Darwin

There is not much doubt as you travel up the Stuart Highway that the route was initially discovered by John McDouell Stuart - it took him a number of expeditions but he finally made it to Darwin and the road & rail followed his route.  Darwin, the northernmost point in my travels, rather apprehensive because on a map it looks pretty spread out, thus easy to get lost in (I worry a lot).  But with a trusty GPS, Oh Dear.  Mostly it's good, but on the odd occasion it tells you where to turn just after you pass the junction:  Other times it tells you just as you approach the street BEFORE your turn.  Sort of rattles you in a strange town.  But Darwin - it outdid itself!  It made me turn the street after, then tried to bring me along a service road that didn't exist.  I went back (on THE Stuart Hwy), turned left as instructed and it suddenly started screaming to do a U-turn:  I looked quickly at the huge sign in front of me & saw "Resort" and figured it brought me to the wrong place, I drove off to a safe place and pulled over as I decided to ring the caravan park for instructions.  Followed said instructions right back to the "Resort" sign, where I had to do the U-turn and yes-it was my destination after all - it is a resort catering to a range of accommodation including unpowered van sites.  I'm surprised the GPS didn't give me a cynical "Welcome to Darwin" message.

Two things you learn as soon as you arrive in Darwin (GPS bumpf not-with-standing):-

1.  Darwin was bombed during WWII, and

2.  Darwin was devastated by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. 

While you probably knew these two facts it is worth visiting the museums' excellent displays on these topics.  The Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is excellent, covering a broad range of topical NT art and history including a small dark room where you can hear an actual recording of Cyclone Tracy - an eerie experience to say the least.  Unfortunately no photos were allowed, I'd loved to have got a photo of Sweetheart, the great big crocodile they have on display there.  The Darwin Military Museum has an excellent animated film of the bombing of Darwin, as well as historical photos and stories of that time. 

Downtown Darwin is not unusual, provided you are used to seeing pubs with names like "The Ducks Nuts Pub".  A few historical buildings were restored but by and large it is post-1974.  The waterfront and pier were visited, an excellent place for lunch or dinner, with cool breezes and a great ocean view.  While many people were fishing off the pier, not many were catching fish.    Perhaps one's time could be better spent at the excellent wave pool, a great many kids certainly thought so.  I did dip a toe in as it were, in the Top End ocean, as they have an area kept free of crocs, stingers and other assorted unhealthy inhabitants of these waters. 

I toured the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels also, constructed at great expense but never really used.  After the tour I was talking to the operator, who stated it looked like a cold winter as it was already cold; meanwhile I'm soaked in perspiration, rather pleased with the news actually.  He went on to tell me in February people climb up the water towers & jump off rather than face the continuing heat & humidity.

This is now the northern most point in my travels, certainly a city worth visiting but too hot even in winter for this Norwegian to contemplate living here.

Litchfield NP

Jump ups, they are referred to.  In the broad, flat expanse are areas of land that arise up.  I am not sure if they have been lifted by previously folding, extrusion or?? of the earths crust or are in fact areas that haven't been eroded down to the level of the flats - the latter I think.  At any rate, Litchfield is described as an uplift with a large plateau dissected by rivers creating some great waterfalls and plunge pools (pools created by water plunging down in floods scooping out a pool).  They are great swimming holes - once the saltwater crocs (salties) are removed.  Along the creeks & rivers there is rainforest, which soon turns to scrub & euc as you get away from the water.  Some of the walks to the upper reaches pass through both types, and the walks can get quite rough in some places, especially the Cascades walk which follows the narrow river course over its many small cascades rather than one larger falls:  Two water monitors were seen in one of the small pools, a rarity according to the chap who happened to be there at the same time.  He does surveys to monitor the monitor lizards distribution as they are becoming scarce due to cane toads, which they eat and thus are poisoned.

I had a good swim in a couple of the plunge pools, certainly a popular activity of visitors & campers to the Park.  You can swim right under the waterfalls, against the current of course, so you don't stay there long before you wash down to calmer waters. 

There are also quite a few termite mounds in the area and would you guess - these termites eat grass.  There are magnetic termite mounds which are long & thin and face north to minimise the temp in the heat of the day while catching the sun early & late when it is cooler.  Then there are the huge cathedral termite mounds which are more round.  Don't know why they don't have to be long & thin facing north, but given these critters are small, blind, related more to cockroaches than ants and don't get out a lot, there are many unexplained issues with them. 

Tourist traffic is increasing.  On arrival at Litchfield, I planned to start at the far end at the Wangi Falls Campground, but it was full (it was only noon!) and numerous campers were circling around, hoping someone would move; they all looked very settled to me.  So I immediately set off for the Florence Falls Campground, where there were three spots left.  The spots were designated and quite large, so later in the day when I saw people circling and leaving, I stopped a family with a camper trailer and offered to share my spot, if they were happy.  They quickly accepted - "We've had a bad day" the chap said and very much appreciated the gesture.  They had two boys, about  & nine so there was a lot of activity and a fire both nights.  The third night I stayed at Wangi Falls and that evening there was a slideshow put on by Parks, which was very enjoyable.

Then on to Darwin.

Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk NP)

There are nine gorges in this section of the Katherine River, walking & hiking tracks covering much of them which - other than the 4.7 km loop up to a lookout and back to camp - too much for me.  So I booked the Breakfast Cruise at the helpful Information Centre.  This is an excellent cruise, a substantial breakfast and all the coffee you can drink!!  It starts at 0645, a bit dark early on for photos, however the views of the Gorges in the early light are terrific.  We boated across the two lower gorges while the sun was rising and while it all looks very beautiful, the light is too contrasty for good photos:  My theory is the air is very clear, free of dust & other particles, thus creating a great deal of contrast.  As they say, "You had to be there", and I was!

The sandstone here is more of an orange, not the deep red of the W MacDonnell's but the landforms are super, the water adds another element and they are spectacular in their own way.  The gorge is deep, the sides are very steep and in some areas undercut, providing caves, many the home of bats during the day; some of the passengers weren't overly excited by our venture into a couple of them.  The river flows year around, being fed from waters stored in the surrounding tablelands feeding springs that supply the water. 

We travelled up to the top of the first gorge while having breakfast, then walked to another boat that took us through the second gorge.  The walk between provided excellent views and photo ops as well.  The cruise takes about two hours and was certainly a great way to see Katherine Gorge.

Further north is Edith Falls, part of the same NP but a different river and a 100km drive from Katherine Gorge.  At the campground, water cascades down a small waterfall into a very popular and accessible swimming hole.  A walking track goes upriver to another waterhole - also a popular swimming hole - and loops around back to the campground.  This track was steep and rough in places and at the crossing up near the top swimming hole some infrastructure was being repaired/replaced after recent floods damaged footbridges and some of the track.

Two nites were spent at each camp before heading north to Litchfield NP.  The increase in tourist traffic is very noticeable so I have been getting into campsites as early as possible as they are tending to fill up later.  Earlier in Alice Springs I commented on the number of tourists and was told that as it was only just starting to get cold down south the season was only about to begin!  There are a surprising number of WA and QLD vehicles about as well, I guess it is the time of year to visit the Top End.

Swimming with the crocs!

Leaving Alice Springs marked the first art of my travels completed and setting forth now to the Top End to see the rest of the NT.  On the way I stooped two nights at The Devils Marbles - there is just something about that place!  The duty dingo was on duty, being photographed by all who passed thru.  While not on my list, everyone kept telling me Daly Waters is a 'Must Do!'.  As I headed north, there were greener parts in amongst the desert and the temperatures were warmer, in the range of 15-30 degrees C.  Down south, of course, the temperatures were cooling with winter setting in, resulting in tourist traffic increasing with the migration north.  Free camps were getting very crowded so as I had plenty of time, I would not travel far ensuring I got to the next stop early.  At Newcastle Waters Rest Area, I was informed that the town of Newcastle Waters was only a few km away, but was mainly a ghost town now.  I was also informed that the pub at Daly Waters is a 'must do' so added it to my list.

Newcastle Waters was indeed well watered and thus became an important waterhole on the stock routes when cattle were driven to market.  A few of the original buildings remained and were reasonably well preserved, if basic.  The pub was by far the biggest complex, including rooms (bunkhouse-type?), a dorm and associated amenities.  It wasn't hard to imagine a busy night when a few herds were being rested nearby for a few days and the stringers were 'washing off trail dust' in the traditional manner.  The nearby store was also interesting, having one wall constructed by laying beer bottles and mortaring them in place.  The waterhole itself is quite extensive and is very popular with a variety of birds.

Then on to Daly Waters Pub for the night, arriving early to get a good spot but the critters put me in the overflow park, my guess is because my van was small and would take a spot where a larger van could be fitted.  As not much 'overflow' developed, it was quiet, if a bit lonely.  Daly Waters was a stop on another stock route, however with improved roads and road trains, the percentage of cattle driven increased from 3% in 1956 to 95% in 1958.  Rather than go the way of Newcastle Waters, the pub at Daly Waters turned to tourism, featuring an original Outback Pub.  A caravan park was added, meals are very good and reasonable and an entertainer - Chilli - puts on a nightly performance.  Also, the decor has been left to, well, whatever you want to leave!  So there are signed bras and knickers hanging from the ceiling, photos, ID cards, caps & hats, shoulder patches, license plates, money of various denominations from an equally variety of countries...  You can spend quite a few hours checking out the items!  The feature meal is Beef & Barra, it is a good feed and there is an all you can eat salad bar.  Chilli starts at 7:30pm and goes non-stop for an hour and a half!  He tells stories, jokes and sings songs.  He grew up in the Outback, worked stock, spent time on the rodeo circuit and now entertains.  Now I tell people that Daly Waters is a 'Must Do!'.

My next stop was Elsey National Park, known as 'We of the Never Never' country, as it is the former property Jeannie Gunn wrote of in her book "We of the Never Never" in 1908.  It is a very pleasant campground on the Roper River, quite a surprise in itself as the drive up was pretty dry and suddenly here is a river 50m wide!  Apparently the water comes from storage in the Barkley Tablelands and comes up as springs through a fault in the vicinity.  It reputedly contains fish, including barramundi, can't prove it by me nor have I found anyone who has caught any, but it is great for swimming in (all the crocs are freshwater crocs and harmless apparently)!  It is a very peaceful relaxing Park so I booked in for a few extra nights.  I also went to the Elsey Homestead, a replica used in the movie "We of the Never Never"; they show the movie each day at noon so I watched it over a barra burger:  Note in the "Maluka's Bar" photo that the Jan 27, 1998 flood level was a few centimetres below the ceiling!  Can't say this life is tough but for some reason it is nice to just have a few days of nothing - washing clothes & tidying the van aren't quite 'nothing', but it is comforting knowing I am keeping on top of such chores.  From here it is on to Mataranka and Katherine.

A Week in Alice

There is much to see and do in Alice Springs, plus some domestic duties that the convenience of a caravan park is very handy and a bit of relative comfort was welcome.  The self guided walking tour of Alice shows the city as it is today, modern convenience but with a sense of history as well.  The Todd Street Mall is the centre and this is where I watched The Bang Tail Muster parade:  Apparently it used to be a cattle drive through the centre of town but now is a civic parade.  A Bang Tail Muster is actually a muster of cattle which are tallied by cropping the hair on their tail (thus the term 'bang tail') to show they've been counted:  As it takes a couple of years to regrow, they can tell which cattle have been previously tallied.  The name for the event has stuck, though cattle no longer parade through the main street.

A walk up Anzac Hill gives a good overview of the city and the surrounding ranges.  The Gap refers to the opening in the range made by the Todd River, through with the Stuart Highway and the Ghan Rail travel as well as other facilities such as The Overland Telegraph originally with its subsequent evolved communication infrastructure.  Being a city it has the required Coles, Woolworths, Harvey Norman, Repco and service station chains.

The Telegraph Station is the original Alice Springs station restored to show life as it was in its early days.  It provided communications of course, but also acted as a supply centre including distributing supplies to Aborigines, a school, as well as having children boarders and a social hub for travelers.   There are also local walks setting out from the station, one which goes along the foot of the ranges and if you are lucky, you can see some rock wallabies on the hillsides.

The School of the Air started in Alice Springs and has grown out to other areas from there.  The Alice Springs School serves 120 pupils, the furthest being 1200 km away.  They now use modern communications so when a new student joins, they are provided with a computer and satellite dish so they can actually see the teacher and other students.  They have 2-3 get-togethers a year in which they participate in sports events, learn to swim and socialise with other children.  A map of Australia with other countries overlaid give an idea of the size of Australia:  Also, for the Bicentennial in 1988 students made a quilt square which was then sewn into a large quilt, which is displayed at the School.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Women's Museum are very close to each other and give a good coverage of the respective background and contribution to improving Outback life:  The knowledge that essential health and emergency medical is now hours rather than weeks or months away is a very important factor for families.

The Desert Park gives an excellent example of the range of desert ecosystems in the broad area, as well as an excellent bird show!  It is amazing the subtle changes that create entirely unique ecosystems, as well as how complex something that at first glance a rather barren landscape can be. 

The Ghan and Transport Museums have excellent examples of how they have taken on the challenges presented by the Outback,  the Ghan of course providing a rail service right through the Centre, bringing goods within trucking distance of remote stations but not quite trucking as we know it over well constructed bitumen highways, but rather somehow managing to take a mechanical vehicle over tracks previously a challenge to bullock wagons.  One unique vehicle - the A.E.C Truck - was specifically developed in 1934 and is the first road train used in Australia.  It was a tractor and 3 trailers, eight driven wheels on the prime mover and each trailer had eight wheels.  The driver sat in an open seat next to the engine, with the radiator behind him, no doubt a hot, dusty and noisy job.  It had a payload of 40 tonnes.

Being back in civilisation also meant a 'pizza fix', which turned out to be easier said than done!  As I hadn't noticed any pizza shops, I scrolled through 'food' on my GPS, which actually has a separate section on pizza!  It listed at least six, of which four no longer exist, one was closed and the last was hard to spot driving, but the GPS homed in rather precisely!  So Rocky's Pizza & Fat Kebobs were more than happy to supply a large Italian pizza and very delicious it was (though a bit of overkill). 

I went to Trephina Gorge - Yeah, another spectacular natural feature, this one in the East MacDonnell Ranges with some terrific walks and stupendous views.  This was my last nite in the Red Centre, traveling the next day north to the Devils Marbles.

From Brisbane to Tennant Creek, around the Red Centre & down to Coober Pedy and back to Tennant Creek I have traveled some 6900 km in some 40 days.  I have stayed in caravan parks (powered site) 13 nights at an average cost of $21.30, Park camps 14 nights at an average cost of $3.60 and free camped 14 nites.  So to date 28 days at unpowered sites which help write off the costs of deep cycle batteries, regulator and solar panel, as well as providing extra flexibility in camping sites.  Here I must give full marks to the Northern Territory for their parks - they are great!  They provide the basics at a very reasonable cost and access world class natural features!  It is no wonder about 80% of the vehicles on the Stuart Highway are campers of one sort or another! 

From here it is on to Katharine and the north end of The Territory.

Meteorite Craters, Finke River and Painted Valley

Henbury Meteorite Craters

These craters are the result of a collision some 4,700 years ago.   Three main craters from 44 gal drum sized bits plus other smaller craters are clearly visible.  One larger crater is wetter for some reason, perhaps a fracture thru to the underground basin?  A very pleasant and peaceful setting, interesting to see and camping is allowed.

Finke River

Off the Stuart Highway there is a free camp site next to this river, which is the largest river in the Centre.  It starts in the W. MacDonnells at Glen Helen Gorge, where two rivers join to flow thru the Gorge and continues for some 690km to empty into Lake Eyre.  It is often dry, except for some waterholes, as are many of the streams and rivers in this part of Central Australia:  When in flood, however, it is a natural phenomena to be reckoned with.  I walked about a km down the riverbed, 1/2 km up into the surrounding plain and back to the campsite, coming across a disused cattle yard along the way. 

Rainbow Gorge

23 km of corrugated & dusty road, 4WD recommended but the Ranger assured me it was OK for my vehicle and worth the visit.  He is a knowledgeable gentleman and but for his information I'd have missed this beautiful spot.  It is one of the few areas where a layer of pure white sandstone can be seen.  A rugged, multicoloured ridge rises up from a claypan providing one more unique geological treasure.  Plans are being drawn up to provide more walking tracks and this involves consultation with the Aboriginal people as the area is a sacred site.

Hot Air Balloon Flight

At long last - after a couple of unsuccessful attempts over the years - an ambition fulfilled!  Why else would I be up at 0445 in 2 degree C temps?  We were picked up at our lodgings, driven to a potential take off point where they launched a small helium balloon to check winds:  Not good, so we drove off to another point, unloaded the balloon and commenced filling it with air - cold at first just to get it filled.  Then the burners are lit and slowly the balloon rises (but still anchored, to the bus actually).  We then pile into the basket and when ready (ie, after photos taken by ground crew), we slowly arise!  Rather noisy when the burners are alight but as well as helping the balloon to rise, it takes a bit of chill out of the air as well.  We then gently float over the ground, reaching 4,300 feet above sea level - about 2,000 feet above ground - at one stage. 

Everyone is busy snapping photos, cameras exchanged so couples/families can have group photos taken and a few roo are also spotted hopping about.  We watched the sun rise from the air which was pretty.  Nothing overly exciting, but then in a balloon 2,000 feet above the ground, well, that's a good thing:  Just gently drifting along watching the world go by.  It was all over flat ground, with the MacDonnell Ranges in the distance, like one other passenger I thought we'd be a bit closer.  Perhaps the mountains confuse the air currents to make it more exciting, or more likely, the insurance policy is exorbitant when you mention taking passengers over mountains. 

All too soon we landed - smooth landing - launched (literally!) ourselves out of the basket and helped fold & pack the balloon.  Then a glass of bubbly, breakfast and home again.  It was great to finally realise that ambition!  A few people commented they can now cross that off their bucket list:  I don't have a bucket list as such for fear of the implications when you cross off the last item!  Rather, the strategy of "OK, what else is there to do/see?".  So I am now another step closer to more new adventures, and The Northern Territory has plenty - saltwater crocs included, but I'll be careful in there territory.