Week 1 plus a few days has been filled with so much contrast and varying scenery. From the cold wintry conditions of Wollongong, through to the fruit orchards of Mildura, to the vast open mullock heaps of Coober Pedy and finally the arid openness of central Australia, there has so much to see. We’d always planned to do 4 really big days on the road, so we could spend the next 4 weeks taking a more leisurely pace to get home. Some 4000km later we found ourselves at the most northern point of our trip. Mataranka and its hot thermal springs was the perfect way to unwind after 4 big days behind the wheel. No sooner had we setup camp, than we were jumping into the thermal water at Bitter Springs. By Saturday evening our convoy of cars and families were all together. We enjoyed the banter of catching up so far from home.
Monday saw us on the road but not before we stocked up with delicacies from the local bakery. We soon found ourselves heading east along the Savannah Way. This was the primary focus of our trip, it’s the last part of Highway 1 that circumnavigates Australia that we hadn’t done. For the first hundred kilometres the single lane of bitumen was pretty easy. Oncoming cars yielded as we both shared the road. By the time we reached the small community of Roper Bar the bitumen had been replaced with red dirt, lots of dust and corrugations. Wherever possible we’d stop along the Roper River hoping to see a crocodile, but alas each time we’d get back to the car with no croc’s spotted. It was at one of these stops where we had our first casualty, one vehicle sustained a flat tyre which pierced the sidewall….. not a good start to the trip. Pressing on and temporarily moving away from the river we were surprised by the array of wild animals we spotted. There were the usual herds of cattle, but then we spotted wild donkeys, horses and even Water Buffalo, all of which used the roads for grazing. But still no crocs. By days end we’d made camp at a place called Tomato Island, on the banks of the Roper River. As was the case all day we still didn’t see a crocodile, but we did enjoy our first campfire of the trip that night.
Tuesday, and we were on the road by 9am, we detoured via a few remote camp sites which littered the riverbanks, at one spot we were amazed how close some people were setup next the river. Maybe they didn’t understand what being “croc wise” meant. We negotiated a few easy creek crossings as we trekked eastward along the Savannah. However it wasn’t long before we were alerted to another flat tyre on another vehicle. Once again the tyre was irreparable with 2 big holes in the sidewall. We all chipped in making the tyre change as quick as an F1 pitstop. We detoured into a small fishing camp on the banks of the Limmen River with the prospect of potentially getting a spare tyre. Ha-ha how wrong were we, the run-down community offered nothing more than good advice and a stopover for keen fishermen, but we did see our first saltwater crocodile sunning itself on the banks of the river. Pressing on, we marvelled at the hundreds of termite mounds and wild animals that litter the open plains. By mid-afternoon we’d arrived at Butterfly Falls, this was our home /base for the next 3 nights. The place offered a refreshing safe swimming hole backed by a cascading waterfall and thousands of butterflies that shelter in crevices of the rock walls. Despite the water being rather chilly, it made for great relief from the 30deg days we’d been experiencing so far. As darkness fell and with dinner consumed we all gathered around the campfire for some liquid refreshments.
Wednesday started at a much slower pace, most of us had a morning swim which doubled as a bath and wash-off. By mid-morning we’d set off to explore a place called the “Western Lost City”, a rough and bumpy track that led us to these amazing sandstone towers which reminded us of pagodas we’d previously seen back home but these ones had striking orange and red colours with bubble type layering with some having little top hats due to weathering. As we climbed and explored on foot we all commented on how beautiful yet weird these rock formations were that appeared in the middle of nowhere. By mid afternoon we’d returned from our 4-hour exploration, the refreshing water of Butterfly Falls was the perfect way to end a hot dusty day. As dusk fell some of us had a close encounter with a brown tree snake that tantalised around their feet before heading off into the nearby grasses. Once again, under the cover of darkness with only the crackle of our fire we watched the overhead light show as millions of stars sparkled above.
Thursday dawned with a blanket of fog hanging over the campsite, but it didn’t last for long as the day’s temperatures headed for a high of 32deg. One of our convoy opted to pack up a day earlier than the rest of us and head to King Ash Bay where they hoped the introduction of 240volt power would be better for their fridge cooling problems than the 12volts being generated by the car. Before heading to King Ash Bay we all headed to the Southern Lost City. These prehistoric looking pillars and columns were very similar to the previous day, but given the walking track that meandered through the columns and the amazing butterfly spectacle we witnessed, we all felt today’s rock formations were much better. Returning to camp we all enjoyed a refreshing swim and some lunch before spending the rest of the afternoon doing odd jobs on our gear. By late afternoon we all indulged in happy hour and a late dinner. As had been the case on previous nights, we concluded our stay at Butterfly Falls with a relaxing campfire.
Friday was moving day, but once again a thick blanket of fog covered the area making it feel rather cool. As the fog burnt off the temps quickly rose. We were on the road by 9am just as the temperature hit the mid 20’s. There were a number of creek crossings to negotiate throughout the morning and at each opportunity we’d stop to see if any crocs were lurking. By late morning we’d pulled up at a conservation reserve which had similar rock formations to those of the past 2 days and whilst it was nice to see them, it didn’t hold a candle to the rock garden that we explored yesterday. After lunch we made our way to Borroloola for some much needed supplies. Fuel wasn’t the only expensive thing in town, groceries and fresh produce on average were 2-3 times the price of back home. A dozen eggs cost $13, needless to say, they stayed on the shelf. We did however have some luck sourcing a new tyre for one of our cars but at a hefty price. Pushing on, we headed out to the small fishing village of King Ash Bay where we caught up with the 4th car in our convoy. By late afternoon and after some well earned showers we headed to the local bar (Groper Bar) for a nice pub meal and some live sport on the tv.
Saturday started at a much more leisurely pace for us, however it was well before 6am when we heard the first boats motoring up the river. We spent a few hours catching up on some domestic chores before heading out to do some sightseeing. The closest town is Bing Bong and it sits right on the Gulf of Carpentaria. It’s a shipping port for exporting iron ore offshore, unfortunately for us it’s off limits to the public so our views of the gulf were a little limited. We did find a cool spot for some of us to do some fishing, with one eye on the shallows for snapping handbags and the other on our lures. We had some fun as the Barramundi jumped all around us but not onto the line. Returning to camp it was no surprise our washing was crispy dry as temps nudged 34deg in the shade. The afternoon was conducive to relaxing in the shade, we had ice creams as we sat on the bank of the river watching the many boats return from a days fishing. Late in the afternoon as the sun set we par-took in our usual happy hour activities. Our first week on the road culminated with us around the campfire making cookie dough bikkies in the camp oven. Bring on week 2 and more adventures.
