The Northern Territory


Saturday, 28 April, 2012

Devil's Marbles

  

Devil's Marbles

We arrived at Karlu Karlu (Devil's Marbles) where according to aboriginal lore the Rainbow Serpent laid her eggs. After lunch we went for a long walk around the "Marbles" and took lots of photos. The campsite had a resident dingo who tried to convince campers to feed him.  Hopefully no-one did.  During happy hour with the neighbours we took some sunset photos.

Desert Rose

Devil's Marbles

Sunrise, Devil's Marbles, NT

The next morning I awoke in time for sunrise and along with several others took some more photos to add to the collection of sunrises and sunsets. The colours of the outback are spectacular.

Sunday, 29 April, 2012 to Monday, 30 April, 2012

After wandering around the last unexplored (by us) 'Marbles' we continued our trip northwards to Tennant Creek, but didn't stay, then found our way to Banka Banka Station Rest Area where we found a really great place to rest. The managers, Marie and Bob Warde (Ree & Wardy) were the loveliest people. At approximately 5.30pm the kiosk opened where they sold 'cold drinks', souvenirs etc but you could BYO anything from drinks, food, music, singing or whatever. In peak times the campfire is lit and people can add their ovens. We stayed two nights.

Tuesday, 1 May, 2012

Wildflower, NT

Today we passed through several small towns, Renner Springs, Elliott, Dunmarra and Larrimah and eventually stopped at the Warloch Rest Area. The temperature was about 35 degrees and very humid. We didn't get much sleep because of the heat and couple of road trains that decided to share our already reasonably full rest area. One left early but the other made a lot of noise as he had a flat battery. He was still there when we left.

Wednesday, 2 May, 2012

Katherine was our destination today. We decided to give Mataranka a miss and checked into the Riverview Caravan Park. The weather is very hot and humid so a swim in the hot spring at the back of the park was very enjoyable. The water was only about body temperature, maybe a little lower.

Cutta Cutta Caves, NT

Hot Springs, Katherine, NT

Thursday, 3 May, 2012

We had a great visit to the Cutta Cutta Caves this morning. A one hour guided tour of the limestone caves revealed some very impressive stalactites.

Saturday, 5 May, 2012

The last two days have been spent shopping, washing and relaxing in the park. This afternoon we visited the very interesting Katherine Museum which records Katherine's aboriginal history, the explorer's paths, the overland telegraph, the 'Ghan" train and the floods that have all shaped Katherine's identity. There is also a large display about Katherine's involvement in World War II, the bombings and the large numbers of troops that passed through the area on their way to defend Australia. During the war, the rest of Australia knew little about the bombing of Katherine and other areas south of Darwin as the Government didn't want to frighten the country. Katherine was home to an army hospital and an airbase for both Australian and American troops.

Sunday, 6 May, 2012

Joe Creek, near Victoria River, NT

Joe Creek, near Victoria River, NT

Today we moved to Victoria River where we found a nice caravan park at the roadhouse. We braved the warm conditions and explored the escarpment of the Victoria River at Joe Creek. The walk was very steep and rugged but very beautiful. This valley is home to towering Liverstonia Palms and aboriginal rock art.