Katherine to Darwin, NT

Hi All

Hope this finds you well.  We are all really well and enjoying our time in Darwin.

On the way here from Katherine, we stopped at Edith Falls which was a beautiful, restful place with stunning waterholes for swimming.  We’ve enjoyed a number of water holes and our absolute favourite has been Berry Hot Springs, which, during the week is quite quiet, and we just float in the warm water, down the river, until we reach the lower pool, where the girls have a ball jumping off a tarzan swing they found there!  We’ve been there a few times now and its just magical!

We also went to Litchfield National Park on the way to Darwin and whilst beautiful, we were surprised just how busy it was.  Steve and I are pleased we’ve been there before, in quieter times because some of the waterholes were so packed we could barely get in! 

As well as being the dry season here, its also the Darwin Festival which is probably why its SO busy.  We’ve enjoyed the festival….lots of afternoon/evening entertainment and lovely food!  This week we went to a Vietnamese Water Puppets show in the City which the kids loved and last week there was an Indonesian play which, although none of us followed the plot, we loved the costumes and music!  The girls were mesmerised from start to finish!

Whilst in Darwin, we’ve enjoyed some of the local attractions, Mindil markets, Howard Springs, Charles Darwin National Park (where we got eaten alive by bugs!), Casuarina Coastal Reserve, a Jumping Crocodile Cruise along the Adelaide River and by far the favourite, the 3 water parks they have here, 2 of which are free!  The scenery at the water parks isn’t quite as stunning as the swimming pool at Lake Argyle but they are great all the same! 

We really have fallen in love with Darwin but do realise it’s a short lived affair as its clearly not like this in the wet season, as everyone tells us!  Even now, in the dry, I have bites from mozzies, sandflies and midges….and that’s just on the one leg!!  I don’t think I could stand it in the wet!  Poor Meggie is our “bug beacon”.  If there is a biting insect around, it will find Megan! 

The girls are really enjoying where we are staying….we are camping on someone's land on the banks of a billabong, with just a few other caravans.  There is another family here so the kids have friends to play with and have taken to walking everyone’s dogs in the afternoons.  Rosie has also earned her first “car washing” money from a chap here….so she is now coming up with all manner of ideas to make some money!!  At one point she was going to set up a stall and sell their toys.  Funnily enough, most of the toys selected were Megan’s!  Well at least she is developing a work ethic!

From here, in a week or so, we’ll head into Kakadu National Park and then slowly down to Alice Springs.  Will be in touch again in a few weeks! 

Take care

Xxx

Edith Falls

Uh ooo...croc trap at Edith Falls!

Girls at Litchfield National Park

Wow, thats a big termite mound!

Croc at Adelaide River

Meggie holding childrens python

Rosie holding childrens python

Beautiful Berry Hot Springs

More Berry Springs!

Girls at Vietnamese Puppet show

Vietnamese Puppet show

Another lazy fishing afternoon (total caught since leaving Sydney....zero!)

Oooooh, lovely pool at Argyle Lake!

Broome to Darwin

Hi All

Hope you are keeping well!

So, when did we last chat….ahhh, beautiful Broome!  Yes, we really enjoyed beautiful Broome, in particular we’ll remember it for mango smoothies and fish and chips on the beach!

The journey from Broome has been very interesting…. Often miles and miles of barren landscape and then just when you least expect it, the scenery changes to beautiful red gorges against a backdrop of green trees and scrub, dotted with the bizarrely beautiful boab trees!

We have now crossed into the Northern Territory and have had some real highlights over the past few weeks. One in particular was spending time at the Bungle Bungle National park, with its “bee-hive” shaped domes.  We were very lucky as the grader had been in a couple of days before (I’d like to think its our influence in the area but suspect it was just luck!!).  Anyway, it meant the road in was relatively smooth….best its ever been in fact since the park opened!  I think Rosie must have missed that bit of info as it didn’t stop her being sick in the car on the way in!  The windy roads were just too much for her!  Luckily as we’d had a super early start, it was pre-breakfast vomit!!  Anyway, enough of that.  The day itself was fantastic and we really enjoyed walking though the gorges and domes….they really are so unusual.  There was one particular gorge there, Cathedral Gorge (as its name suggests, shaped like a Cathedral) and we were treated to someone singing there.  It was magical.  The next day we took an early morning helicopter flight over the Bungle Bungles and for Megan, the location could have been anywhere…she was just thrilled that the helicopter didn’t have any doors on it!! 

We’ve also really enjoyed some of the gorges along the way, in particular, Winjana Gorge which was the first time the girls saw fresh water crocodiles on the banks of the river!  That was very exciting for them and now, having seen quite a few, they sound like old locals saying….”that croc is only a freshie” ….as if to say, that’s OK, its not a saltwater croc!!

Tunnel Creek was also a great day out, a cave that runs for a kilometre, then leads to a spectacular lush green opening and swimming hole. The girls particularly enjoyed scrambling over rocks to get into the tunnel and then wading through knee high deep water with the head torches on!

We also had a lovely relaxing day at El Questro (sadly not the super posh part) but a day out there all the same!  Another early start and a soak in the hot water at Zebedee Springs before a picnic lunch at the El Questro Homestead and then a walk to Emma Gorge and a dip in chilly water there.  It was a long but fun day!

We have just arrived in Darwin today having spent a lovely week in remote Edith Falls and Lichfield Park (more of that in the next blog!).  The girls have been so excited about reaching Darwin....when I asked Rosie why, I thought she would say something about the wildlife or scenery, but no….she had been reading a Kmart catalogue and realised there was a Kmart in Darwin!!  They have run out of Loom Bands and need to restock!!  We have a Loom Band sheltered workshop going on in the back of the car…..I won’t be sad when we move on from this phase….but it keeps them happy!!! 

Till next time!

xxx 

Bungle Bungle National Park

More Bungles!

Cathedral Gorge, Bungle Bungles

Echidna Chasm, Bungle Bungles

Up, up and away....flight over the Bungles

You get it....I LOVED the Bungles!

Tunnel Creek, WA

Tunnel Creek

and at the end of Tunnel Creek is this beautiful swimming hole!

Winjana Gorge, WA

Its only a freshie!!

Girls and friends at Zebedee Hot Springs, El Questro...ooooh lovely!