Day 48 Yellow River Cruise

 The alarm woke us up at 5:30am this morning and we headed to the bus stop for a 6:25am start in the dark. They drove us down to the boat for a 6:45am cruise up the Yellow Waters River system.

The sun was coming up, the colours and wildlife were alive. We got to see a lot of Crocodiles, massive amount of bird life and even a water buffalo. The guide was fantastic, she knew everything you could possibly want to know about the wildlife, the area and the culture of the area.

The cruise finished at 8:45 am or so and it was one to never forget. We highly recommend it  and we are so glad we did it, it was the Kakadu experience we were looking for. A little expensive at first thought but not after we did the cruise and got to see what we saw. We have paid more for cruises in Tassie and seen nothing, twice in fact.

We then had to pack up camp and get out of the caravan park before 10am because they change the code on the gate!!

We left camp and popped around the corner to the cultural experience and it was very interesting. We must have spent a good couple of hours in the place reading all about Aboriginal culture, looking at the displays and watching videos as well as the gift shop full of very expensive imported touristy stuff. They did have some nice locally made items but at very exorbitant prices of course.

We then drove all the way down to the bottom end of the park to camp at Kambolgie campground. 

On the way we popped into Bukbukluk Lookout and did the little walk to the lookout. One thing that stood out was the benefit of all the burning off they do to the land around here, there is zero undergrowth and pretty much no chance of having a very hot wild fire.

Back on the road to the campground there were no signs so I missed the turn off and continued to drive 20 kays down the road before realising. So we backtracked and eventually found our destination after driving approx another 20 kays after the turn off down a corrugated dirt road.

The camp ground was quite with only a 2-3 other campers and at $12 a night very reasonably priced. The climate down here is absolutely perfect. It is warm but not so hot and humid, a very slight breeze and a lot less mozzies.

The camp ground slowly filled right up with an assortment of campers so we spent the day sitting outside enjoying watching people, watching the footy and karen did some cooking.

The evening was not too hot at all, it really was an idyllic location.

Day 47 Kakadu

 We got up reasonably early after another hot nights sleeping and went back down to Cahills Crossing at low tide. 

We were lucky this time as a park ranger was there, a young indigenous bloke who was a really good fella, he told us a lot about the area and his life and he pointed out a croc in the water right in front of us hahaha

Luckily Karen got to photograph him...the croc that is.

After that excitement we went back to camp and packed up. We popped into Jabiru and emptied our loo and then headed all the way down to Cooinda.

This is where the Yellow River cruise leaves from. Its very commercial but if you want to do the cruise you have to pay the money.

We had a look at the camp site down the road and for some reason it was not open to camping which was a real shame because it is a beautiful site. We joked that they keep it closed you have tobook into the caravan park near the cruise at $100 a night. Which we reluctantly did because Karen wants to do the sunrise cruise tomorrow morning.
Ironically just after we booked the very expensive site we went and had a look at the other camp ground which is 'tent only' but we could have fitted in there easily. We did notice one other van had managed to get in there. never mind we were committed now.

We drove around to the caravan park and it was packed! There is no check-in/reception, they sent an sms telling us it is self check in. We drove around this huge place for 15 minutes trying to find our site.

Once we found our site we set up, or actually we just got out of the car and left it all connected where we parked because we are only staying overnight to do the cruise in the morning. 

We went for a look around the resort. Its a really big place full of all different styles of accomodation, swimming pools and restaurants.

We also went to the waters edge which would have been ok to have a fish but its lure fishing only.

Back to camp and we made pizzas in the weber. We tried our own pizza dough which was ok but we need to work out how to cook it better in the weber.

Then watched some footy and headed to bed.

Day 46 Kakadu

 We packed up pretty leisurely, emptied our loo and headed up to Merl Campground which is right near Ubirr Lookout and Cahills Crossing.

To our surprise the camp ground was very quiet so we grabbed a really nice spot and set up.

We then popped up to Cahills Crossing to see if we could see a croc but as expected there is way too much water around Kakadu for croc to be feeding here.

We had a look at Ubirr to see what we had to do later that night then after looking around some of the boat ramps we went back to camp.

It was stupid hot again so we jumped in the car and drove back into Jabiru to grab a new can of insect repellant and took the time to grab photos of anything we could on the trip.

Once back at camp we got ready to go to Ubirr. We did the Aboriginal Art walk which was really good then we walked up to the top of the look out sunset.

It was a great view of Kakadu and way out into Arnhem land. 

The sun went down behind a cloud so it wasn't the sunset we were looking for but still well and truly worth the walk up to see the view.

Once back at camp we watched some of the footy but eneded up watching a movie instead.

It was another very hot night.

Day 45 Kakadu

 A late start to the day today but we eventually went for a look down at Nawurlandja Lookout. It was a short but steep walk up a rock that overlooked Anbangbang Billabong and the surrounding area.

It was quite a spectacular outlook.

Then we popped around to the other Nawurlandja Lookout walk which has quite a bit of rock art on the loop walk. It also had some nice fresh water running over the rock which was nice to get under on this very warm walk.

By the time we did those walks and got back to camp it was mid afternoon so we went and spent some time at the caravan park pool.

After a nice swim we went back to camp for a little while then popped back to the pool bar and had a drink for happy hour.

We then had a nice tea which was just left over pork and salad. We went to the pool area again to watch a slideshow presentation on the area but we found out they were playing the state of origin, that didnt appear to us so back to camp we went.

I downloaded Crocodile Dundee and watched that movie in bed instead haha But we actually really enjoyed it seeing this area on the movie made it a lot better.

Day 44 Kakadu

 We slept great last night so we were up nice and early and went straight around to the visitor centre at opening and grabbed our parks passes. $80 mind you for 7 days and considering the amount of stuff thats closed its quite expensive. We mentioned we would be here for longer than 7 days so they gave us a free 7 day extension so we cant complain.

Back to camp for breakfast then we went to Mamukala wetlands for Karen to try and find some birds. Not a lot around sadly but we did the loop walk for a look anyway. Quite a long hot walk around the swampy area.

We then popped down to South Alligator River to some croc spotting, we think we saw some baby crocs and definitely a slide mark down the bank! Apparently a guy ran out of fuel in his tunny, fell out of his boat at one stage and had to get rescued by a chopper. Then he had to hire a boat crew to take him back to his boat.....we saw them at the boat ramp heading in.

We then went back to camp and spent the arvo relaxing for the most part in the van in the air conditioning haha

I cooked some steaks with mushroom sauce and karen took photos of birds then we watched a bit of telly and headed to bed.

Day 43 Mary River NP to Kakadu NP

 We didn't have a great nights sleep due to the relentless heat  so we were up pretty early and packing up.

There were millions of dead insects on our ground mat because we left an outside light on!

We packed up and got away around 9 or so after ha ving a lengthy chat to another couple who pulled up yesterday to camp, they had the same bad night from heat as we did.

We got to Jabiru and booked into the Kakadu Lodge Caravan park for a few nights. Its a nice large place and they allow you to choose your own site. So we grabbed a nice shady site near the pool and bar and got that air conditioning cranking within 2 minutes of stopping haha

We popped some washing on, had a look at the pool area and the4n headed into Jabiru to grab some fuel and have a look at the supermarket.

We didn't need anything in the supermarket because we resupplied in the city but we still managed to spend $50!!

Back to camp to grab the washing and hang it up then we went to the pool bar area for happy hour. We only had one drink because even happy hour is expensive for a tiny glass.

I put together the roast we cooked the night before and that was pretty much our night done, we were so tired from the previous nights heat wave.

Day 42 Mary River National Park

 We were up and about pretty early today to go and explore this end of the Mary River system. First stop was 'rockhole' which is a really nice section of the river and place we will come back to do some fishing.

Next stop was Mistake Billabong, not sure why its named that but it looked very much like croc territory to me and the walk in was right on the waters edge so we were thinking it was mistake walking in!! But a very nice spot in swampy land alive with bird life.

We popped into the Stuart Point Wilderness Lodge for a look, it is nice enough but very commercial and expensive.

Then we drove all the way up to 'Shady Camp' where there were a lot of fisherman or at least a lot of 4wd's with trailers in the car park.

We saw some people standing in the water right near signs saying do not do that because of the crocs. Mary River is one of the most populated croc locations in the top end, people are just so stupid.

On the way back we went out to Wildman Wildness Lodge and it was the most fascinating thing we have seen. It is a high end resort that is now deserted. It looks like they just walked out of the place and they have left everything. 

Reception had all the paperwork on the desk, the bar had drinks etc on it, the rooms were furnished etc it was just unbelievable and we were walking around it as it was wide open.

We googled it when we got back and it went into liquidation a few years ago but they simply walked away from it leaving it all behind!!

After that entertainment we popped into brian creek monsoon forest for a look but Karen didnt like the look of it so we didnt do the walk haha

We then went back to camp. I popped a roast Pork in the weber and made some bread rolls.

It was so hot we decided to wrap the roast up and put the veggies etc in a container for another day and went down to north rock hole to do some fishing.

 We were getting bites early and karen caught a massive barra but he snagged her and I broke it off on some wire on the ground!!

Karen had a croc near her on the river bank and scared the crap out of her as it jumped back into the water......she now keeps her distance from the waters egde haha

After fishing we went back to camp and had icy smoothies for tea. We ran the aircon for as long as we could before the battery was getting too low then we pretty much sweated all night in what has to be the hottest night we have endured. 100% humidity and near 30 degrees over night, all night.

Day 41 Litchfield NP to Mary River NP

 We started our day packing up and getting out of the camp site so we could do the walk at the falls at camp that we didnt get the opportunity to do the days before.

We drove around to the big day visitor carpark and walked up the top of the falls through the monsoon forest. It was a walk that is alive with bird sounds.

We then had to head to Batchelor to empty our loo before going up to a supermarket near the city to do a major resupply.

Once the groceries were done and the car was fueled up we drove all the way into Mary River National Park to Crouzer Lookout Camp Grounds.

We had the pick of the sites as there was no other people here. We set up and went around to the lookout for a look then hung around camp for a while. It was so hot and humid.

We went back down to the lookout to catch the sunrise and fly the drone around for a while.

Back to camp it was still so hot we had to run the aircon for a few hours while watching the footy.

After footy it was bed time.

Day 40 Litchfield National Park

 We were up and about early again today after a decent sized breakfast to go straight back to Granite Creek to starts the Tjaetaba Falls walk.

It was quite a long walk and up hill but we were well and truly rewarded with a spectacular water fall and even better infinity swimming hole at the very top of it.

We could have stayed in the swimming hole for a lot longer but other people arrived so we thought it fair we give them a go too!!

Being refreshed the walk back out was a lot easier.

Then we went around to Buley Rock hole to yet another awesome location for swimming. The water cascades down the river and each drop off has its own little private swimming hole.

There were plenty of people swimming but we still managed to get our own private spot. We stayed in until we were both waterlogged and wrinkled!!

Next stop was the very pretty Florence Falls. We took some pics from above then did the 145 steps down into it. It was like tourist central at the bottom but we braved the masses and hoped in for a dip with the fish and humans anyway.

We took the longer forest walk back out which was also very nice with pristine streams.

Feeling refreshed and slightly soggy we had another look at Table top swamp on the way back to camp. We spotted a few more birds this time.

Back at camp we contemplated doing the walk down at Wangi Falls near our campsite but the burn off smoke had come in at this stage so we decided to do it tomorrow morning before we pack up and leave.

We ended up watching the fotty and going to bed.

Day 39 Litchfield National Park

 A big day today so we were up early enough and started at the beginning at the Bamboo Creek Tin Mine. It was a really interesting place to see how tough they did it not so long ago really when mining for the tin in the area.

We then popped into Walker Creek and we were very surprised at how pristine and crystal clear the water was as we walked several kays along the creek. We had a swim at a very beautiful section and that refreshed us for the walk back. Parks said the risk of crocs in the creek was 'low risk' which we debated a it as to what that meant but it was clear to use there were none in the section we swam in!

We got to see a large water monitor sunning himself which was great. 

We went to go for a walk into the cascades but they were closed and only the top cascades were open. It was quite a long up hill and very sunny walk and we didnt have our hats or water or anything so we gave it a miss at this stage.

Then we popped into the commercial safari camp for a look, it looked to be quite nice but also very expensive to camp there.

We popped back into camp for a quick lunch then we drove the very rough and corrugated road into the 'lost city' to only find it closed at the end of the road. Baffles us as to why they didnt have a sign up at the start given how bad the road is to get in.

On the way back we stopped at Tabletop Swamp to try and find some birds, which we did but not as many as Karen would have liked.

Then we went to Tolman Falls which were massive and spectacular. They have a look out that is perched out over the cliff for a great view of the falls. We chose to do the loop walk up around the top of the falls back to the car park which was quite a nice bush walk.

We popped into Granite Creek for a look and saw that it also had a long walk to some falls but it was too late in the day and we had already walked nearly 10 klms up and down hills so we decided to save that one for tomorrow morning when its a bit cooler.

We got back to camp and cooked burgers and salad and sweet potato chips for tea, watched the footy then we decided to go for a night walk down to the Wangi Falls to try and capture the stars and waterfall at night.

It was a total fail, plus I wasnt comfortable being on a open platform over hanging the water right next to the croc trap that they trying to capture the salt water croc from this swimming hole. It was pitch black dark and we had little torches......if I was a croc it would be the perfect time to grab a human for a feed!!

Didnt seem to bother Karen at all haha 

On the way back we nearly stepped on a snake too so needless to say our night time walks will be very limited.

It was a big day.

Day 38 Dundee Beach to Litchfield National Park

 We didnt want to rush to pack up so we spent the morning relaxing at camp. Karen took her usual bird photos and got eaten by mozzies.

We left camp around 10 and headed to Wangi Falls campground in Litchfield National Park.

We was going to pop into the tin mine on the way but decided it was a risk with the caravan as the road in was very tight so we reversed back out and we will come back tomorrow.

We got to camp right on 12 and set up, it was very quiet at this stage, possibly due to there being no swimming at the falls.

The Dmax was a lot lower on fuel than we thought so we had to make the 120klm round trip all the way into Batchelor to fuel up. We bought an ice cream at the servo to reward ourselves for being so naughty and not keeping an eye on the fuel haha

We popped into the termite mounds on the way back for a look and some photos then had a quick look at Florence falls campsite because thats were we will be setting up for a couple of days in two days time.

Then back to camp for a walk down to the Wangi waterfalls and it was very spectacular, albeit smokey from all the burning off in the area. Sadly there is a salt water croc in the swimming hole so no swimming this time around!

Back at camp and we cooked up a big batch of chowmien for tea and watched a bit of telly. 

But before bed we decided to make a self saucing chocolate pudding and had that with some cream....yum but this is not helping our waste line haha

Day 37 Dundee Beach

 We spent the morning at camp but around 10am we headed into the township to buy some bait and went fishing on the beach.

We walked up and down the rocks trying to find a spot but decided just off the beach was best.

While we were fishing a huge croc went swimming past so i went up to the car and grabbed the drone to get some footage of it.

The fish were biting too at the change of the tide and karen managed to catch a trevally that was decent enough to keep.

We later found out it need to be 55cm long, which we didnt measure it but it wasnt far off at a guess!

After fishing we went back to camp where i filleted the fish and cooked it up with some salad, it was very nice.

We then went for a drive on an old track in the bush trying to find some points of interest but failed. We did come across some termite mounds that were a point of interest.

We had a look at the war memorial on dundee beach, flew the drone around and spent some time messing around on the beach.

Then we went over to the Tavern to wait for the sun to set but decided to grab a pizza and chip for tea. We played a game of 8 ball where i got some redemption for not catching a fish!

We went down to the beach to watch the sunset then went back to camp where we watched some telly and went to bed.

Day 36 Berry Springs to Dundee Beach

 We had a relaxing pack up today and got out of camp around 9:30 or so.

Its about an hours drive to Dundee Beach so we took our time, drive right into the town for a look around and to sus out what we will do the next day.

We then headed over to our new hipcamp which was out of town about 10 kays. They gave us directions to take the first turn left on 'marlin road' you cant miss the sign.

So we head to marlin road and there are no left turns and there is no sign and its a dead end onto someones property. This really annoys me when people can give simple directions. Especially when you have a caravan on the back and its a dead end.

We tried contacting the owners but they have no phone number so its through the hipcamp app only which they dont respond in a timely manner.

In the meantime Karen noticed another dead end road call marlin road up the road a bit, and sure enough its that one.

Wouldnt you think the owners of this camp would mention in their directions that theres two marlin roads!! Oddly enough no matter how hard you try google maps only directs you to the other, wrong road.

Anyway we got to the camp and to be honest its not green grass like the photos and even though it is private in the sense that you are the only people on the property it is near the road. The camp otherwise is nice enough so we will make the most of it, but definitely not worth the price they charge.

We spent the arvo at the property walking around and relaxing. I cooked steaks on the fire that night.

We watched some telly and went to bed.

Day 35 Berry Springs

 Another lazy morning, Karen took advantage of the free washing machine at camp and did some washing.

We popped into a local market or in fact it was a chilli festival, but it was all the same stalls as the market yesterday back on the highway near our last camp.

We went to have a look at Berry springs which looked really nice but was closed off to any swimming, which is a common theme up here this year.

Everything says its due to open May or the start of the 2025 Dry Season but nothing is yet. A lot of the national parks stuff is very run down and neglected.

Such a shame because the natural beauty of the place is very nice.

We went back to camp to watch footy and Karen cooked tea.

Day 34 Darwin to Berry Springs

 We didnt rush packing up because we couldnt get to our next camp until later and it was only really 30 minutes down the road.

I sent the owners of the hipcamp at Berry Springs a message and asked if we could arive at 11 and they said not problems.

We were packed up and emptied our loo and left the caravan park by 10am.

Still a little too early so we stopped at the same markets we saw last Saturday and had a look. I also had a really nice Japanese meal.

We got to the camp site at Berry Springs it was called Middle Camp on the hipcamp app and it was really nice and very well set up. It had private sites that were all grassed with power and water.

Karen watched football all day and all night while i had a look around the place then made a barby tea.

After tea more football was watched then bed.

Day 33 Darwin

 We had another lazy morning and then would you believe we went op shopping again!!

We had to grab some gas from bunnings and had a look at a few other shops around town.

I wanted to see Hidden Valley Race track so we popped out there for a quick look but it was difficult to see as it is well fenced off.

We did a big restock of food and general groceries because tomorrow we are off grid and away from supermarkets or at least reasonably priced supermarkets for a couple of weeks.

After that we had a little relax for an hour so at camp then went back into Darwin for our last night and had a meal at the Trailer Boat Club. It was a great location but over priced for us.

After tea it was back to camp to watch some footy then bed.

Day 32 Darwin

 We spent all morning at camp pottering around. Karen made a really nice pasta salad for lunch then we went to the city to have a look at few things.

We wanted to look at the old Gaol but it was closed so we went to the Mangrove walk. The tide was low so it wasnt as good as it could be but still interesting.

We had a little look at Lake Alexander then went down to the Mindil Beach Sunset markets.

We ate nice food, had a few drinks while watching the entertainment then went to the beach to watch the sunset.

We headed back to camp around 7:30 and watched the footy before bed.

Day 31 Darwin

 We had a lazy morning at camp before heading to Lenyear Water Park for a swim. It is free to enter and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The waterslide didnt open until 2 so we decided to head to Darwins water front for a look.

I had to pick up a parcel at the post office so while i did that Karen went to yet another Op shop and bought some more clothes lol

We got to the water front around lunch time and had a nice burger lunch at a cafe in this beautiful area.

Then we had a swim in the man made beach, complete with salt water from the ocean, but no crocs!

After that we spent the afternoon at the wave pool playing on the big tubes in the artificial waves.

It was now after 5 so we went around to the Nightcliff Jetty where there were people everywhere. There food vans etc galore so we couldn't resist but to buy an ice cream.

We watched the sunset and waited for the after glow then headed back to camp around 7:30.

Day 30 Darwin

 This morning we went and had a look at the massive 2 story Bunnings and bought a little cooler and some ice blocks to try and keep our bait fresh when fishing.

Then popped into BCF and grabbed some bait before going to Nightcliff Jetty to do some fishing. On the way I grabbed some KFC because i forgot to have breakfast (no wonder im getting bigger and bigger)

There were a lot of little fish off the jetty and we both caught several but nothing of a decent size. But we stuck it out for several hours as it was still fun catching the little ones. 

We have learnt that pillchers and prawns do not stay on the hooks, the little fish just take it off too easy. 

After fishing we went to Anaconda so Karen could buy a couple of sun shirts, then we did some grocery shopping and went back to camp.

I cooked a lemon chicken meal and we watched a bit of telly and went to bed. The heat and sun takes it out of you up here.

Day 29 Darwin

 We had a lazy morning at camp and then headed into the city first up to Lee's point for a look.

Karen took some bird pics then we went to the dripstone stone cliffs. It was quite spectacular and we went out the water for a paddle but you have to be careful of the stingers and the crocs.

We also had a look at Casuarina beach on the way to the Aviation Museum. The aviation museum was quite good, it had a massive b52 bomber in the hanger along with a F1 11 fighter jet and a FA18 along with a lot of other significant aircrafts and displays.

We then went and had a look at the mall and the shopping in the CBD which was very underwhelming to be honest, far better in the suburbs.

After that we had a look at a salvos stores of course then to Nightcliffs jetty which was also quite pretty.

Then back to yet another salvos while i popped into anconda where I saw another youtuber couple we follow.

Then back to camp for a cold drink and relax.

Day 28 Darwin

 We had a fishing day today. We popped into tackle world on the way to Mandorah Jetty and grabbed some prawns for bait.

Its quite a drive to the jetty, around 1:20min and when we got there we were shocked that the jetty was packed with people fishing.

Surprisingly no one was catching fish though which wasnt a good sign haha

We stayed for a big part of the day trying bait and lures and Karen caught a little fish that we put back.

We only saw one other person catch a fish worth keeping.

We had a little drive around the area and saw a snake but pretty much headed back to camp to watch the car racing replay from Tassie.

The tigers also won against West Coast which was good.

We had left overs for tea and went to bed.

Day 27 Darwin

 Today we drove down to Fogg dam reserve so Karen could check out the bird life. There were a few birds there but not as great as we hoped.

We then popped into a market on the way back also to another op shop!

Back at camp I watched some car racing then later in the day we went to TIO Stadium in Darwin to watch Gold Coast play Bulldogs in the footy. Gold Coast only just won.

It was great to watch a game of footy somewhere like that although the grand stand was packed and there was very little room.

We were really suprised just how well organised Darwin is with its roads and suburds etc its such an easy place to navigate.

Day 26 Darwin

 Possibly our laziest day since leaving. Not a lot to say really. I did some chores on the van in regards to some solar changes and starlink power changes which all worked well and karen relaxed and read her book.

We did later in the day pop down to look at some op shops...well karen looked I just moped around waiting haha

I popped into woolies and grabbed a couple of things but we went back to camp and I cooked a roast pork on the weber.

Day 25 Darwin

 We had a long day site seeing today.

First up we went to the RFDS Interactive displays on the wharf it had a great bombing of Darwin show and a really interesting look into the history of the RFDS. It took around 2 hours and cost $30 each.

After that we had a nice lunch on the walf at the fish and chip shop then we headed down to the WW2 Museum.

It was also a fantastic display of the bombing of Darwin with a lot of displays and videos. In fact I think we spent around 2-3 hours there and it cost $20 each.

We then had a little look at some of the beaches on the way back then went to the Museum or film and art. This was also very interesting with a large amount of displays and memorabilia. It was free entry.

We were a little early for the Mindil Sunset market but we headed over there anyway and to our suprise the carpark was packed already and there were people everywhere.

We had a look around, grabbed a little bite to eat, listened to some music but decided to head out early as we have had a huge day on our feet and we plan on coming back to this market on the Sunday and or next week.

We went back to camp exhausted hahaha.

Day 24 Darwin

 A very lazy day today we went to the Casuarina shopping centre and both had hair cuts. It is a very large shopping centre so took a long time to get around it.

We then went to the Darwin wharfs grabbed some food and watched the ocean for a little while before going for a drive around the city to see what we could see.

Before we knew it, it was late arvo so after popping into even more shops along the way we went back to camp where we sat outside still acclimatising rather than in the van in the air conditioning haha

Day 23 Edith Falls to Darwin

 We were up nice and early this morning to do the Edith Falls loop walk and hoping to catch the sunrise over the falls.

We headed out at first light and just made it to the top to an epic picture.

We then walked around to the top falls and contemplated having a swim. The access wasn't awesome and it was a bit slimy and slippery so we chicken out. It was not overly hot at this stage of the morning either so all these things combined meant we didnt jump in.

We got back down to the caravan around 8:30 i think and packed up and headed towards Darwin.

We stopped at Pine Creek for a look and was hoping to look at a car museum but it didnt open until later in the day, I took the opportunity to have some breakfast.

Up the road a bit further Karen found a loop road that headed out to Daly River region and Adelaide River, it was a narrow rough and slow road but far more interesting than the highway.

She found a waterfall walk which turned out to be a real hidden gem of a place. Free camping right on the river and a short walk up to the falls. Robins falls it was.

After the walk and a little splash in the crystal clear water we got back out onto the highway and headed to Howard Springs where our caravan park was. 

The guy directed us to a group of vacant sites and we chose one that seemed nice enough with no other people around us!

We set up, played in the water park and had a swim in the pool. Later we went for a drive down to Howard Springs Reserve, it was a very large and pretty reserve.

Day 22 Katherine to Edith Falls

We didnt rush to pack up this morning but still managed to pack up, refill the water tank and empty our loo all before 9.

We topped up with fuel and drove up the road to Edith Falls.

We arrived way too early but no one was in our site so we parked up anyway. The sites are all blocked off and they only really allow a narrow strip along side the camp site road to camp, which is very weird.

We went for a walk around the place to have a look at the falls but sadly there was no swimming in the lower water hole due to crocs.

Karen did her best to photograph the birds but for the most part we sat around in the shade and even had a little nap at one stage haha

We decided to have a fairly major change of plans due to Litchfield and Kakadu having several major attractions still closed due to the late rains they had recently. So we will give ourselves the best chance for all those to open and go to Darwin for a few weeks instead.

We cooked a yummy barby and then headed inside to some aircon to dodge the insects and watch some telly before bed.

Day 21 Katherine Gorge

 We were supposed to be up really early to do the walk up to the top of the gorge but we missed that opportunity lol 

So instead we decided to book a cruise down the river to see the gorge's properly.

We called into the local markets on the way, they weren't much at all really.

We got to our cruise 20 mins early like the cruise people asked and had to stand in the heat waiting for all the foreigners to arrive late!

Anyway the cruise was really nice, it took us all the way down the main gorge where we got off the boat and walked over to the next gorge. We then got in another boat and went all the way down that gorge.

The return was reverse of what we just did.

Typically when around humans there were a few that thought the boat was their private vessel and they could stand in the way of everyone the whole trip and made sure they took the good seats every time we got on the boats, so bloody rude.

We really enjoyed the gorge and learnt a lot about the gorge systems in the area.

On our way back we popped into the supermarket o restock for the next 6 days as we are not near a decent supermarket for a while.

We had another swim in the pool which was again very refreshing. Watched some footy and went to bed.

Day 20 Katherine

Today was a bit of a lazy day. We went for a drive to Knotts crossing and I did a bit of fishing, still no fish haha

We popped into the national park and had a look at the visitors centre and worked out a walk we are going to do early tomorrow morning to beat the heat.

Once back into town we popped into the hot springs for a swim, they were a bit murky but still nice to be in water.

We then came back to the caravan park and spent some time in the swimming pool, it was great, the water wasnt warm!

After that we watched some footy, had a little roast lamb on the weber and went to bed.

Day 19 Mataranka to Katherine

 We did not need to leave too early this morning because we were not really supposed to be at the caravan park in Katherine until 12 so we took our time and left camp around 9:30.

We emptied our loo on the way out and hit the highway to Katherine. We arrived too early but they let us go in anyway.

We chose a nice sunny area where there are no other people and set up.

Soon after setting up a little accident i had with the awning back in Tassie came back to haunt me!

I actually caught the awning on the garage on the way out of the garage door and tore the arm off the side of the van and did a little bit of damage to the top of the awning.  While I was able to fix this back home no problems, what I didnt notice was that the rivets holding the sail track to the van wall had also been pulled slightly.

So when we set up today 4 of the rivets came out! This left one section of three that hold the awning to the van wall totally dislodged.

Luckily in my box of tools and spares I had a tube of urethane glue and plenty of screws etc so I was able to put it back on easily enough. Hopefully it stays on for the trip.

We popped into town to do some grocery shopping and was quite surprised at how loud and confronting the locals were. We thought Alice was bad, which it is, but wow these guys up here were arguing and fighting amongst themselves make such a wild atmosphere it was hard to explain.

We took our groceries back and then went and had a look around for some bird watching spots for karen to photograph.

Back at camp we made pizzas in the weber yummo, then spent the evening inside with the aircon on watching footy.

Day 18 Mataranka Hot Springs

 We were so excited to do a 9klm into the Mataranka waterfalls so we got up really early and headed into the national park to beat the heat to only find the walking track closed and not opening until dry season.

Today was the 1st of May which is the start of the dry season so we were so tempted to do the walk anyway but obviously decided we shouldnt.

So we spent the morning going down every track we could find that we were allowed to do and found some real pretty gems along the Roper River.

I tried some lure fishing at several places to catch a Barra but the best I got was a bite and a look at some little fish on the rivers edge.

I snagged a $15 lure right at the rivers edge and it broke off which made me sad but just before we left I grabbed a large stick and managed to retrieve it!! Not sure how far crocs can leap out of the water but I was a little nervous grabbing to lure with the stick......$15 is $15 and Karen was willing to allow me to risk my life to grab it ;)

We stopped at every touristy thing in the area including the Mataranka Hot springs that are at the Mataranka homestead.

It is very commercial and touristy here but we went for a swim in the hot springs and they were awesome.

We came back to camp and had a smoothy for lunch and relaxed for a little while before heading back down to the 'bitter' springs which are right next to our camp.

Even though beautiful they had a lot of slimy stuff in the water and we felt like the water smelt a little. However we still did the lap of the springs and enjoyed it, although I was trying to go pro with one hand and swim with the other as my pool noodle doesnt hold my new holiday belly out of the water so it was a bit tiring haha

We popped into the dump point to empty our loo, not sure why I mention this but its a fact of caravaning life.

Back at camp we relaxed, had some spag bol for tea that we prepared before this trip (trying to empty the freezer enough for ice cream to fit!) and watched the footy that night.