Borroloola, Lorella Springs, Mataranka, Katherine, Adelaide River, Litchfield, Darwin

Links to both sets of photo's and exploreoz tracker.

Saturday 9^th August

Today we headed off towards Hells Gate Roadhouse. The track said it was around 70km of 4wd track but it was the best 4wd track we’d driven to date and I reckon we averaged around 60-70kph. While driving this track, we came across two 2wd cars going in the other direction. While the track was pretty good, there was one relatively deep river crossing which I think may have stopped these cars so we wondered how they were going to get on there. After finishing the track we were back onto the blacktop just before Doomadgee when we had our first, and hopefully only, flat tyre. We have two spares as well as a repair kit however looking at the gash it didn’t look like the repair kit would fix it so on with the spare. This is the first time we have had to use the highlift jack but it all went to plan. We arrived into Hells Gate and topped up on fuel and had an ice cream. We had thought about staying there however it wasn’t really far enough on our way to our next stop so we carried on for another 130km or so to a free camp beside the Calvert River. We did however cross over into the Northern Territories so had to take a photo of the border as it was the only State or Territory none of us had visited. One thing about this part of the world, they have brilliant sunsets. We took a couple of photos through the trees however they won’t really do them justice. After a quick spag bol it was time to hit the hay as there’s another big day of driving tomorrow.

Sunday 10^th August

Most days Richard has been checking under the trailer for any damage, the springs and the wheel bearings. This morning, the wheel bearings were a bit loose and being a good boy scout he did have some spares so thought he would change them at our next stop which was to be Butterfly Springs. However, some things just don’t go to plan as we found there is also something going wrong with CJ.

We got into Borroloola where we eventually decided to stay so we could change the trailer wheel bearings and check to see what the problem was on CJ.

The wheel bearings went without a hitch however try as he might Richard could just not find the problem with the car. It had just started a weird clonking noise (he thinks from the front right) and also pulling to the right and feeling a bit wallowy.

Anyway, managed to get blog uploaded and some of the pictures as well (although not published as yet) so not a bad night after all.

Unfortunately there was no pool at the (one and only) campground so the kids did what all kids do without a pool – played under the sprinkler for the afternoon!

Monday 11^th August

Richard tried to get hold of the NRMA however with no public phone and no Telstra phones with us he decided to head to the local mechanics. Talking with one of the guys there he said if there’s nothing obviously broken or cracked then we should be ok but also said to check the rear air bags.  Richard had done but thought he’d let the air out and put 20psi back in. This didn’t help at all but we decided to push on towards Butterfly Springs anyway. We had been thinking of going into Lorella Springs also which was a turn off before Butterfly Springs but had read and heard some not so good reports. The road in is 29km and while the first 6km were ok, the remaining 23 were not and were slow and painful being rough and corrugated. While the trailer handled it well, CJ ended up with the unusual clonk getting louder and more frequent.

We got into Lorella Springs to find we had to watch a video of the station which was quite interesting. The station is approx. one million acres and most people come in to camp at the base camp and then drive, walk, fly out to other destinations on the property. There are a number of gorges which have swimming holes that are river fed and a number of other swimming holes which are hot springs. The main camping area is like a island with a moat as they pump hot water from a spring on a nearby hill to a small creek which completely surrounds the “island”. You can swim in any part of this creek as it is around 30 degrees. You can also camp at some of the more remote spots and there is also a 30km stretch of beach which is part of the property however I think you need to take the chopper for that one. While it doesn’t seem too busy at the moment, there are many keen fishermen who come here with their boat/4wds or hire the chopper to fly them to more remote areas to catch that ever elusive big fish.

Anyway, while Trish and the kids took a swim in the hot springs, Richard took the spanners to CJ and tightened everything he could find, double checked for any breakages but still couldn’t find anything so joined in the swimming.

Happy hour runs around 5 til 6pm so from the hot pools it was to the bar to swap some stories with other folk. Beer is usually $8-9 but it’s a dollar cheaper at happy hour. Fuel is an astronomical $3/litre with a big sign apologising for the price and to only take as much as you might need to get to where you’re going!

Tuesday 12^th August

After recommendations from the office we headed out to Nannies Retreat. It’s about an hour and a half drive through some of the property and then a 1km walk. We arrived out there and found it was a lovely swimming hole. It was around 30 degrees outside but probably low 20s in the water which was very nice and refreshing. Some of the rock formations are amazing in this part of the world as you may see in the photos. There is also a cave which you can walk through and come out the other side. We stayed here for about 3 hours and sat in the sun and had lunch. Amazing to think NSW and Victoria are having snow!

We headed back to the campground surprisingly arriving just in time for happy hour and to swap some more stories. Even ran into a young couple from Oamaru who have been living in Aus for the last 3 years and are on their way to Darwin to look for work.

Wednesday 13^th August

This morning we headed out towards Mataranka however we thought we’d have a few stops along the way so might stop in at a free camp before getting there. Once we’d negotiated the 29km out from Lorella Springs, which took almost 45min because it was so rough, we had a short drive to Butterfly Springs. It was a nice little camping area and we were looking forward to having a swim in the water hole however the water looked a bit stagnant so we only had a short dip. On the right hand side of the pool though were some rocks which are home to thousands of butterflies. It is just amazing seeing all these on the rock walls and even more so when you disturb them and they all fly off. Once we’d left here the road got quite rough and corrugated and was slow and painful however we came across the graders at work and from then we more than doubled our speed to at least 90kph. We made the decision to push on right to Mataranka as the road then turns to asphalt which meant we could get in at a reasonable time rather than stop for a night before getting there. Once we’d set up the tent, we headed back into town for something to eat and to get some beer. Richard had a Mataranka Burger which he reckons is the best one so far. We then stopped in at the local pub (bottle shop closes early) for some take out beer. Richard went in by himself and reckons it was the roughest pub he’s ever been to. There were no tables and chairs and everyone in there was very drunk, so much so if that had been Sydney or Melbourne they would have been turfed out hours before. There weren’t that many people in their however he had to negotiate his way around the staggering people to get to the bar. Once at the bar there were 2 young white girls serving and he noticed one of them handing over 2 x 30 can packs of VB to one of the aboriginals who could barely stand. You hear about the alcohol problem in this part of the world but seeing that makes you think the republicans aren’t helping at all and are just after money.

Thursday 14^th August

Today we drove into town to see some Barramundi feeding at another campground. The fish there were around 1m long and have been trained to be fed by hand.  They are unable to be released into the wild again as they will not get their own food. Trish got into the water and fed one of the fish which don’t have teeth but rather eat the fish whole. We then had a very nice coffee and Mango smoothie with scones, cream and jam at the local Stockmans Cafe. There is also a small aboriginal art gallery here which was also very good.

We then headed out to the Mataranka Homestead Tourist Resort where they have a replica of the Elsey Station homestead which was used in the movie “We of the Never Never” which is an autobiography of a woman who married a man who was a partner in a cattle station on the Roper river and decided to move to the station with her husband. They play the movie every day at midday however while you could sort of understand what was going on, the sound was pretty bad and while there is a dedicated smoking area, it’s only separated by a painted line on the ground. We did manage to see it to the end. There are also hot pools here but while Richard was booking CJ in for a service in Darwin, Trish and the girls walked down and had a look and decided it was too busy and we’d be better going to the hot springs back near where we were camped.

The hot springs near our campground are called Bitter Springs and they are about a 10min walk from the campground. They are not really hot pools but a flowing creek so you can hop in at one point, float down to some steps, hop out, walk back and do it again. There are small turtles here but we didn’t manage to see any. The water is around 35 degrees which is very very nice.

Friday 15^th August

Today we had a short drive to Katherine so after a quick dip at Bitter Springs after packing up, we hit the road. We arrived into Katherine at around 1pm, dropped into the info centre and Woollies (was amazing to see such a large supermarket as we hadn’t seen one for a few weeks) then onto the Big 4 campground just outside Katherine. It was also nice to set the tent up on grass rather than rock or dirt and dust (or all three!)

We then had a swim in the pool, the first swim in a “normal” pool for weeks and it was a bit odd as it tasted of salt and wasn’t very warm at all. Happy hour was at 5 and we enjoyed a beer beside the pool before calling it a day.

Saturday 16^th August

Katherine has a community market on every Saturday so we headed there for breakfast. It was fairly small but did have an amount of fruit and vege, some good coffee and a selection of breakfast foods. After a bacon and egg sandwich we headed back to camp to hang out some washing before heading out to Katherine Gorge or Nitmiluk as the locals call it. There are 2 boat rides you can do, one which does the first two gorges and one which does the first three. Being on a bit of a budget we chose the 2 gorge option which was still $240 for all four of us. We would have liked to take the helicopter rides however these started at $99 for 9 minutes! The boat cruise was fantastic and the commentary was well polished and very funny. It’s about a 25min ride up to the first point where you get off and walk about 400m to get on another boat to cruise on up to the actual Katherine Gorge. The walls to the gorge are very high and impressive and Richard wonders what happens in the wet as some of the rocks must come down into the water. We did manage to see 3 fresh water crocodiles on the trip. You can also hire a canoe and paddle up and jump in for a swim.

We headed back to the campground to get the washing in and then headed off to the rodeo. Neither Trish nor Richard had been to a rodeo for around 30 years and things have become a lot more professional in that time, well, at least in Australia and probably in NZ too. The kids really enjoyed the whole show and the bull riding was the favourite event for the night. Richards phone ran out of battery about 5min prior to the Bledisloe game so had to wait until he returned to the campground to find out the score.

Sunday 17^th August

After packing up we headed north to Edith Falls. Emily has another cold and wasn’t feeling very well but we did manage to get in for a swim after a quick bite of lunch. The water wasn’t too bad, it can’t have been as Trish got in, and the view was very nice too. So, after an ice cream we hit the road again to Adelaide River and setting up camp on Mt Bundy Station which is a working cattle station of around 4,000 acres carrying around 1,000 head of stock. The cows are all Brahman and mainly go to live export to South East Asian countries. There are a number of horses here as well as a large Brahman bull called Nigel who loves bread. Most of the facilities here were built by American soldiers during WWII when they had to move south after all the bombing in Darwin. The Adelaide River area played a large role in WWII housing thousands of soldiers when they were evacuated during the bombing.

Every night at 5pm they have a “happy hour” around the campfire at Mt Bundy however it’s more of a meet and greet and swap some stories. There are around 30 odd people here and it was great cause both Trish and I felt very young amongst the grey nomads. Although, I do have to say we are quite envious of them being able to stay in one place for more than 3-4 days and not having to move on because they need to get home. Some folk we talked to work on the BDM principle, that is, they will only go home for births, deaths and marriages. Earlier in our travels we did come across a couple in their 70s who have not been home for 6 and a half years as the kids and grand kids prefer to come to them where the weather is nicer during winter.

Monday 18^th August

Today we headed towards Darwin as we had to see the service guy as well as get some fuel and groceries. It was around an hours drive but when we got there we found there were other things we needed to do also. Emily had run out of Flixotide (asthma preventer) and as it’s a prescription drug we had to go to the medical centre, see a doctor, then go to the chemist. One of the iPods had a shattered screen so we also had to drop that in for repair. Richard is still on the look out for a drivers side window control box but the only one the parts place had was almost $300 and he had seen them on eBay for around $60. On the way back to Adelaide River, we stopped into Crazy Acres which was advertised as having one of the best mango smoothies. They also make their own ice cream and while the banana flavour was nice, the lime one was a bit waxy and left an odd after taste. The mango smoothie however was the best we’ve had so far.

We then headed back to Adelaide River and checked out the War Cemetery. It has been extremely well maintained and looks very good. It’s such a sad memorial as there are over 400 headstones and a number of these are for unnamed people.

Tuesday 19^th August

We headed into Litchfield National Park today. First stop was the nearest town to the National park called Batchelor. When in the grocery shop, we saw the headline that someone had been eaten by a crocodile while fishing from a bridge on the Adelaide River. Of course this is the river we are staying near (not that near though) and there is a bridge in the Adelaide River township so we thought it odd we hadn’t seen anything. We had to buy the paper and found it was further downstream where there are tour operators who take boat loads of people up the river and hang bits of meat over the side so the crocs jump up for it. The last person to be taken had been taken somewhere in the NT and had been in a boat and had not been leaning over so there’s lots of talk about teaching the crocs to jump for their food.

Anyway, we then headed into the National park and stopped to check out some info on the two main termite mounds we see on the side of the road.  These are the magnetic and cathedral termite mounds.  There was also a photo opportunity beside a huge termite mound.

We then drove onto Buley’s Waterhole and had a wonderful swim. There are about 5 different pools in the rocks, some around 4-5m deep so you can easily dive in from the rocks beside them. While the water was coolish, it wasn’t too bad.

Next stop was Florence Falls, which had two routes down into the pool area, one just steps, and the other a 1.1km walk. We chose to head down the 135 steps on the way down and jumped into the pool with about 50 other people. You could swim out and then get behind the waterfall itself which was fun. The kids chose to walk back via the steps and Trish and Richard walked back via the alternate path. The alternate path was very nice and a lot of work had been put into it, we think to make it able to weather the monsoon season rather than having to rebuild it after every wet season.

It had been very hot there and after visiting The Lost City, a walk through many stacked rocks resembling a city, we headed back to Batchelor for a burger and fish and chips before driving back to our camp at Mt Bundy Station.

Wednesday 20^th August

Today we had a look at the Railway information in Adelaide River.  There was also a lot of information on the bombing of Darwin in WWII.  The volunteers had collected and displayed an amazing array of WWII and railway relics and Richard and Trish spent a good hour and a half wandering around.  It was very interesting to see the details on the role that Darwin and Adelaide River played in the war.  Adelaide River was used to farm the food that supplied the troops in Darwin.  It was also used as a recreation area for the troops and then later when Darwin was bombed was used as the hospital.

We headed back into Litchfield NP and visited Wangi Falls. It’s the largest of the falls in Litchfield which means there’s a lot more people and also a campground and cafe. We had a swim here and it was much easier to get in and out as there were steps down to a large sand bank rather than the rock climbing we had to do to get into Florence Falls. You could also sit under the waterfall however it was like needles into your head and shoulders. Once again, we hit the road after an ice cream heading towards Darwin. We did have to negotiate about 20km of gravel corrugations which we hadn’t missed at all. We arrived into the Free Spirit campground in Holtze which is enormous and possibly the largest campground we’ve visited so far. While having dinner, there were about 8 fighter jets flying laps above us. It was very loud but thankfully it stopped about 8 so we could all get to sleep.

Thursday 21^st August

Today Richard had to drop CJ in for a service and have a few things repaired so we decided we’d have a catch up day on the washing, photos, swimming, blog and organising other things we need to do tomorrow.  That afternoon we headed into Darwin for dinner at the Mindil markets.  These are held twice a week and feature mostly food stalls.  Everyone goes down to the beach to watch the sun set (it was pretty nice), then go back up to get dinner.  We wandered around, trying different foods – Richard had a crocodile hamburger (tough), and a bit of shopping..