Gulf and Kakadu tour, 2015 Day 12, 13 and 14

We had a bit of a sleep in and a leisurely pack up before heading off towards Kakadu a bit after 9 am. There was a quick stop for fuel and a magnum in Pine Creek and then we headed into Kakadu, Dave had to stop off at the visitor's centre to fix up his pass and then we headed into Jabiru and checked into the caravan park for three nights. After a quick setup we headed into town for a late lunch at the bakery where I had quite a nice buffalo pie. We had a very lazy afternoon looking around town and then headed back to camp for a swim in the pool. Later that evening we were treated to fire works as it  was Territory Day. 

Another leisurely start to the day as we were heading off to see Jim Jim and Twin Falls after dropping into the bakery to pick up some snacks and lunch. The drive out to the camp site was very easy but after that it became a bit of a track. Then to go from the day use area out to twin falls we had to cross Jim Jim creek and it was showing about 0.75 metres on the markers, the cars made it with no worries and they all had a bit of a wash. 

We hasn't planned it but we ended up catching the boat that connects to the Twin Falls walk and I'm really glad we did as the falls themselves were spectacular and it was a very pleasant walk. On the way back we saw a fresh water croc sunning itself on a rock as we cruised past. 

We had a quick lunch at the car park day use area before heading back across Jim Jim creek and onto to Jim Jim falls. The walk into Jim Jim falls is much tougher than the Twin Falls walk, with lots of rock hopping. Unfortunately, there wasn't very much water going over the falls so we ended up heading back to the car park and then back to camp. 

Back at camp my knees were not feeling so good, but a swim in the pool, some dinner and an ibuprofen or two and I was feeling much better. After some planning talk we booked a Yellow Waters cruise for the morning (9 am) and headed to bed for an early night. It was very warm that evening in the swag (about 24 deg at 10 pm) but to keep the mozzies at bay I had to stay in the swag. 

We were up early and heading to Yellow Waters for a cruise of the wetlands. This was excellent and we saw heaps of crocs, Jabirus and other wild life. Lots of photos were taken. 

After the cruise we went for a bit of a drive along some of the less driven tracks at the back of South Aligator River. It was getting a bit rough and closed in so we stopped for some lunch before we turned around and headed back to camp at Jabiru. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, having a swim, etc. 

Then just before sunset we headed out to Ubirr where we walked around the Aboriginal Art sites and then went up to the lookout to see the sun set. The view was spectacular but there was tons of people so we headed off a bit early to dodge all the traffic. 

Back at the caravan park we had quite a nice Barra dinner at the restaurant and chatted about our plans for the next day, when we would be heading off to Litchfield National Park. 

Gulf and Kakadu tour, 2015 Day 10 and 11

It got quite cool overnight and there was a lot dew on the awnings and tents in the morning. We let them dry out a bit before packing up and heading north to Butterfly Springs. The camping ground here was much busier than where we stayed the previous night so it was good that we didn’t continue. I was very disappointed wth Butterfly Springs as I didn’t see a single butterfly. :( It was however quite scenic but a little chilly for swimming.

Then it was onto the ranger’s station to see if we could get the key to visit the Western Lost City, unfortunately no rangers around so I’ll have to save that for my next trip up this way. We kept heading north and went to look at the mouth of the Roper River where we had a bit of lunch before heading back into Roper Bar where the others refuelled their cars while I had a Magnum for afternoon tea.

We then continued onto to Mataranka where we checked into a caravan park with some nice hot showers and had a quite nice Barra and chips for dinner.

The next day we had a leisurely pack up before heading north towards Katherine, on the way we dropped into Cutta Cutta caves and took a tour.

Then it was on to Katherine for lunch and a restock at the supermarket before heading on a short drive out to the Gorge for a quick look. We picked up some brochures to have a look at, as we were going to stop in for a cruise on the way home. We had decided to head to Edith Falls to camp the night and we were lucky to get the last couple of spots as the place was full of Bloody caravans. After setting up camp we headed off for a loop walk to the Upper Falls which after a bit of a climb provided a great place for a cooling and relaxing swim.

A pleasant walk back down the hill to camp site almost tempted us to have another swim but we settled for going back to camp and having a hot shower before dinner and a few drinks sitting around discussing the plans for the next day.

Gulf and Kakadu tour, 2015 Day 8 and 9

We slept in a little as it was chilly but then just as we were about leave Phil broke the power connector for his fridge. This took a little bit of time to fix so we ended up leaving a bit late. On the way out we turned north at Lawn Hill station and headed towards Doomadgee. This crossed several different properties so there was a bit of gate opening and closing to be done but the scenery was nice and it was a pleasant drive. 

We refuelled and had an early lunch in Doomadgee before continuing west. We made a quick stop at Hells Gate for an ice cream and then continued on to cross the border into the Northern Territory. 

The road got steadily worse the further west we went and we ended up camping the night on a cattle property at Snake  Lagoon. It was a bit rough but the sunset over the lagoon was pretty nice. 

It was chilly the next morning so it took a little while for us to get up and get going. We continued west to Borroloola where we refuelled and had morning tea. A little bit out of town we took the turn off to Roper Bar and Limmen national park, once again the road seemed to get worse the further we went. 

Around lunch time we got to the Southern Lost City camp ground and decided to stay for the night. So we set up camp and and had a late lunch before going for a walk around the Southern Lost City rock formations. They were pretty spectacular and many photos were taken. 

It was back to camp for a cool drink and a restful afternoon in the shade. 

Gulf and Kakadu tour, 2015 Day 6 and 7

The shade shelter took awhile to pack up but we were ready to leave the lagoon at about 8:15 am. We headed west but had to make some detours to get to the Savanah Way because of road works. The detour involved the opening and closing of several gates but was otherwise uneventful. We got to Burketown around lunch time so we refuelled the cars and then had lunch at quite a nice bakery. I tried the Barra pie which was ok but not wonderful. 

Then it was onto Gregory Downs  before turning west to Lawn Hill. The road was much better than when I was here at Easter last year and this made the driving much easier.

We got into the national park just after 3 pm and set up camp, as the car wouldn't be moving and there was a bit of wind I used the normal ASS setup. 

Afterwards we explored the camp site and water for awhile before having dinner and chatting about our plans for the next day. Then it was an early night in bed. 

We were going to go canoeing early but as the sun doesn't get up too early we delayed until it had warmed up a bit. In the meantime I inflated my kayak and then went for a walk up to the top of Island Stack to take some photos down the gorge. 

At about 10'ish the others rented a couple of kayaks and we set off on a grand expedition up the gorge. 

As always happens to me there seemed to be a bit of a head wind that we were paddling into. 

Getting out of my inflatable kayak at the portage point to the next gorge was difficult as the water level was low and the kayak not as stable as the hard shell ones. Then the next gorge also seemed to have a head wind but the sights were worth the effort. 

The stream into the third gorge was narrow so the water flowed a little faster making it hard to paddle this section but it wasn't too long until it opened out. We got to the far end where there were a couple of small waterfalls that meant we weren't going any further. Luckily I managed to turn around a this point without capsizing like I did last time I was here. The paddle back seemed to take ages as my shoulders were getting a bit sore but at least there was no headwind. We got back to the camp area just after midday and I setup the kayak to dry out so it could be packed up. As I was already wet I went and had a cold shower before having some lunch and a couple of ibuprofens for my shoulders. I then had a very lazy afternoon while the others went on a couple of the walks around the park. As we were heading off in the morning I repacked the car and had an early dinner and an early night in bed. 

Gulf and Kakadu tour, 2015 Day 4 and 5

It had been cool overnight but no dew on the awning meant packing up was pretty simple after a brekky of bacon and eggs. We left Undara at about 8:15 am and headed out to the highway, turning west and heading towards Normanton. We stopped briefly at Mt Surprise for a refuelling stop before heading onto Croydon for lunch. Over lunch we planned out the next couple of days travel. 

We decided to stay at Leichhardt Lagoon - a bush camping place about 20 kms south of Normanton and explore Normanton and Karumba the following day. We have a nice camp amongst the trees surrounding a lagoon which has plenty of bird life and supposedly no crocs. This time I set up my light weight shelter instead of the car awning but I probably don't need it as it is quite warm and dry. 

Overnight there was no dew and I packed away the sleeping bag and blanket as if was too warm for them.  We slept in the next morning and had a leisurely time around camp until leaving around 10 am. A quick refuel in Normanton and a few photos of the big concrete croc and the purple pub before heading north to Karumba. 

We drove around the dock area of Karumba first and then headed over to the beach section. The caravan parks here were packed with tourists and boating and fishing seemed to be the main occupation. There was a pub right on the beach so we decided to have lunch here and I had an excellent Prawn Bucket. 

On the way back to camp I picked up some fresh prawns and bread rolls for dinner. We dropped into the river opposite the camp site and saw a few small crocs but they were pretty shy and didn't really hang around for photos. Back at camp we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and got ready to head off to Lawn Hill national park the following morning. 

Gulf and Kakadu tour, 2015 Day 2 and 3

Slept in a bit as it was still a bit chilly and there had been lots of dew overnight so the awning was wet. Eventually got up, packed everything away and hit the road at 8 am. Drove into Springsure where I refuelled the car and had some brekky before heading north to Emerald. 

Then there was a relatively boring drive north through Clermont and then onto Charters Towers which I got to a bit after 3 pm. Once again refuelled the car and drove about 40 kms North to Fletcher Creek, a free camping area. 

This place is huge taking up three of the four quadrants made by the road and the creek. There is one set of toilets and there was way more than a hundred caravaners and campers.  I set up an ASS camp (Awning, Stretcher, Swag) and sent a text message to Phil. 

While I went on a walk along the creek Phil and his brother David arrived and easily recognising my red SWB Paj, started setting up camp. 

After introductions and finishing setup we had some dinner and continued chatting for awhile, finally heading to bed around 9'ish. It was not as cold nor as dewy overnight and we had planned on leaving at around 8'ish which we didn't quit make. The road was mostly good and there was a bit more traffic, mainly tourist as we headed north.  After a quick morning tea at Greenvale we continued onto to Undara and found Kemsley and Liese around lunch time. So after a quick setup (another ASS camp) we headed to the restaurant for lunch and a chat. 

We booked in for dinner that night at the restaurant and headed back to camp to finish setting up. Then it was off for a walk around some of the tracks followed by a cool drink and some planning for the trip. After dinner (Barra and chippies) we got a fire going and sat around chatting until it burned out and then went to bed with the plan that we would leave about 08:30 and head for Normanton. 

Gulf and Kakadu tour, 2015 Day 1

Had little bit of a sleep in before getting up to finish packing the car around 06:30. It took longer than I had thought to get the spare wheel tied unto the roof rack so I didn't end up leaving until about 08:00. A quick stop to fuel up at Mudgeeraba and then I headed north before turning off at Logan motorway and heading toward Toowomba. The traffic was pretty minimal and what there was disappeared around Dalby. I stopped in Chinchilla for some lunch and to top up the car around noon. Then it was onto Miles where I turned north to Taroom. Just past Taroom I turned off on the Fitzroy Development Road heading for Bauhinia and hit the first gravel road for the trip. It was in pretty good condition but I could see where there had been a bit of mud from previous rain. 

I had planned on staying in Bauhinia but I still had an hour of daylight left so I pushed onto Rolleston. I checked into the caravan park and set up the awning, stretcher and swag before having a hot shower. 

Then it was off to the pub for an excellent dinner of pork chops before relaxing for awhile. Back at the car it was getting chilly as there were no clouds and a cool breeze was blowing, so I climbed into the swag to keep warm, type up this blog and have an early nights sleep after a day of driving.