It’s getting hot so grab an iced coffee

 

 Getting into Darwin early so we can get a site at the show grounds but the last site was taken the night before so a few phone calls and we’re off to a van park 10ks from the city get a number & wait till 11am when they start calling numbers for the vacant sites this should be fun, after sitting for nearly an hour “BINGO” that’s our number & we’re off to set up camp. We spent 4 days sightseeing Darwin the museum was a high light as they had a display from cyclone Tracey & a lot of info of what happen around that time. We had dinner at Stokes Wharf one night where we ran into Max & Rhonda who we met at Atherton they had already been back to Perth & returned to Darwin to meet family for dinner that night on the wharf. We also went to the night markets which was a blow out there was about 500 people there that night, Josh & Clare brought whips & Mick  taught them how to crack them properly.

Wangi Falls

  An early start & we’re off to Lichfield NP where we will spend a few days, when we arrived at  Wangi Falls camp ground we got the 2^nd last site (now that’s planning) a quick service of the car & we’re off for a swim at the falls. The water was refreshing, Josh & I found a hot spring that filled a hole in the rock the hole was about 8 feet deep then we found some rocks to jump off & swam over to the water falls were we could sit under them. After an hour of coaxing the girls they swam over to the hot springs, Clare & Kirsty swam under the water fall but Kylie would only swim close to them, after nearly 3 hours of swimming we needed a feed & then we would come back later. The next day we went sightseeing to the lost city & to Florence Falls were we went swimming again lots of back packers there so we didn’t hang around long, more swimming back at Wangi Falls to finish off the last day in Lichfield NP.

Hot pool next to falls

 The next day we stopped at Bridge creek free camp beside the road, washing day again & Josh & I did some repairs to the cruiser. The following day I washed the van with creek water & Josh went & found some bamboo so he could build an A frame shelter to sleep in that night but while he was cutting bamboo he disturbed 3 fresh water crocs so Mum wouldn’t let him go & get the last bit he needed ( that’s the excuse he used )he improvised, completed it and spent his first cold night in a shelter he had built himself.

Josh sleeping in his shelter

Termite mound in Lichfied NP

The Lost City

  Back in Katherine more shopping & I picked up parts for the cruiser and then we visited the thermal springs before heading out to a free camp for the night. Not much later 4 other vans stopped for the night so a fire was lit & there were lots of yarns told till late into the night. The next morning we went back to Katherine so I could do the repairs to the cruiser & Kylie work as well the kids did some school work before going for a swim in the thermal springs, we then headed back out of town to a free camp further down the track than the night before. The drive through the ranges to the Victoria River road house were just spectacular we love the way the country side changes over the next hill or round the next corner. Around this area there are lots of 4wd tracks that are extreme so it looks like a place to revisit later down the track, the next stop is Big Horse NP on the Victoria Rive,r as we pulled in Ned & Gae were there so it was time for a catch up yarn around another fire that night. After 2 days there & no fish to be caught time to head to the WA boarder ( yep heading into another state already) as we got to the dirt road turn off @ Zebra Rock camp a traveller stopped us to say that the camp had closed, we found out later that it closed 1hr before we got there, so we set up camp on the side of the road to cook up all vegies before crossing the border the next day. Later that afternoon 4 vans pulled in near us as I went out to greet them they had put there vans in a circle like they were wagon trains so I politely let them no Indians would be attacking that night so they would be safe.... oops nomads with NO sense of humour back in the van for me J . Pulling up at the boarder quarantine the inspector checked the fridges for illegal’s trying to sneak across the border, I thought he would have noticed we had Qld number plates not Victorian, a pretty uneventful border crossing so not long till we reached Kununurra where we notice it was very quite in town & once again nothing open... oops Sunday again & we forgot to put our clocks back an hour & half J .

Boab at sunset Big Horse creek

Make a hot coffee it’s still cold

  Leaving Alice & the temp is still in the minus, heading north back to the marbles for the night hoping for warmer weather. We met a family there who were on a 3 month trek up through the centre then down the west coast. The next morning we stopped at Tennant Creek  then we went through to Newcastle Waters, a free camp on the side of the road “oh no”  looks pretty full & it’s late in the day. After talking to a few people we squeezed in between a van & a fence where Kylie parked perfectly in front of about a dozen people they all watched closely especially the fellow that didn’t park his car straight. He was concerned about the front of his car so I reassured him he wouldn’t notice any damage because it was the same colour as the vanJ after a bit of gloating & a cuppa everyone dispersed. We met Ned & Gae, and Allan & Donna that night around there fire. The next morning we all headed off to camp at Daly Waters pub where they put on a live show each night it was one of those places if it could hang from the roof it was up there. The next morning we went to Mataranka & stayed at Elsey NP, there we visited the thermal springs & walked up the river to some waterfalls & swam in the river when we got back only freshies in here I think.

  We moved onto Katherine for more fuel & food & then went to Edith falls for the night ( so we thought ) the camp ground was full, once you get up north booking & early arrival is essential but that doesn’t concern us too much, back tracking 15k’s we pulled in a side track & set up near a creek for the night, as dark set in as usual back packers arrived so we weren’t alone.  Next morning we were off early heading for Kakadu NP, when we got to the information centre where they advised us to leave the van there for the day & do some exploring before going to camp that night. We then drove to Gumlom falls 40km of corrugations there were lots of spares beside the road, the lower water hole was very cold so we walked up to the top of the falls to several rock pools where we spent time swimming before walking back down for lunch. After picking up the van we drove to a camp for the night, this was the first of two very hot nights which was a lot better than the freezing cold. The following night was a nicer camp & we also had showers there, we explored around the area then ready to move on the next day. Stopping a Jabiru for lunch but it was Sunday so there wasn’t anything open (where did that week go?).

waiting for lunch

 So we are off to Merls campground which is at Cahill’s crossing on the boarder of Kakadu & Arnhem Land, the boarder is the East Alligator River. After setting up camp we headed down to the crossing before sunset as the tide was coming in this is when the crocs are most active we sat up on a deck that overlooks the crossing & watched people fishing off the crossing,( this could get interesting there’s live bait )water was flowing over the road & to the right there was a 3mtr croc sunning itself (probably watching those guys fishing) not much action that night so back to the van for dinner. The next day was a washing day so  Josh & I repacked the wheel bearings in the van & serviced the generator then after lunch we went on a few walks, on the rain forest walk there was a croc sleeping on the river bank (you won't get any deposits back from that bank) where we could stand just above him for a closer look I realised that the camera was back in the car so I ran back to get it ( yes I ran)but he was in the water eating a fish when I got back, so after a while we left him alone we then headed down to the boat ramp for high tide. When we got there, there were 5 locals on the other side of the river fishing after a while they caught a small shark, we learnt 2 new things here sharks & crocs swim together & this was the 1^st time we saw sharks jump out of the water chasing fish, when the locals left they dug up out of the sand 2 more sharks & a sting ray, they had gutted the sharks on the sand & left it there. At dusk we saw a large croc coming up the river with the tide, he swam past us & stopped about 50 meters from the crossing, swam around for a while then slowly swam back towards the other side coming out of the water onto the sand right where the locals had left the guts from the sharks & then he ate what was left, he was quite a big croc, by this stage it was dark so back to camp. Leaving the next morning for Darwin we had one more night on the side of the road at a free camp then the job of getting into a van park in Darwin.



Josh testing the water & Mum



just cruising



eating the scraps



sleeping giant

    An early start so make your coffee strong

  After a hot shower catch up on washing & a good night sleep, the sun doesn’t show it’s face till 7:30 am most mornings so it’s been hard to adjust to late starts. Time to change the cruiser from a tourer/tow vehicle into a 4wd/camper so Josh & I striped the back & draw system bare then removed everything from the roof racks WOW how does all that fit in the cruiser. Then we packed 5 days worth of food, fuel, cloths, water& some tools, this took us around 4 hours. We booked the van into another park around the corner as they had a storage area.

 Well here comes that early start get 3 kids up when it’s still dark & only 5 deg, first challenge for the day then I hooked up the van while they crawled into the car, drove to the storage area booked the van in & then parked it jumped back into the car to drive off & from the back seat we hear are we there yet *#*#!.... No soon J we better get a drive through coffee.

!st night set up



 Driving west through the West McDonnell ranges we came to a water hole that was a swim area that no one was in still too cold  let’s move on. Our first gorge was serpentine gorge the walk to the gorge was easy then Josh lead us up a path to a lookout which was 500 metres straight up ( look out means LOOK OUT )well this will get us ready for Ayres Rock. We had lunch there then drove to a NP for the night. The Northern Territory Nation Parks are great each site has a bbq fire pit & a gas bbq with 2 gas burners & a central drop toilet. We set up the tent boiled the billy & got ready for our 1^st night in the tent. Then the dingos started coming around just on dark they were very inquisitive we saw them looking in car windows & tents for food. The next morning the temp was 3 deg at 8am a very quick pack up & move on so the heater got working. Today we would drive the Marini loop to Kings Canyon, the road was around 180km of dirt road this should be fun I dropped the tyre pressures to 30psi.  The corrugations & wash outs were quite big but we managed to drive at a comfortable speed & got to Kings Canyon by lunch time.



Heart break hill

Canyon rim walk

  After lunch we found the Canyon & walked the creek walk up the centre of the canyon, looking up at the top of the canyon where we would walk the next day was going to be challenging so we enjoyed our walk up the canyon. The next morning was a bit warmer but windy so we geared up for the start of the climb, heart break hill L  with a 6 km rim walk this will be interesting all I can say is it was fantastic the rock formations, the views were nothing what we expected. The walk took around 4 hours with the odd break & lunch but really worth the effort. A break at the bottom & were off to our next destination Curtin Springs about 100 km from Uluru. It was a big day out 4 hour walk then a 300km drive then reset up the tent fortunally the people we set up next to weren’t going anywhere the following day so they looked after our tent for us. Josh got a fire going that night so we cooked diner then off to bed.



Foot of the rock

 Up before the sun again & on the road it was -2 that morning the butane burner would only run for a few minutes as the gas froze so I rotated them from the burner to the water on the stove, a well deserved coffee that morning. 50 km out of Uluru was our first glimpse of Ayres Rock (the Aussie name) the kids were in awe of the size of the rock. 15 km from the rock the kids were really blown away by its size. Parking at the base of the rock I think they were a bit intimidated as we were about to climb up the face. If you have ever seen the rock you know what I mean it’s bigger than Ben Herr. It took us 2 hours to climb to the top of Ayres Rock where customary photos were taken, Back in 1988 when Kylie & I climbed there was a book to sign at the top not anymore no one really wants us up there, tuff I say it was also a lot steeper than we could remember. The wind was very strong so in places you really had to hang on; the chain at the start has been extended. If you are going to have this climb on your bucket list then make sure you spend the right money & buy quality walking boots we saw so many people in joggers slipping on the rock surface you can’t take chances up there. From there we went to the cultural centre to be cultural J

across the top

 Then we drove out to the Olgas had lunch & went on one walk, back to Uluru for fuel as I forgot to fill up that morning so we got back on the smell of an oily rag( it was close only 5 litres left in the tank)back out to the rock to watch the sunset & eat tea before heading back to camp for the night. Back at camp & straight to bed an exhausting day I put a butane cartridge in the bottom of my sleeping bag so it might be warmer the next morning. Later that night the girls woke me up something is try to get Josh, what’s up boy? There is something outside my swag, dilemma do I fight my way out of the sleeping bag & tent to find that whatever is there has gone or do I go back to sleep & clean up the mess in the morning? With the girls still screaming I better get up yep nothing there back to bed. Packing up the next morning the camp we were at had hot showers for $3 ea, I guess when the air temp is in the minuses & water hasn’t frozen that is classed as hot water J There was 1 more night in the tent & we would be back in the van can’t wait. Our last stop for this trip was beside the road there we caught up with a couple we met at Babinda several months earlier. A big fire that night by 9pm the temp was 0 deg, the next morning the water was frozen in the kettle @ 7:30 it was -5 deg not a good start to the day let’s get moving back to Alice. Back in the van park a real hot showers a heater & proper bed now this is livin. We cover 1400km that week & walked 20 hard km & had a great time with lots of memories.



At the top

The Olgers from the top Ayres Rock

Put out that camp fire grab your travel mug & billy where back on the road make a coffee first

  After nearly 8 weeks in Isa cramming my feet back into work boots my work cloths seem to had shrunk travelling in the van & losing the tan on my feet it’s time to get moving again. We all had a great time in Isa met a lot of nice people Kirsty & Joshua worked long late hours at their jobs, Clare kept busy she found a dog ( Mick) 2 vans up from us & walked him several times a day he was a lot like Lou in his personality so he fitted in well, I am sure he’ll miss his walks & sun baking during the day while Clare was doing her school work. The land cruiser got some of those repairs that didn’t get done before we left we finally have air conditioning as were about to head into cooler weather so that will be fun. 

 The 1^st night after leaving Isa we met up with my parents at Camooweal beside a billabong were we stayed for 2 nights. Yep I can smell the border from here it’s finally coming we’re out of Qld tomorrow, it’s been 3 months since we left Brisbane 1 more sleep.

  THERE IT IS yelling from the back seat it’s the NT border yep their pretty excited as well a new adventure across that line in the sand. We stopped at the border & took the monitory photos under the sign looked back & waved. Another few hours of driving smoko & a lunch break we stopped at a camp that is now only an old bore on the edge of one of the local communities. The cruiser developed a vibration so a bush repair to the rear uni joint should get us into Tennant Creek the next day. That night Josh lit his customary fire where people came from the vans around us for a few drinks, nibbles & stories were spun about their travels, they all retired for the night around 7:30 we finally had some tea by the fire. Around 8pm that night a cruiser pulled up by the fire a couple of young fellas got out (1 was my age he was really young) from Tennant Creek they were on their way to work on the community behind us they saw our fire so they stopped for a chat for 2 hours, they brought their own fire wood & beer J  it’s amazing that people just stop for a chat, we have learnt so much from listening to others life experiences & how they live life in the bush.

  Stopping at 3 ways the next morning & saying goodbye to Mum & Dad they were heading north & we off to Alice. We got the cruiser to Tennant & bought a couple of uni joints then decided that we would keep driving & I would do the repairs that night. But just outside town the vibration got worse so back into Tennant were a local tyre company let me use their back paddock & work shop to replace the uni joints. Seems strange working in Tennant again I worked here 24 years ago so that makes me umm 30 J

  That night we camped at the Marbles around 100km south of Tennant Creek the kids spent most of the afternoon climbing all over the rocks, then we all watch the sunset on top of the marbles. Josh set up his swag under the awning for the night it was going to get quite cold over night it got below 10 deg & windy. While we were cooking tea there were dingos running around all the camps, there were probably 30 vans set up for the night. Later that night Josh had a dingo scratching at his swag (I guess the dingo wasn’t that hungry) he heard them howling all night while we sleep all night without hearing anything. The next morning a dingo strolled down the middle of the camps stopped at the sights that were cooking breakfast & sat down in the sun & waited for scraps when he didn’t get fed he then strolled onto the next camp this was his morning routine & was very relax with everyone coming up to take photos of him. After breakfast we left for Alice Springs.

  Get ready for the next post as the next week gets very adventuress so keep the camp fire blazing & the billy hot.