More of Darwin

On Tuesday afternoon we decided to have a look around Howard Springs.  I hadn't realised just how close it was to us, really just the other side of the highway.  We went to the springs picnic area and spent quite some time time looking around there.  It is a really lovely picnic area that has been developed from what was a WW2 R&R area for troops.  There is a lovely pool, closed for swimming now because of infection risks, but full of barramundi and turtles.  I thought this might be Jim's best chance to get close to one.  There's also a nice walk of just under 2 k's. There is a National Parks office there, and we saw a sign advertising their barramundi feeding which runs every Wednesday during the tourist season.  Looking at the dates we realised the first day was tomorrow.  So a quick phone call had us booked in for the talk and feeding.  We then headed to the township, passing this huge workers camp that is only part completed.  It will have 3500 workers living there very soon.  Darwin has had a big injection of workers with the Inpex gas project.  The town of Howard Springs isn't much, with a supermarket, caravan park, and a few other essential shops.

Wednesday morning, just as we finished breakfast, the tube in our dining area light blew.  Now what are the chances of a caravan repairer who specialises in 12 volt working on the caravan opposite us.  Within a few minutes we had a new LED replacement for the more power hungry fluoro. We then headed back to Howard Springs to discover we were the only ones booked into the National Parks talk.  A lovely Parks lady told us the history of the springs with some great photos from WW2 and then we headed to the pool to feed the barra.  Jim was more than happy to grab a fish and lean over, getting splashed well and truly when the huge barra grabbed it.  I was a bit more cautious and took the option of the long handled tongs.  It was a great experience and we think we were lucky to be so early in the season and have it to ourselves.

After leaving there, we went back to Palmerston to explore the other shopping centre.  After some purchases for lunch and having this back at the van, we then headed out to explore 17 1/2 mile camp, which is actually very close to here.  Although a hot walk, we very much enjoyed it, trying to visualise how it must have been during the war, compared to the suburbia it is now.  This was a prime defence line when they believed that a land invasion was imminent after the bombing of Darwin, and their orders were to hold at all costs.  Fortunately it never came to that.

Tin soldier cutout to give an idea of the conditions

One of the defence positions 

Remains of one of the toilets.

Thursday morning Jim installed a new 12 volt fan we had heard about and got delivered to here.  It is a marine fan, drawing very little power.  Neither of us particularly enjoy running the air con over night, but the nights are so warm, we need something.  We will also be able to use this when we free camp. It did take quite a bit more than the 5 minutes installation they say on the box.

In the afternoon we explored further afield, all the way to Channel Island.  We were looking for some good fishing spots.  There was a good boat ramp there, but no where you might want to fish from the shore.  On the island there is a power plant and a gas plant, but we were amazed at this great road that seemed to go nowhere.  Heading back we passed so many workers' buses, so we figure out there somewhere had to be something to do with the gas mining.  On the way back we stopped at the Elizabeth River Bridge.  What a great spot this is.  A lovely new jetty has been built, with good parking and toilets etc.  But despite these wonderful facilities, Jim still didn't catch any fish.  A place to consider heading to another day though.

Friday we decided to revisit our childhood - you are never too old to have fun, so we headed back into the city to the Darwin Wave Pool.  It did seem strange to have waves that tasted of chlorine.  Jim was a little disappointed that you really couldn't catch the waves with a boogy board.  But all the same, it was fun.  While still wet and in our swim gear, we also ventured to the lagoon pool next door.  After a shower, we walked around the waterfront area.  What a great place this is, and we thought it would be the best area to stop if you were flying into Darwin.  We had lunch at Stokes Wharf, another historic part of Darwin.  After that we headed to Cullen Bay, having a good look around that area with its big boats and even bigger houses.  It's also the point from which to catch the ferries to the islands.

Saturday was an easy day, where we decided just to do some maintenance and cleaning chores while enjoying the swimming pool here.  But Sunday was another full day of exploring.  First off we headed to the Fannie Bay Gaol.  This was still used up until 1979.  It was actually more interesting than we expected, as the main cell block has many displays in it.  This was also the original building built in the late 1800's and what amazed us the most was the width of the doors.  We couldn't see how an overweight person would fit through.

There was quite a lot on display regarding the last hanging in the Territory in 1952.  Two young Czechs confessed to murdering a taxi driver and were caught near Mt. Isa.  They had planned to sell the taxi in Sydney or Melbourne and use the money to return to Europe.  They were only 19 and 21 and both were pretty much orphans.

Tiny cell doors

The Infirmary, site of the last public execution in 1952

The gallows.  The pit was dug in secret for the hanging.  

After the gaol we headed down the bay to the National Trust property, Burnett House.  This was a fine example of a house that was actually designed for the tropics.  The lady there explained to us that when the house was built, there were no fans, no running water and no fly wire!!  The living area was down stairs, and sleeping was upstairs.  The upstairs area was completely louvered to allow the breezes through, and doors were swinging cafe doors, nothing at the top or bottom so the air could circulate even through doorways.  There are three other houses by the same architect next to this one, but the others aren't open to the public.  They are in a prime area of the city, and were all damaged during the war.  The front fence still has the damage from strafing.

The front fence

Our next stop was Charles Darwin National Park.  This mangrove habitat has great views of Darwin Harbour and is the area where the munitions were stored, during and for a long time after the war.  These concrete bunkers are still there. Number 12 has a number of displays in it.

Strafing on the door of number 12 bunker

The view of Darwin from the park.

From there we headed to another well preserved WW2 site, the Quarantine Batteries, so called because it was based at what was originally a quarantine station. This is the most complete anti-aircraft site within Darwin and protected the southern section of the harbour.

During our exploration of the WW2 sites, we have realised the extreme conditions they must all have worked under.  This is now into the dry season, but the days are very hot and often still humid.  It can get uncomfortable for us being out in the sun.  How did they manage with no airconditioning, lack of water, and the insect repellents we take for granted.  And the wet season is so many times worse.

On to Darwin

We arrived in Darwin on Tuesday after a leisurely pack up at Mt. Bundy.  It is an easy drive of about an hour.  Darwin caravan parks are notoriously expensive, some wanting in excess of $60 a night.  I'd found one that sounded good and a reasonable price on the southern side of Darwin - Oasis Tourist Park.  I was quite amazed to discover it is almost full, and we were lucky to get a site.  Our plan had been to stop two nights and stock up and then head to Kakadu, but when I looked up the road reports after we arrived, I discovered more road were closed than the day before.  So I went back to the office and booked another two nights.

After lunch we headed back south to visit Berry Springs.  We had decided it would be easier to get rid of the van and travel backwards.  However, my research let us down a little, as although I found the park was open, I'd missed the small print where the pools were closed, so no swim for us.  However, the park itself is very pretty and the walk to the pools showed us why indeed you could not swim there at the moment.

 

Raging Berry Springs - not the peaceful swimming hole in the brochures

But this gave us time to explore Strauss airfield on the way back.  Driving in to Darwin we had been amazed at all the old WW2 airfields beside the highway.  This one is particularly good, and we were able to drive around the back of it and see all the revetments that are still very well cleared areas and the foundations of some of the buildings.  Signage was very good and interesting.  We decided this would have been a wonderful area for camping, no wonder they had no camping signs everywhere.

Driving back up the runway to look at the area near where the control tower used to be, gave you the urge to pull the wheel back and take off.  The old runway is now a popular area for trucks to stop.

Replicas of WW2 planes

The runway

It wasn't long before we decided to extend our time in Darwin again.  Many Kakadu roads are still closed so the best sites aren't available.  We had extended to the Saturday, and by that time had rethought our plans, and decided it might be better and a lot less mileage to do Kakadu after our trip to Melbourne.  The people in the caravan park here are great, they have only owned it for about six months.  When we went to extend further on Saturday, Jim asked would they be interested in him testing and tagging the park in return for our site fees.  They were happy to do this, but the site we were on was already booked, so we had to move sites.  This one is really great, has garden right around it except for where you back the caravan in, so it's very private like our own private grotto.  And of course shady the whole time, which is another bonus.

Meanwhile, we had been catching the sites of Darwin.  Wednesday afternoon was spent walking around the main city area after a visit to the information centre.  Such a different place to other capital cities and very pretty with all that water around.  An of course so much of it had to be rebuilt after Cyclone Tracy.

Thursday was a very full day.  First off we headed back to the city, and toured the WW2 Oil Storage Tunnels.  These are interesting but disappointing that they don't do more with them as they have heaps of potential.  The same people have had the lease since the 1990's, and it looks like they have changed nothing.  There is a good photo display but many are so old and faded they are hard to see.  We had a talk to the girl at the front, and she agreed with us, and has been trying to get the owners to rethink things.  Hopefully she will achieve something.  After leaving the tunnels we walked around the water front area and enjoyed our lunch by the water.

 Next stop was to East Point for the war museum and Defence of Darwin display.  We spent quite a bit of time looking over the old defence remains before going into the museum.  The museum was quite a surprise, so well done and much bigger than we expected.  In the end we were there over two hours.  The Defence of Darwin video recreation was extremely well done, even if I did get trapped in there on  my own.  It runs for about 13 minutes and starts every 20 minutes.  I saw the flashing light at the door, so walked in, expecting Jim to be just behind me.  What I hadn't realised was that after a short period of time the doors close and lock automatically.  Jim hadn't seen me go in, and with the doors closed didn't even realise there was a theatre there, so spent some time wondering where I had got to.

Fortification remains at East Point

It was late afternoon by the time we left the museum, which was great timing for arriving at the Mindil markets just on opening time of 5.00 pm.  We couldn't believe how many cars were already in the parking lot, but got more of a shock on leaving when we saw just how many more there were and how far they were parked away.

The markets are one of Darwin's features and it was a great atmosphere.  Apart from the market stalls, there is a huge array of food stalls, and we ended up with three courses (we shared the main) for a very reasonable cost.  The other feature of the markets is the western sunset, and the beach was crowded with people watching.

Crowds enjoying the sunset

Friday morning we were booked into the Blood Bank.  There hasn't been anywhere to donate since we were at Mackay, and although not due to give full blood again we were able to give plasma.  It was late morning by the time we left there, and we headed north to explore Lee Point and Buffalo Creek.  Jim tried (unsuccessfully) to fish at Buffalo Creek, which seemed to be a popular fishing area.  At least no one else seemed to be catching anything either.  We then went to the beach suburb of Nightcliff and explored Rapid Creek and the beaches in the area.  We got back late afternoon in time to organise dinner for our guest, Yvette Kirk, who is teaching here.  We had a lovely evening catching up on family news.

Saturday morning we moved sites, and after lunch headed to the 4WD and camping show that was being held at the showgrounds.  This filled in pretty much the afternoon, and we enjoyed looking at the boy's toys and displays.  Our only purchase was a new water filter and a towel.

On Sunday Jim started his tagging while I made use of the opportunity to do some in depth spring cleaning.

Monday morning was a continuation of Jim's tagging and we then headed for a look around Palmerston, which is only a short drive from here.  We discovered there were two shopping centres, so we still have a second one to explore.  From what I read, Palmerston was developed as a satellite city to Darwin.  I had planned a trip to Howard Springs, but on checking discovered it was closed for maintenance for two weeks starting that day.  We don't seem to be having much luck with swimming in the springs up here.  But the park does have a nice swimming pool, and most days we have made use of that.

Our lovely secluded camp site

Adelaide River and Litchfield Park

We couldn’t see any reason to extend our stay in the area, so Friday morning we packed up and made our way to Adelaide River. We stopped en route at Robin Falls, a bit tight for our caravan perhaps as there were already vehicles in there.  A rocky walk to the top but a lovely waterfall when we finally got there.  There was a lovely pool at the car park, and Jim decided on a quick cool off after our walk.

We stopped in the small township of Adelaide River, bought a few supplies, had a look at the nice caravan park and decided to also check out Mt Bundy Station, just a few k’s out of town.  We drove in to look at the camp sites, and a group of people sitting together immediately started talking to us telling us what a great place it was. One had come for a couple of weeks and was still there eighteen months later.  It did look nice and shady so we decided to give it a go for the night.  Friday was campfire night and we had sausage, bread, onion and coleslaw for the princely sum of $3.  It didn’t take us long to decide to take up the offer of pay 3 stay 4 and instead of camping in Litchfield National Park, we would do a day trip instead. 

Our shady site under the Banyan tree

Water buffalo in the front paddock

It was exceptionally hot, but we went to the Commonwealth Graves where those killed in the bombing of Darwin are buried.  We only looked at what was in the shade as standing in the sun was enough to fry you.

Saturday became a housework day catching up washing etc while Jim unsuccessfully tried fishing in the Adelaide River.  We had a nice quiet afternoon, some more fishing but the best thing being that it felt about ten degrees less than the unbelievably hot day before.  Before we knew it, it was happy hour and time to sit around together and hear about the ones who did catch barra that day.

Sunday we planned to visit the Railway Museum, but as soon as we stepped out of the car it started raining.  It looked like a lot of it was out of doors, so we put that tour off.  But we did stumble on a Sunday Market in the town, where surprisingly it was barely raining despite heavy rain about 500 metres away.  After a drive around the area we returned to camp for lunch and it rained most of the afternoon.  Once it eased, Jim tried fishing again, and I worked on putting together nearly five weeks of this blog.

We have experienced wet season and dry season, but not the transition.  After the rain on Sunday, it was like someone flicked a switch Sunday night, and the dry season had started.  Hooray!  Night temperatures especially dropped immensely and we could finally sleep without the air conditioner running.  After Friday's unbelievably high, uncomfortable temperature, it was now quite pleasant.

So Monday was our trip to Litchfield.  Lucky NT, this was their third long weekend in a row, but unfortunately for us it meant lots more people in Litchfield on our day there.  Going via the highway, it was only about 30 k's to Batchelor, and we spent some time looking around this green, cool looking town, and following its WW2 history.

And then we took the road to Litchfield, with Darwinites and bus tourers.  First stop was the termite mounds.  We have seen many on our travels, but must admit that these were pretty impressive.

On then to Florance Falls, where we opted just for the viewing area as two buses had just disgorged some keen swimmers.  It's a wonderful pool, but we couldn't believe the death wish of a couple of young boys who climbed the falls and jumped from that huge distance.

Thinking we were smart, we headed back to Buley Rock Pools where buses and caravans were banned.  It seemed everyone else with just a car had also thought that was a good idea, as the car park was full.  Just near the end, we saw a spare space, but as we headed to it, we discovered it being guarded by a young girl.  She said she was holding it for friends who had to park in the camping area.  But then to Jim's devastation, she said to him, but that's all right, you are old, I will let you have it. He nearly drove on he was so put out.  But the thought of no park won out, and he took it.

The rock pools are just beautiful, lots of pools and spas, but of course lots of people being the long weekend.  We enjoyed our dip, but left earlier than we would have because of the crowds.

On then to look at the beautiful Tolmer Falls, Wangi Falls for lunch (no swimming because of water heights and the threat of crocs) and then on to the Cascades.

Tolmar Falls

Wangi Falls

Now, we thought, we will beat the crowds.  There are upper and lower falls, the lower 1.3 k walk and the more difficult! upper 1.7.  We decided on the lower.  The first 800 metres were Ok, if a little sandy in places, but then the last 500 metres really tested us.  We were clambering over sharp rocks, crossing creeks, walking over logs, and generally wondering were we on the right track.  But just as we were ready to give up, there were the Cascades with only 3 other couples in there.  A lovely swim, but then we had to go back over all those obstacles.

By this stage we had gone through the extent of the park, although a number of things were not opened because of the late wet season.  So heading back, it was around 4, and we thought, all those Darwinites should be heading back by now, let's try again at Buley Rock Pools.  To our dismay the car park was even more crowded, so we gave up on that and headed back to Adelaide River.

Tea time - a long day, who can be bothered cooking, so we headed into the Adelaide River Inn for a nice feed of barra, chips and salad.  And who can resist a photo with Charlie, the water buffalo from the Crocodile Dundee movies, suitably stuffed and mounted.

Further North

We left Katherine not sure of our next destination.  We stopped at Edith Falls and had a couple of delightful swims in the waterfall pool there.  It was really lovely and we had planned to do the 2.5 k walk to the top falls, but it was extremely hot and humid, and we decided not a good idea at that time.  There is a National Parks campground there which was one of our options for the night.  However, many of the NP campgrounds have had massive price increases from last year, and this one had jumped from $6.60 a person to $10.00.  We walked through the camp, and the majority of sites were bollarded off and would not have fitted the van.  The area where there was a van camped was really just a widened area of the road, and they were literally camped on the side of the road.  

Lovely plunge pool at Edith Falls

So, consulting my trusted Wikicamps again, I spotted what sounded like a little treasure further up the road at Hayes Creek.  And a treasure it was.  Not sure how it is a Big 4 park, but we took our ten percent discount and paid the princely sum of $22.50 for a powered site.  Heaps of lush lawn and huge amounts of shade.  We found it very comfortable indeed.  Not only did it have a swimming pool, but a short walk away was a divine freshwater swimming hole.  Seven hundred metres from the swimming hole is Butterfly Gap.  A magical place where thousands of butterflies hang in the crevices.

Our little oasis at Hayes Creek.  Lots of green grass and shade

Butterfly Gap.  Hundreds in the air but might be hard to see in the photo

The lovely little swimming hole

We were sitting outside having breakfast the next morning, and decided it was so tranquil, we would stay another day.  From here we did a circuit to the Grove Hotel, an historic pub made from leftovers from the mining days and full of antiquities and dust.  Not too sure I would want a meal from there, but they did have a menu and there was quite nice camping out the back.  This circuit brought us out opposite the road to Douglas Hot Springs.  We had initially planned to camp here, but as we were only half an hour away and bathers were in the car, we decided to head there for lunch.  The camping area here was nice and flat, but not a great deal of shade.  We decided we had made a good decision as our campsite at Hayes Creek was so much better.  We changed and headed down to the springs.  We found these a little disappointing, as they are quite shallow in most places.  Some areas were very hot, almost scalding, so you needed to be careful.  It was a very hot day, so we really opted for the river rather than the hot springs. 

Historic Grove Hotel

Douglas Hot Springs

Back to Hayes Creek, where we discovered we were now the only campers.  After dark a chap on a pushbike came in and set his tent up.  We have seen a lot of these riders on the highway, and it really didn’t look like our idea of fun.  The biggest problem is the huge distances between anywhere reasonable to stay, which could explain his late arrival after 8.00 pm.

The plan for our travels has always been not to have a plan.  So we pretty much decided only the day before that our next port of call would be Daly River.  We knew this was a very isolated place and famous for its barra fishing.  We figured it couldn’t be too hard to get to as there are at least 8 caravan parks, and we were right, as the road was surprisingly good through to there.  Our destination was the Daly River Mango Farm, and we were very happy with our large shaded site.  Many come here for three months staying over the southern winter.  It wasn’t long before we discovered that without a boat, barra fishing is quite difficult.  Apart from barra, the other plentiful thing are crocodiles, and there are few places that are safe to fish.  The park lady pointed out a couple but all Jim could catch was cat fish. 

Apart from quite a few caravan parks for fisherman, the only other thing in Daly River is the aboriginal settlement.  We drove in and were very surprised at what a lovely clean and neat town it is.  Everywhere was lush, green and mowed.  It has a supermarket which we didn’t go into, a garage and a health clinic.

Daly River where even the GPS got lost.  Should have been only 5 k's back but it came up at nearly 6000, and criss crossed everywhere

Mataranka and Katherine

It was then on to Mataranka where it wasn’t hard to decide to stop three nights.  I chose the park that was right at the springs so that we could head there for a swim whenever we felt like it.  The next day we went and looked at Mataranka (not much to see) and drove out to Bitter Springs.  These are much more natural than Mataranka and you can float down the stream a little distance.  However, the low hanging huge orb spiders and their webs weren’t very conducive for this pastime, so we gave them and miss and headed back to the Mataranka pool.  Swimming here was one of the best places we have been.  The water is a perfect temperature and is crystal clear.  Thirty million litres go through every day if the board is to be believed.  It is not a true thermal pool, as the heated water is only from the warmth of the rocks it passes through, and not geothermal heating. 

Water Fall in Elsey National Park

Mataranka Pool

Bitter Springs

We also spent a morning exploring the Elsey National Park, which includes an area of the Roper River and we did a number of the walks there.

After a final swim on the Friday morning, it was off to Katherine and the Shady Lane Caravan Park where we were given a huge shady site that could have almost fitted two van.  The park is on the road to the gorge, and that afternoon we drove out to have a look and enquire about cruises.  I had been looking at the 3 gorge tour, but it wasn’t open yet.  However, we were told that the first sunset dinner cruise of the season started on Sunday night.  We decided that had to be our special treat for this trip and we booked in.

We went and looked at the thermal springs at Katherine, but after Mataranka, were not overly impressed.  They didn’t look overly clean and there were quite a lot of people in there (it was a long weekend).  We did spend a whole morning at the Katherine museum, which we found well signed and very interesting.

Our lovely big site at Katherine 

And then it was time for our dinner cruise.  We were to meet at the boarding area at 4.15, just at the time it started to pour.  The first thing they did was hand out rain ponchos, very handy as it turned out.  We were then told that the weather was too unpredictable to eat on the dinner boat, so they were transferring the dinner to the bistro area at the information centre.

The cruise was really lovely, especially as the 

afternoon sun went down.  It took two hours and we travelled two gorges.  You have to walk about 500 metres between gorges to get the second boat.  Just as we stepped onto this boat, the heavens opened and it absolutely poured down.  It was so heavy I couldn’t hear the commentary, let alone actually see anything.  But in a few minutes it was over and we could enjoy our cruise again.  The second gorge is far more spectacular and is the one featuring on the tourist photos. 

Mataranka may have got rid of their bats, but not Katherine Gorge

Although initially disappointed that we weren’t eating on the water, we eventually decided that it was a much nicer dining experience back at the info centre.  And the food – it was just glorious.  We shared a table with two other couples.  The first course was a shared platter that included slow cooked crocodile with lemon myrtle, kangaroo, cheeses, dried tomato pate, olives etc served with a large slice of spiced damper.  Next was a sorbet. The main course had to be ordered before getting on the boat, and the choice was eye fillet steak or barramundi.  We both chose the barra, and it was divine, served with rosti potatoes and a shared salad bowl.  The final course was a flourless chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce and flavoured cream.

 

One of the things that has surprised us about the region is the WWII history.  We knew that Darwin had been bombed, but didn’t realise that Katherine and other inland areas also had been.  And we have also been surprised at the number of old airfields and army camps dotted throughout the countryside of the north.  We wonder why we were never taught this in school.  Was it because we grew up in the south and the war did not touch there the same. 

It's a bit scary when things in museums remind you of your childhood