Bert’s Loop

A 552-day adventure by Regina and Ian Read more

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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Three in a free camp
March 4, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Mum hasn’t be camping since BC (before children. That’s her children, so it was a while ago) back then it was a canvas tent slung out the back of the ‘27 Chev. She loved our spot by the Murrumbidgee near Balranald at Mamanga Campground Yanga National Park.
It had only just reopened in the last couple of days after floodwater subsided. This was just your normal Murrumbidgee flooding. Nothing like the East Coast is experiencing right now.
Down the road a little we visited the Yanga Homestead which is now a museum after the pastoral lease was sold back to the government and the land converted into a National park. Ad a grand old property it must have been.Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Hay Plain crossing
March 4, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
50 greatest hits by André. This was our soundtrack for the westbound crossing of the Hay Plain.
I have never voluntarily spun an Andre sonata, but at times it was strangely fitting for the environment.

Thanks for that experience Mum.Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Broken Hill.
March 5, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
They found silver here. There wasn’t any water, but they came anyway.
A town with a history of struggles and boom. Home to militants and artists. A place in which to hide or explore. An environment that was very poorly treated by pastoralists and miners alike and is still recovering.

So many pubs - past and present
So many art galleries including one with 3 stories of Pro Hart’s works.
So many holes in the ground including the Day Dream Mine at Silverton where we did an underground tour with Mum, earning here the status of the oldest person to ever complete it. In places it was very rough, very steep and very low.

Funny feature #1. Terrible internet service. Why is it so. In W.A. the strength of the internet informs that you are near a mining town.
Funny feature #2. We are in NSW but on S.A. Time zone and phone area codes.Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Barindji Country
March 13, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Our North-South run down the eastern side of the Darling River was in the Barindji speaking country. The tribal groups of Barkandji/Paakantyi, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa people are custodians, with some significant responsibility for the care of World Heritage, Mungo. Home of the remains of Mungo Lady and Mungo Man who died on the Eastern side of the 5 connected Willandra Lakes some 40,000 years ago. Mungo Man was 6 feet tall when he died at 58 years old. It’s amazing to think that Aboriginal people were living here, 10,000 years before the first human beings left Africa for Europe. Imagine the quality of Mungo man’s diet for an ancient person to have such a physical status and long life. Imagine also the changes that their descendants have seen in this area during continuous habitation including the drying of the lakes from about 18,000 years ago. Indigenous habitation was effectively ended after just 100 years of European habitation, with over-grazing making the environment uninhabitable, and policies that favoured the pastoralists and excluded and dispossessed the original inhabitants.
It is a surreal and beautiful desert landscape.
The Mungo Main Camp campground emptied in a hell of a hurry when a huge electrical thunderstorm moved in during the early hours because the roads here close when it rains as they get so chopped up it makes them impassable. Fines starting at $2,500 make compliance easy.
Further south the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin are all running near capacity so camping on the banks is very pleasant. Unless of course it rains again like it did while we were free camping near Coomealla, down one of those clay mud roads encouraging a quick midnight relocation to avoid an enforced, extended stay.
The amenity of the Murray area is demonstrated by the high number of villages in close proximity along the banks. The hub is Mildura and a nice town it is, with lots of bars and restaurants. Must be the Mediterranean influence of some of the early settlers.
We have an appointment with an auto-electrician before we head of, so some time available to see some of the local sites.Read more
Hope you leave the rain behind when you leave! Also I hope you are eating some of the last KP Mangos of the season. They are grown in the Mildura region for some reason. [Scott]
3/16/22Reply
TravelerWe will keep our eyes open for the Big Mango. 🥭
3/17/22Reply
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Anabranch
March 17, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
I didn’t know what it meant either.
Out here in Sunraysia, it refers to the 460 kilometers of The Great Darling Anabranch.
Now that we know what it is, it is fun to understand the connections we have made with it. Our second encounter, at its source was in the Kinchega N.P. where it leaves the Darling’s main flow, we saw water being released from the Menindee Lake system (Lake Cawndilla) at a very vigorous rate. This is the release referenced in the news article attached. We made our first connection when we crossed the Anabranch whilst northbound toward Broken Hill a few weeks back. Today while moving to Fort Courage, we crossed it again just before it emptied into the Murray, slightly west of the Darling River junction with the Murray at Wentworth.
It is uplifting to see the life coming to the land with the extra water.

https://www.awe.gov.au/water/cewo/catchment/low…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Darling_Ana…Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Murray to Clare Valley
March 20, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
West-north-west across the Mighty Murray River and its’ vast plains. They are simultaneously featureless with stunning vistas. In the distance the Flinders Ranges ripple the horizon. As weget closer they grow and bring changes. The range is a continuous line from the south on the Fleuiure Peninsular all the way into the Strzelecki Desert out near the NSW and Qld borders. We will follow the range for a week to Wilpena Pound and then back-track a little to avoid the Oodnadatta Track for the leg into the N.T. on the Stuart Hwy.
We arrive in Burra and stay for free in a paddock out the back of the Burra Bon Hotel (just buy a few beers). The range here is Called Mount Lofty Range. The Ranges bring the changes.
Look at the maps; the satellite shows the hues have changed from reds to greens; google displays more closely located town names; the toppo shows the alignment and the elevation of the range after the expanse of floodplains; the land use is so different, from massive cropping (who uses all these grapes?), through sparse pastoral, to here in Burra which had a very focused mining history.
For a while (1860-1890) the largest mine in the Southern Hemisphere, it was producing 5% of the worlds copper. It was a wealthy area. It shows in the quality of the buildings that remain. So many beautiful houses from the 1800’s.
We did a self guided tour that provides a key to get you into some well maintained or restored mining, administrative, commercial and domestic sites.Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Action Packed Clare Valley.
March 22, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Rise with the sun. Not a proper achievement because sunrise is not that early, but it was beautiful.
Pack and hit the road.
First stop. The Midnight Oil house. Think Diesel and Dust.
Move into the very lovely Clare were the Visitor Info Centre lady said “you must cycle the Riesling Trail!” So we did. It’s a 52 k length rail trail with beautifully hard packed gravel surface, and plenty to see along the way and several Cellar Doors. Actually there was 6 outlets just in Auburn which was our turnaround at the 25k point. A slight miscalculation here, when we purchased 2 bottles and had to lug them home.
We will now camp off-grid for a few day, so a supermarket visit was required. Good thing we got some wine!
Now it’s off to White Cliffs for the night. It a gorgeous creek side camp located precisely in the middle of nowhere, where there are 2 other campers who seem to have no interest in parking-up to take in the creek outlook.
Now Regina is making Mushroom Risotto.
Happy day!Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Wilpena Pound
March 23, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
We can always rely on Regina for a great quote. “Everywhere you look - it’s so beautiful”. And rightly so. Mother Nature has been crafting it for million of years.

Our camp site is at the end of a fairly sketchy 4x4 track at the head of Brachina Gorge. It feels like we are in a Namatjira painting. The gums are massive, ancient, white, gnarled. Small forests of White Cypress scattered about. Meadows of low grassland. So many colours. Interruptions by the folded rock formations that lay at bizarre angles and rise to 1110m above the surrounding plains at just 200m. The rocks introduce new colours of pink, orange, white, ochre and grey, laid bare on the surface by folding like so much play-dough.

We cycled Brachina Gorge, every tuning along the mostly dry river bed a new delight. An information board at a lookout providing context of the slice through 120million years and a 9k deep seabed deposition turned on it side for all to see.
Fauna is front and centre. Close encounters with Mallee Ringneck Parrot, Euro and a Yellow-Footed Wallaby, Red and Grey Kangaroo, and many unidentified lizards.

Birthday Dinner under the stars of Roasted Vegetable Pasta, a very tasty Taylor’s Shiraz, Lemon Meringue Pie (with a candle), and a hand made chocolate from the eccentric little Chocolatier in Laura.

A tour with Mick, an Aboriginal Elder, into a restricted site was fascinating. A bonus is that his degree at Uni was in Anthropology. The discussions were certainly multi-dimensional.

Too soon - it’s time to go.Read more
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Unnamed Salt Lake ex Coober Pedy.
March 27, 2022 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 15 °C
Free camp on the side of the Stuart Hwy.
Isolated from the highway so nice and quiet with uninterrupted sunset and sunrise.

John McDouall Stuart is the celebrated explorer who pushed his way from port Augusta all the way to to top end. He found the experience so exhilarating he promptly turned around and went all the way back. He was renowned for peerless planing and management of the project and good treatment of his team. In fact unlike many other explorers he never lost a single man.
His efforts lead to the Aust Overland Telegraph and the Stuart Highway following his route.
The terrain through here - well, it’s not a postcard. I can imaging the conversation between Wee John and his team. (Using your best Robin Williams Scottish accent) “Ooch Laddies. Isn’ this a bonnie country? This trip will be a jolly knees up!”
It is certainly stunning in its sparseness and the salt lakes are a mighty impressive sight.Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Coober Pedy
March 27, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
The town of Coober Pedy is a little dog eared. Water is very short supply so there are no green gardens.
The Serbian Church is a highlight. A cool tranquil beautiful chapel built into the rock of the hillside. The rock itself is an artwork, with beautiful veins of colour.
Outside the town the desert is so colourful it takes you buy surprise. Not many greens in the palette but colourful indeed.
The presence of man (miners) while making an interesting impression is not beautiful. The miners are bipedal ants piling dirt outside their burrows.Read more
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Marla
March 29, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Inconvenient place to put a state/territory border, especially with restrictions on taking fruit and veg across the line. Doubly so with vegetarians on board who plan on free camping with no access to supermarkets for top up of supplies (or shops of any sort really).

However we did find Tula Art Gallery.

Did we miss a bargain?Read more
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Alice Springs - first visit
April 1, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Our first visit the The Alice was almost by accident. The original plan was to fill in a few days as we slowly made our way to Uluṟu. Call us soft, but the flies were killing us so we decided to detour via Alice to stock up and do some maintenance tasks.
Great opportunity to see some good Art Galleries, and find a bike shop to by new tyres and thorn resistant tubes. Cycling along the Todd River was fun. The Mega Fauna Museum was so cool. They have a fossilised skeleton of a Precestor to ducks and Turkeys that was 3m tall and 370kg. It’s egg was bigger than my head.

Coming up:
- Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa.
- Visit #2 in Alice to do a first aid course as prerequisite to starting our first of 2 Camp Host engagements for NT National Parks.
- camp Host at Palm Valley, in Finke River National Park. Who knows what that will be like? We will let you know in 3 weeks.
- Visit #3 to Alice will be after Palm Valley and be sure it will be somewhere with big shower roses and good water pressure.Read more
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Uluru
April 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Welcoming Izzy to our travelling party, who was excitedly collected from the airport after much anticipation.
The rock really deserves to own your attention. It really did. We got up super early and watched the sun rise on it during a tour of the Field Of Lights. We sat on the roof of the car drinking beer while the sun went down. We walked the base with an Aboriginal guide talked about his culture. We cycled a lap of Uluṟu. We spent time in the Cultural Centre and art galleries.
We also visited Uluṟu’s big/little sisters - the Olgas - Kata Tjuṯa. More remote, less visited, but no less beautiful or interesting.
All of these activities require a bit of coming and going. Guess what? Everyone else here has the same aspirations. The Alice Springs Resort has a Campground, and several accommodation options, and is the only place you can stay within the N.P. Subsequently it is NOT the quietest place we have stayed.Read more
TravelerJust saw a glimpse on TV of the Parrtjima festival of lights in Alice Springs: I’m sure you know about it! Looks fabulous!
4/8/22Reply
TravelerShould be great Jen! Will keep you posted. xx
4/9/22Reply
TravelerBringing back some great memories. It's been a while since we were there.
5/13/22Reply
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Kata Tjuṯa
April 5, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
So lovely, so unexpected, so big.

A warm day for walking, and we certainly arrived later in the day than the optimal hour for the walks. Good thing we are young and fit.

36 giant domes of coarse conglomerate rock. Amazing.

We hiked into The Valley of the Winds and Waḻpa Gorge. Consider us rewarded.Read more
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Kings Canyon - Watarrka NP.
April 6, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Why is it that we seemed to have found this place by accident? It is brilliant.
The camping area looks straight out at the George Gill Range and has a very pleasant viewing deck for sunset viewing and a few cold beverages.
The walks are sensational, especially the Rim Walk, and the National Park is beautifully presented and serviced.
We took a little indulgence of a helicopter flight over the range which unexpectedly revealed the mountain ranges that line up almost parallel and roughly east-west in several ranks from Alice Springs down into South Australia. Awesome! In the immediate area - North to South; The Macdonnell RA; Krichhauff RA (Palm Valley -Finke Gorge where we are headed next); James RA; Middle RA; George Gill RA(Kings Canyon etc); the strip of non ranges from which Mount Connor, Uluṟu and Olgas all rise; and then Musgrave RA (know as Mann Ranges at the western end).
The temperatures were great, the colours are eye-popping, the flies are outrageous, the unexpected delights were cake topping. The Rim walk is firmly in our top few.Read more
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Alice - visit #2
April 10, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
The main purpose of this visit was to restock before our first National Park Camp Host engagement. It appears there will be no internet or phone reception, so we will have our next Penguins Chat at a later date. We will be in Palm Valley, Finke Gorge National Park for 3 weeks.

Sunday night - some more fun at Parrtjima, a Festival in Light. https://www.facebook.com/ParrtjimaAustralia/. Test your imagination on this. The West MacDonald Range rises precipitously for 320 meters out of the plain in Alice Springs and is the 300million year old canvas for the light-show. This vast display was beautifully connected to the grasses and sparse Forrest of the plain in the foreground. It felt like we were in a thunder-storm.
The artwork represents the Arrernte people’s connection to the land through twice written stories, once in the ground and once in the sky, helping them curate the land. Who knew the story of Budgerigar as the connector and guide to water. The sky tells that the season for rain is coming. The Budgerigars show it’s location.
All this on a T-shirt night under a blazing Milky Way.

Monday it’s back to school to finish a St John Ambulance First Aid course. You will be in good hands if camping with us causes your heart to stop. The Bluetooth gizmatry in our resuscitation mannequins says we operated at 99% and 100% efficiency.

Final preparations for the move to Finke Gorge National Park include meeting the lovely Kylie who is the coordinator for all the NT National Parks camp hosts. Now we are loaded with the information and tools to do our hosting thing.Read more
TravelerThat is amazing
4/14/22Reply
TravelerGreat travels , great stories you guys are getting everything out of this trip . A life time experience
5/3/22Reply
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Palm Valley - Finke Gorge National Park
April 16, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
There are Red Cabbage Palm here that have no right to be here. “No right” is not exactly correct. But it’s truely amazing that they are. The nearest occurrence of these Palm are 1,200 kilometres away in the tropical north. Somehow over 10’s of thousands of years nobody told these guys that they should not be growing in the arid centre. Yet they do. How cool?
This National Park is amazing.
The Palms are not the oldest feature. The Finke River competes for the title of the worlds oldest river because it has flowed in the same course through the Krichauff Ranges for 100 million years. Does this stuff blow your mind too?
The rock formations, the colours, the springs proving permanent water, the sunrise and sunset, the antiquity of the place all catch your breath. It’s peaceful, but alive. The visitors agree, excluding those who were repeatedly bogged traversing the 18k of riverbed driving, then decide it’s all too much and turn back before arriving, they all marvel at the park and it’s facilities. The resident Park Rangers that we work with boast they have the best backyard in the country. Upon reflection, they concede that it is definitely top 5. We think they are right. You should see the vista, reaching up and surrounding the Ranger’s Station.
Much celebration after the arrival of a grader to work on the road. The track from Hermansburg has bogged more than 40 travellers (that we know about) in our first 12 days, which is probably about half of all users. Some can get in with a caravan, some get bogged in a 4x4 on a day trip.Read more
TravelerYes, nearly as old and out of place as me 🤪🤣
5/2/22Reply
TravelerInteresting landscape
5/3/22Reply
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Camp Host - Regina and Ian
April 16, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
It’s not all beer and skittles. Mostly it is, but not all.
We do have some responsibilities like cleaning the amenities, the BBQ, the odd Emu Bob after a Dingo or Crow gets at some careless campers garbage bag, and occasionally shovel out the ash from the fire pits.
I volunteered to do some mowing around the camp sites. I was a bit disappointed when provided with a push mower.
We also meet with campers to provide information about the park, check that they have valid bookings or help to arrange a bookings (interesting without internet). And to have a chat. During a recent hot spell we handed out ice (from the Rangers Station ice maker) and for this little gesture we have become favourites in the campground , especially where there are kids under canvas.
We have been rallying interest in making “Sunset from the Creek Bed” into a thing! Our best effort was to get a dozen people lined up in folding chair for the transition to night. It was amusingly like being at the movies!
We have the best site in an already beautiful campground. A concrete slab for the van and awning, a picnic shed with water tap, fire pit and a tree shaded picnic table. We also have a remarkable insect enclosure (perhaps excluder) which we place on a shaded and mowed grassy area. Our indenture gives us access to the amenities at the Rangers Station, like air con for a retreat, workshop, 240v power, and of course the Maggot Bar - but more on this in a later post.Read more
TravelerGreat story guys, how did you get a gig like that ?
5/3/22Reply
TravelerPersonality will do it every time Smokie!
5/4/22Reply
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
“..the dawning of the age of Aquarius”
April 18, 2022 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
It has been hot. About 12° hotter than normal for this time of year in Finke. It is very pleasant until about 1:30pm daily but the mercury keeps rising until 6pm which makes the van pretty warm, and being off grid, we can’t use the A/C.
In anticipation of long lazy days in Finke Gorge and during May when we settle down in Keep River NP we bought a M.F.R.(Multi Functional Room) which we loooove, and for which we have various uses and names. Interchangeably, it is a Dining Room, Yoga Studio, Panic Room. Right now it’s main purpose is our Bedroom. We actually call it The Observatory, but don’t get any funny ideas about the nomenclature, as it refers to our ability to lay in bed and watch the wonders of the sky.
Star gazing without light pollution (nearest town 100k+) is the best. Sunrise is a treat. The jewel is a combination of both. Not sure how often it happens, but for the last week in combination with a full moon we have been viewing the entire solar system in a 40° arc of sky.
Just before dawn as the stars are being washed away by the rising sun and setting moon, we view, Saturn, Mars, Venus and and Jupiter (tracking West > East) Pluto and Neptune are aligned but can’t be seen with the naked eye. The Planets are all visiting the constellation of Aquarius. Absent, but not by much are Mercury and Uranus which are tracking just east of The Sun and don’t get to reveal themselves until after dawn in this Solar System phase.
It’s incredible seeing the planets aligned in close formation on the Ecliptic Plane.
So this post is supposed to be about the tent. It’s our favourite piece of kit at the moment as the evening temperature is perfect for a sheet only covering, and the sky is visible through the mesh. It is also a sufficient barrier to keep away patrolling, reptiles, Dingoes and of course the bugs. We have a luxuriantly grassed area to pitch it and we reckon it completes our hosting experience.Read more
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The Maggot Bar
April 18, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
There are a number of lookouts and high points around the Park, but none provide a vantage into the secret Ranger business conducted in the Maggot Bar. The Maggot Bar’s beauty is in it eclectic functionality and decoration. Refrigeration, fire-pit, seats, table-tennis, TV, and an outhouse.

Catering was absent, but with $4 beers, this earns it the title of “Best Bar in the Red Centre”. Even if they didn’t serve beer, it would be 5 Stars ⭐️ because of the sunset experience viewing out onto the amphitheater around the station. From the Bar, we look up at Kalaranga, Sundial Rock, The Battleship, Castle Rock and others. The rock colours are predominantly an intense dark red, but constantly changing.

Oops …….. we were so distracted by the stimulating conversation, and aforementioned cheap beer - we forgot to take a photo. 😟
Thanks to Ranger_Neil who supplied a photo of the view from The MaggotRead more
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Boggy Hole
April 30, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
It’s name should strike fear into 4x4 drivers. Not us - we were in a National Park vehicle courtesy of the NT government - bring it on.
It is reported as the premier National Park 4x4 destination. It was great fun. Lots of deep sand and long river crossings. It tracks along the bed of Ellery Creek until it joins the Finke River, when things start to get really interesting.
No video footage provided for compliance reasons!
A couple of highlights were seeing a mob of endangered Black Footed Rock Wallabies, and alsoBudgerigar galore.
On the way back we stopped in at Hermannsburg, to watch some of the action at a long weekend sports carnival. Footy (the AFL variety of course), Softball and Basketball on show. The footy was a torrid affair, with intertribal competition very hot. The blades of grass on the pitch were outnumbered by the players, but that didn’t stop plenty of vigorous tackling and a high level of skill.Read more
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West MacDonnell Range
May 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
Magnificent will do for a description. The temperatures are down so walking into the beautiful locations is a breeze.
However the water is deep and cold in these Gorges, so the swims are short.

Redbank Gorge is a relatively short walk, the gorge is narrow and brilliantly coloured in red as you might expect. There were a few other walkers in there and their howling about the cold told us we had almost arrived. The gorge carves out of the range through a number of pools, each a different heights, and the steep sides of the gorge mean there is only one way in and out - the wet way.

The next day at Ormiston Gorge was an epic. The terrain is majestic. The 8.5k Ormiston Pound walk takes you over the range and down into an area that looks like a giant meteor crater. It loops back through Ormiston Gorge, and again you choices are: the wet way; or go back. Retreating means retracing 7k, so we strip off and swim our gear over the creek. Care needs to be shown here, as just last week we were listening in on National Parks UHF radio, and a gentleman was evacuated from this gorge after a heart attack. He was very lucky because a walking party doing the Larapinta Trail who were on hand had a defibrillator kit that resuscitated him. The St. John and Ranger teams managed his evacuation after that.

Did you know there are no medical helicopters in the NT. The Royal Flying Doctors Service can provide fixed wing craft, but as a minimum you will need a road nearby for a landing. Be careful when you are out here!Read more
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2
East MacDonnell Range
May 8, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
Little cousin to the West Mac’s, but still very beautiful and interesting.

We camped in Trephina Gorge under a peak called Panorama. We hiked the ridge lines and gorges, and biked along the foothills on the Yeperenye Trail between Emily Gap and Jesse Gap.
Logistics tasks, and early voting complete (Did we go too soon? Do you think either candidate will do anything unexpected in the next weeks to change our minds?). We will now say goodby to Alice Springs for the final (?) time after 3 stays and as many day trips, as we continue our northward track.Read more
Traveler Fantastic scenery, how long did you have to hike to get to that mountain top ? 2nd question is the weather cooling down at night.
5/9/22Reply
TravelerWe were on that track about 5 hrs Smokie - and we have single digit night temps.
5/12/22Reply
I find it fascinating catching up on what you two are doing (even though I'm a wee bit jealous). Best wishes to you both as you embark on the next leg of you epic adventure. [Kim Mahoney]
5/10/22Reply
TravelerMission accomplished - on both entertainment and envy creation!
5/12/22Reply
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Alice to Katherine
May 11, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Quite a hike.
Needed to knock it over quickly for logistical reasons and it is the fastest (in days) that we have done 1,000 klm.
We noticed some changes between the gals:
Alice was chilly with single digits in the night while Katherine turned on the sultry.
The southern termites of Alice are very shy, deporting themselves below ground or concealed in shrubbery, but up north Katherine’s critters are bold as brass, out there building tall mounds in all sorts of paces.
Katherine keeps herself more demurely covered with tall trees including lush tropical varieties, while Alice is more sparsely covered wth arid species.
The scent of Alice is fresh and clear, but Katherine is plain funky in areas. Not her fault entirely and she can blame the Flying Fox colonies who bring a fug to the air.

A bit to see along the way despite our pressing schedule.Read more
TravelerA quick question, we have been hearing that the water supply in Katherine is unfit for drinking. Is this true , I think they are having same issues as acreages around Williamstown Air base with chemicals leeching into water supply ?
5/18/22Reply
TravelerI haven’t heard anything Smokey - but - out here there is no backup/alternate supply. You get what you get and don’t get upset!
5/21/22Reply
Travelerthey are some massive statues
5/18/22Reply
🤙 [Steve Dawson]
5/22/22Reply
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Bert’s Loop Traveler
Steps retraced
May 14, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Welcome back to the North. We are on the move.

Footy under lights at the Katherine Show Ground just 100m across the road from the Boab Caravan Park. South Katherine eventually take a good lead over Eastside, on a sea-saw game of high skill levels. Relaxed crowd come to see a family event in an alcohol free setting. The grounds were so different to the carnival in the dust a fortnight ago at the Sports Carnival in Hermannsburg.

Big Horse Creek Camp, Gregory National Park, Victoria River (and very Regal she is), blazing sunset, 37° day, correspondingly balmy night, toothed logs in the river, sad fisher people (lack of fish or shirt selection), ants (do not lay on the ground), bug free night air.

Some things don’t change. But we have been here before so some things are clearly different. The calendar moves. Seasons change. The land responds.
Our previous passing here was early September and much later in The Dry and the place really has a different appearance. So much greener, so many grasses covering the red soil even though the last wet was really only a damp. Rainfall was well down in these parts. I am sure folk at home on The Coast would have been happy to share some of theirs.Read more
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