Kakadu – Katherine – Timber Creek - Kununurra
Kilometres 9560 - 11006 km
We started our week with another couple of days in Kakadu. One of the
many draw-cards in Kakadu is Jim-Jim Falls, so on Monday we headed out to this
remote waterfall. We were only 5km or so down the dirt track when we came round
a corner to see a Water Buffalo smack in the middle of the track. As we came to
a screaming halt my first thought was of a Crocodile Dundee showdown but
luckily it didn’t come to that as the beast soon took off into the bush. After
50kms of corrugation we got to the carpark and were happy to see a few other
cars as we also spotted the crocodile warning signs which instinctively have
the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. We had a 1km walk of
rock/boulder hopping which turned out not to be too bad, but the croc traps
which were in the big swimming holes had us cautious. The falls were a huge
disappointment as they’d dried up because of the seasonal weather, but the
serenity of the whole place was amazing and the trip was still worth it…..
Returning to the van by mid-afternoon we sat for a few hours before heading out
again to check the setting sun on the nearby Nourangie Rocks. Once again we were
blessed with another beautiful sunset to finish our day.
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| Jim-Jim Falls (no waterfall but still very nice) |
Tuesday was moving day but not before we spent another full day in
Kakadu NP. We headed to the small town of Cooinda and the nearby Yellow Water
wetlands. We’d opted not to do the cruise here but with plenty of boardwalks
around we took a few hours soaking up the vista of this area. This included us
spotting another saltwater crocodile only 20m from our vantage point. Moving
further south through the park we drove very close to one of the many fires
that seem to burn freely in the NT. We’d previously witnessed the many
Whistling Kites (bird) that swoop around the fire front getting an easy feed,
on this occasion one of them got a little too close to our passing car and we
instantly had a new roof cage ornament which dangled down over Leonie’s window.
In the blink of an eye Leonie was nearly in my lap driving the car. A sight
that had the kids and I laughing uncontrollably…. By late afternoon we were in
Katherine and had set up camp just as the Army rolled into town for an
exercise.
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| Yellow Water wetland |
Wednesday was very much a relaxing day for us, the Army continued to
roll into town making the showground their new temporary home. For us we
visited the nearby Katherine Hot Springs a couple of times throughout the day.
Floating down the warm natural springs is so soothing. We took in a few of the
other sights of Katherine before retiring to the van so the kids could catch up
on some schoolwork while we partook in happy hour festivities.
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| Katherine Hot Springs |
Too many grey-nomads leaving early meant that we were awake way too
early on Thursday. I’m not sure what it is but the retirees all want to be driving
to the next destination before 7am and of course none of them do that quietly.
Anyway at a more respectable time of the day we headed out to Katherine Gorge
where we did a cruise of the spectacular gorge. With it being late in the
dry-season and river levels very low our guide carefully navigated us through
the often tricky and shallow sections of the river, he did tease some of us
telling us how in the wet-season they swap the current boats for jet boats
turning the ride into a high-speed ride…. Once back in Katherine we headed
straight for the hot springs again for another relaxing swim.
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| Katherine Gorge |
Friday was moving day for us and not quite as bad as the retirees we
made an early start to the day. As we left the van park a newspaper headline
caught our attention “Croc attack Wangi Falls”. Leonie and I looked at each
other with shocked faces. Sure enough, reading the local rag a tourist was
bitten by a freshwater croc at Wangi Falls, the same place where we’d swam only
3 weeks earlier…. Heading west the car was abuzz with the excitement that we’d
be in a new state by Saturday night, but in the same breathe I know I was
feeling a little cautious as you head towards one of the more remote sections
of Australia. Our day ultimately went very smoothly, although we did stop for
an extended break. This was to decorate our own termite mound. Much of northern
Australia is littered with termite mounds which grow in various sizes and
shapes and lots of people decorate them. We’d bought a t-shirt and with a bit
of imagination we created “Tori Termite from Timber Creek”, complete with arms,
hat, hair and sunglasses the kids made sure it (she) looked a million dollars…..
Just after lunch we drove into Timber Creek which was overnight stop, we chose
to camp just out of town. It was here we met another family doing a similar
travel adventure as us, but they’d already been at it for 14 months. We shared
many stories with them around the fire and the kids played so well together….
Enjoy your travels Matt and Leigh.
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| The kids with Tori Termite |
Our stopover in Timber Creek was simply to break the journey so there
was no need to rush off on Saturday as we only had 200km until Kununurra and with
us winding our clocks back at the WA border, the time difference would mean we’d
literally arrive in Kununurra not much later than when we left Timber Creek.
Anyway we soon chewed up the 200km and arrived at the NT/WA border feeling a
bit wary. We were subjected to a quarantine search as no fresh food can enter
the upper Western Australia region. Who would have thought that in the 21st
century we still had these crazy restrictions within our own country? Anyway with
that behind us and the obligatory border photos done we soon arrived in Kununurra
where we quickly picked a van park and made ourselves at home, the kids had a
swim while Leonie and I caught up on our social networking.
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| The WA/NT border |
Our first full day in Kununurra started very early. The change in time
zones has thrown our body clocks out and with sunrise being before 5.30am we
were all awake and having breakfast by the pool at 7am. The kids even had an
early morning dip before we headed out to Lake Argyle and the Ord River Dam.
This body of water is the largest artificial lake in Australia and many tourists
flock to it but for us we couldn’t see what all the fuss was about so we didn’t
stay too long…. Once back in town we checked out a few other sites such as Ivanhoe
Crossing, a couple of lookouts and an interesting Sandalwood factory, where
they grow and export the rare Indian Sandalwood timber for its rich cosmetic oil.
At $100,000/tonne it’s a good business to be in.
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| Lake Argyle |
As I write this to complete week 8 we’re all sitting in the van feeling
like zombies, in fact I’d say we all probably have a bit of time/jet lag. Too
many late nights, hot days and now a change in time zones which for us has
greatly affected the sunrise and sunset times we’ve previously been use too, I
think we need to take a few days R&R at the famous El Questro Station.
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