Retirement Travels

Lawn Hill

jmandjm — Mon, 1 Aug 2016 20:52:00 GMT

Friday July 29 saw us ready to leave Burketown by 9:30am after last minute photos and an early coffee. We back tracked back towards Doomadgee to then take the dirt track south west towards Bowthorn Station and then south through Lawn Hill Station and ultimately past Adel’s Grove and into Lawn Hill Camping area which is part of Boodjamulla NP. The track through the station country was in really good condition and made for easy travelling – towing a caravan across this track would not be an issue.

On arrival at Lawn Hill we were to learn that our previously allocated numbered camping spots were no longer allocated to us, QLD NP have decided to do away with the process of allocating people a numbered spot so it is first in best dressed. We were all able to get spots as we had booked but it meant that we were spread all over the camp area. Our camping spot is a good one where there is plenty of sun through the day to excite the solar panels but we get nice shade under the awning of the camper later in the afternoon and we are only about 20 metres from a set of steps and a landing that gives us access to the water to launch the kayak or go for a swim.

So for the last 3 days we have relaxed and enjoyed the surrounds of what is a truely beautiful place – most likely our favourite. We have swam every day and paddled our kayak up the gorges to take in the spectacular scenery. To attempt to describe it would be futile, it is best to say to people “you must do it”. The contrasting colours of the red rocks, the green water and foliage and the deep blue sky make a picture that has you just sitting and taking it in as you paddle up the gorge. Some people take an easy option and pay about $30 per person to take a cruise up the first gorge in an electric barge but this is only half the picture. Bring a kayak or canoe or hire one and portage around the falls to go up into the second gorge and see it all.

On our second night we all made our way over to Adel’s Grove for dinner, it was a good night with nice meals although not what you might call true restaurant quality. Last night we had a late afternoon happy hour as it was the last day Allan and Helen would be with us, they departed for home early today.

The weather has been ideal whist we have been here, it has reached the low 30’s during the day then cools down at night so you get a good nights sleep.

Sadly late this afternoon we start the pack up to hit the road for home tomorrow. We will make our way south in the knowledge that it is going to get colder as each day passes – makes us wonder why we don’t just stay here or head back north again ................

Lorella Springs to Burketown

jmandjm — Mon, 1 Aug 2016 20:50:00 GMT

On Sunday 24^th we left Lawn Hill with some of the group choosing to go directly to King Ash Bay whilst some of us chose to travel via Cape Crawford with an overnight stop and a visit to the Heartbreak Hotel.

On our way down to Cape Crawford we came across a couple towing a caravan with a Mazda BT50, their virtually brand new Mazda fitted bulbar which was bright, shiny and sleek looking was threatening to come adrift of the car. We stopped and provided what assistance we could before they headed off – very slowly. We came across them again a couple of days later and learnt that the alloy mounts on the bulbar had fractured and were in the process of being re welded and reinforced. This episode proves that if you travel into this type of country you do need quality, rugged equipment designed for the conditions – not just designed to look good driving around town!

We had a good run into Cape Crawford with much better than expected road conditions, we settled into the camp area behind the roadhouse and enjoyed one of their large and delicious pies for lunch, then that evening we went to the ‘famous’ Heartbreak Hotel for a meal. As is typical of some of these country pubs they serve massive meals and I would defy anyone to say they were not happy with the size of the meals served.

The next day we headed off for King Ash Bay with a stop in Borroloola to do some shopping. After checking in at King Ash Bay we caught up with the rest of the group who had arrived the day before travelling directly from Lorella Springs. King Ash Bay is essentially a fishing location on the Macarthur River that would be the largest of this type we have ever seen, and it is extremely well organised and run. It has excellent facilities even down to the Groper Bar and Grill where they served good meals and provided live entertainment – all of this is owned and run by the King Ash Bay Fishing Club. Many of the people there seem to go there for months at a time and from as far away as WA.

We did learn that again you really needed a boat to do any good fishing – and a decent sized boat so that you could get out near the mouth of the river. A couple of guys camped very near us went out on the rest day we had there and came back with 10 big Barramundie, a Queenfish and 2 Cod. We were lucky enough to be the recipients of one of the Barra – when filleted it provided enough fish for 2 meals and it was delicious!

This trip seems to be one that no matter where we are we will run into someone we know. We took a walk down to the shops and who should drive in and pull up but Greg Meredith, formerly of Camden. We seem to run into Greg frequently in our travels – Greg and his wife are travelling in the opposite direction to us and their next stop was Limmen Fishing Camp in the Lmmen NP.

The next day we headed back into Borroloola for restocking and fuel before heading out on the 520km across the Savannah Way. The road was in really good condition and once we were able to establish suitable distances to keep out of the dust we were able to maintain a good pace, so good in fact that we made it to Hells Gate Roadhouse for our overnight stop. This roadhouse is also one of the iconic roadhouses in the outback, camping is really cheap and the camp area is good for an outback area.

The following morning we set out on the relatively short run into Burketown and arrived there by lunchtime, most of the road from Hells Gate into Burketown is bitumen. We did stop for morning tea at the roadhouse in Doomadgee, some in our group ordered a coffee and it was so bad that after a couple of sips they binned it!

On arriving in Burketown and finding the caravan park we set up and headed out to look at some of the historical sights around Burketown, we visited the rusted remains of the old Boiling works where beef was rendered down before export, the Landsborough tree which barely remains. The Landsborough Tree was a tree where Landsborough buried supplies in his search for Burke and Wills. Then on to the hot bore that has continually released water at about 67 degrees for around 130 years. This has created a wetlands where animals and birdlife abound. However the promised influx of birdlife at sunset did not eventuate – the same old story “you should have been here last week”.

We also visited the Burketown whalf precinct, this is a very well designed and built whalf on the Albert River and is capable of docking quite large vessels as well as being able to cope with the large change in river levels as the tide changes. The whalf was built partly by funding from the Commonwealth Government – so Bob Katter is doing his thing for the people of northern Queensland!

Burketown itself is a nice tidy town that is well looked after but the surrounds are flat, featureless and boring. Tomorrow it is off to one of our favourite spots Lawn Hill, more later ....

Lorella Springs Wilderness Park

jmandjm — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 14:50:00 GMT

Some of the group had decided to back track and visit the Western Lost City before heading to Lorella Springs. Jenny and I left a bit later and headed directly for Lorella Springs with a side trip to the Southern Lost City (so many lost cities – you would think someone would have found them by now!) on the way. We arrived at Lorella Springs at around lunchtime to a quite busy campground, Lorella is expensive but it is popular. Lorella Springs is a cattle station but only runs limited numbers of cattle as the land will not support large numbers, as a result the owners have diversified into tourism in the dry season to supplement their income – although it is probably now their main source of income.

We were camped only about 50m from the hot springs at the campground, they are called hot springs but they are only about 27 degrees which is warm enough when it is around the mid thirties through the day. The rest of the group arrived later in the day.

Over the next two days we travelled to various highlites on the property – and there are plenty as you may imagine given that Lorella Springs is a one million acre property roughly 60km north to south and 100km west to east. Everyone did their own thing with some of us taking a helicopter flight over the Southern Lost City, this was expensive but it was a great experience because apart from seeing the lost city from the air you got an appreciation of the vastness of the property and it’s scenic beauty.

Jenny and I travelled to Nanny’s Retreat, the Fern Gully and Le Spa. Three beautiful spots, quite remote from the main campground (about a 1.5hr drive each way). Nanny’s Retreat was the pick of the spots even though there is a 40 minute walk from the car park to the rock pools. There is so much to see that you would need to be there at least a week to see most of it. To drive out to the coast where the fishing is at it is best is best done by staying out there for a day or so given that you need to travel almost 100km each way. After the two days we were very tempted to stay longer but it would have made the rest of the trip a bit tight so we chose to move on with the aim that we will be back some time in the future.

Lorella Springs is a busy place even though the access road is fairly rough, many people tow off road or semi off road caravans into the property taking it pretty slow over the rougher sections of the track and there is evidence of damaged vehicles and trailers at the workshop on the property.

We only had two days at Lorella Springs but if we didn’t have plans for a return visit we would have amended later sections of our trip to get another day or two there. Tomorrow we are off to King Ash Bay via Cape Crawford and Borroloola with an overnight stop at Cape Crawford.

Katherine to Limmen National Park

jmandjm — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 22:04:00 GMT

A casual start from Katherine was the order of the day as some members of the group wanted to be at Katherine Train Station to see the Ghan arrive from Alice Springs at about 9:00AM, we finished up leaving Katherine at about 10:45AM to head down the Stuart Highway and to the turn off on the Roper Highway.

The run down the Stuart to Mataranka was pretty uneventful apart from the large number of Army vehicles passing us heading up towards Darwin, the convoys consisted of many Bushmasters and low loaders carrying Leopard Tanks – pretty serious stuff! As you would expect that with a convoy of this nature there were also many support vehicles as well. Something was going on somewhere!

We had a stop for morning tea in Mataranka so we could go to the coffee shop and get what would be our last Barista made coffee for some time but what we found was a coffee shop absolutely packed with tourists, and knowing from experience that their service is not that fast we chose other options – like an iced chocolate from the roadhouse (what a let down).

The run along the Roper Highway was easy with not a lot of traffic to contend with which was a bonus given that this road is only a very narrow strip of bitumen meaning that we needed to drop one set of wheels into the dirt to pass any oncoming vehicles. When the oncoming vehicle was a road train we got right off the road and stopped – there was no way we were going to insist on our share of the bitumen when faced with a road train travelling at speed.

The last 40km into Roper Bar was a gravel road which was rough enough to necessitate deflating our tyres to smooth the ride a bit. Once in Roper Bar we found a shady campground near the river complete with showers and toilets for only $10 per night per person. We had intended to travel a bit further but chose to stay at this campground. As has been the case on a number of occasions on this trip there was someone camped there that I know, it was a guy from Narrandera and his wife and the real connection was that I was good friends with his younger brother many years ago so we had a good discussion about old times in the old town.

The next day before heading off we went down to the old crossing on the Roper River to have a look and it was really picturesque with an early morning fog to add to the mystique. The crossing is quite wide but it was only running at about 200mm deep so the temptation to play was too great and we all had a mad dash across the river and back – Gary won hands down, he created the biggest splash but all of our cars and the campers got a good under body wash!

After our play we headed off on the Savannah Way with the aim to find a suitable early campsite to give us time to set up for a camp oven cook up that night. A failed attempt to find Maria Lagoon led us further down into Limmen NP to Butterfly Springs. This was a really nice shady campground but unfortunately there was little water in the springs and what was there wasn’t conducive to a swim. That was disappointing as the spring is the only safe place to swim in Limmen NP.

We managed to cook up a great meal that night with roast lamb and pork and roasted veges. So after a great meal and a few drinks we settled down for the night and looked forward to the trip to Lorella Springs the next day.

Jabiru to the Cobourg Peninsular

jmandjm — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:31:00 GMT

oAn early start from Jabiru saw us at Cahill’s Crossing by about 9:00AM which coincided with a low tide and an easy crossing with the water barely at hub depth at the deepest point. Once across the river we headed out on the road through Arnhem Land towards Coburg Peninsular and Garig Gunak Barlu National Park. The first part of the road was very heavily corrugated and progress was slow.

Some of the scenery at the bottom end of the road was little short of spectacular with interesting rock formations and lush green wetlands – no doubt home to many crocs! We stopped for a few photos then proceeded further up the road hoping for some improvement in the surface but it was no better so we stopped to deflated our tyres even further to take some of the harshness out of the ride. By this time we were running quite low pressures considering the load we had on board.

Not long after we passed the turn of to the community of Oenpelli we reached an intersection locally known as the 3 Ways. One road takes you across all the top of Arnhem Land and through all the Aboriginal Communities including the well known Maningrida and Ramingining – permits to travel through this area are impossible to obtain, with the exception of the tour companies.

We turned north towards the Cobourg Peninsular and not long after that the road conditions improved noticeably. At our morning tea break on the side of the road it became evident why the road improved, a large piece of earth moving equipment came down the road scraping the surface and towing some very large tyres to smooth the road. This maintenance was being carried out by a mining company located and doing minerals exploration in the King River area – they are seeking Uranium, Copper and Gold. Apparently the arrangement is that they are permitted to maintain that section of road above the 3 Ways but no further south for fear of costing council workers their jobs!

The road from the 3 Ways up to the point where it takes a turn to the north west towards the national park was pretty good and we were able to maintain reasonable speeds, however as we got close to the community of Murgenella the road deteriorated again and progress slowed. At Murgenella (which is now abandoned) we met up with another group of travellers from the TLCC who had been to Cobourg and were heading back south, after an exchange of information we carried on and not long after reached the national park boundary with almost 150km still to travel to our camp areas. The road through the national park wasn’t the best but it was better than the road at the bottom end. The terrain was varied and more Savannah like than tropical with plenty of areas being burnt off as part of a regular program.

After reaching the Ranger Station we were directed to our camp area and arrived at about 3:30PM, all up about 6.5 hours of travel for the 316km. The camp areas are simply areas cleared in the Monsoonal Forrest but they were at least flat and roomy. Through the night storms passed over and it rained, at times fairly heavily. We rose to a cloudy day with waves of rain passing though not dissimilarly to the wet season. The rain curtailed our activities on the first day but we did manage some sight seeing to get the lay of the land as well as take a drive along what is known as the ‘Wetlands Drive’. The wetlands drive takes you along a very large billabong that obviously has a very large volume of water in it in the wet season, the water level was quite low due to the ‘dry’ wet this year. This wetland is a haven for crocs and in fact there is a ‘Crocodile Crossing’ where the crocs travel between the wetland and the beach, unfortunately (or fortunately) we didn’t come across any on the crossing.

The weather on the second day wasn’t much better but it cleared enough by mid morning for us to head off on the ‘Coastal Drive’, this drive took us along the coast then across the peninsular to Caiman Creek and took about 3 hours including lunch. The scenery was quite interesting but maybe not as nice as the coastline around Nhulunbuy. On the third day a few of the group tried some fishing but without much luck, in fact it appeared that the only fish in any quantity being caught was being caught from boats away from the shoreline. The Rangers did say that the water temperature was a bit low so that may have been a factor. Our view of the Coburg Peninsular is that it is primarily a fishing location (if you have a boat) as many of the drives to scenic locations have been closed off to the general public and only accessible to local community members.

The drive back down to Jabiru could have been a bit tricky due to the rain but fortunately the road had dried and apart from some large puddles and spots where the rain had caused erosion it wasn’t a bad drive. There was less dust than on the way up so that made the drive a bit more pleasant, however the incessant corrugations were still present. One bonus was that the road from the 3 Ways down to Cahill’s Crossing had been graded and rolled in the time we were up the top so that made for a much smoother run. The water level at the crossing was even lower than it was when we crossed on the way up and there were no crocs lazing around!

We spent the night in Jabiru before heading down to Katherine where we have spent a couple of days stocking up with food and fuel and small maintenance items on the vehicles. Unfortunately for Garry whilst he was checking under his car he noticed that the bottom bushes in his front shocks were damaged from the constant pounding – this could have meant a trip back up to Darwin to source shocks and have them fitted and this in turn would have had some significant impact on the rest of the trip for Garry and Elke as it would have put them several days behind the group. However as luck would have it the local ARB agent did have suitable shocks and even went out of their way and fitted them for Garry straight away – so he was back on the road within a few hours! Good old country service!

We leave tomorrow (Tuesday 19^th) for Limmen National Park, then Lorrella Springs, King Ash Bay and on to the Savannah Way around to Burketown then Lawn Hill NP. We are not anticipating suitable internet coverage before we get to Lawn Hill so this may be the last update for a while, but keep checking as you never know ......

Darwin to Jabiru

jmandjm — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 17:35:00 GMT

A 9:00am departure from Darwin saw us heading out on the Arnhem Highway with the plan to take the Old Jim Jim Road past the Mount Bundy Military Training Area and across through the heart of Kakadu then on to the Kakadu Highway for a short run up to the Mardugal Camp Ground in the National Park. The Old Jim Jim Road was listed as ‘high clearance 4WD only’ in the Kakadu Road Reports each day so we were prepared for some rough track on the way. As it turned out the track was good enough to travel it’s full distance without the need to deflate the tyres, the only water crossing where there was water present was the South Alligator River and it was barely hub deep.

As we passed the Mount Bundy Military Training Area it was evident that there were exercises taking place with signs prohibiting entry and also warning of live firing – we figured that we didn’t need to have to dodge mortars and grenades so we obeyed the signs! Whilst we were in Darwin there was obvious presence of US troops and equipment moving around as well as the sounds of military aircraft at night – so something was going on!

We arrived in Mardugal for a late lunch and then set up camp. The Campsite Manager arrived pretty quickly to collect the camp fees – he wasn’t going to miss out! In the afternoon we took advantage of the pool and bar at the Cooinda Resort just a few kilometres up the road, a cooling swim and a cold beer or wine at the bar rounded the day out nicely.

The next day we headed out to Jim Jim Falls, this consisted of a 52km stretch of road that was again listed as 4WD Only – this time they meant it. The road was very heavily corrugated, to the point where if you attempted it in an ordinary sedan it would be shaken to pieces! Even then it would only get you as far as the camp ground with still about 7 to 8km to go, that was definitely 4WD only, to get to the falls. Once at the falls car park we had about an 800m return walk to a pool and platform where the actual falls could be seen, this walk was easy to moderate but to get to the falls and the plunge pool at the base it was a further 1.5km that proved to be quite difficult. This involved a quite torturous path scrambling over very large boulders that were at times slippery, something you probably shouldn’t attempt with a dodgy knee – but what the heck, I might not be back here again so along with Ken, Elke and Schuey I went all the way – and back! It was difficult and tiring but boy was it worth it, the view of the plunge pool at the bottom of this huge amphitheatre that seemed to be almost a 270 degree arc and very high was spectacular and spellbinding. The water in the pool was very cold, as it only gets a little sunlight late in the afternoon, so with the exception of Ken we declined a swim. There was only a little water coming over the falls but this left me with an ambition to one day see the falls in their full glory in the middle of a wet season, the tricky part about fulfilling this ambition is that access is only possible by helicopter in the wet.

The next day Garry and Elke took the sunrise cruise on Yellow Waters and Ken and Schuey took a drive out to Red Lilly Lagoon and Alligator Lagoon while Jenny and I took a drive out to Jim Jim Billabong. Following the visit to Jim Jim Billabong we met up with Garry and Elke for lunch at the resort where feasts of local Barramundi were enjoyed. Following lunch we spent most of the afternoon lounging around the pool and having a swim. Later in the day Allan, Helen, Ken and Schuey took the sunset cruise on Yellow Waters . Jenny and I had done the cruise not that long ago so we opted out this time around.

We had a late start the next day as we were simply travelling to Jabiru to position ourselves for an earlier start on the way up to the Cobourg Peninsular. We arrived at Jabiru and were set up in time for a run out to Nourlangie Rock to view the ancient rock art, the rock art is quite extensive but some of it certainly looks like it has been touched up in recent years as it stands out much more prominently than the rest. One of the more spectacular aspects of this location is the view from the lookout – it is stunning. We were back in Jabiru for lunch and had a relaxing afternoon around the pool and our campsite before heading out to Ubiir Rock to view more rock art and to also view the sunset from Ubirr Rock out over the wetlands – this is a must if you are ever in the area! Whilst there we checked out Cahill’s Crossing for the water level and any crocs – we spotted a few crocs swimming around just above the crossing and one of them was a monster!

More very soon ......

Katherine to Darwin - the 'long' way

jmandjm — Wed, 6 Jul 2016 16:30:00 GMT

After a couple of days in Katherine and a really good night catching up with a couple of my cousins from Victoria we headed off for Gunlom Falls in the SW corner of Kakadu NP where we would meet up with the rest of the group again.

On arriving at Gunlom we were disappointed to find that due to the low rainfall through the wet season that there was barely a trickle going over the falls. Even on the way in the water level in the South Alligator River was very low. However the plunge pool was still very inviting for a cooling swim, you had to keep moving in the water as there were small fish who were insistent on nibbling on people in the water.

After departing the next morning for Daly River we came up to a 4WD towing a camper on the dirt road who was doing a good impression of a mobile chicane, when Jenny and I pulled out to pass he moved right across in front of us almost running us off the road! I don’t think he wanted to be overtaken – but he didn’t get his way! We had morning tea in an interesting cafe in Pine Creek before moving on and taking a diversion off the Stuart highway to find the old historic Grove Hill Hotel. This hotel served a mining area in years past but now only serves a very small population. The hotel was very quaint, complete with a museum – and the museum was complete with years of dust and cobwebs. The publican told us there is still one mine in the area where they pour 17kg of gold every week – not a bad earner!

We arrived at the campground in Daly River by mid afternoon and it turned out to be a real oasis, nice manicured grounds, good amenities and just across the road from the mighty Daly River. There were the usual reports of Barra being taken out of the river in the days just before we arrived but no one in our group had any luck. What was obvious on the river was the many large Crocs. One of the nights there we had dinner in the local pub, the menu was extensive but the problem was that most of the items were unavailable – even the Barra! One of the local identities came and sat with us to tell us his life story and stories of his people, it was very interesting to listen to him as he was one of the stolen generation but he has gone on to really make something of his life. While in Daly River we also visited an art gallery where we found some outstanding art pieces, one the artists there was a young guy who showed some incredible talent.

On leaving Daly River to head for Litchfield NP we were forced to go via Adelaide River as the Reynolds River track was closed, this did give us the opportunity to visit the WW2 Cemetery. The War Graves Commission deserves high praise for the way this cemetery is kept. Just on lunchtime we arrived at a very busy campground at Wangi Falls in Litchfield but we were lucky enough to find spots to accommodate us all.

Over the next 3 days we visited most of the highlites of the NP with plenty of opportunities to swim in places like Wangi Falls, Buley Rock Holes and Florence Falls. The eroded formations at the Lost City were spectacular and quite different to many of the other lost cities around the country. The one place we missed out on seeing was the Blythe Family Homestead due to the closure of the Reynolds River Track. One place we did visit which we missed when we were last in Litchfield was the abandoned Bamboo Creek Tin Mine, it was interesting to find that they not only mined the ore but extracted the mineral on site, the mine closed in 1951 due to flooding and problems with workers contracting Silicosis disease. In the 3 days we were in Ltchfield the plunge pool at the bottom of Wangi Falls got a lot of use as the weather was quite hot.

A late departure from Litchfield had us arriving at Berry Springs for lunch on the way to Darwin, this is another spot in the north well worth a visit. We have had 2 days in Darwin to rest, shop and attend to some vehicle maintenance issues before heading off to Mardugal Camp in Kakadu NP for a couple of days before heading off again up to the Coburg Peninsular for 3 days.

More when we are back in Katherine after our trip to the Coburg Peninsular .....

Out to Nhulunbuy and back

jmandjm — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 14:15:00 GMT

On June 19th after a day of resting and restocking in Katherine we headed off on the 720km trek out to Nhulkunbuy on the Central Arnhem Land Road which has a reputation of being brutal at times but to our surprise the first section of dirt out to the Mainoru Store was OK. It was rough in places and very very dusty but we made good time settling into the Mainoru camp area by mid afternoon. The camp ground there is typical of the camp areas in remote places, rustic and basic but at the same time it was adequate. The only issue was the generator which ran all night.

We set off on the remaining 470km to Nhulunbuy at about 8:00AM with the advice that the road was really bad - it was in fact better than the first section with parts where we could travel at about 80km/h. We still had to negotiate large bulldust holes and large potholes hidden in the shadows as well as the odd road train, we finished up being spread out quite a bit to avoid the dust which seemed to linger for a long time. Another hazzard was the Water Buffalo who have no road sense at all. The vegetation was a surprise, we expected to see a dry Savannah type environment similar to Cape York but it was lush, thick and green with parts being almost sub tropical. The varying surrounds helped to pass the time on what was a long drive, we arrived in Nhulunbuy just before 4:00PM and settled into the camp area. That night we decided to eat in the resaort given the long tiring day we had.

The following morning whilst waiting for the coffee to brew a Cockatoo flew in under the awning of our camper and pinched a muesli bar while Jenny and I were standing less than a metre away - it flew into a nearby tree and had a real feast!

Later that morning we headed about 50km out into the bust to a place called Manangayami (Scout Camp) on the Giddy River, it is a beautiful spot and would make an excellent remote camp site for a few nights with the only catch being that you need a 'Special Permit' that will set you back $30 per vehicle per day! After lunch we headed over to the coast to a series of beaches SE of Nhulunbuy. One of these is Garanhan Beach where there is evidence of the trade that took place between the local Yulnu people and the Maccasans from Suluwesi in Indonesia for hundreds of years. This trade continued up to 1906 when the SA Government put a tarrif on traded goods form overseas. Interestingly amongst the goods the Maccasans brought to this area and traded was Tobacco and Alcohol - for many years before white settlement!

The next morning we headed off to Yukuwarra to start the long beach and dune drive up to Cape Arnhem, first we had a steep loose descent down to this area from the escarpment then into the dunes behind the beaches and finally onto the beach. This drive was a good test of driver and vehicle as it was very tight and rough with little clearance either side of the car as well as the loose sand on the beaches above the high tide mark. The drive up to the cape was spectacular with some of the most beautiful coastal scenery we have ever seen - it made the drive most pleasant. After many photos and lunching near the tip of the cape we headed back along the beaches and through the dunes to make the climb back up to the top of the escarpment.

Once back on the main road we headed for the Art Gallery at Yirrkala, here we saw some excellent but very expensive art work - some of which was being readied for shipment overseas. Schuey could not resist the temptation to purchase a bark painting which lightened his wallet some what.

That night we went to the pub to watch NSW lose yet another State of origon Series - I think we were the only NSW supporters there!

The next morning we emerged from our beds after a sleepless night where the temperature only dropped to 24 degrees and with the rain it made the humidity unbearable. We set off by 8:00AM for the first leg back to Katherine but with the rain of the previous night the road was damp and there was no dust so the drive was more pleasurable. We did experience some rain on the way but not enought to make the road slippery. Not long after morning tea Schuey announced over the radio that his alternator had packed it in - we stopped and made some cursory checks but not having found anything obvious set off with the plan for a more detailed check at lunchtime.

At the lunch break we found nothing obvious so we devised a plan to get Schuey back to Katherine by swapping batteries from car to car to keep him going. However when we arrived at the Mainoru Store to camp thet night a fellow traveller came up with a solution - hit the a;ternator with a hammer! (I confess to being very sceptical). It worked! It appears that it must have had a brush stuck in a position off the slip ring preventing the alternator from charging the batteries.

The following day we had a pretty easy run back into Katherine in time for us to vote at an interstate pre-poll polling booth and time for us to put a very dusty and muddy camper through the car wash.

After aother lay day the group has headed off to Gunlom Falls while Jenny and I are staying in Katherine an extra nigh to catch up with yet another cousin I have not seen for many years. Tomorrow we will head to Gunlom to rejoin the group and continue the journey.

More to come ......

Out of the "Isa"

jmandjm — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 16:07:00 GMT

After an overnight stop in Mount Isa we were set to head of on what we knew would be a fairly mundane drive - across the Barkly Highway then up the Stuart Highway to position ourselves for the run out to Nhulunbuy on the 18th of June. We camped overnight on the Camooweal Laggon just west of the small town of Camooweal. The laggon was attractive with water lillys and birdlife, even though the water level was lower than it was last time we were here. It is a popular spot and we could have made an attractive amount if we went around with a collection tim that night.

The next day we traversed the Barkley and camped in a very nice campground at the Three Ways - we had grass for the first time! After leaving the Three Ways we headed north to Daly Waters and it's iconic pub. Today was Schuey's birthday so we had good reason for a feed of chocolate mud cake with our morning coffee. On the way up we stopped off to visit some memorials to explorers as well as some WW2 sites. That night we had dinner in the pub for an extension of the birthday celebrations. The next day saw an easy run up to Mataranka with stops again for various memorials and WW2 sites - these included the museum at Larrimah and the site of a Field Hospital. This excursion saw us doing some bush bashing as the track on the map that was to take us back to the highway just dissapeared into nothing about 200m short of the highway, after many multipoint turns we made it back to the highway and in to Mataranka.

A rest day in Mataranka gave us the opportunity to experience the delights of the thermal pool at Bitter Springs, in spite of the fact that it was very crowded we enjoyed the float about 200m downstream with the gentle current. We also visited Mataranka Springs, these are paerhaps more famous but in our opinion the Bitter springs pool is much more natural and more enjoyable. We also discovered a nice piece of Aboriginal Art in an art gallery in Mataranka - it was too good to pass up and we have spot picked out where it will hang! (no not in the camper).

Yesterday we moved up to Katherine, it was a slow trip as the traffic was extremely heavy, we have never seen it this way on the Stuart. Allan and Helen joined us about an hour and a half after we arrived following their very different path to Katherine. When booking into the caravaqn park we were very surprised to find that the Assistant Managers there are relo's - a cousin of mine frrom Sale in Victoria, Kaye and her husband Shane - we never expected to see them all the way up here, it turns out that they are on a working holiday and have been here for about 8 months.

Today was a reast day with the time spent shopping, refuelling and checking vehicles before the 720km run out to Nhulunbuy tomorrow, this will be a 2 day trip as most of it is on gravel which at times can be pretty brutal. Gary and Elke have decided not to go to Nhulunbuy and will travel out to the Keep River NP and down to the Bungles before returning to Katherine on the same day we arrive back from Nhulunbuy.

More again when we return .....

Into the Diamantina

jmandjm — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 16:59:00 GMT

After a good night at Toompine we headed for the Diamantina National Park with a stop at Quilpie for fuel and coffee then an overnight stop at Coopers Creek just east of Windorah. After fuelling up again at Windorah we set off on the long haul into the national park with the road conditions through the stations an unknown. Travel was pretty good and we made good time.

A feature along the way was the large expanse of the treeless plains with not a sight of vegetation apart from a good cover of Mitchell Grass. We needed to be very aware of the wildlife as there were plenty of Kangaroos and Emus who wanted to test their evasive skills - fortunately we were able to avoid them all even though there were a couple of close calls.

We set up camp in Hunters Gorge at about 3:00PM in a temperature of about 34 degrees - there were some weary bodies around the campfire that night!

The following day we spoke to the Rangers about the Warracoota Circuit Drive, which is a feature of the park, only to find that it was still closed after the recent rain and would not open before our scheduled departure - this was a dissapointment as the drive visits many highlites in the park. Following this we set off for Janets Leap Lookout which looks down into the gorge formed between the Goyder and Hamilton Ranges. The river channels all narrow to flow through this gorge before fanning out again and heading towards Birdsville and ultimately Lake Eyre. The views were spectacular.

Elke, Gary and Ken decided to further explore this area and also visit the Gum Hole Camp while Jenny, Schuey and I took to the Winton Road to find the Mayne Hotel Ruins - and they are barely there. The most significant feature that remains is the man made dam that was filled from the flow in the Mayne River.

Given the dissapointment of the closure of the Warracoota Circuit we made the decision to leave a day early and make time for an unplannet stop stopover in Mount Isa. On the way we had an overnight stop at a small community called Dajarra - this was a night to forget, after a pleasant meal and refreshments in the local Pub we were kept awake all night by some very loud music somewhere in the town.

Tomorrow we start on our journey into the Northern Territory.

Day 2 and 3

jmandjm — Mon, 6 Jun 2016 19:57:00 GMT

A further 2 days travel now finds us in Toompine in SW QLD - a very small place where the only buildings are the pub and the Progress Association Hall. It is a free camp but for a gold coin donation we get toilets and showers. We had a meal in the pub tonight and it was a typical country pub meal - nice and also big!

We had rain for most of the morning on Sunday as we travelled from Narromine to Nyngan then after Nyngan it pretty much cleared and we have had no rain since. We made good use of the bakery in Bourke for hot pies for lunch. After lunch we traqvelled to a camp site on the Warrego River about 37km into QLD. There was a lot of road kill on the roads as well as plenty of Roos and Emus on the side of the road to keep us alert.

Today we travelled to Toompine via Cunamulla, it was a pretty good run even on the typical QLD outback roads where the bitumen is mostly only one car wide. On the way we stopped off in Eulo and saw the monument to Dominator the World Champion Racing Cockroach (I kid you not), apparently he met his demise when his handler trod on him after he won a race - good thing he didn't lose!

Tomorrow we head off for Cooper Creek east of Windorah before heading into the Diamantina National Park. I have attempted to upload photos with little success - it's a bit difficult when you have veerryy slow internet speeds.

First Day of Travel

jmandjm — Sat, 4 Jun 2016 17:31:00 GMT

After a very wet and foggy start to the day the group, minus Allan, met at Maccas at Lithgow. Gary, Elke and Ken had stayed the night at Lithgow with Jenny and I and Schuey travelling from home after a very early start. The trip over the mountains was pretty easy with little traffic.

We left Lithgow at about 9:00AM and headed for Dubbo with a stop for a very welcome coffee in Molong. At Dubbo we were met by some other club members, Rick as well as Karen and Richard from Forbes and Orange. Given the very wet weather we made a decision to stop in the caravan park in Narromine, this was preferable to getting camping gear wet on the first night. Jack Cooper from Narromine who has just finished a trip in to Arnhem Land met us to share his experiences.

An early start tomorrow will see us of to the Warrego River to camp - weather permitting.

Photos: Arnhem Land & Savannah Way

jmandjm — Thu, 26 May 2016 16:27:00 GMT

Preparartion

jmandjm — Thu, 26 May 2016 15:48:00 GMT

Preparation for the trip is almost complete with only a few things to attend to.

With only 9 days to when we set off we are looking forward to the trip with plenty of enthusiasm. It will be great to get up into Queensland and the NT with the warmer weather. Hopefully the rain stays away so we can get into the Diamantina National Park, it should be a picture with the rain they had in that area a few weeks ago.