Litchfield National Park and beyond...

Litchfield NP is a beautiful place and doesn't take long to see.  The day we arrived was in a long weekend so things were pretty busy here with a lot of the locals getting away so camping spots were few and far between.  We were lucky to find one in the 4WD camping area of Florence Falls.  We were only a 15min walk along the creek to the water hole and on Monday we went to have a swim and there were plenty of people there with the locals, tourist and tour bus people from Darwin but plenty of room for everyone.  the water was cool but so nice on a hot day.  Up 135 stairs to the 2WD campground and the carpark is a fantastic view of the falls and the forest.

We met the ranger today and she told us about a spot we could get two bars of Telstra so we could check the phone for any messages from Mitsubishi.  We drove past this spot every time we went for a drive so we stopped and checked quite often but no messages.  We also got a bit of info about the park and the Reynolds River 4WD track to the southern entrance to the park and it was opened up again just last Saturday and the River was about 600mm deep with soft sand river bed.
Tuesday we drove to Batchelor, the town out side the NP and got more fuel and made another phone call but still no word.  So over to the shop and had a cuppa and hot chips for lunch...good hot food shop. 
Back to the NP and stopped in to see the Magnetic Termite Mounds and the Cathedral Termite Mounds (this area is for the number of tourists but we found other areas where you could drive up next to the mounds and not just look from a distance).

Then to Buley Rock Hole, this was my favourite place, there are lots of rock pools flowing all the way down the creek flowing over rocks one after the other.  We walked around the rocks and found our own pool to swim in.

After we cooled off there we went to Tabletop Swamp but the water level was low and could not see much bird life and we didn't have the right shoes to be walking so we took some pics and went back to camp, stopping in our little Telstra spot on the way but still no messages.
We decided to stay another night and went to Tolmer Falls, you can't swim here because of the  bat colonies that parks don't want you to interfere with so 400m to a lookout

and then we decided to do a 1.6km loop walk and found another view of the archway the falls flow through and if your game to clamber over some rocks to the edge of the water flows there is the Devil's Cauldron you can look into...amazing rock formations and all by the water.  Another stop was the Lost City, full of rock formations weathered over time and there is a short walk around and through the rocks and absolute site.

It was getting very warm...actually bloody hot...by this time so we went down the 4WD track about 9km was the Sandy Creek Campground and the Tjaynera Falls...yes a swim!!!  On the way we stopped at the Blythe Homestead,

an old tin mine in the 1800s which was worked by the children and dad came and checked on them every now and again.   There is an excellent album of family history in the homestead that was put together by the family members.  Then onto the falls for another swim...it is so nice to cool down this way.  We did have a 1.7 km walk to do and that was ok until I realised on the way it was only 1.7km one way.  I was a little frazzled by this time of the day in the heat.  The waterfall was beautiful, as they all are and a little chilly but worth the walk and once we were refreshed and recovered the walk back didn't seem a lot easier.  We have found that all the beautiful things seem to appear after a bit of effort.

We got to speak to some campers that came in from the southern entrance and they said it was no problems.  Before we went back to camp to drove to have a look at Wangi Falls, which is a very popular spot especially for the tour buses, we didn't swim here just took some pics.

Thursday we packed up and decided to head down the Reynolds River Track and spend our last night in Litchfield at Surprise Falls campground.  When we turned off the bitumen there is a gate to go through about 7km in and another 6km beyond that till we got to the river crossing.  We had a practice run through a creek crossing first

and then we came to the river crossing...mmmm.  We could not see the other side from the side we were on but we could see two tracks across...tricky.  We crept the car down into the water and finally saw the orange dirt on the other side and we just headed straight for it.  The water was about 2 foot deep but the sand was very soft so Steve chugged the car through and (I'm getting good at holding my breath) we made it to the other side with no problem.  I get a little anxious about crossing these water crossing when there is a no swimming/croc sign as you approach.

On the way there were a few kangaroos and wallabies and heaps of the magnetic termite mounds...they looked like a huge field of head stones.

After about 27km  from the bitumen turn off we found Surprise Creek campground. There was one other camper and 3 cars in the day area, there is about 6 camping areas with fire pits and/or bbq plates, well spread apart with trees in between and the swimming hole only 5 min walk away.  First thing we checked out the water hole, not sure if crocs or not, I'm guessing no but around the rock face a big deep rock pool that flowed into the water hole.  so back to the van for a quick lunch so I can get back for a swim and that's what we did.  We had the rock pool all to ourselves for about an hour and it was gorgeous. 

Back at the camp we set up the tvan enjoyed the quiet life of the bush, a couple more campers pulled in and we had a little campfire, played some music and it was just perfect.
But all good things come to an end and Friday we headed to Daly River.
Now, Daly River is a whole different kettle of fish!  We drove past the main community (supermarket etc) and went to have a look at the river and we got Telstra coverage and we had messages.  We got the call that the car work had been approved and we are booked in on Wednesday so what do we do till then?

We went up the road from the river to the Daly River Roadside Inn, it has a nice grass, shaded unpowered area and big trees around the powered sites and we decide to go unpowered for $15/n.  We were told the pub and the shop opens at 12 midday and it can get a bit noisy with the aborigines and the music etc but the pub closes at 8pm and after a while everyone goes home...no problem.  What she failed to tell us was they didn't get their usual cheques the day before on the Thursday, they got their pay that day and it was also Friday night footy and there is a big screen outside in the beer garden and just like us, the aborigines love their footy (quite a bit loudly).  The music was good till footy time and the older ones got piled into an old land cruiser and taken home about 6.30pm and then the footy started and there was lots of yelling and banging tables...and actually that was ok too.  Then about 9pm a couple of blokes had some words and one wanted to kill the other.  The pub had closed at 8pm but they leave the telly going for the locals to watch and the huffing and puffing of one bloke in particular continued and while his friends/relatives held him back, slowly everyone moved on and all was quiet by 9.30pm, with the telly playing the AFL in the dark, our entertainment over we went to bed.
Saturday we made our way north again, Steve has made other arrangements to get things done and looked at while we are in Darwin so we need to be back in Darwin by Monday.  Saturday we drove to  have a look at a free camp, Robyn Falls.  We found the camping spots along the creek bed and we parked the car on a camp spot and took to the walk to the falls...I'm glad I didn't change into my swimmers for this one.  It took me a horrible 20mins or so to walk along the track and climb over rocks and the further along the more rocks and they got bigger as we got closer, we finally got to the water trickling over the fall and into a pool that was small and murky so back we go.

We sat and had lunch and didn't bother to set up yet because it was a bit warm.  then a couple with their dog moved on and we moved all our stuff over  to the corner of the parking area and had our own private little pool to have a dip in that flowed over a rock wall and we could sit and relax and listening to the babbling brook and had a little fire; it was great.   The afternoon was fading and we had a dip to cool off and prepared for our night of peaceful sleep. 
I woke in the early hours of the morning and that lovely babbling brook of ours at 1am sounded like a busted water main, needless to say I didn't get much sleep after that. Oh well.  I would still stay there again but maybe find a different spot to camp with not so much noisy ambience.
Sunday it was back to the big smoke, we drove through Adelaide River, the town not the water, refuelled and onto Darwin but this time we stayed 23km out of Darwin at Howard Springs, a nice CP and not as many sand flies and mozzies.
The next 5 days was very uneventful, driving back and forth getting things looked at and worked on:
wheel alignment, balance and rotation; lunch at Verseys Beach in the Museum café; engel to the repairers for a mystery knocking sound (didn't need fixing so no cost); exhaust checked-it had a big ding in it from driving back from Cobourg Peninsula; service on the tvan and the warranty work at Mitsubishi.  So it was all work and no play nearly.  We did go to the movies while the car was getting its new turbo...The Wolverine was typical Marvel Comic stuff but I did gasp when I bought 2 tickets, an ice cream and a bottle of water for $44.  Prices have gone up since I worked at the movies!!!  The morning we were leaving Darwin, Bill who we met in the park, came over and told Steve we had a flat tyre...oh-oh

As it turns out, Steve was playing with the tyre pressure valves yesterday and he did not replace one properly so the air slowly seeps out through the night...so Steve pumped it up and no puncture...phew.
Once again we were very glad to get out of a caravan park and the weather has started to get humid in the last couple of days. 
From Darwin we went straight to Katherine, first stopping in at Adelaide River and having a look at the War Cemetery which is very well kept with a visitors centre full of info about the war; lunch across the road in the park under the trees but it was still very hot in the shade and on to Katherine.

We stayed in the CP for one night at the same park we stayed before and a man came over to talk to us and asked how we liked the tvan, and was telling us he just came from the Gibb and he shipped a tvan overseas and did a trip around the Americas and Steve said, ' yes Ron Moon did a trip like that' and the man said, 'yeh, that's me'.  Well didn't we feel like dills, admittedly, he has gotten older and put on a few kilos since I've seen him in the tvan dvds.  Well we had a chat with him about his travelling, here and OS for about an hour. Nice bloke.
From Katherine we were on our way to the WA/NT border but we stopped and had a free camp night at the East Baine River Rest Area.

There are no facilities here and a lot of travellers go another 50kms to a free camp with a toilet. but there were a few campers with us any way.  It is Saturday night and the Aboriginal Night Patrol came driving through the free camp doing his rounds I guess and not much longer after that an aboriginal man came walking in carrying his bottle of water and sat over under the covered picnic area.  He bent over an old fireplace and picked up a page of newspaper that somebody had left for the fire and he sat down and pulled out his glasses and started to read it...a little while later a land cruiser came roaring in, stopped and picked up the old bloke, he folded his news paper and took it with him and the car roared out again, beer can thrown out one window and spitting out the other window and that's how it is here...the things we see!!!
We only slept with the fly screen on the back opening last night so it was a quick pack up Sunday morning and we were back on the road by 8.45am we got to the border by 10.15am.

We had been told that the quarantine station at this border crossing went through everything...car and van, fridges, cupboards the lot so we made sure we finished off all our fruit and the couple of potatoes and carrots we had left we peeled and cooked and put them in the fridge.  If you take the skins off, top and tail everything, cook and freeze it, you will be able to take it with you, except for the honey, definitely no honey.  The young women looked in one engel and in the back of the van, didn't touch anything or move anything and sent us on our way saying you need to turn your time back an hour and a half...so now it was 8.45am...again.
We turned off to Lake Argyle Resort/Caravan Park half hour later and had a grassed non powered site for 2 nights.  Lovely spot here with beautiful views of the lake.  We were  set up and organised and it was only 10am.  We went for a drive to see the sights, doesn't take long; Water tank Lookout, The Ord River Dam Wall, The picnic area beside the Ord River, Durak Homestead, and a 4WD track out to view of Pannikin Bay.  Sightseeing done. Next swim in the pool and then generally sit around and if it got too hot...back  to the pool.

Monday, because of the time difference, we were awake before 6am.  We went on a walk up the hill across the road to view the Ord River Gorge, it was only a short walk but hot and sweaty but a great view.

Back at camp and in the pool by 8.30am and for the rest of the day we did absolutely zilch except swim in the pool when it got to hot. It was a very long day.

Steve will do anything to get out of the sun

Tuesday morning off to Kununurra and today was very, very, very hot and humid.  We got to  town before 10am, went to the info centre, to the post office and the resource centre to use the printer.  Then to the caravan park not far from town centre and just about going stir crazy from the heat and by this time a need of food.  Half set up the tvan and had to have a swim in the pool then had to have something to eat.  After sitting around in the shade and not getting any cooler we went for a drive around in the air con out to the agricultural area and the Ivanhoe Crossing which you can't cross because the water level has been too high over the recent years to do any checks and repairs on the causeway.  Found a place that sold not cheap but small greenish bananas on a volunteer working property that had radio towers which sent and received Christian messages from India, Malaysia, Indonesia etc. then drove past the orchard area and had a look at the Diversion Dam and the Swim Beach.

Today was a very draining, tiring day and all I needed to do was go to bed.  Too much sun and not enough sleep for this little bunny.
Overnight it got to a nippy 23C so as long as we can get some of the daytime heat out of the tvan our nights can be quite comfy.  I guess after putting up with 38C+ days, 23C is cool for us. 
So now we have worked it out, we have to work around the heat.  Up this morning enjoy the day until you can't find any shade and then get in the car and go to the shops in the air con. haha but I'm not sure what we do out on the Gibb, there better be lots of places for me to swim.

Today we found out that the voting place in Kununurra does not exist till the 2nd September so we have to be in Derby on voting day so we can have our say for the change of government...for all you people who are still working for all us people who are still travelling.  We have to be in Derby for the 10th September for an overnight tour to the Horizontal Falls but to be there on the 7th...

What are we going to do for 3 days in Derby???

Talk to you after the Gibb!!!