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The Long Road Home

June - November 2021
Travelling the Outback with ute and caravan Read more
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  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
    Day 32

    Mataranka

    July 28, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Left Dunmarra early for a small 200km drive north. Temperature increased. We could tell the humidity was out there as there was a haze. We stopped at an old WW2 hospital site. The air had a tropical smell to it. The hospital site has fallen back to regenerated bush so there was no sign of it being there. We passed 2 more WW2 airstrips as well. Looks like nature has reclaimed them. As we travel we will learn more about the war history up this way as Darwin was bombed by the Japanese so a lot of infrastructure was set up inland.

    We tried to book a site at Bitter Springs campground but was told to be there early as its first in. So we were waiting in a small queue at 10.20am and have a site for 2 nights. Shaded woodland camp near the Springs. Thanks again to Annette and Shane for the recommendation.
    As we arrived there was chatter on the UHF radio talking about a "handbag" having been located at the springs. Turns out the Springs are now closed due to a crocodile wanting to bathe there. The guy at the camp says it was just a smaller one (about 6 foot). What! 6 foot is about 5 feet too big for me. And this is where we discuss the difference between "freshies" and "salties". This was a chat to us wide-eyed kiwis at the Bash a few weeks back. Apparently "freshies" are not partial to eating people. Honestly....... if I saw any croc I wouldn’t be dipping my toes.
    Anyway the rangers are down at the Springs with a trap to hopefully catch and re-house.

    As the local springs are closed we travelled to Mataranka Springs and had a dip there with a hundred others. All very safe. Maybe like a sushi train for a croc! The water was very warm so we stayed in for around 45 minutes then did a walk on a 2.4km return track. Temperature hit 34 by then so any thought of feeling refreshed after that was slim.

    Back to the caravan for a well deserved beer and cider, then showers in the "rustic" ablutions. I shared my shower with a frog and Julie is looking forward to tomorrow's shower in the caravan.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
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    Day 33

    Handbag yet to be found

    July 29, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Bitter Springs is still closed today but the rangers are trying to locate the missing handbag. Traps are set presumably and we have seen the rangers entering the area. So we went back to Mataranka Springs for another hour soaking up the clear 34 degree water.

    With the air temperature also at 34 there isn't much respite from the heat but I'm sure we will get more acclimatised in the next few weeks. We did give the caravan aircon a blast last night before bed and the overnight temperature dropped to a pleasant 17 degrees. Thought we would sample the town life this morning so strolled along the main street, into the supermarket, past the pub, museum closed then a coffee from the Servo. That took an hour or so.....

    There was a kiwi connection to Mataranka. The guy who named the town lived in NZ for a time and named it like a Maori placename. Except it only sounds like a Maori name. There is no place in NZ with that name.

    We also walked the botanical walk in the national park learning what a lot of the flora was used for by aborigine. This culture is very aware of keeping the land self-sustaining so they can return and find more of the same food supplies every year.
    We have acquired a few hundred ants in the caravan. Once I tracked and sprayed them we may be ok for the night. This won't be the last time. We did see some people have spread salt around each of their caravans contact points on the ground. We will keep that in mind if our 6 month insecticide fails.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
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    Day 34

    Katherine

    July 30, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Short distance to drive today - a fraction over 100km. Bitter Springs was still closed this morning so it will have to wait until our return trip. We had a quick stop at Cutta Cutta caves, which are a series of limestone caves. We decided not to do the tour today.

    Katherine is the fourth largest town in the NT but it’s population is less than 10 000. There is a large defence base and a bit of a government department hub. Regan has always noticed the jobs available in Katherine which he used to tempt me with. After an extensive walk around the town in 36 degrees we weren’t quite so keen.

    Katherine is a tourist hotspot as people head into Kakadu and Lichfield from here. Our first stop was a caravan parts store as our plumbing challenges seem to have returned. The lady in the store was excellent and had everything we needed. We of course bought spares as we think we might need them 😂.

    Next stop was the tourist info centre to get some ideas and to book a boat trip up the Katherine Gorge. The tour we wanted was not available until Monday so we will need to stay an extra night. I hit the shops looking for some lighter clothes and thankfully the Vinnies provided what I needed, there wasn’t much of a choice otherwise.

    When we arrived at the camping ground I was able to book an extra night so no travelling for 4 nights - our longest stop so far. The camp is large and full. It has a swimming pool and it’s about 400m from another natural spring. We opted for the pool today and will do the springs tomorrow. I thought we were leaving the red dust behind but this site is the dustiest one yet. At least the showers are private. Regan shared both days showers with frogs while at Mataranka.

    We are still struggling with the heat but is is lovely to have dinner outside in shorts and singlets. Tomorrow is a bike ride along the river before the heat of the day, a trip to the thermal springs and night markets for dinner.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
    Day 35

    Katherine Day2

    July 31, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Our second day in Katherine greeted us with the same heat as yesterday. We can see why people flock here in the dry season as each day is the same weather. Hot and dry. An early start before the heat with a quick plumbing repair on the caravan then onto the bikes for a circuit along the river trail. Julie copped a puncture so a quick pump of the tyre then home fast to repair. By then the temperature was 31 so time to relax and read a book.

    We wandered down to Katherine Springs which is only about 400 metres from the camp and lazed in the warm water for an hour or so before heading into town for an iced coffee/chocolate. Sadly the only place open was Maccas but they had aircon and good cold drinks for us.
    We stopped into the bottle shop to top up on wine etc. In NT there are always police at the bottle shops checking IDs and today even asked us where we were staying. Then when we buy alcohol the sales guy also scans our drivers licence. There are definitely strict rules on alcohol sales up this way.

    We were told that there are evening markets tonight so we headed back into town for some food. The markets were quite small but we managed to have some food and sat and ate with about 50 flies annoying us. The bushflies are still here!
    Back to the caravan for some aircon to help cool us a bit.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
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    Day 36

    Katherine Day3

    August 1, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Still hot and no wind to give us relief.
    We got on our bikes again and reversed yesterday's trip. No puncture today. Sun was fierce.
    Decided that aircon was welcome so lunch in a town cafe then a supermarket shop. The day disappeared fast after a swim at the Springs then a zoom chat with kiwi friends.
    Our plans ahead changed this morning when an email arrived confirming the booking we made at a Darwin caravan park early last year. Due to covid I requested that the booking gets postponed for 12 months. Well that is this Tuesday for the rest of the week. Accommodation in Darwin is nearly impossible from what we understand so we have decided to head straight through to Darwin and take up our booking made 18 months ago.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
    Day 37

    Katherine Gorge

    August 2, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    Early start this morning as we had to check in for our boat trip at 8:30am at the Gorge which is 30 mins from the camp. As we walked down to the boat jetty we were hit with a very unusual smell. Looking up we could see thousands of bats in the trees. They were all settling down to sleep for the day so lots of noise and wing flapping. They are quite abusive to each other as they jostle for hanging room.

    Our trip covered the first 3 of the 13 gorges and was for 4 hours including a swim. There were close to 50 people in our group and we were given a bottle of water, muffin, a biscuit and an apple before we left. The tours are run by the local Jawoyn people who own the land and boats. Our skipper provided a running commentary about the people, their history, the gorge as well as the native flora and fauna. He was so knowledgeable and delivered it in a very interesting way.

    We cruised up the first gorge and then had to change boats for the second gorge. The walk in between was about 600m with a large number of rock paintings to look at on the way. The second gorge was half the width of the first gorge with the towering cliffs on either side. Again a boat change which was much shorter then into the third gorge. We sat at the front of the boat so had fabulous views.. This gorge was much shorter so only 15 mins to the end. It ended with some seriously large rocks blocking the entrance to the 4th gorge.

    We made our way back to the second gorge where we swam for about an hour. So good to be able to cool off in the water in the most amazing landscapes. The air temperature in the gorge was slightly cooler which gave us pleasant respite. We were back at the dock bang on 1pm. As we were arriving our guide told us that if we had visited last week we would have seen way more bats as 75% of them had already moved on.

    As it was a public holiday in the NT (Picnic Day) there was nothing open so it was a quiet afternoon at the camp with a late afternoon swim at the spring. Ready to move on tomorrow to Darwin which is only a little over 300km away. Temperature should drop a few degrees and humidity will increase.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
    Day 38

    Into Darwin

    August 3, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Made the most of the cooler morning and had a walk before breakfast and packing up. Knowing we will be in the car for a few hours in 30 plus temperatures was a good incentive. Hit the road just before 10am for the trip north to the coast. We started seeing clouds late morning which we realised we hadn't seen for weeks in the desert areas. The humidity rose from 20% to 60% but the temperature dropped to about 32 degrees.

    First stop was Pine Creek which is a small historical village with a railway museum. It was a tidy little town. Thousands of bats there too.
    Lunch stop was the Adelaide River hotel for lunch. The food was recommended and didn’t disappoint. However we chose to eat outside which the bushflies were very appreciative of so shared our burgers.

    Just a little over an hour later we were on dual carriageway on the outskirts of Darwin. Having multiple lanes is so much easier on everyone as the speed limit of 130km/hr is never reached with a caravan so lots of cars overtaking freely.

    Camp tonight is at Discovery near the airport. No dust and 2 swimming pools. Such a welcome change from the last week or so. We popped into the city for a couple of tasks and was amazed to see office workers in business clothes and mingling. Such a foreign thing for us to see as not only are we not working but we also have seen little office interactions for at least 18 months.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
    Day 40

    Humid Darwin

    August 5, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Managed to get a walk in before breakfast and the increasing heat. Julie hit the city shops including a hairdresser and Regan browsed Bunnings for yet more caravan repairs from stone damage. Lunch in a Cafe in the cbd which seemed to have biting bugs also dining out mainly on Julie. This will be ongoing so the insect repellent will need to be used more. A walk along Bicentennial Park in the city but not for long due to heat and humidity.

    Back to the camp for a swim to cool off then out to the Darwin Sailing Club for dinner and sunset. We had dinner there 4 years ago and is the most spectacular site on the beach . Lots of food and people. Finished off with a walk along the beach taking note not to go near the water due to the ever present crocs. There were children playing at the waters edge. 3 kids last time I counted......    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
    Day 40

    Mindil Beach

    August 5, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    And again.....warm and humid. We have adjusted our day to suit. An early morning walk, housekeeping, swim, then a few shops and supermarket to top up before we leave for Kakadu on Saturday. Lessons learned from yesterday with both of us suffering from midge bites. Insect repellent at the ready.

    The famous Mindil markets were open so we visited along with thousands of others. Quite a walk as the very large carpark was bursting and overflowing to any space that would fit a car was also packed. There were a lot of food stalls with plenty of choice. Laksa was definitely on our menu and finished off with cold coconut and mango shakes. Such a family atmosphere there and no alcohol sales.

    We then walked out onto Mindil Beach to hundreds more people all sitting and enjoying the slightly cooler breeze and sunset. Social distancing really didn't exist by the food stalls. So many people. It is so nice to have lovely warm evenings and freedom to attend events unlike our friends and family in VIC and NSW.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Long Road Home
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    Day 41

    Final Darwin day

    August 6, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    This morning we had breakfast before heading to Palm Creek for a walk. Palm Creek is located within Holmes Jungle Park which is a wildlife corridor to allow native animals to move safely across the Territory. Our walk was only 3 km but with a few crocodile warnings to keep the heart pumping.

    A few house keeping tasks, making new muesli (Regan), washing down the gazebo of all the dust and some more laundry. After a swim and lunch we headed to the museum. We had a couple of hours there, initially being freaked out by all the things that can kill you in the NT both on the land and the sea. I said to Regan I am not sure I will leave the caravan for the rest of the trip.

    We also spent a large amount time in the exhibition about Cyclone Tracy which occurred on Christmas Day 1974. I remember it very clearly as a child and it was incredible to see the devastation now I know a little bit of the city. The remote location of Darwin really emphasised how difficult the rebuilding must have been. Initially every rebuilt house had to have its own cyclone bunker. These regulations have since been relaxed. The information about the evacuation of over half the population was interesting- pic attached.

    Later in the afternoon we drove back up to East Point where we found a picnic spot overlooking the beach. We called our Danish friends who were supposed to be meeting us in Darwin this time last year. It was a little mean to be sitting there in the sun but it had to be done. Back to the caravan for supper of the delicious treats we bought last night at the market.    Read more

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