Darwin (By Simon)

After leaving Litchfield National Park our next stop was Darwin (the Big Smoke) but on the way we dropped into Berry Springs. I made a point of going there as swimming in Berry Springs is one of my earliest childhood memories.

Berry Springs is a beautiful spot with a natural pool at the spring which feeds an upper and lower pool. We were able to swim all the way through all three pools along with dozens of fish.

We were soon back on the road and heading into Darwin. It was a strange feeling seeing so many cars on the road, a city skyline and traffic lights.

Arriving in Darwin we found that the V8 Super Cars were on at Hidden Valley raceway making finding affordable accommodation quite hard. However, we were blessed finding a caravan site with an attached ensuite (after sharing a bathroom for the last 3 months Liz was wrapped to have her own bathroom).

We spent a couple of days in Darwin stocking up supplies and visiting the attractions. Some of the highlights were:

- The Darwin Waterfront Wave Pool (more like a giant washing machine).

- Buying a bunch of Prawns and Barramundi straight from the boat (cooked up a treat for dinner that night).

- The free YMCA water park (Emma was very proud that she if finally tall enough to ride by herself).

- The Mindil Beach Markets (great food, all sorts of shows and busking and Nath learnt to crack a stock whip).

- Darwin Museum where we learnt all about Cyclone Tracey and "Sweetheart" a infamous and huge saltwater crocodile that attacked and turned over many small fishing boats.

And last but not least at 9pm we drove to the end of the RAAF base runway, sat on the roof rack eating a tub of icecream and watched the FA-18's come into land.

Travel Log:

Litchfield to Darwin: 116 km

Total Trip: 12,882  km

Litchfield National Park (By Simon)

We had heard a lot of great reviews about Litchfield National Park so we were excited to finally be able to stay and explore the park.

After a short trip from Edith Falls (238km) we called in at the intriguingly named "Magnetic Termite Mounds". I had envisaged termite mounds producing a powerful magnetic field attracting any stray iron, like horse shoes, car bumpers, etc but unfortunately this was not the case. It turns out that the termite mounds are all built facing North-South to minimize the heat build up from the sun.

Arriving at Litchfield National Park by mid morning we weren't quite sure were to camp and quite by accident we found ourselves at the Florence Falls camp ground which was fantastic. It was small, quiet and only a 5 minute walk from the falls.

We were however starting to feel the effects of travelling further north with humidity increasing and becoming a little uncomfortable. So after setting up camp, collecting some fire wood and having a quick bite for lunch we hiked down to the falls for a swim, and there we stayed for the rest of the afternoon.

Florence falls is another pristine water fall and plunge pool great for swimming and snorkeling.

Also, being surrounded by tall cliffs and with deep plunge pool it is perfect for cliff jumping at which the kids are getting more and more confident.

And some underwater foolery!

When not in the water and bush camping we all seem to get ourselves very dirty, the kids more so than us.

This particular case lead to a kid feet washing exercise which was a good learning moment and good to watch.

From our camp at Florence Falls we were also able to hike to Buley Rock Holes which is a series of rock pools connected by cascading water falls. Another beautiful spot to swim and where we spent much of the morning.

Wangi Falls was another beautiful waterfall and pool.

We also visited a number of other great spots around Litchfield including Tolmer Falls and Tabletop Swamp.

Late in the day we were returning to camp when we saw a sign to Blight Homestead. We turned off and headed off road and through a number of river crossings.

The homestead was not more than a rustic corrugated shed but had an interesting history (family with 14 kids).

That night we enjoyed Barramundi and Choc Chip Damper cooked over the fire.

Travel Log:

Edith Falls to Litchfield: 238 km

Total Trip: 12,766  km

Edith Falls (By Simon)

We were up and on the road early for the trip from Lake Argyle to Katherine and it wasn't long before we got to the state border. It was with some sadness that we left Western Australia and entered the Northern Territory, partly because we have had such a wonderful time in WA but also because it means that we are getting toward the end of our trip (soon we will be turning south... that will be a real shock).

We soon reached Katherine and stopped to fuel up and stock up supplies and then headed on out of town to Edith Falls (45km north of Katherine). We arrived at about 4:30pm, set up the camper in the nice quiet camp ground and then took off on the hike to the upper falls.

The hike was relatively short and we arrived at the falls right on sunset. Not only did it cast a glorious orange glow over the falls but it also meant we had the whole place to ourselves. The falls were stunning and we had a beautiful swim in, around and under the falls.

I also did a little exploring around the waterfall, here's the view from the top looking down!

With the light fading we hiked back to the camp ground and checked out the lower pool (equally nice but according to Liz "felt very crocodilely".

Travel Log:

Lake Argyle to Edith Falls: 570 km

Total Trip: 12,528  km

Lake Argyle (By Simon)

The trip from Kununurra to Lake Argyle being only 70km was short and sweet. The caravan park at Lake Argyle seems to be a favourite with the Grey Nomads and fills up fast but we were able to score a fantastic site with a beautiful view over a rocky gorge. Each day we woke to brilliant sunrises and each night went to sleep looking at the amazing stars.

The caravan park also had an "infinite pool" which although cold had a breathtaking view.

A short hike down into the gorge was a pontoon which was great for swimming in the lake.

Lake Argyle was formed when the Ord River was dammed in the 70's and is the largest man made lake in Australia holding on average 10,000 GL of water. That's 10,000 billion litres or 19 times larger than Sydney Harbour. Given our time spent camping on the shores of Lake Michigan we also found it interesting that Lake Argyle, immense as it is, is only 1/246th the size of the Great Lakes and they hold 6 quadrillion gallons (whatever that is)!

As well as supplying water and electricity to Kununurra and the ambitious Ord River Irrigation scheme it also provides an beautiful oasis and a home for a multitude of wildlife.

In order to see more of Lake Argyle we went on a sunset boat tour which allowed us to see a tiny portion of the lake from water level and see a lot of wildlife including freshwater crocodiles.

 

 

The tour finished with a sunset swim in the middle of the lake and us jumping off the roof of the boat.

 

 

 



 The sunset over the lake was amazing.



We also did an interesting hike to Durrack Homestead which was painstakingly dismantled and reconstructed on higher ground prior to the valley being flooded (the original site is now 18m under Lake Argyle). The Durracks were one of the first families to set up a cattle a station in the Kimberley. They drove 7000 head of cattle from Queensland, a trip they planned to take 6 months but took 2.5 years. They arrived with less than half the cattle, horses and men surviving.

Travel Log:

Kununurra to Lake Argyle: 70 km

Total Trip: 11,958  km