Katherine and Litchfield National Park

Lake Argyle to Katherine

Leaving Lake Argyle and that magnificent pool,  we had a 500km drive ahead of us to reach Katherine.   After crossing the border and posing for the usual border photos, we settled in for the drive.   The boys settled into some maths and spelling whilst  Chrissy kept rule over the ‘ in car classroom’  as Jim kept his eye on the road. As we began to get nearer to Timber Creek we drove through some quite beautiful rocky outcrop style country,  coupled with regular glimpses of the mighty Victoria River.   Jim thought Policeman’s Point Lookout near Timber Creek would be a good place for lunch as recommended by his Aunty Glenda but after the vibrations near trashed the insides of the caravan he was on his absolute best behaviour for a while.   We soon passed Coolibah Station where ‘ Keeping up with the Jones’ is filmed and we decided not to visit.

Arriving in Katherine we made our way to the Low Level Caravan Park and headed for the pool to cool off.   It was not as hot as Kunnunurra which was a nice change (since our caravan air-conditioner was still out of action) but it was still 34 deg at 5.00pm. That night the kids loved their first views of the huge fruit bats that fly around after dusk and spend their days hanging by the river.

The next morning we had a bit of a slow start as we adjusted to the time difference,  before heading in to town for some Woollies therapy and a look around.   After lunch we were heading off to an Aboriginal Cultural Experience when Jim reversed the car into a decent white gum. All was very quiet for a little while!

Off to the Top Didj Cultural Experience we were introduced to Manuel -  Dalabon man from Arnhem land.  He is an acclaimed artist who shared with us his story as well as teaching all us some of his customs and the Dalabon way.  He took us through the steps to complete a small painting using some traditional as well as modern materials and they all looked great.  He made a great effort to spend time with all of us and tried so hard to call the 9 of us in the group by  our  names.

 

Jordy at stage two of the painting process

 

 

Manuel and Will

 

 

Manuel working with Kurt and Chrissy

 

For a man who speaks 5 languages  (can speak English but can’t read or write,) he showed us what it is to be a traditional aboriginal in Australia.   He wanted to know about us, was very engaging in the way he shared his knowledge with us and yet showed us that his culture was the most important thing in his life.

Later we used traditional fire sticks to make fire,  as well as throwing spears with woomeras which the boys absolutely loved.  Manuel makes a living through his art and cultural shows and spends his wet season out bush and painting and is a very talented man.

 

Jordy trying to make fire.

 

 

 

This is how you do it!

 

 

Will lets fly!

 

 

 

Recalling previous hunting trips.

 

 

 

Jordy has a go.

 

 

 

Kurt aiming to catch dinner.

 

 

Jim's turn.

 

With our finished artwork

 

 

The next morning we packed up and soaked at the Katherine Hot Springs before heading off to the very beautiful Edith Falls for a swim.  Will decided that the 150m across the deep, cold pool was a little daunting, so he and Jim retreated to the banks.  Chrissy, Jordy and Kurt braved the journey and were rewarded by the beauty of the falls.  We then headed off toward  Litchfield National Park.  We had a short stay in Katherine but we will return after we have visited Kakadu and Darwin.

 

Katherine hot springs

 

 

 

Edith Falls a 100m swim

 

 

Phew, made it!

One of the reasons it is so hot here is the amount of rock. Rocks,  rocks, rocks.  Even Kurt has given up throwing them, we think he’s got pitchers arm!   They are everywhere and soak up so much heat making both the Kimberley and the Territory very hot in places.

Litchfield National Park

After leaving Edith falls we had a two hundred kilometre drive to the Litchfield Tourist Park just outside Batchelor.   Arrival and set up was pretty straight forward and the kids were soon in the pool and dinner cooked.   One great thing about being up here is the geckos hanging around the lights at night.   We spotted 21 at the toilets and they are such characters, dashing out to catch insects.

The day began with  a very unusual and damp fog.  We set off early for Litchfield National Park.   After the magnetic termite mounds which point north we were off to Cascade Falls for our first walk and swim of the day.  It wasn’t a long walk but hot as some of it was over sand and rock.   We generally followed and criss crossed the creek until we reached Lower Cascades and by the time we reached that, we were certainly  hot enough.  Jordy, Kurt and Jim ventured on another few hundred metres to a whole series of very picturesque falls before cooling off back with the rest of the group. On arrival at the cascades Will came up with a great quote, “How clever is God to make this!” it was a magic spot for a soak before heading on.

 

The boys at Cascade Falls,

  that is not Jim under the waterfall by the way

 

 

 

Chin up time.

 

 

Under Curtain Falls

 

 

Next stop was Wangi Falls for lunch before a walk and a swim.  Being only 120km from Darwin, Litchfield is the destination for lots of tour groups as well as locals out for the day, and we know 120km is nothing in the Territory but several countries in Europe.   There were certainly plenty of German tourists about and they are constantly getting  a bashing in the papers for things like not putting out fires,  putting 2wds through water crossings and swimming in croc hangouts.  Anyway Jordy and Jim set off for a walk over the escarpment after lunch whilst the rest of the crew headed for the  look-out and falls.  Despite being busy the falls were beautiful and the pool perfect for swimming and snorkeling - the boys enjoyed identifying different fish species.    A really, beautiful place.  That’s about all that can be said, just beautiful.  Will cracked out the life jacket as the water is up to 14m deep and at least a 70m swim to the falls and we all snorkelled about for quite a while in the beautiful water.

 

Kurt and Will at Wangi Falls

 

 

 

Planking or resting?

 

 

 

                                                                 Wangi Falls and Pool

Our final destination for the day was Florence Falls on the way back to the tourist park.   A steep decline down to the valley floor involving 135 steps soon saw us under a monsoonal forest canopy walking alongside crystal clear streams. The falls were busy but worth the walk, with two main falls filling a good sized plunge pool.  On entering the water, lots of quite big sooty grunter(fish) swam amongst our legs and made us welcome.  We had a swim and enjoyed the falls before heading home to the park exhausted.

 

Florence Falls plunge pool

 

 

Cooling off at the end of a great day.

Next off to Darwin for satay prawns, a laksa, mango smoothies and lots of other great stuff.

Kunnunurra, The Bungles and Lake Argyle

Kunnunurra Part Two

On our return from El Questro we had three days in Kunnunurra to wash away the dust and have a bit more of a look around.  We had already visited iconic sites such as Ivanhoe Crossing where Jim had a fish and we watch millions of litres of water pass by us every second.   90000 litres of water is released from Lake Argyle every second for hyrdo electricity,  some of this goes to irrigation but the vast percentage goes down the river.  Ivanhoe Crossing is a nice place to watch the world go by for a while.

 

Ivanhoe Crossing

 

We also visited Rockalong Stonework where Zebra rock from the surrounding area is refined and polished.  It is a very fine sedimentary rock that has quite unique patterns and most tourists leave Kunnunurra with a pendant or some other form of it.

                               

                                                               Zebra Rock Samples

We drove straight past the Bungle Bungles turnoff as we had not booked to visit and there is only a set number of people allowed in the park every day.   We had also heard that the road in was horrendous (50km in 3 hrs) and so decided to do a flight.  We booked a 6am flight with Kimberley Air Tours and were picked up at 5.30am from the caravan park by Nigel our pilot for the day. The plane was a Cessna 210 six seater and we were soon in the air heading over the Diversion Dam and the irrigation areas. We headed out over  Lake Argyle with a great view of the dam wall and Spillway Creek.  When full,  the lake holds the equivalent of 22 Sydney harbours. It holds about 11,000 gigalitres, the city of Albany uses about 6 gigalitres a year.  It fills up every year with all the overflow going to the sea, which is a waste to say the least.

 

Kurt At 2500 feet

 

 

 

Lake Argyle from the air.

 

Before long we were on our way to the Bungles which could be seen in the distance.  It is amazing to think that they were undiscovered by Europeans until the 1980’s. They are 100million years old and the unusual shapes created by wind erosion on the sandstone.  They were amazing to see from the air with their distinct orange and black beehive patterns.

The return journey saw us fly over the massive Arglye Diamond mine which produces 9000 carats of diamonds every day in both its open cut and underground mine. It is like a whole town and the mine site itself is huge. It is unbelievable to think that is may well close by 2018.

After almost two hours in the air we were back in Kunnunurra. The flight had put our stomachs to the test, especially Will’s but we all survived and it was an amazing experience that will be remembered for a very long time.

 

Argyle Diamond mine

 

 

 

Back on the ground in one piece

 

It was certainly heating  up in Kunnunurra with 38 degree days and our caravan Air-conditioning packed it in on Saturday morning with no chance of a repair before Monday.

On Sunday we headed off to Lake Argyle for the night which was a pleasant 70km away.  The park was very orderly and well maintained. The pool was something else, a horizon pool on a cliff edge overlooking the lake with stunning views. It was also by far the cleanest pool that we have been in to date on this trip.   We also ran into our first cane toad at Lake Argyle,  and the count was three by the end of the day. Our challenge is to come up with an acceptable way of disposing of them without a baseball bat being involved.

 

Lake Argyle Resort Pool

 

                                     

Lake Argyle has to be seen to be believed. Here is some info that interested us.

·         When full it holds 11,000 gigalitres (22 Sydney harbours) Albany uses 6 gigalitres per year

·         Hydro electricity releases 90 cubic metres of water a second, lowering the lake level by 7mm each day. The electricity powers Kunnunurra, Wyndam and the Argyle Diamond mine.

·         22mm is lost to evaporation each day.

·         During the 2011 the lake swelled to 22,000 some 44 Sydney harbours. At this time Perth’s annual water supply was being released every four hours, via spillway creek and other outlets.  The Ord River was depositing 80,000 cubic metres of water a second into the lake at times during the flood.

·         There are no water meters in Kunnunurra.

 

 

 

 

 

Today, off to the Northern Territory.

Home Valley Station and El Questro

Kunnunurra

Our arrival in Kunnunurra gave us two nights to get ready for our week  at Home Valley Station and El Questro.  After securing about four cubic metres of food and sorting our things out we were ready for a week in the Kimberley.

Home Valley Station  HV8

After an early rise we dropped off our van and picked up the  hire camper for the week . We managed to squeeze everything in, amazingly,  and soon we were on our way on  the Gibb River Road.  The road  will soon be sealed all the way to El Questro .  The  50km of road  from El Questro  to Home Valley Station  could well be described as ‘very, very, average’ in patches.   The Pentecost River Crossing was  soon upon  us and it looked  a long way across.....  all went well with the water only  30cm deep,  but the bottom pretty bumpy with large rocks.

 

                                                             Crossing the Pentecost

On arrival we were keen for some guided fishing and horse riding but was not to be.... the guide had broken   his ankle and THE  Muster was on,  which meant many tours and activities were unavailable - much to our disappointment.   Despite the fact that the locals all think it’s too cold for Barra, we did get some lure fishing in at the Pentecost  without any luck.   There was however always plenty of wildlife and almost always a croc in view. I had a go with a throw net to gather some livebait but the Popeye Mullet  saw me get the net out of the car I’m sure, and my netting skills were ‘very, very, average’.

 

The Cockburn Ranges and the Pentecost at Sunset

Low tide at the Pentecost with a big lizard on the far bank.

 

 

The resident croc at the meeting of Bindoola Creek and the Pentecost

 

More sunset drinks at the Cockburn Ranges lookout

 

 

 

 

 

Home Valley was a good spot for a few days. The Cockburn Ranges are simply stunning at any time of day and the pool was also a welcome sight. We attended the Horsemanship Show hosted by ‘JR’ and spent an amazing 2 hours with an incredibly gifted man who gave us all a lesson on horses and life,  and his horse skills were simply amazing. Will became his buddy and he made the boys the focus of his show and we all were captivated.  Unfortunately Kurt  overheated a little and fainted. The HV8 staff were amazing,   getting him to their RFDS room to  recover. After a Gatorade or two, a Cornetto and lots of TLC, he was fine and the HV8 manager Ben insisted on booking us into $600 worth of air conditioned rooms for the night. We were very grateful for this gesture and the care and consideration of Ben, Alex and Will’s best buddy JR.

 

                                                 JR giving Will a few pointers on hat care.

 

JR putting a fairly flighty brumby through his paces.

 

 

Every drover needs a good hat and a whip!

Will put his birthday money into his hat, It wasn't cheap but he loves it.

 

 

Our final day at HV8 saw us chill out by the pool whilst  Kurt and  I had another crack at the barra at the Pentecost.  We didn’t  feel so bad when a seasoned local couldn’t get any mullet either.

 

                                      The boys doing their best to fill the pentecost with rocks.

                                                       Out for dinner at the Dusty bar and Grill

 

                                                                The Dusty Bar at HV8

El Questro   ELQ

El Questro is a cattle Station come Wilderness Park which is geared up for tourists and lots of them.  The whole place is well signed, the roads well maintained and everything is  ready to go – they’re eager to take your hard earned from you. The camp ground is shady and well grassed and alongside the Pentecost  River - without those snapping crocs. We quickly settled in and headed for El Questro Gorge.  We negotiated the two simple water crossings on the way before confronting a slightly bigger, murkier one not far from the gorge. The sign said ‘high clearance vehicles  only’.  Chrissy’s offer to walk it first was declined....the big CROC question mark???  Plan B - off to Zebedee Springs for a soak!  That was a good call.  30 degree crystal clear thermal spring water – the kids were in heaven.

                                                                                 

                                                               Soaking at Zebedee Springs

 

                                                            

                                                               Jordy enjoying a waterfall

                                                              Kurt at Zebedee Springs

 

Later in the afternoon we found the rapids at ELQ campground – in front of the restaurant.  We all loved sitting in the cool water, making dam walls – re aligning the Pentecost River.... etc,  very relaxing.

 

Chill out time in the rapids.

 

 

Rocks and water, boy heaven.

 

 

                                                              Cooling of from the afternoon heat

Day two saw us off to Emma Gorge, some 25km away. A 1.6km walk up the gorge took about 40 min and the scenery got better the further we went. Finally we reached a beautiful pool with a cascading 40 meter waterfall as well as a droplet fall. The water was cold with tiny warm patches.  It was just wonderful being there.  It was breathtaking swimming across the icey water to be beneath the waterfall.   The kids found a thermal  warm bathtub and planted themselves  in that, as we spent an hour  relaxing by the pool. The walk back was a bit hotter and we finished off our day with a bit of time at both Zebedee Springs and the rapids.  A stunning day at El Questro.

 

On the way to Emma Gorge

 

 

The droplet fall and pool at Emma Gorge

 

 

Crystal clear water but a little cool.

 

                                             

                                           The boys find the thermal spring at Emma Gorge

Day three saw El Questro Gorge in our sights again and that water crossing!   After chatting with Rangers and various tourists, giving  conflicting views -   I walked part of it (now aware that there were no crocs,)  watched another Prado tackle it and then it was time. Low range first gear, off we go. It was about 60cm at its deepest with a  solid bottom, a few wheel ruts and the odd rock thrown in but we made it easily.   Smally would have been proud of us!

                                                                

                                                                    That Water crossing.

El Questro Gorge is a 4 hour epic but, much to Jordy’s horror,  we only went to the Halfway Pool. Most of the Gorge is under a canopy of palm trees and the kids loved rock hopping across the many creek crossings on the trail.  It is a beautiful gorge and the colours of the rocks, palms and pools are all as good as the postcards.  Jordy was very keen to push on to the end but with Kurt very quiet (cause for concern,) and a bit pale we headed back and off to Zebedee again. Once again taking on the big water crossing .

 

                                                          Will at El Questro Gorge

 

Halfway Pool at El Questro Gorge

Later in the day we went for a drive to Chamberlain Gorge and saw the Homestead where the rich and famous hang out.  It looked ok but I liked the campground better in a way.....  I know the kids would like the campground more anyway with the rapids and other things going on.  The forces of nature were on display at Chamberlain Gorge with lots of huge dead trees littering the walls of the Gorge some 10-12 metres above the current water mark.   All this occurred two years ago in a big wet and lots of the gorge resembled a war zone.

We all loved ELQ, from the cows on the loose at night in the campground,  to the campfires and the beauty of the gorges as well as the simplicity of the rapids, it is a wonderful place for a family holiday.

                                                             

                                                        Crossing the Pentecost at El Questro