Katherine

KATHERINE

On our way into Katherine we stopped for fuel in Adelaide River.  There was a little market in town and the girls and I had a quick look while Brad filled up.  Sarah and Abi bought cute little ring and some jerky.  Brad has turned my lovely little girls this trip.  They are now pleading for red hot jerky everytime they see it.  And the HOTTER the better!!

It was a descent drive from Litchfield NP to Katherine and we were exhausted after we set up, we headed to the hot springs at the back of the Riverview Caravan Park.  The girls loved starting at the of top river and floated down the river to us.  We were all happy to have pizza for dinner.

The next day after doing all the washing, we headed out to Katherine Gorge and did a hike to the first lookout point. 

 

Next exploration was to Edith Falls.  It was another steep hike up (we wore our thongs!) and the view from the top was spectacular!!

We all hopped in and swam around it was a little cold but you couldn’t help but jump in.  The girls were very excited about trying out their new snorkels. We checked out the campgrounds there and it would be a great little cheap campsite if you’re heading up north.

LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK

LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK

We were up early to get a start on the drive to Litchfield as we had heard there were limited camping sites at the good spots.  Our aim was to stay at Wangi Falls.  Fortunately there were still a few sites when we arrived.

Brad had been talking to another Expanda owner about their vans in Darwin and they were heading to Wangi Falls too.  Lucky for all, they had 2 girls aged 10 and 8.  Both families strolled down to look at the waterfall and the 5 girls chatted and giggled the whole way.  We went off to do our own thing and told the girls they could play together later.

 We headed out down a 4wd track, which to Brad’s delight, had a couple of river crossings.  At the second river crossing, he talked me into getting out of the car to video him crossing over again.  Just as I opened the door, a ** snake slivered past the car.  As you can imagine, my feet didn’t get out of the car!

We then arrived at Blyth Homestead, which was a run down old homestead which the Blyth family lived in sometime in the 1920s.  The doorways were all low, there were only 2 rooms and there were 14 children.  As we walked around, Abi moved quite quickly as she saw another snake and that was it for her.  She was ready to get back in the car.

On the drive back we spotted a large termite mound that we had to stop at for another Ranger photo LOL

As we go to the last river crossing heading out, Brad sweet talked me into another attempt at videoing the river crossing.  There was a big pullover area for me to stand in so I got out of the car and recorded the river crossing.

Once we got back to the campground, Brad and girls went swimming in Wangi falls.  Abi swam over the waterfall and went right under the waterfall.

Later that afternoon we caught up with the new family, Darryl, Raelene, Lucia and Chelsea and kicked back with a glass of wine and beer. The girls were having a great play and there was a lot of giggling going on.  The parents were so happy the girls were having fun that we stayed on for dinner and the kids all watched a movie.  They fed the kids and brought over a large barramundi for the parents.  It was delicious.

Next morning, our new friends were moving on so we invite Lucia and Chelsea over for breakfast while the parents packed up.  The 5 girls again just giggled away together.  Our girls are hoping to see them again very soon.

After we got organised, we headed to the Cascades for a bushwalk.  Again there were signs indicating that there were crocs in the area but it was open to visit.  The walk to the lower cascades was close to the water and seemed like a very good place for crocs to live so with that in mind, I was on edge.  I really have been pathetic on a number of occasions.  Brad took the lead and we powered through.

Once we made it up to the upper Cascades I could relax and enjoy the picturesque location.  However, Abi spotted another snake and she was the one on edge from there.  The walk down around the loop was very rocky and it was getting warm. So after a quick lunch of crumpets, we headed to Florence Falls.  Brad bought a lilo from the local shop so the girls could go deeper in the water and closer to the waterfall.

There were a lot of stairs down to the plunge pool at Florence Falls and there was a lot of rocks in water.  The girls hoped on their lilo and took in turns in going under the waterfall with Brad.  Abi said the water really hard.

After a relaxing swim the girls puddled around in the rockpools and then we hopped back in the car to another 4wd track to the Lost City.  It was a collection of rock formations that looked like city ruins.

That night we cooked up a big bbq and had an early night.

Darwin

DARWIN

We pulled into Darwin late afternoon and checked into the Freespirit Caravan Park.  Our site was right next to a few nomads who were all sitting together having happy hour drinks, they watched Brad pull into the spot and gave him a clap after he reversed the van on to our site with ease.

Brad was like a new toy, all the old guys came out to ask him about the van, his car, fuel consumption and over the next few days gave him tips on different things to do in Darwin. 

Our first morning we set out to go to the Military Museum at East Point.  This was something Brad was very interested in, he particularly wanted to find out more about the Japanese air raids on Darwin in WWII.  There were actually over 107 separate air raids by the Japanese across northern Australia from Cape York to Broome.  There was a little doco on the first raid on 19 February 1942 which was surreal and gave you goosebumps.  

After the museum, we explored the town and headed to the pier and to have lunch.  Abi and Paige begged for Oysters Kilpatrick (our girls have expensive tastes).

When we got back to Freespirit, Brad worked on the caravan.  It was getting hot so the only thing to do next is go to a waterpark.   We went to Leanyer Waterpark.  The waterparks are set up by the YMCA and free to attend.  The park had 3 waterslides that the girls were continuously going up and down, burning off some energy.

On the way back to the caravan park in peak hour traffic, there was a chemical spill on the highway so the 10 minute drive took us an hour.  We were going so slow I was able to hope out of the car, buy some barramundi from the roadside van and hope back in the car.  That night we checked out the bistro by the pool at the caravan park and as families were eating dinner by the pool, kids were still swimming away in the water.

Next morning was shopping morning.  We had a trip to Bunnings , the beautician and Woolworths to stock up on food for the next few days.  Then there was another trip to a waterpark.  This time at Palmerston.  The waterpark had racing slides.  I ate some concrete and made the trek up the stairs to have a got.  As expected, I hated it!  The girls went up and down the slide a hundred times. 

That night we went to the Mindil Night Market.  The market was packed.  There were so many different foods to select from.  Between us all we had curry, Mexican, spring rolls, satay sticks, mussel salad and of course, oysters Kilpatrick.  The girls all got a rainbow slurpee and everytime we had a slurp we got a brain freeze but the girls never did.

The market was right in front of the beach and just before sunset we went to sit on the beach with the other 5 thousand people.  Then headed back into the market for more food!  Highly recommend a night at the market for the food.  Girls got a little souvenir necklace.

KAKADU

KAKADU

We were on our way to Kakadu.  Brad was really looking forward to this part as it is an iconic Australian destination that he has always wanted to visit.  It is surprising how big it really is,  just sticking to the Kakadu highway it is over 400 kms.

Our first night was at Gunlom Falls.   It was a bumpy red dirt road in and at each river crossing there was signs to not swim as there were crocodiles in the area. 

At Gunlom Falls it was open to swim in both the plunge pool (although there was a sign saying there were freshwater crocs in the area)  and the infinity pool.  As crocodiles weren’t up the top of the falls, we opted to hike 1km up on a very rocky steep climb to the top.  It was very hot climbing up but you forgot  how hard the second you saw the view.  It was spectacular.  We all hopped in straight away.

At the top of the main waterfall there is a small cascade that falls into 3 or 4 rock pools to then roll off the edge to create the large waterfall down to the main pool/creek area.  This created the effect of an infinity pool up the top.  It was the perfect swimming hole (if you didn’t have to hike back down) with amazing views over Kakadu National Park.

That night as the sun began to set a herd of wild brumbies strolled past the campground on the other side of the creek.  It was like a scene from The Man from Snowy River.

Next morning we moved onto Cooinda Lodge in order to see more of what Kakadu had to offer.  We booked in for the next available Yellow Water Cruise, eager to see some saltwater crocodiles from the safety of a tour boat.

Out on the water, the view was so peaceful.  The guide was very informative and had an extensive knowledge of the wildlife and a love for the crocodile.  There were so many different bird varieties but we were on the look out for some of the big boys.  We saw a few small crocs and a larger female croc basking in the sun.  Then towards the end there was a large 3.5 meter croc hiding in the trees.  It was surprising to see the flock of about 50 ducks just wading right next to him and he didn’t even move.  Our guide was on the lookout for the big 5m croc in the area but unfortunately we didn’t get to find him.

  

The cruise was pricy but well worth it seeing the crocs in their natural habitat rather than in a farm (or out on our own).  The girls again were desperate to go for a swim so we spent the rest of the afternoon letting them tire themselves out at the lodge pool.

We were debating whether or not to head to Jim Jim Falls in the morning or do a tour of the rock paintings in Ubirr.  As reports that the road into Jim Jim Falls was rough we decided to go to the cultural centre and then Ubirr.

The Aboriginal rock paintings at Ubirr are regularly used as examples of Aboriginal art around the world.  The outdoor gallery is well worth the extra kms out past Jabiru not only are the paintings great to see, it is also the border into Arnhem land and from the top of the rocks is a great view across the land.

While driving in the national park there were a number of different types of wildlife.  We saw donkies, horses, a buffalo, lots of wallabies, eagles, roadkill and lots of burnt bushland.  The landscape was not what we expected.  It was quite dry and scrubby, rather than the plush mangrove, jungle Brad had imagined.

We drove into Jabiru which is a uranium mining town in Kakadu National Park, filled up on fuel and spotted a busy looking bakery.  We all had pies and cakes for lunch (Brad got a Kangaroo pie) then hopped back in the car to head to our next stop, Darwin.

Alice Springs to Devils Marbles

ALICE SPRINGS TO DEVILS MARBLES

Once we got to the caravan park the girls went straight to the playground and saw that there was a pancake popup shop in the park and begged to get a pancake – then wouldn’t share any with us!!

Our day in Alice Springs consisted of shopping, washing, caravan maintenance, the girls hiring go karts and a night out for dinner.  It was nice being able to kick back a little bit after a hectic 10 days on the road.

Next morning we headed for Devil’s Marbles.  Brad was racing all the grey nomads for a good spot at the campground.  Lucky we did because when we got there at 2pm it was ¾ full, but we tucked into a good spot.

Once we set up camp and had a pick plate lunch, we explored the marbles.  We all climbed to the top of one of the sections and the girls were loving the climbing.

We put on a fire and a few people came over for a drink and a chat.  Lucky we didn’t give dad back his spit fire pit J