Day 15
The day we:
- let Eric play golf this morning. He played with Geoff (a local) and Brian from the Tanami Gold Mine
- hunted down a new J-clip for the van and a new top for the pole carrier. Must remember to screw this one on more securely
- bumped into Rhonda Kissick (Cobram local) in the park reception and later met up with her, Nathan and Talitha at the Frontier Camel Farm
- visited the Mecca Date Farm then went back to the c'van park for lunch of date sandwiches
- travelled out to Ellery Creek Bighole in the West Macdonnells calling in at Flynn's Grave on the way. Found the waterhole cool and shady after the 80km trip, its 26 deg today, saw lots of rock wallabies. Returned to town visiting Standley Chasm with all its birdlife and Simpson's Gap (more rock wallabies) on the way.
- back at the park we met a couple who used to live at Boosey (just out of Cobram)
- Kissicks joined us after dinner so we spent the evening comparing tales of the trip so far and the kids played Yahtzee and UNO.
Day 16
The day we:
- awoke to see the escarpment shrouded in cloud, it's not cold but it has rained gently overnight
- drove to Araluen Art Centre to see 'The Desert Mob' exhibition, a rare collection of Aboriginal art from different tribes throughout the Centre and North including paintings , sculptures, dyed material, emu eggs, etc. Magnificent , and very lucky to see so many different styles all together. There is also a permanent Namatjira exhibition here
- visited Henk Guth's Gallery featuring the circular panorama
- had lunch back at the park then Eric and the boys climbed the escarpment and had false teeth lollies as a reward
- went out for dinner and early birthday treat for Eric, at a Turkish Restaurant. To help celebrate one of the belly dancers invited him up to dance with her, much to his embarrassment and our enjoyment
Day 17
The day we:
- left Alice Springs. Its been nice to relax in the same place for a few days. For the first time Libby will be travelling over new territory
- Crossed The Tropic of Capricorn
- called in for a beer at The Barrow Creek Pub. From the front it appears to be small but it turns out to be like a rabbit warren full to overflowing with relics and memorabilia. Wallpaper made up of paper money from all over the world. Legend has it that these signed notes on the wall will pay for a drink at the bar should the signatory ever return broke. There's no sign that actually states it but its quite obvious the whites are welcome inside and blacks will be served through the window of the courtyard
- passed through Wycliffe Well with its alien visitors demanding attention then Wauchope before eventually reaching Devil's Marbles
- camped in an excellent bush camp area just behind the Marbles; bbqs, pit toilets and shade. Surprised to have a Streets Icecream van pull into the camp. These Marbles were surprising, had never realised how extensive the outcrop was. Boys had a great afternoon climbing over, between and around the formations beside the camp until dark
- scavenged far and wide to collect firewood to cook tea and sit by while we stargazed
- went for a walk through the eerie landscape - the devil made me do it
- by nightfall 25-30 vans were parked in the area and a bus, very cosy
Day 18
The day we:
- celebrate Eric's birthday, and what does he get for his surprise? A flat tyre to change
- drove on to Tennant Creek where we discover it was the rim (the one damaged out of Pt Augusta) so bought a new one and we're away again
- listened to Eric's new cassette tape 'True Blue' by John Williamson
- called in to Threeways Roadhouse for a drink then Renner Springs for morning tea. Broke the trip again for supplies at Elliot and finished a long day's travelling at Daly Waters Pub. Like the last one, this pub is the centre of town. It sells beer, rents campsites, is the petrol outlet has a pool etc, etc
- set up in the shady campground, toilet/shower facilities are quaint but no complaints at $10 per family for a powered site
- met Mal and Sarah from Busselton who are working their way around the country, sat and chattered to them all afternoon by the pool while the boys swam and swam and swam
- ate at the beef and barra bbq the pub puts on, and then the owner Bruce got out his guitar and told a few jokes
- slept well until the pub closed its doors
Day 18
The day we
- were awoken by the insistent call of some unidentified bird at 6am (later discovered to be pied butcherbird)
- were amused to watch the occupants of an old station wagon come to life after a long night at the pub. Six emerged - three crawled out of the back and three rolled off the roof apparently having slept the night up there
- heard all about Eric's interesting run; he had found Stuart's Marker Tree from an 1862 expedition to the top, the airstrip which was Australia's first international airport where Qantas stopped over on overseas trips in 1938 and the Daly Waters Golf Course which looked similar to Coober Pedy's track
- drove on to Mataranka, just 160kms today looking forward to Adrienne Penny's favourite spot in Australia, looking forward to a little piece of paradise
- were amased and disappointed to discover the place is devastated by 1000's of fruit bats, screaming creatures in the skies, smelly batshit all over the ground, some piece of paradise!
- initially booked for two nights but reduced it to one, caught up with Kissicks who are leaving so Nathan will camp with us tonight and we'll catch up again in Katherine
- swam briefly in the pools which flush clean , the flow is so strong and a pleasant 34deg. In the afternoon we enjoyed Stevie's Hole on the Roper Creek just a short walk from the pools. Had a great afternoon, had trouble getting the boys out
- let the boys go back to the hot springs where they watched fascinated as a water python caught a bat and swallowed it. Great excitement, glad I wasn't there
- had dinner in the van and then were entertained by a country rock singer in the cafe/bar
Day 20
The day we:
- went to sleep last night to the sound of screaming bats and have woken this morning to the same sound, have had enough, we're off
- packed while Eric went for his run, finished and he's still not back. Should we worry, no he's probably talking. He did eventually turn up after doing about 12kms but having planned to only do 5kms, seems he got lost.
- decided to fill the van's water tank just before departure but unbeknown to us the internal hose connection had come adrift and the 4 buckets of water instead flooded the cupboard and then the floor. Meanwhile, three boys were in there playing UNO and didn't notice. Libby 'lost it'. Eric returned in time to help clean up but I wish he hadn't used my bath towel as the mop
- arrived at Katherine without further incident, got one of the last sites in the town at Riverview C'van Pk just behind the thermal pools, fantastic, just as we'd expected at Mataranka
- explored the pool all the way to the source: so clear and flow so strong
- basically spent the whole day in the water
- bbqed in the camp kitchen and shared the evening with a couple from Jersay and a fellow from Gembrook
- cracked the Verdello
Day 21
The day we:
- went with the Kissicks to Nitmiluk National Park, better known as Katherine Gorge. A glorious day forecast 30deg
- couldn't all fit in canoes so settled on a cruise in the afternoon. Spent the rest of the time swimming and birdwatching. Saw bee-eaters, bowerbirds, blue-winged kookaburras and blue-eyed honeyeaters to name a few. Checked out the information centre
- enjoyed the cruise up the 1st and 2nd gorges and return, didn't see any crocodiles just the tracks where they'd been on the preferred nesting beaches. Rhonda met with a snake on our return, too close for comfort
- watched Luke master the back dive under Libby's instructions
- returned to the park and decided to try catching the famed barra. Spent the next 3/4hr rigging up lines then headed to the riverbank. Luke had 3 casts then snagged his lure which we couldn't recover. Adrian accused everything but himself of being useless then snagged his line in treetops. Talitha's line never did work and Nathan was too busy trying to rescue Luke's lure to ever get to cast his. After 10 mins Libby toiled back up the hill to the park with 4 rods, tackle box, bucket and sundry items while the anglers went swimming at the hot springs. No fish and chips tonight
- enjoyed Katherine so much we booked in for another night
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