Through the NT

Hi to everyone
As we are getting a bit closer to home I had better get my act together and try to catch up. I think I mentioned before that the roads in NT are not really great but the overall feeling about this state is that it is the poor relation to the rest of Australia. I don't know if its because there is a lot of welfare and agencies to cater for certain populations but there is certainly an overall lack of any thing special. But having said that the NT does have a lot of interesting places to see. After Katherine we headed south and stopped at a little place called Mataranka for a swim.  Like Katherine it too was the home of a hot natural spring and once again the water was astonishing. Crystal clear and even warmer than Katherine one. They have done a little more to this one and have cement seat around the edge for you to sit and relax however as there is a constant gentle current you really have to work at just staying still. I wish there was something like this near Perth. There were quite a few people here for this tiny town in the middle of the bush.

Warm as toast. Crystal clear again



See the current



Surprise

Like an oasis all around the spring

Hi everyone

It wasnt long before we were at a place called Daly Waters. This little town is famous as part of the overland telegraph line but even more famous for being the place where Christine and Ian met. You will have to ask Chris the full story of this but it is a quirky little place with a pub in the middle.

At this airport during world war 2 there were planes in and out every 15 minutes

The old hangar at the disused airport

Stuarts tree

The pub at Daly Waters where Chris and Ian met



Free helicopter rides across the road



Cans and bottles hanging at the side of the pub

We stayed at a little roadhouse then on to Tennent Creek. That night we were entertained at the park by a bush bloke called Jimmy  who is part aboriginal and talked about bush tucker (with samples) bush medicine and spun yarns and poems about his life. He was a terrific bloke and apparently has featured on Australian story. He is a funny but sincere fellow and we really enjoyed his show. There were a group of schoolkids there who were also mesmerized and a good time was had by all. He does these shows every night and asks for a donation only.

Jimmy chats to the kids

and with yours truly

Our next stop was to play with the Devils Marbles. This is a stunning place to visit and if we come back this way again we will camp out here for a few days as there is several rock formations to see and you need to spend days just looking. There is also 24 hr free parking.

Holding up the rocks

This is a pushover



A snake in the grass (Look close)

The marbles are stunning and we will be back one day.
Soon we were at a place called Gemtree. This is a place where you can go out and fossick for garnets or zircons. After a day of fossicking we had quite a few garnets to show and after the gem man assesses them there were 7 that were suitable for cutting.

Lizzy found about 50 garnets

Although Gemtree caravan park is very basic we found it very relaxing as there was hardly anyone else there and we had everything to ourselves to enjoy. There are creeks close by to explore and lots of rocks to look through. We enjoyed our time here and especially the fossicking.

On to Alice Springs for a bit of a break :)   
After climbing the steps to the lookout to see the sunset I looked over the other side to find there was a car park that brings you right up to it. It seems that everything involves either climbing or descending (or both).  But it was well worth it as the view is terrific and the sunset lovely.

A town like Alice

The sun sets over Alice

It was a cool night and there were probably about another 100 people there too. Anzac Hill is a very popular spot.
We caught up on some shopping here but John had to wait until after 2pm to buy some alcohol (something to do with their regulations) and also show ID. Apparently you cant buy alcohol twice in any one day there.



Visiting the original RFDS headquarters



Lizzy learnt to flip pancakes





Memorial for the 3 team mates that died in the Cannonball Run

 Its off to Ayers Rock now so until then, take care and keep well
love Sonia John n Lizzy

NORTHERN TERRITORY ..From Katherine to Ayers Rock

Hi everyone
At the end of each packed day and with all good intentions I cant seem to stay awake long enough to put the days events on the blog. So will do a one off story to incorporate all of the Territory. 
We crossed the border into NT and as probably everyone does we stopped to take the usual photos.

The first stopoff was at Gregorys Tree. An explorer who apparently carved a message in a boab tree for his expedition party to say a letter was "in the oven". There was a small settlement there but at the foot of a crocodile river it was hard to imagine how harsh it all was in the 1800s. Over the years the carving has grown with the tree and the boab is huge.

 



Gregorys Tree



We hadnt bought too much in the way of fruit and veg as having thrown out all of our produce prior to going to Kunnunurra we didnt want to waste too much again. However they dont check going in to NT only going into WA.  So we could have bought a lot more at the market.  Oh well.
 We came accross a woman walking for the breast cancer foundation and stopped to make a donation. The weather was rather warm and you just had to admire her tenacity.



Walking for cancer

 

Probably one of the first thing we noticed was the roads were not as good as WA roads.  Very bumpy and patchy. The next most obvious thing was the speed limit. We were amazed at the 130k/h  speed allowance. 



130 k/h



The lines are also a little different with a black strip between the two white lines.
We made our way to Katherine and although we are now members of the Big 4 Club we decided to stay at a recommended Park called Shady Lane. It was a lovely park and true to it's name. It also had mango trees and once again full of fruit that was not ripe. This did not deter me though and I soon had 4 big ones tucked into a bag with a banana and an apple and hid the bag in a hidie spot.  I could just visualize myself eating all 4 mangos at once in a short time once the fruit had done its job.

Shady Lane Caravan Park..Also very friendly

I thought Katherine would be a little bigger than it was and is probably about half the size of Geraldton. We were soon heading off to it's most famous attraction, the Katherine Gorge. We booked a two gorge tour as apparently there are up to nine differnt gorges (not always full) and you need to get off one boat and on to another for each gorge. This is actually a great thing as the walks in between give a terrific perspective and there is some aboriginal artwork to see. Once again the pictures show how lovely it is.



Some very energetic people in kayaks






In between gorges




Artwork but not easy to see





In a good wet season the water comes over half way up the wall





This part featured in an Aussie movie in the ?70s



Postcard picture

One of the best places  to see was the hot springs.  We didnt know what it could possibly be and after going down 4 flights of steps (harder going back up though) we came to what could only be described as the most PERFECT water we have ever seen. It is a natural warm spring with crystal clear water approx a metre deep in a creek like bed. Once I saw it I wish we had brought our bathers so we could have a swim. There were a few people in there and I wanted to just jump in. You can see straight to the bottom and see every rock, pebble and grain of sand on the bottom. Thats how clear it is. 



I wore my reef shoes everywhere



After bugging John and Liz we did return later and had the best swim ever. You just dont want to get out.




One of the locals






How clear the water

 In the wet season  you need to be careful of croc's as the river is right behind the embankment. Of course I was ever on the lookout for them anyway...

We visited the museum where they served the best mango smoothie out in their garden cafe. There is a lot of history with Katherine and its all there. Sheds full of old machinery and an interesting "planetarium" made by one of the locals many years ago. There is a great detail on the flood in the 90s (I think the date is right) and a video documentary on just how high the waters got. The phoneboxs were just peeping about 6 inches above the water. When they tried to clean out the shopping centre the SES guys were sent running by 4 crocs who had made themselves at home in the butchers shop. 
 Another interesting item was a letter sent to the local sergeant by a prospector in the early 1900s. Hopefully you can read the letter as I tried to photograph it all. Quite sad really. It is a wonderful museum and worth spending some time there if you ever get the chance.



The letter




Lots of stuff




Planetarium




One pretty little maid at the coffee shop



and one very ugly one

We met some lovely people next to us at the caravan park who were travelling for 6 months on a holliday from South Africa. I felt a bit homesick talking with them as they said "Yah Yah" and "Shame" a lot.  It was really nice to listen to them.

We visited the old Crossing that is no longer in use, however, although there are warning signs for crocs I noticed a woman taking her child there for a swim. Its all a bit nerve wracking and I know they probably get a bit blazay about it all but I wouldnt swim in the actual river thats for sure.

As Katherine has been quite long and its getting a bit late now I will publish this anyway separately and continue on NT tomorrow.  Daylight saving has commenced today in South Australia (which is where we really are) and its now 1030pm  (930 really) and in wa its 8pm.

Today is our son Jonathon's 27th birthday. Happy birthday son and although we are not there today we will cook you up a nice tea when we get home. Lizzy has already planned the cake for you. Hope you had a great day. I am so happy knowing you have your gorgeous family Hayley, Summer and Connor to help you celebrate.

Goodnight everyone. Love to all

Sonia John n Lizzy xxxx