To 19-Jun-06 (Mataranka NT to Darwin NT)

KATHERINE NT (Shady Lane Tourist Park)
What a place . . . . and it had a supermarket . . . . wooohhoooo! We dropped in to the visitor centre and the supermarket and saw quite a few people we’d met on the track previously (everyone seems to do the same thing on arriving in Katherine). We also saw Cutta Cutta Caves (much warmer & drier caves than Jenolan) and the Ghan (which stopped at Katherine railway station for almost 5 hours. It’s nearly 1k long & a passenger proudly showed us his cabin – most salubrious).



We enjoyed an awesome Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge cruise – it is an amazing place. Rhonda also made friends with a family of blue-faced honeyeaters and some apostle birds as we ate lunch beside the river.

We stopped in at Edith Falls on the way to Kakadu, another beautiful spot. Some hardy people were swimming in the big lake there – we managed to resist the urge (the freezing water helped us here!).


KAKADU NT (Mardugal Campsite, Cooinda)
A good campsite where wallabies scampered away as we drove onto our spot (no 240v power so very economical). Spencer even managed to wet a line and scored 2 good barramundi strikes – sadly, they spat the hook out once they tasted it (only single hook lures are permitted in Kakadu). He enjoyed it though. We also discovered that solar hot water at night becomes solar cold water by morning (bbbrrrrrrr) when there is no power for a booster.



We managed to get up in time to join the 6:45am Yellow Water cruise at Cooinda – it was spectacular and very special to be out there on the water amongst the birds and crocs at dawn as they were waking up. We took this photo as we drifted amongst flooded paper bark trees. What an amazing (am running out of superlatives) array of birdlife lives here.







The road to Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls was closed and so we lashed out and took a small fixed-wing flight over them. The pilot was very skilful although he looked too young to be flying a plane all by himself. He maneuvered the plane so each passenger had a good view of the falls and a smooth ride too. The waterfall drop is higher than the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This Kakadu sure is a big, beautiful place!




On the way to Bowali Visitor Centre near Jabiru, we visited Mirrai Lookout (very steep climb) and Nourlangie Rock (great rock art and views). We thoroughly enjoyed the visitor centre too – it has been very well done and the video presentation is excellent.


KAKADU NT (Merl Campsite, Ubirr)
Another economical campsite. Evidence of Cyclone Monica’s visit was everywhere with many naked or horizontal trees and plenty of debris around.

Ubirr is a fascinating place with aboriginal rock paintings and a spectacular vantage point looking out over the Kakadu wetlands. We climbed up onto the huge rock lookout where we joined hundreds of other people to take in the amazing sunset. It was very beautiful and we now have lots more sunset photos (this is one of them).





ANNABURROO NT (Bark Hut Inn)
An overnight stop here on the way back to Darwin. Spencer even managed to find an hour or so to chase barramundi (again without success).

The park provided some late evening entertainment with a grass burn-off just after 9:30pm. The fire was right beside the van park with the wind blowing away from us. There were some very worried European tourists next to us until the flames died down. In the NT, they follow a ‘patchwork back-burning’ approach during the cooler months (May-July) which encourages new growth and animals to come and feed on the new grass. It also helps to prevent bad fires during the hotter months.


We’ll tell you about our Darwin stay in the next fortnightly update and, in the meantime, take care of yourselves and each other.


God bless,




Spencer & Rhonda


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To 5-Jun-06 (Winton Q to Mataranka NT)

Here is something for those who love a few details:
We have travelled 13,700k in the Pajero and towed the caravan 7,400k. The highest petrol price we’ve paid is 167.1 cpl at Three Ways NT. Also, we were glad we’d listened to others at Mt Isa and started carrying some extra fuel because petrol at Barkly Roadhouse NT was the most expensive we’d seen at 176.3cpl (fortunately, we didn’t need to buy any there).



KYNUNA Qld (Kynuna Roadhouse Caravan Park)


A very interesting place (population 12 in 2004). This is the Combo Waterhole where Banjo is said to have been inspired to pen Waltzing Matilda. We also just managed to reach the tar road before a huge storm hit the waterhole area. We could have had a lot of fun playing in the muddy 8k access road if we’d been a little slower.
Kynuna also boasts the Blue Heeler Pub which has heaps of character and where visitors are invited to write their names and a message on the Pub’s walls, floor or ceiling.We just had to stop for a coffee at the Walkabout Creek Hotel (of Crocodile Dundee fame) in McKinlay on the way to Cloncurry.

CLONCURRY Qld (Gilbert Park Tourist Village)
A lovely, restful park with plenty of trees and good facilities. We stayed here a few days and visited the Mary Kathleen museum – what an impressive array of rocks, minerals and memorabilia. It was a thriving township in its day! There is a very worthwhile memorial museum to John Flynn (Flynn of the Inland) here too. He is certainly held in high regard here in the outback.



We also enjoyed a very peaceful afternoon tea beside the huge Chinaman Creek Dam. This Australia sure is a wonderful country!







BURKE & WILLS ROADHOUSE Qld
We made a quick overnight stop here on our way to Lawn Hill and were delighted to see a Viscount Explorer camper-van pull up beside us for the night. It was just like our old van but had a few added graphics for the young men driving around Australia in 2 months.

GREGORY RIVER Qld (Gregory Downs) & Lawn Hill National Park


This was the view from our van at one of the most beautiful riverside campsite we’ve seen so far – and even better, it was FREE (no power or facilities though). We stayed 2 nights here and really enjoyed it’s peaceful serenity. We also enjoyed the company of some other couples travelling around Australia. We’ve met some delightful people on the road so far and it’s amazing just how many times we meet again on the track.





We also took a day trip to Lawn Hill National Park – 180k of good dirt road there and back. It is an awesome place. The canoe paddle through two gorges was spectacular. Rhonda took 90 photos and still found time to get her paddle wet! We enjoyed lunch in the bush at the quiet upper reaches of the top gorge. Then on the way back, we paddled past a 2.5m freshwater crocodile sunbaking on a log. Got some good photos
We also saw heaps of wildlife on the trip to and from Lawn Hill, including brolgas, eagles, galahs, emus, kites, wrens, finchs, kangaroos and feral pigs.

MOUNT ISA Qld (Argylla Tourist Park)
We stayed four nights here and had our wheel alignment and balance checked – all was OK. We checked out the Outback at Isa Museum – gosh, those early settlers were tough! We also went to the Flying Doctor Museum – what vision and enterprise to take the “Mantle of Safety” from idea to reality! We also

SOUDAN NT (Free Roadside Stop)
Armed with confidence from our successful “rough” camp at Gregory River and a copy of “Camps Australia Wide” (which lists all free/cheap campsites in Australia), we found and then stayed in this roadside stop. Could be that many others have the this book too because there were around 12 vans and motor-homes sharing the stop with us.

BANKA BANKA STATION NT
A delightful overnight stop on a working cattle station. We were even treated to a slide-show on the station’s history and operations (it’s ages since we’ve seen a slide-show and quite liked it . . . . so look out when we get home!).

DALY WATERS NT (Daly Waters Historic Pub)
We were lucky to arrive before lunch here because they were turning people away from mid afternoon. There were over 50 vans packed like sardines into this very small area. It was like a traffic jam where vans needed to leave in the right sequence to unlock the puzzle. It was an interesting pub with foreign money and items of (mostly under) clothing on walls and ceiling. Car licence plates from around the world were also on display.

MATARANKA NT (Territory Manor Tourist Park)


Rhonda has been so looking forward to the Mataranka thermal pools and we really enjoyed them. We also discovered that 2.5 hours in these pools gave us prune-fingers. The next day, we swam for another 2 hours in the nearby Bitter Springs thermal pool (more prune fingers) and visited the Mataranka Museum – testimony to the dedication and determination of earlier folk. We had to visit the site of the original Elsey Station and the Elsey Cemetery where the Maluka and other characters of “We of the Never Never” rest.


We would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave us a comment or send us an Email.

God bless,



Spencer & Rhonda



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