Homeward Bound

Day 36: Katherine

After leaving the station it was time to start heading south east! What better way to kick off the last leg of our trip, than to catch up with family and friends on the beginning of theirs!

So we only had a couple of hours to drive from the station when we met up with Uncle Joe and Aunty Di; Aunty Beth and Uncle Eric; and a host of others from home who were all on their way to Broome via the Gibb River Road.  We were supremely jealous of course that they had all of their trip ahead of them and we were to go back to work in a week, but it was great to see them all and swap travel stories.

Nick had another go fishing for the allusive Barra and finally had a win - it was a small, but at least he can say he caught one in the Northern Territory.  We spoke to a few locals who had said it was a bad time for catching big Barra so that made him feel a little better.  Anyway, here a few pics ... 

Crossing the Daly River on the way back from Elizabeth Downs

 Weird rock formations - right next to Litchfield National Park

 Fishing under the bridge at Katherine

 Big barra!!

 It was massive!!

The Wrap Up:

Glad we had: Lures (for Nick to catch the Barra!)

Wish we had: A campervan (we were starting to get sick of getting all the gear out and setting up the tent just for one night at a time!)

Outback Adventure!

Day 35: Elizabeth Downs Station

Nick knows a contact musterer and one of the members of his team so we were lucky enough to go visit them at a million acre cattle station they were working on "Lizzy Downs".

The team was pretty busy but they were kind enough to let us watch them work and set up our tent for the night.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves but to give you an idea of numbers, there were 4000 head of cattle yarded up that they were drafting and branding.  We stunk, and had bull dust all over us, but it was definitely worth the trip.  Thanks Tai and Charlie for having us.

 FYI: we had permission!

 The shed was HUGE!!

 Drafting, branding, spraying and tagging at the crush.

 The steers we shared space with!  They were mostly pretty quiet, had to watch a few wild cows though - they were worse than some of the bulls!

 Our mate Charlie on his horse!

 The horses and quad bikes were showing the cattle where to go, they stir up the dust on purpose to create the illusion of a wall.

 This one was a little too clever and got through though!

Too cute!!

The Wrap Up:

Glad we had: A shower to get all that bull dust off!

Wish we had: Hmmm...not much, it was a pretty great day!

 

Love this place!

Days 32-35: Darwin

Three days of laid back luxury! So, although I admit we had stayed in a few more motels than expected, we'd always planned on staying in Darwin city so it was such a shame that we had to book into The Holiday Inn!  We LOVED Darwin. Didn't get a whole heap of photos (you feel like a real git carrying a big SLR around town) but we did have fun.  

A few highlights: 
1 - Hiring a boat at Corroboree Billabong near Kakadu (even if we did almost collide with a bobcat and a grader on the way there - no signs, no traffic controllers - they really do make up their own rules in the NT!)
2 - Mindil Beach Sunset Markets - and a catch up with some more friends - thanks for the moments guys!
3 - Nick went on another fishing charter
4 - Waterfront eats and shops!

 Rigging Up!

 The water lily flowers were stunning!

 Jabiru!

 Salt Water Croc!! There were HEAPS! This one was certainly not the biggest, but probably the best photo!  Needless to say I was pretty freaked out when we got close!

The beach!! We got some better photos, but I'm having trouble uploading them for some reason.

The Wrap Up:

Glad we had: Good advice from Linden (otherwise we would have missed Corroboree!)

Wish we had: Caught a barra for Nick :( 

 

Goodbye WA :(

Day 31: Adelaide River

Sadly it was time to leave WA - man we loved that place!  Anyway, we crossed the border to Northern "we make up our own rules" Territory!  More on that later, but despite the sadness of leaving WA, the Northern Territory didn't disappoint!

 They don't have the open speed limit any more, still we don't see this sign in Queensland!

On the road between WA and Katherine, is the stunning Victoria River.  We'd love to get back here too - it was awesome!  We stopped for a quick fish of course.  It was stinking hot and the water looked super inviting for a swim - crocodile warning signs everywhere though so I wasn't going to tempt fate.

 No fish, but fun all the same!

 The cliff faces were amazing (even if my photography isn't!)

We left Victoria River and headed towards Katherine. We had grand plans of hopping on a cruise at Katherine Gorge, but we'd heard mixed reports about how good it was and had just missed a cruise meaning we'd have to spend a lot of time hanging out in the information centre waiting for the next one.  We weighed things up and decided to push on without seeing it. Perhaps it's a decision we'll regret but we figure it's close enough to Darwin if we ever want to go back.  So, we kept on the road and headed to Adelaide River.

 We spotted a few 'little' termite mounds on the way!

And finally we were in Adelaide River!  A cute little town with a great pub (AKA "The Adelaide River Inn)

The Wrap Up:

Glad we had: Pub meal and a bed (no swags!)

Wish we had: Not bothered to drive into Katherine Gorge! (given that we didn't end up going on the cruise)

Well worth the visit

Day 30: Lake Argyle

So, we knew about this place before we left, but we still weren't convinced that we'd definitely go there.  It was on the itinerary but it was probably a 'negotiable' destination as we figured we might be tight for time in the 5th week of our travels.  We had, however, done more k's the day before so we thought it was worth the detour off the main track - and well, it was well worth the visit.

But before we got to Lake Argyle, we stopped in Kunanurra....

And hello Icebreak!!!!!  Oh how we'd missed you!! The first one in a LONG time - we hadn't spotted any others in WA!!

 

 The amount of water flowing through the causeway was incredible! Should have been a sign of things to come but I still don't think we were prepared for how big this man made dam really is!  We went for a sunset cruise later in the day - if you're ever in the region it's a must do!

 The dam wall, pretty small really in comparison to other dams and how big this one really is. I wish I had an aerial shot - but this place is massive!  They dammed off part of the Ord River - if you know where the Argyle Diamond mine is you can see it from the dam.  The thing is so huge though that in the middle of it, you can't see the other end - the horizon gets in the way!

 We ducked into Crocodile Cove for a quick look - Freshies, so they're harmless!

 Nick was as little jealous of the GPS on board the boat - big flat screen TV that folded down from the roof!

 Beautiful sunset!

 

We camped the night at the Lake Argyle Caravan Park.  Well worth it.  Pretty amazing pool too right on the edge of a cliff!

The Wrap Up:
Glad we had: The fore site to book a spot on the cruise early in the day.  We were lucky to get a spot apparently!
Wish we had: Booked even earlier, then we could have hopped on a sea plane and had a look at the Bungle Bungle Ranges. Never mind, next time!

On the road again

Day 29: Somewhere South of Kunanurra

We hit the road again - not locked into any particular destination, but we needed to log a few k's to stay on track with our time schedule.


So, a leisurely drive ensued...

Random first stop - Minnie Bridge!!  There was no real reason for choosing this particular location except that Nick needed a pee, and felt like a fish!  So, we jumped out of the car and headed to the river bed.

 There were plenty of cat fish, but no barra.  There was some other wildlife that we hadn't banked on too...

 

 No. 1: Brahman Bull.  We didn't see him straight away, only noticed him after the first 10 minutes.  He was about 50meters away and was very interested in us.  Luckily, he decided that we weren't worth bothering and he soon left us alone - we were left feeling slightly uneasy though!

 No. 2: Croc.  Well, we can't be absolutely certain - as you can see we don't have the photo evidence to prove it - but, there was a massive splash on the other side of the river and subsequent ripples coming to our side ... time to pack up and leave!

  
We hit the road again after Minnie Bridge and headed on in the direction of Kunanurra.  The boab trees were a definite highlight.

 Not sure exactly where this is, but there was some pretty cool scenery on the way.

We fueled up in Halls Creek, and stopped in a few other towns.  Eventually we set up camp in a free camp just south of Kunanurra.  A good day!

The Wrap Up:
Glad we had: Baby wipes
Wish we had: A shower!!