July 30th Timber Creek - 15 th August Adelaide River NT

The kids at the NT Boarder

After six months in Western Australia we were all pretty excited about entering the Northern Territory.

We spent the first night in NT at a bush camp near Timber Creek along with about 20 other vans before heading into Katherine - Riverview Caravan Park. It is only a 5 minute walk to the Katherine Hot Springs and it was wonderful. Apparently there are quite a few things to see in the area but we were tooooo busy spending two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon drifting and floating along in the hot springs to see to much.

DArcy diving for treasures in the small waterfall at the Katherine Hot Springs.

Riley and Kym in the Katherine Hot Springs NT

In Katherine we had the opportunity to met up with another SA family who are doing distance education. Brandon is in Taines online class. They have travelled up the east coast and were heading west so we spent a fun couple of days together. (and nights) We even got asked to keep it down on the Friday as we were laughing and talking tooooo loud at 930pm! The following night we went over to their camps so as not to disturb our neighbour and to have homemade fish and salad. Damien and Vicki are both chefs so we were more than happy to accept their invitation. Beautiful. Thanks guys.

The boys really loved catching up with eachother and played for hours.

Taine and Brandon - Katherine NT

We had a few business and tax things to do in Katherine at the bank and postoffice as well as me having to finalise all the financial year stuff and once that was done we packed up camp and moved to the Katherine Gorge caravan park. The gorge is wonderful and we did the walk up to the first lookout but decided against doing the river cruise. ($$) The murky water wasnt too inviting for a swim (there was a large croc trap on the opposite bank) so we went back to the caravan park and lazed around the most beautiful swimming pool, surrounded by grass, palms and thousands of birds of all different species.

The view from the lookout at Katherine Gorge NT



The kids climbing around the banks of Katherine Gorge

We seemed to be having more 12v issues (not charging very quickly off the solar panels - another job to be done in Darwin) so needed to find a spot with power and as we travelled north to Pine Creek we stayed at the race track - know as Pussy Cat Flats. It was a great spot. $13 per family to stay, power, water, showers and toilets, it was a treat. We only planned to stay for one night as a stop over but ended up staying three. It was an excellent based from which to explore the area so that is what we did. We spent the first day walking into and exploring Umbrawarra Gorge. That night we had dinner at the racecourse bar along with most of the other campers and some of the locals.

The next day we decided to visit some of the southern parts of Kakadu National Park. We went to Maguk (Barramundi Gorge), and it was brilliant and we all had a great time swimming in the pool and jumping of the sides of the gorge. It was one of our favourtie places i think. Tonight however i was talking to a friend (thanks Leesa) who said that she was told (could or could not be true) that a 3.6m croc was caught only two months ago in that pool! Sh&*&*&*T The lady at the information centre even said it was ok to swim there!!!! We also made the 4WD drive into Gunlom Falls which was only just running but would be a sight to see in the wet im sure. We really had an enjoyable day in Kakadu.


At the Southern entrance to Kakadu National Park

DArcy Taine

Maguk Gorge - once they started there was no stopping them.


Riley stuck close to the edge of the gorge.

That night at Pussy Cat Flats - the Crows vs Collingwood were on the big screen and we spent the night watching it with a bunch of Magpie supporters sitting behind us. You have to hate that especially when you lose!

Nice - our first introduction to water buffalo were these two that had been hit by truck a few days earlier - they stank and there were flies coming out of every hole!

From Pussy Cat Flats went hit the Stuart highway again and headed north for a short time before taking a detour out to the Douglas Daly Hot springs. It is a national park with only a few facilities but we had a nice shady spot close to the springs so we were happy. The water comes out from underground at a very very hot temperature so it needs to mix with the water of the river to make it enjoyable so we dug some holes and laid around keeping a close eye out for the large freshwater crocodile that lives in the area.

Douglas Daly Hot Springs NT

From our camp spot we also visited the Butterfly Gorge. I dont know if it was worth the walk if you wanted to see the butterflies as we didnt see many but it was a wonderful gorge in its on right. It is a tricky walk and steep climb but one of the walks i have enjoyed the most. Once we climbed into the gorge we went for a swim across to the other side and then continued to climb over boulders and swim through freezing pools of water. It was a great challenge and rewarding at the top.

Butterfly Gorge NT

Climbing into Butterfly Gorge NT

After our couple of nights in Douglas/Daly we took a back road to Daly River to stay at the Daly Barra Resort. It is a fairly new place and we had a great site under the huge mango trees. We saw water buffalo in the paddock from the back of the owners ute , chased and killed cane toads with cricket bats at night then did some target shooting with a little rifle in the side paddock. The kids thought it was paradise. We could have stayed a couple more nights but we want to be in Darwin on the 17th so needed to hit the road.

The road only led us 112kms up the old Stuart Highway into Adelaide River. We had no plans to stay but Kym needed to catch up on some emails etc., the kids need to do a bit of school work to finish off the week, the caravan park, behind the Adelaide River Inn was cheap, had green grass and the BP servo sold Farmers Union Ice Coffee. What more could any South Australian want.

Charlie the stuffed water buffalo - from the movie Crocodile Dundee I and II at the Adelaide River Inn.

Adelaide River played a big part in the defence of the North during WWII and it has a wonderful war cemetery. It is an official war cemetery and is maintained through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and they do a wonderful job. It is green and tropical and a fitting resting place for over 260 men (and one woman) and well worth a visit.

We will head off in the morning out to Litchfield National Park for a few nights before heading into the big smoke. The kids cant wait as they have heard all about the free waterslide and the wave pool and are looking forward to it.

Its hard to believe that we are already seven months into our trip and have so much to see in such a little time. We are always adjusting and changing our itinerary trying to work out how we can make the most of the time we have left.

We are all doing very very well and loving the time we are spending together as a family.

Hope you are all well.

Happy belated Birthday Lynda xx

Happy birthday Dad xx

Happy birthday Lucy XX

Love

themitchellsonthemove xxx