All of us were deep in thought as we hit the road again. Our past few days had been an incredible rollercoaster and we needed time to stop and process it all. We therefore decided to push past the famous Litchfield National Park and go somewhere a little quieter. Now don't get me wrong, Litchfield is beautiful, but Jo and I had been before, and it is close and accessible to Darwin. Sometimes you just have to make the call to stop and let the dust settle.
The perfect place for a couple of nights to clear the head was Edith Falls. The falls are in the Nitmiluk National Park, just north of Katherine. A massive plunge pool with clear water was just the ticket to wash off the dust of the road. It also doubled as swimming lessons for the school diary.
Our rest day at Edith Falls started slowly with a good old fashioned sleep in. In fact it was the first time we had slept properly in days. We caught up on some school work, and I tinkered with a couple of little odd jobs that had been neglected for a while. It was lovely.
In fact we spent the whole day doing a whole heap of nothing. So much so we nearly missed Ranger Rod's slideshow that evening in the campground. Rod gave us an excellent run down on the area, and his talk was an brilliant way to conclude our day of rest.
The following morning we hit the road, for the short run into Katherine. It was time to shop, catch up on laundry and visit the library. We found the laundromat, and as we were starting the scrounge around for $1 coins, the laundry operator said they could do all our laundry for us, for the bargain price of $30 - washed, dried and folded. I couldn't say 'yes please' quick enough! It cost us just as much as doing it ourselves - and we didn't have to wait.
With laundry, and then soon thereafter fuel, food and water taken care of, it was time to check out the library. We found ourselves in a well resourced library and spent a good hour or so checking out what books the boys might like downloaded onto our Kindle Readers.
We went down the river for lunch at Knotts Crossing, but the area was filthy with litter all over the place. It was a shame as it had the potential to be stunning.
Knotts Crossing
After lunch we headed into Nitmiluk National Park - better known as Katherine Gorge, and checked into the campground. We made the most of the pool in the camping area before wandering down to the Information Centre. We booked canoes the following afternoon and returned to the campground.
We had been told that live music would be playing until 8pm around the pool. Sure enough the music started at 7pm, and it stopped at 8pm. With the boys tucked into bed, they were just settling down when the music started again, and didn't stop until 9.30pm. The boys were exhausted when finally they difted off to sleep.
We rose a little bleary eyed the next day, however settled into a relaxing morning around the camp, before wandering down to the boatshed for our afternoon on the water. We soon found ourselves paddling up the first gorge.
I imagined the gorge would have been narrower than the section we were in, but I guess you need to go further upstream for that. We did see towering sandstone cliffs, and some ancient rock art, which was wonderful.
On the way back downstream, the boys shared a canoe, leaving Mum and I to follow in their wake. When working together the boys were unstoppable, however the late night the previous evening caught up with them. Tensions were rife in the leading canoe, almost resulting in a mutiny and one boy ordering the other to take a long walk down a short plank. Thankfully the canoe depot came into view at just the right time!
Jo and I try to keep up with the boys
The area around the Visitors Centre is home to many delightful Wallabies, cheeky Bower Birds and thousands of Flying Foxes. It was incredible to see them all roosting in the trees by the water, but it wasn't the sort of place you could stay for long. Their aroma is not what one would call pleasant,
We retired back to camp and after an early dinner made it to bed in good time. The boys settled quickly after lights out - and Jo and I weren't too far behind them.
We bade farewell to Katherine Gorge the following morning and returned to town to get some last minute fresh food supplies. After double checking everything, we headed down the highway to Mataranka.
You may have heard of Elsey Station where Jeanie Gunn followed her husband in 1902. Sadly her husband died in 1903, and Jeanie returned to Melbourne where she wrote "We of the Never Never" about her time in the outback. This book is an incredible story - and well worth reading. Whilst the homestead described in her book has long since disappeared, a replica made for the movie can be explored at Mataranka Springs, not too far from its original site.
The replica Elsey Station
Most people visit Mataranka for the hot springs, not the historical homestead. We chose not to swim at Mataranka Springs, but instead headed to the nearby Bitter Springs. We found ourselves overlooking a delightful pool - and in no time at all we were immersed in the 32 degree water.
The water was crystal clear, and a gentle current took us downstream. The swim back to our entry point was good fun exercise for the day - although Mum chose the cool walk back over the warm swim!
The water at the springs in this region fell on the Barkly Tablelands over thousands of years. A porus limestone rock allows the water to move to fault lines where it bubbles to the surface. As such it is mineralised, hence its 'bitter' taste and name.
I had a bit of fun playing with the GoPro camera - and finally have worked out how to transfer the photos from the camera to my iPhone via wifi. This means that I can update the blog with photos from the GoPro without mucking around with a computer. So I am sitting here typing on a bluetooth keyboard connected to my phone, uploading this wirelessly to the web. It is simply unbelievable how easy this has made keeping a blog or journal of our travels.
We eventually dragged ourselves out of the pool and set up camp nearby in a nice shady caravan park. We managed to manoeuvre into a spot that meant we didn't have to disconnect (all the better for an early get away) - and soon had dinner on. It was the boy's turn to cook - and we were soon tucking into a salad, with fresh corn and pork chops... and they did a darn good job too.
We are now faced with a bit of a journey ahead of us. We would love to make it to Cape York before the wet season closes the roads north of Cairns. Time is ticking on, and so we are going to make a big push across the Gulf region. We hope to break the journey at Boodjamulla (or Lawn Hill) National Park for a few days. This road is called the Savannah Way, and we are looking forward to exploring its pleasures. Who knows what we might find!
Been following your posts (from the 4WD Chat forum) and enjoyed reading about it all.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great time - well done guys. You will never regret the time and money that this has taken.
Thanks Joe, it has certinally been one of the best decisions we have ever made. Thanks for your kind words.
DeleteCheers
Phil