Mataranka - Alice Springs

06 December 2012
We left Katherine and arrived at Mataranka where we stayed at Territory Manor. They have Barramundi in a small dam which they feed twice a day, so I was lucky enough to feed a couple.

quick to get their food

We then headed off to  Bitter Springs and had a little swim. It was quite deep with a strong current so the kids had to be held in our arms. Luckily there were a few rocks to stand on. We were advised not to go to Mataranka Springs due to the large number of bats living there. We went for a drive around the country side but that was about all we did.

smelt a little bad but the water is clear

07 December 2012
A big day in the car driving, made it all the way to a free stop North of the Three Ways. Out with the generator to run the air con. It's quite hot. Oh, and we did pull into the Daly Waters Pub for a feed and a beer. Interesting place!!!

view across from the pub

here's a way to display your bottles Dad!

08 December 2012
Another big day in the car until we reached Alice Springs. We did make a stop along the way at the Devil's Marbles (quite spectacular).

Devil's Marbles

Cutta Cutta Caves

05 December 2012
27km South of Katherine is the Cutta Cutta Caves. We went on the 9am tour (which happened to be just the four of us). For some reason we weren't expecting to need any cash but when we got there it was $17 per adult. We had to scrounge around in the car until we came up with the money. Luckily for us we did.

The tour was great and lasted an hour. The cave was small but interesting. There was a couple of snake skins but we didn't see any live ones thank goodness. The bats lived further in the cave so we only saw one of those flying around.

Cutta Cutta caves

Katherine Gorge

03 December 2012
Carl woke up feeling under the weather so we decided to head off early and get to Katherine Gorge so he could rest. I even had to drive which was a little daunting.

04 December 2012
This morning Carl was all good, so we went off exploring the Gorge, not really...we went down to the water to find out the boat tour costs a fortune and so does the canoe hire. We opted not to do either and the lookout walk was closed so we turned around and went back to the van. Off we go to Katherine.

In Katherine we had a swim in the springs at the back of the van park we are staying at. The water is so clear and the temperature nice and cool.

Katherine Hot Springs

Leaving Darwin

02 December 2012
Well, our departure day has finally arrived after four months in Darwin. We have met some wonderful people and hope to keep in touch with them.

We think it is easier packing the car and van now, but it still takes along time, we ended up leaving Howard Springs at 10.30am Sunday after starting on Saturday.

First stop was just down the Stuart Hwy at Edith Falls, part of Nitmiluk National Park. Just a short walk from camp was a fantastic water hole. In the evening we took down the blow up double mattress and enjoyed paddling around.

Edith Falls

The night proved to be difficult to sleep due to the high temperature since there was no power to run our air conditioner. However we managed but looked forward to our next stop with air con.

Darwin Wave Pool

26 November 2012
Had a great morning at the wave pool, Darwin Waterfront. There were boogie boards for the kids to use this time and you couldn't get either one off them.

William surfing in close

Harrison wearing out Dad going in the deep

After dragging the kids away we enjoyed fish and chips at Stokes Wharf. Had to go back to the van then so we could get a few things done since we're leaving on Sunday. Looking forward to cooler weather. Has been pretty hot up here.

Adelaide River Cruises - Jumping Crocodile

13 October 2012
This weekend we had the grand plans to go to Kakadu National Park but when we woke this morning we just couldn't be bothered. Instead we went into Darwin city and Carl finally bought some new shorts (after a long time of me pestering him). Whilst in town we had a bit of a look around and had a bite to eat, nothing riveting but it did pass the time.

14 October 2012
Today it was time to see the much anticipated jumping crocs. We made the journey out to Adelaide River where we boarded a smallish boat with other excited passengers. One not so thrilled baby. It wasn't long before our first encounter...they can really jump!

wow

oooohh

On our way back we were hoping we'd have the honour of meeting the famous Brutus. Our wish came true and it was well worth it.

Brutus

That afternoon we packed our camping gear and headed to Sandy Beach that looks out onto Shoal Bay, Gunn Point which is not too far from Howard Springs. Tried our hand at fishing but once again, no luck. However, the company was nice and we had an enjoyable time.

tough life...ain't it!

Kakadu - West Alligator Head

29 September 2012
The first track off the main road in Kakadu coming from Darwin follows the Wildman River until you reach West Alligator Head. We decided that would be a great start to our long weekend.

Carl had a quick fish at Two Mile Hole where he lost two soft plastics in a matter of five minutes.

great white hunter at Two Mile Hole

Onward to Four Mile Hole with a little sidetracking along the way. No fishing here as it was the middle of the day, but apparently this is the place at the moment if you have a boat.

Four Mile Hole

We were getting pretty hungry by this time so off we went in search for some shade and you wouldn't believe off the track a bit we found...

not sure why this is here

After a long and scenic drive through bushland...

a waterhole - we have never seen so many pelicans

...and floodplains we reached Pococks Beach where there are toilets, showers and a boat ramp and very strangely No Camping signs everywhere. This was very confusing so we continued on to Jungle Camp (a limit of two cars) and kept on going since this was definitely in the jungle right next to croc invested mangroves. We eventually found a great place to camp near the beach at Middle Beach camping area.

view from camp looking out to Van Diemen Gulf

view of camp from beach

The fence went around the camp ground to keep out crocs. This location is also a nesting ground for turtles, however we didn't see any, but we did see a lot of hermit crabs that night.

30 September 2012
It ended up raining through the night and looked threatening for more in the morning so after a quick pack up we were out of there. Or so we thought. We made it to the Mannasie Floodplains which were bone dry the day before but overnight turned into...um...yeah a floodplain!!! 

bogged, right up to side steps

Carl shovelled, he let air out of the tyres, tried to use the max tracks...nothing was working, then along came our rescuers in a 60 series Toyota. Once they got through it was only a little bit of towing and we were freed. Thank God, I really didn't want to spend all day there, the kids wouldn't have minded as all they could say was MUD, I like MUD.

where the car was bogged

After playing in the smelly mud we decided we needed to find somewhere to shower and watch the NRL grand final. Aurora was the closest place and since we didn't want to spend $192 on a room we camped ($34) and watched the game and ate at the bar, oh and goes without saying a few drinks too.

01 October 2012
Once again it rained over night and we were all suffering from million mozzie bites...we were over it...home please.

We ended up getting home in the early afternoon. Carl spent the rest of it washing the car and I spent it washing clothes. The boys got their wish and they played in mud!