The galleries were sights to behold and were another tick on our must see list. As well as the rock art galleries, these sites provided spectacular vantage points for the Kakadu Escarpment (Nourlangi) and the Arnhem Escarpment and Nardab Floodplains (Ubirr). This is truly special country.

Other than in the Resort’s pool, we didn’t swim in the park. Every waterway, big or small, has signs warning of crocodiles, even in those deemed “safe for swimming”!!

I mentioned the Ranger Uranium Mine before and I had heard on our travels that the tour offered for the mine was very good. Naturally, I had to go on it for professional development reasons (another tax deduction possibly??) so I left Lea and the kids to enjoy the pool for a few hours. The tour was excellent and professional bias aside, I would recommend it to anyone. Travelling on a minibus, you get unprecedented access to a working mine. First stop is an awe inspiring view of the open cut pit from a fenced off area directly adjacent to it. The pit was been worked for just on 10 years and is over 200m deep! Back on the bus, you are then driven around the various processing areas of the plant. Short movies are also shown on the bus for the areas you are not taken to.

On our last day we took a drive down to the Yellow Water region which is on the South Alligator River. It is because of this river that the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park exists. South Alligator river (not sure why it’s not called South Crocodile River but anyway) is the only river system in the world together with its tributaries and catchments, that is unspoilt by industry, agriculture and population masses. To be honest I thought there would be more to do here other than going on a $170 boat trip, which was an expense we hadn’t budgeted for so we took the short board walk that ran parallel to the river, had morning tea, then decided to be a bit adventurous and head off to an area called Jim Jim Falls. All the maps and advisory boards said 4WD access only so I spoke to a park ranger and he assured me that we would be able to make it no “worries” in our AWD Territory. The 60km drive along the dirt road to the camp site was corrugated but fine, however it was the last few kilometres that proved more problematic. After the campsite, the road changed to a true 4WD track which I was navigating with cautious optimism until we got bogged in some very soft and very deep sand!! No matter what mode I put the car’s @#&! electronic traction control system into, we were stuck fast. We didn’t have to wait long however until an off road adventure tour bus drove past full of keen European backpackers. With much pushing and shoving (on their behalf) we were free again. I had to admit defeat after that so I turn around and head back home for a swim and a beer. It turned out that Jim Jim Falls weren’t falling anyway so we weren’t too bothered in the end!

Luck of the Irish

I left you last time wondering if we had a place to stay in Darwin. We still had no luck ringing places the next morning before leaving Larrimah so we continued on to Katherine and called in to the Tourist Information Centre to see what they could do for us. The place was pretty busy and it turned out the majority of people there were al asking the same question – where can we stay in Darwin? I was referred to a list of parks in a book we already had (why hadn’t I looked at this??) and was wished the best of luck – not very reassuring. Over lunch in the car park I poured over the list trying to figure out how far each place was from Darwin. I found one place that was close to town and with little expectation, gave the Leprechaun Hotel and Caravan Park a call. Well we must have had the luck of the Irish with us as they had a powered site available for us! All was good until they told me the price - $64/night!! When I baulked at the price and reduced the number of nights (we were originally looking at staying for up to a week), we were given a new price of $54/night and the option to extend if we wanted. As we didn’t really have much choice, I made the booking.

I’ve heard in stories that Leprechauns are conniving little so-and-so’s and it turned out that the pot of gold at the end of our rainbow was an old run down place right on the end of the Darwin airport runway. The planes flying overhead were so low I reckon I could touch them if I stood on the roof of the van!! The icing on the cake however was that the RAAF were conducting joint night training exercises with the US Air Force which meant that the FA18’s were taking off in the evening along with the refuelling tanker aircraft. Let me tell you, an FA18 taking off adds a new dimension to the word noisy!! I must admit however that it did look quite spectacular seeing 4 fighter planes taking off in tight formation.

It turned out that the Leprechaun wasn’t quite as bad as we first thought. All caravan parks in Darwin are expensive and although the place was quite run down, the amenities and pool were clean and the backpackers not too raucous.

I really started to question this luck of the Irish business when the next day I got a flat in my near brand new $290 tyre. I could have accepted it if we were out on some isolated 4WD track but no – I picked up a nail driving to the supermarket!! The worst part was that I must have been driving on for some time as the sidewalls appeared to be quite scuffed up from the wheel rim and I was worried that it wouldn’t be roadworthy if I got it repaired. Well I couldn’t do much about it either way so after swapping the tyre and getting shopping done, we went to see Bernadette (Leanne’s Mum) as she had arrived that afternoon. After seeing how nice her apartment was I suggested she stayed in the van with her grandkids whom she hadn’t seen for so long whilst Lea and I stayed in the apartment but she wouldn’t have a bar of it!! (I had to try). That evening we had a picnic dinner down at Fanny Bay, a beach not far from Darwin CBD. I use the term beach loosely because when the tide is out, it’s more of a mud flat than a beach. This didn’t matter as it was great just enjoying the warm evening watching the sun set over the water (something we don’t get back home). I haven’t thought to mention the weather in my blogs recently but since Alice Springs where it was around 27 in the day, it’s been getting progressively warmer the further north we travel. Darwin is around 32-36 in the day and around 27 at night. I hear it’s quite cold in Sydney.

There was lots to see and do in and around Darwin and it was another case of what not to do rather than what to do. The Thursday night Mindil Beach Markets was at the top of Leanne’s list and it turned out to be a very entertaining evening with plenty of stalls to browse through and we ended the evening by watching a reptile show and fire dancing act – which the kids loved.
We were given the low down on the best of Darwin when we went to visit Justine and her family (a friend of Leanne’s friend Tammi) who is living in Darwin now. It’s been a long time since we both last saw Justine and it was great (if not all too brief) catching up again after so many years. Clued up with our new found knowledge we spent the next few days seeing the sights of Darwin and her surrounds. Two of the biggest highlights were the Aquascene fish feeding and the exceptional Crocosaurus Cove.

We had a really nice day in Litchfield National Park. The Magnetic Termite mounds (the ones that are built in line with the earth’s magnetic field) were interesting too look at but I thought they paled into insignificance compared to the towering Cathedral Mounds. We had a very refreshing swim in the croc free waters of Buley Pools. Florence Falls were quite spectacular but we did not bother to make the trek down the 110 steps to the pool below because it would have meant climbing those same 110 steps to get back to the car. We also decided to skip a swim at Wangi Falls as the day was getting on and we wanted to take a dip in Berry Springs on the way home!! The Jumping Crocodile Cruise on the Adelaide River was a unique experience and verry worthwhile. We saw a few large 5m+ Crocs but the majority were relatively small and being the dry season were quite dosile. We were luck however in that the tide was low so we got the opportunity to see the crocs sunning themselves on the mud flats before slipping into the river to come over for their feed. In case yoy are wondering, the croc i this picture is about 5m long and I could have reached out and touched it from the boat if I was silly enough!!

We ended up spending a week in Darwin and despite my poor first impressions of the Leprechaun, we ended up staying there the whole time – basically because I couldn’t be bothered packing everything up again and the noise from the airport settled down after a few days.

We said our goodbyes to Nanna on Wednesday evening after a BBQ dinner at Mindil Beach and ice-creams at Stokes Wharf. It was a really nice holiday within a holiday meeting up with Bernie for the week.

I also got the tyre checked out and what I thought was going to cost me $300+ for a new one turned out to be a cheap and simple $28 repair. The sidewall damage I was so worried about turned out to be only cosmetic. Maybe I was too quick to judge that Leprechaun!!

Birds, Beers and Crocodiles

As our next major port of call was Darwin, I wasn’t too sure where we going to stop after the Devil’s Marbles, so we decided to kept driving until either the kids started getting stir crazy or dusk approached (I have no intention of adding to the abundance of road kill that seems to be increasing the further north we get). Fortunately, thanks to the trusty Nintendo DS’s and the DVD players, daylight dictated our moves so we stopped in the town of Larrimah at the Wayside Inn, otherwise known as the Pink Panther Hotel and Campsite (not to get confused with the Pink Panther Club in Kings Cross). This place has been one of those pleasantly surprising finds you sometimes come across when travelling. Although the town itself only has about 20 permanent residents and not much of its past remains, Larrimah played an important role during WWII as a staging post for Australian and US troops and supplies being sent to Darwin and beyond. The Hotel itself is an eye opener! Out the back there are a dozen or so aviaries housing all manner of exotic birds, some common and some not so common. They also have snakes, rats (possibly as food for the snakes) and even two salt water crocodiles!! This was great and because it was such entertainment for the kids, we decided to have happy hour in the pub’s beer garden instead of our van.

Believe it or not, encounters with folk from home were to continue. We got talking to three guys on their way to Barkley Station for the cattle muster and it turned out one of the three (Willie) was from Bundeena! Willie told us he was travelling with his mates as their cook however we reckon he probably owned the cattle station (and the pub too!!) by the way he was talking and the way the other two were around him – looking like they worked for him!! He gave us his address in Bundeena and told us to drop in next time we were round his way. I might take him up on that!!

Because we liked the campsite so much, we decided to leave the van in Larrimah and make a day trip to the thermal pools at Mataranka, about 70km up the road. Mataranka is known at the capital of the Never Never (you’ll never never know if you never never go) and the thermal pools were something else. We were originally only going to stay for the morning but the lure of the crystal clear warm spring water and endless hours of fun and relaxation for us all meant it was an easy decision to get lunch at the nearby Mataranka Homestead (where they have daily screening of We of the Never Never) and return to the pools in the afternoon for some more frolicking. It also gave us an opportunity to have some lengthy chants with a few other travellers about which would be the best way to head back east after finishing with the Top End. Eventually Leanne had to get out because she felt like she was on the set of the movie Cocoon in amongst all the Gray Nomads bobbing up and down in the spring water!!

One other piece of information we picked up on one of my chats was the fact that we could have problems getting a site in Darwin because it was festival season in the NT capital and the Darwin show was starting the week we were to arrive. That evening I tried ringing a few places we had numbers for but to no avail – everything was booked solid!! We were committed to go as we had to meet Leanne’s Mum in Darwin so the only thing to do was arrive in town and go from there.

Great Balls of Fire

The Devil’s Marbles is one attraction you cannot really miss as you travel north along the Stuart Highway – you virtually drive through the middle of them!! This was the site of our next stop after leaving Alice. The campground is managed by the NT National Parks and Wildlife and fees are paid by honour system. This was our cheapest payed site yet – a grand total of $7.70 (rounded up to $8 as we didn’t have the correct change). It’s a sad reflection on society that campers were coming out of the woodwork to pay when the Ranger turned up!! The campground is a beautiful spot, right amongst the “Marbles” and we had a great time wondering around what turned out to be quite a large area, marvelling at the beautiful and fascinating formations.

As we were enjoying our Happy Hour before the sunset show, I saw none other than Dave Roach (ex work and school) setting up camp across from us!! I don’t know if he could be any more shocked when I casually went up to say g’day!! It’s inevitable that no matter how far from home or how remote you think you are, it seems you will inevitably run into someone you know!!
Sunset on the Devil’s Marbles was just as spectacular as Uluru, maybe more so as you get caught up in amongst the splendour of the colour of the rocks changing – not knowing where to look next for fear of missing something. We followed up the first act of nature’s magical light show after intermission (dinner) by sitting out in the pitch blackness looking up at the myriad of stars in the night’s sky. You could see so many stars that familiar constellations, so easily seen in the city night sky (e.g. Southern Cross and Orion), almost blended into the billions of other stars making up what is so appropriately called the Milky Way. The highlight for the kids was to see half a dozen shooting stars with one in particular lasting several seconds and leaving a brilliant tail of orange behind it.

We left early the next morning after another equally spectacular sunrise show. It seems as though the majority of Grey Nomads who had camped with us were not morning people as there were very few up to see it (why bother staying overnight??!!).

A Town Like Alice

It’s been 4 weeks (a third of our trip), covered 5357km and used 1039L of fuel and we’ve got as far as Alice Springs. One of the hardest things about doing a trip like this is deciding what to stop for and what to leave for another time (if there will ever be one?). There has been so much to see and do and so much more to come, I think a person could spend a lifetime travelling and still only scratch the surface. We’ll that’s enough of my philosophical ramblings for now!!

Alice Springs has come as yet another surprise to me (perhaps I should have done a bit more homework before I left!!). I expected The Alice to be a much like any other country town in an isolated, featureless landscape. Isolated it may be but the landscape is far from featureless. The town is wedged between the East and West MacDonnell Ranges and the Gap between the two halves conveniently allows the rail line, Stuart Highway and the (dry) Todd River to pass through. It must be quite a sight to see the Todd flowing – the kids didn’t believe me when I told them that the river plays host to an annual sailing boat race (all be it a bottomless boat race).

We’ve spent 4 nights at the G’Day Mate Caravan Park (thanks for the recommendation about the grass Robyn) and have taken a fairly laid back approach to the town. Some of the attractions here such as the School of the Air and Royal Flying Doctors Service we have seen before so we gave them a miss but the Alice Springs Telegraph Station and the Desert Park did take our fancy. We also took a drive out to the East MacDonnell Ranges stopping to see the Aboriginal rock art at Emily and Jessie Gaps and a walk around the beautiful Trephina Gorge.





Here's a bit of trivia for you, Alice Springs got its name is under false pretences. The permanent water that can be found near the Telegraph Station was originally thought to have come from a spring in the area however it was found later that the water was from the Todd River which “flows” underground most of the time.

The afternoon of our last day was spent in town stocking up on previsions and browsing through the Aboriginal art galleries. The variety, size (and quality) of the artwork available is amazing. Prices range from around $50 way up past $12,000!! We couldn’t help wondering however how much of the money went back to the artists who painted them or their communities. After looking in quite a few shops (even the Newsagent sold them) we settled on a moderately priced piece which will hang very nicely in our lounge room (bread and water for the kids for the next few weeks though!!) Speaking of food, if anyone comes to Alice Springs, the East Side Fish and Chip shop make THE BEST fish and chips we have ever tasted. So good in fact we went their twice!!

We bid farewell to Alice Springs tomorrow to continue our northward journey towards Darwin where we will be meeting up with Leanne’s Mum at the end of the month.

Wichetty Grubs Anyone

Our last night in Yulara was rudely interrupted at 2:30am by our neighbours loudly talking on the phone – speaker phone to boot so we were privileged to hear both sides of the conversation!! It was one of those situations where you’re lying in bed thinking “Surely they realise the time and they’ll stop soon so I won’t need to get up and say anything.” This thought went through our minds for a good 20 minutes!! It wasn’t as if they had anything important to talk about either!! It also started to rain during the night – of course, we are packing up in the morning, why not rain??

Kings Canyon Resort (posh name for another campground) greeted us with the sun shining and the temperature a very pleasant 27 degrees. It was the first time since we’ve been on the road that we could say we were actually hot. On our way there, we had an interesting little interlude. About 50km out from the “Resort”, we were flagged down by two Aboriginal men standing by their old Toyota 4WD with the bonnet up. They had run out of petrol and asked if we had any fuel. If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know I do. Lucky the car wasn’t a diesel because it wouldn’t have been easy to give one of them a lift to the nearest petrol station. As I was unlocking one of my jerry cans, I saw two Aboriginal women sitting on the other side of the road under the shade of some trees. When Ash and the boys got out to stretch their legs, there was some excited chatter from the women after which, the younger of the two men come over to the boys and showed them a big fat Witchetty Grub. He explained that they had been stuck there for quite a while so the women had collected some bush tucker. The man offered the grub to the boys, which for some reason they turned their noses up at, although Sean did hold it. Not being able to convince them that it was good tucker, he proceeded to demonstrate the art of eating a raw Witchetty Grub. Afterwards he said he preferred them cooked but he never ate the heads – talk about fussy!!

We got talking as I was filling their tank and the older of the two men, whose name was Rowley, told me they were travelling from their home at Ayres Rock (they didn’t call it Uluru – go figure) to another Aboriginal township near Kings Canyon and had hoped they would make it without running out, which they didn’t! Once the car was running again, Rowley thanked me and wished us all Palya, an Aboriginal term we’d learnt at Uluru meaning something along the lines of all good between us and we are done for now.

We waited at the campsite until the late afternoon before embarking on the shorter of the two walks we were planning on doing during our stay. It was a very pleasant stroll into the Canyon following Kings Creek and we couldn’t wait until the next day to do the 6km rim walk which takes you up to the top of the Canyon and follows its edge right around. When I say we, what I really meant was Leanne & I as the kids didn’t seem to be too enthusiastic! With Dingos walking freely around the campsite, we made sure we packed all our shoes (and babies) away for the night.

The rain that we left behind in Yulara caught up with us again overnight and the next morning we awoke with the Canyon shrouded in mist!! Walking the Canyon is pretty much all one does in this place so we decided we might as well pack our rain coats and if we got wet, we got wet (the campsite had working dryers!!)!. The walk started with a steep climb up the side of the Canyon to the plateaux above. With the promise of a lolly every 10 minutes again (a la the Kata Tjuta walk), Sean set a cracking pace, so much so that we often had to call him back or tell him to wait up whist us older folk (I am 40 now!!) caught up. The views from the Canyon rim were as stunning as we were hoping for and to top it all off, the cloud that was threatening rain earlier in the morning was starting to clear. We finished the walk in blazing sunshine (although it was still quite cool from the wind) and we went back to camp for a relaxing afternoon of free time, satisfied that we had ticked off another “must do” from our list.
Postscript
Last night was cold, I mean real cold!! The drive from Kings Canyon to Alice Springs was to be our longest one day drive of the trip so far (470km) so I was keen to get moving early. Of all the nights for it to drop below freezing, minus 2 to be exact, last night had to be it. We were on an unpowered site so we had no heater and to top it off, there was a thick frost over everything which made it extremely unpleasant on the hands when it came to rolling the awnings up!! I think I preferred the rain!!

Uluru

Our next destination, Uluru (Ayres Rock in white man’s talk), was one we were all really excited about getting to. We broke our trip with an overnight stay at a road side rest stop on the SA-NT border (a welcome free night’s accommodation!!). Seeing Uluru for the first time is one of those genuine “wow” moments. Driving along the Lasseter Highway, it appeared before us as we rounded some sand dunes and although it was still quite some distance away, you could tell it was big.

After setting up camp at the Yulara Resort Campgrounds (the only place to stay within 100km of the National Park), we set off to watch the famous spectacle that is sunset over Uluru. It was truly magical to see the colours change and the Rock glow with a shimmering luminescence as the sun went down.

The next day (Thursday 9th), we joined a guided walk lead by one of the Park Rangers. The Mala Walk took us a short way around the base of Uluru and we were given a very brief insight into the aboriginal history of Uluru’s creation and aboriginal life as it was and how it is today – both the good and the not so good. In respect of the Anangu’s (traditional owner’s) wishes, we did not climb Uluru. We have heard that a new management plan for the National Park has been released for public comment and the big news is that it is proposing to close the climb – good on ‘em I reckon!!


Friday we were up before dawn to see the sunrise at the region’s other famous landmark – Kata Tjuta (formally known as the Olgas). It was a very cold morning and although not as spectacular as the sunset on Uluru, it was still a beautiful sight. After that we tackled the 7.4km Valley of the Winds Walk. The walk took us into the interior of Kata Tjuta and provided some stunning views of the steep sided dome formations. We kept the kids moving by agreeing to a lolly stop every 10 minutes. It’s a good thing they can’t judge time very well or else we would have run out of jelly babies!! Taking just over 3 hours to finish the walk, we couldn’t believe we were passing people who were starting it, during the hottest part of the day!! That afternoon we all took nanna naps to recharge our batteries.

After some more washing and van cleaning (we are there still finding dust!!) we spent our last day at Yulara visiting the Cultural Centre, taking a drive right around the Rock and a final short walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole – the only permanent waterhole at Uluru. Surprisingly there was a small amount of water still trickling off the Rock into the waterhole. We had a Happy Hour dinner at the sunset viewing area watching the free spectacle of nature doing its thing again. Tomorrow we pack up and move on to Kings Canyon.