Hello All,
We thought we had left Alice Springs - think again Woodsy's as this was not the case at all! We had not factored in losing a wheel off the van 250km north of Alice Springs! One of the less enjoyable sights on our trip so far was seeing our van wheel over take us on the Stuart highway! However, we survived unscathed and were extremely lucky to have some friends that we had met in Kings Canyon drive by and stop to help us. Our second visit to Alice via a tow truck, how ordinary?!
After a rather long week in Alice Springs waiting for parts we were finally on our way, delighted to be back on the road as everyone was getting a little tetchy to say the least! We drove straight to the Devil’s marbles into the warmer weather and amazing rock formations. From here we moved on to Katherine via Daly Waters and Mataranka.
We loved Mataranka, beautiful natural hot springs that stay at a consistent temperature of 34 degrees. Just like floating in a lovely clear, warm bath. The boys really enjoyed it and it was a relaxing way to while away the time.
Katherine had a great caravan park which was like a green oasis after all of the dust in the centre. It was a great spot to enjoy the warm weather and visit Nimiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park. The Gorge is beautiful and we enjoyed it via a cruise and short walking tour via some rock art galleries. The guide really gave a good idea as to the enormous quantity of water that is dumped here in the wet season. The gorges simply fill up and we could see the debris that had been stuck in tree branches way up above us! We were lucky enough to be able to swim as it had recently been given the all clear, definitely not keen to run in to any “salties”!
Next stop was Kakadu. We based ourselves in Cooinda for a week hoping to explore the park and experience the “magic” that so people had told us about. They were right! The diversity and pure beauty of the park is rather mind boggling, it comes as no surprise that is a world heritage listed area due to it’s natural beauty and cultural significance. We enjoyed a river cruise and got to see plenty of our salt water friends basking on the river banks. The guide was full of facts and figures predominantly concentrating on how clever and dangerous salt water crocs are, they were appearing to be more frightening by the minute! A highlight of the area was Ubirr, an outcrop of the Arnhem escarpment famous for its extensive Aboriginal rock art galleries and a spectacular 360 degree view over the park. It was a bit of a climb up but Charlie managed to go all of the way by himself and enjoyed being our guide and following the orange markers. It is a truly beautiful spot. The next day we took on a bumpy 4WD track to Jim Jim Falls and scrambled over boulders to reach a lovely pool at the bottom of the 215m falls. It was certainly a hike and a half and the longest 1km we have ever felt but the boys managed extremely well.
We spent the next week in Darwin which was great fun. We were lucky enough to catch up an on school friend of mine. Annabelle was incredibly kind and allowed us to join the kinder/year 1 class she teaches at Parap primary school. Charlie and Gil really enjoyed the other children and a good selection of toys and Lego. My college friend, Tamsin, was also a sensational host taking us to Mindil beach markets and filling us in on all of the child friendly venues, of which there are many. We took a ferry to Mandorah which is on the Cox peninsula. It is a 126km drive from Darwin but on 6km on the ferry (like Forster to Coomba Park!) so it was a great day trip out to the pub for lunch. We also enjoyed the free water park at Leanyer, a visit to the harbour side and Parap markets. Our stay in Darwin also meant sorting out the car, caravan and computer – all of which needed attending to in some way or another to avoid any more malfunctions!
From Darwin we enjoyed a day trip to Litchfield National Park which is lesser known than Kakadu but equally as stunning. There are several beautiful fall and waterholes which are very easily accessible, especially when you are accompanied by little people! Wangi Falls and Buley Rockhole were both great fun for the boys although very busy.
We now say goodbye to the 130km speed “limits” and all of our fruit and vegetables (quarantine restrictions are very tight) as we cross in to WA. Very much looking forward to our trip through the Kimberley after a short camping trip to Purnululu National Park (the Bungle Bungle range). I am not convinced I will have much Telstra coverage along the Gibb River road however I will be in touch from the other side!
Take care, all,
Love, Chippy xx
