Day 42 – Thursday 28 July 2016 – Katherine

Warning - photo mania!!!!!

Today was an "up early for me" day as it was my turn to visit Katherine Gorge.  It was lucky for me that I happened across a lovely couple from WA who were also lost at the Visitor Centre and we managed between us to figure out where to go.  It's a crazy setup where you only see the sign to the boat ramp on the way out rather than on the way in when you really need it.  By far not the last to arrive we boarded our tour boat just after 9.00am and the adventure began.  Shane and I both did the 3 gorge tour and despite there being a bit of walking between boat jetties, it was just stunning and well and truly worth every cent for the four hour tour.

I think for me Katherine Gorge rates right up there with Uluru for its sheer WOW factor and I am so very grateful that I did in the end book two tours and not one as this is definitely not something to miss.  The amazing cliff faces, the colours of the rock, the history behind the rock paintings, the incredible contrasts between wet and dry season, and not least of all the incredible work of mother nature, all go together to just leave you feeling in awe of it all.

That lovely WA couple ended up being my tour buddies for the trip so it was nice to have someone to share it all with at the time.   It was a tiring but awesome four hours and I was really happy with the photos I got.

The force of the incoming tide in the wet season over the years has pushed the trees to this angle.

The waterholes for swimming.

Rock paintings

Rock painting of the rainbow serpent.

A hand print painting signifying ownership or connection with the land.

A freshwater croc sunning itself.  This one was about 2 metres long.

I don't care how non threatening they are or how brittle their teeth are - this is as close as I ever want to be thank you!

Not a great shot but I spotted this in the cave where there were birds and bats nesting - and I believe it is a  Banded Tree Snake

Marks on the rocks from years of tides coming and going.

"Crocodile Rock"

What was really curious were the amazing number of bats in the trees at the entrance to the boat ramp.  I spent a bit of time after the tour taking a few photos and watching their antics.  I'm pretty glad that the bats at home aren't this big.  

This little dude had some impressive aeroBATic moves happening!

Nawwwww

Just part of one tree amongst many others that the bats were inhabiting.

This cheeky little bugger was pestering an elderly couple who were trying to eat their lunch while he was trying to steal the food from their hands.

Returning to camp it was nice to have a bit of a rest before we packed everything up for our travels again tomorrow.

Day 41 – Wednesday 27 July 2016 – Katherine

Shane was off early today to take in the morning tour of Katherine Gorge.  

I spent a lovely relaxing morning with the dogs, did a bit of washing, cleaned up and got some more crochet done.  It was quite windy today but still very warm.  Some time after lunch I was sitting doing some crochet while the dogs were lazily snoozing just outside the door when in through the door floated a beautiful black butterfly with bright gold and rust coloured markings.  He came to rest within arms reach on my phone and his wingspan was longer than the phone.  He turned to face me and then took flight again out the door.  I was so mesmerised by his presence that I didn't even think to reach for the camera and if I had been at all withit, I should have closed the door to study him for a few moments - but alas no.  No photos, just the lovely memory of his visit.  Interactions with wildlife like that have always felt special to me.  

On Shane's return I got to hear all about the gorge and saw some of his lovely photos and I'm looking forward to seeing it all in person tomorrow.  However on arrival he gave me a hug and started talking about what he'd seen.  He hesitated and said "What do you have all over your t-shirt".  Sure enough there were big brown stains on the front and apparently a patch on the back as well.  After a little investigation it would seem that someone who shall remain nameless had eaten a chocolate coated ice-cream and then come home with chocolate on their shirt and hand, and in the course of giving their "wife" a hug had transferred it from their own shirt to hers.  But we won't talk about that.........

A couple of calls home to chat with those poor souls living in sub-arctic temperatures provided a few amusing moments.  I can't help but think if we had spent this winter there both of us would be suffering the effects for sure.

What is it that they say about doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome?????  So foolishly we decided to give the whole dog walking thing a go for the second time - this time though with torches.  Sadly once again poor Kitty returned full of leaves and twigs and while trying to brush it all out upon the bonnet of the car to try to save my back to pain of a repeat of last night's effort I almost choked on the amount of dust that was flying out of her hair.  So much for being clean!  No more walks Miss Kitty - at least until we find a more suitable surface.

Oops.... and not one photo to share.

Day 40 – Tuesday 26 July 2016 – Darwin - Katherine

The freezer woes continued this morning with the temperature still only down to -11.  The strange thing was that on opening the lid and checking the food, it seemed frozen.  I thought the best gauge was the ice-cream which wasn't, as I had feared, squishy.  So we aren't sure if there is an issue with the thermostat or just the display.

It wasn't the quickest getaway we've had this morning, but we were finally on the road by 9.30am delayed slightly because one of our caravan tyres was bugged....

This dude was hanging on for dear life as we pulled out of the site.  Despite me travelling at walking pace he held on for two streets before deciding this ride was a bit of a headspin and jumping off into the bushes.

We were both very sad to be turning left onto the Stuart Highway as we've thoroughly enjoyed our time in Darwin and were very lucky to have such amazing weather during our stay.  We are determined not to think of this point as heading home as we still have 5 weeks of holidays left and I'm sure there are still lots of adventures and memorable moments for us to take in during that time.

We didn't have to get far out of Darwin before we saw our first abandoned car.  Most of these cars have windows smashed and are usually less their tyres/wheels.  Although generally speaking the ride of choice is somewhat newer than this particular one.

I was so keen to go stand by one of the big ant hills as perspective for how big they really are, but they were either too far off the road or a car was too close behind to pull over.  Shane snapped another photo out the window.

Our first stop was at Pine Creek and as luck would have it - LUNCH TIME.  So we headed to Mayse's for another Pork Roll and Gravy.  Sorry Mayse - the crackle wasn't as good this time, but those rolls are absolutely amazing!  While we were in Pine Creek we also took a quick look at the railway display.

Onward to Katherine by mid afternoon and set up.  We didn't luck out with those nice grass sites we had on the way up, but we have shade most of the day from the large trees in the park.  We decided after dinner that we would take the dogs for a bit of a walk around the park.  Bad mistake!  Thinking Kitty had walked through a pile of old leaves and grass in the dark we headed back to camp and spent the next 20 minutes brushing and pulling said foliage from her coat.  Not such a fun end to the evening......

But wait - not the only disaster for the day - I discovered when we pulled in to the park at Katherine, in my concern for the freezer not performing to its best, I had neglected to change the caravan fridge over to power and it seems the caravan battery is on the way out and the fridge and freezer had not been working.  So out went most of the food and we had to go shopping to replace what we needed and will now have to look into the issue with the battery.....  And to think when the computer and hairdryer died - I actually asked myself what would be the third thing, since things always seem to come in threes with us lately!