Week Ten Day Sixty Four

John's thong, held together by string.


Making our way over the petrified coral.

A small view of the town lagoon.

The crocodile trap.

Textile Cone shell.

Well in the last post, we mentioned that we were in for an exciting time!!!!!! Remind us not to say that out loud again. yes we had excitement but not in the way we expected.

Firstly we had to contend with the wind and rain created by Cyclone Paul. For the first few days it hung around and Bom.gov showed that we were in the cyclone area. It got to the stage where the whole garden was cleared and all movable objects were stored.

This though caused issues, for instance casting into the sea was not possible because of the wind, therefore fishing was out..........

John and Francois (Wendy's brother) managed to get to the yacht, to retrieve a 60 metre chain. however in the "tinny" (tender) on the way back was almost into the water because of the weight. This caused both John and Francois to get soaked.

The next thing to happen, Adam caught scarlet fever. Great!!!!! Poor child, not nice for a 5 year old. Anyway he missed 3 days of school. He was a lot better after being on antibiotics, and so far no one else has caught it.

On Wednesday we went to the Town lagoon, this is a fresh water lagoon that runs between the town and sea. In some places it is only separated from the sea by 20 meters of sand dune. However because of the wet season, most of the track was under water. Being home to salt water crocodiles we did not venture into these areas. However we did take a look at the crocodile trap on the waters edge, with the bait, a fish hanging there. We also went to the bird hide to see what birds we could see. This is home to 200 bird species. We did catch sight of a blue kingfisher and lorikeets.

Afterwards we went to East Woody Beach to see if the tide was low enough to walk to the island. Unfortunately it wasn't, so we will have to time it a bit better next time. However Leila, enjoyed the romp in the waves.

This afternoon we took a walk along another beach, towards Rainbow Cliffs. We started off at Buffalo Creek, walked around the mangroves, looking for some mud skippers, (tiny fish that hop across the water when disturbed). Found some as well as some footprints, not sure if they belonged to a crocodile, so we hightailed it to the beach. We crossed the creek and started along the beach. It was great fun as we encountered clay flats, and bauxite rock pools. There was loads of hermit crabs, washed up clam shells and we also discovered a textile cone shell (they use a venomous barb to disable their prey, however this can be fatal to humans) we of course did not touch this.

At one time we had to clamber over a petrified coral outcrop, John broke his shoe and Hope grazed her leg. John fixed his shoe with some rope Hanna found, and Wendy bandaged Hope's leg with her bandanna. Problem fixed!

We continued on our journey, with the girls helping hermit crabs back to the sea. Leila, the dog, chased sticks into the sea, and the adults enjoyed the scenery. Eventually we had to turn back as it was getting late. The tide was almost at its lowest so we walked round the petrified coral outcrop, getting a bit wet in the process, better that, than cutting ourselves, like Hope did (poor child).

"Red sky at night, Shepard's delight". So the weather looks promising for our sailing trip tomorrow.

Hope's Blog............. It was great fun playing with the clay and looking to see what we could find in the rock pools. It was not nice when I slipped and cut my leg. daddy washed it with my drinking water, but it was still bleeding. Mommy then took her bandanna out of her hair and wrapped it around my leg. Hanna and I also had fun looking at a wreck of a car that was on the beach.

Week Nine Day Fifty Eight

Forging one of the rivers.



Petrified coral on Shady Beach.

Ouma and Oupa and the kids.

Feeding the fish at Aquascene.

Wet after fishing. Bandana to keep rain out of ears.

Francois and Wendy fishing.

Back on line, Yippeeeeeeeeeeee

Well we had a lovely few days in Darwin, did some normal things like going to the cinema, to watch "Alice in Wonderland". Went to Aquascene which was fantastic, fish come in on the high tide to be fed. There were milk fish, bat fish, catfish and mullet just to name a few. it was great fun feeding them and observing them in the water.

Thursday morning arrived bright and early with the alarm going off at 2.45am. Our flight by Quantas to Nhulunbuy was at 6.30, better to be early than late. The views from the plane was in Hope's words "awesome". To see the coast line of the top end of Australia is something else, especially when you throw in the land filled with rivers meandering through virgin bush and flood plains.

We arrived in the rain, made a nice change to the hot humid weather we have been experiencing. Wendy's brother Francois, sister-in-law Jillian, Hanna and Adam (niece and nephew) and Mum and dad was there to meet us. Wendy's folks are also visiting so roll on the fun.

We did not have much chance to rest as it was the school run on the way from the airport, then catching up with all the news. Thursday night saw us having a BBQ (braai) with friends of Francois, that we have not seen for 15 years. A hind quarter of a buffalo had been delivered a couple of days before, this had been turned into sausages, steaks and mince. The sausages ended up on the BBQ. Having never eaten buffalo before, we were quite impressed. Cannot wait for the next BBQ.

Friday found us visiting Yirrkala, at the art centre we bought our didgeridoo. It is a Yidaki, a true didgeridoo from where it first originated. Most of the paintings are done on bark and the smell of the pandanus mats and baskets is so unique. In Yirrkala we stopped at Shady beach. You have this magnificent beach, an island not to far off and the temptation to swim is so great! BUT with crocodiles and box jellyfish, swimming is so out. We picked up a load of cowrie shells that had been washed up on the beach, and was awed by the sight of the petrified coral.

We also had to go into town and apply for our liquor permits. Due to all the problems with the drinking in the streets, alcohol restrictions is very tight. So to drink at any of the picnic spots and the beach, this is a requirement. Personal Permits to go to these Aboriginal places are also a requirement but had already been bought.

That afternoon when Francois got back from work, we headed for Wirraway beach to do some fishing. We ought to tell you at this stage that we are on Cyclone watch ............ so this was done in the torrential rain. What fun, with lures on John, Francois, Willem (Wendy's dad), Adam and Wendy were trying to catch fish. Hope and Hanna and Leila (the black Labrador) just enjoyed getting wet. Of course we did not catch anything, so we eventually piled back into the 4x4's sopping wet and went home.

Today we headed off for the "track" The main road out of Nhulunbuy. We were heading for "Scout Camp" picnic spots next to a creek. There were three 4x4's, the nine of us plus friends of Francois. We negotiated two river crossings which was great fun and eventually made it to Scout Camp. With all the rain the creek was full and running very fast. Leila went in first, to check for crocs. If she disappeared, we would know that there was a croc so we wouldn't go in. Leila came back so the kids and Francois went in. Great fun was had swinging on the rope and jumping into the water. We, still a bit wary stood on the bank getting wet.

After awhile we headed back, closer to town. We were worried that if the rivers rose much more we would be stuck. The second crossing of the rivers was just as much fun. We came to the turnoff off for "Goanna lagoon". Now if we had thought that 4x4ing on the "track" was fun, well we had no idea what was ahead of us. The kids were riding with Ouma and Oupa and all they heard from the children was "awesome, awesome".

Francois had handed the control of the 4x4 to John and he was driving. Ummmmmmmm, seat belt fastened (check), hands clenched (check), John looking relaxed, mmmmmm. This was a track, two ruts from wheels, loads of water, dips and dongas, where the 4x4 is almost on its side. water running over the bonnet, hands sweaty........

It was great fun. We pulled up next to the lagoon, strung up a tarp, so we had some shelter to eat, and sent Leila into the water. The kids soon followed. There was a swing tied to a tree trunk in the river, which the kids held onto. They then let go and let the current carry them away. They then swam to some trees in the middle to hold on. They must have done this dozens of times. Leila eventually got so tired that the current got her and Francois had to go after her. They walked back along the track to us.

It was lovely eating our lunch under the tarp, with the rain falling around us. A walk followed where both John and Wendy,broke their shoes. They got stuck in the mud and when we tried to pull them out, we were shoeless. Both Wendy and her mom slipped and fell, and there were near misses by everyone else.

Back to our base and this time John joined Francois and Jillian in the water.

These two weeks are going to be actioned packed.

Hope's Blog......... It was awesome going through rivers, and mud splashed the windscreen, so we could not see. Swimming in the creeks was also awesome, although Mummy and Daddy was worried about crocodiles. I wasn't because Leila was in the water with us. This is going to be fun.

Week Eight......

MELTDOWN..........................

Sorry folks will only be able to get back on line in Nhulunbouy..... Our internet thingy-me-jog has decided to take a holiday...........

This is a chance for you to go back and relive some of our previous entries.. He He He

Week Eight day fifty and fifty one

Lilly Pilly

Our night in the "Bush Bungalow" proved to be very restful ........and different we felt as if we were sleeping rough as the sides of the bungalow were so designed to allow maximum airflow..... so no lights on inside !!!!!! We were quickly on the road to Kakadu Nourlangie Region we wandered amongst the Aboriginal rock art, rock overhangs and the fauna and flora. The views were fantastic.

One "rock art" picture depicted an evil spirit........Nabulwinjbulwinj (pronounced Nar-bull-win-bull-win) He eats females after striking them with a yam. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Nabulwinjbulwinj

After downing 2 litres of water between us, we returned from our stroll amongst the the rock art. From there we went to Warradjan Cultural Centre.It was extremely interesting wandering around the exhibitions and reading the Aboriginal story.

An overhang with rock art.

We then headed for Batchelor, the entry point for the Litchfield National Park. We stayed the night at the Litchfield Tourist Park, so only a short drive into the park. Our first stop this morning was to view the magnetic termite mounds. They belong to the grass eating Cathedral Termites. This mound is about 50 years old. They align their termite mounds facing North to South.

John and Hope dwarfed by the termite mound.

From there we headed to Tolmer waterfall and then onto Wangi Falls. Unfortunately no swimming was allowed as there was still a risk of salties. However we did do the tree top walk through the rainforest. It was very humid but beautiful. There were "flying foxes" in the trees (bats), golden orb spiders between the branches, right in our path and unfortunately we seemed to be the first to walk through. Wendy had a few spider webs in her face, but then swapped with Hope, who copped the big one. Luckily though as she is short, she missed the spider. Wendy would not have been so lucky John walked at the back so all the spiders were cleared by the girls. he he he

Florence Falls from the view point.

There were loads of butterflies and mushrooms. Wangi falls were magnificent and the mist was refreshing, however we needed to cool off, so off to Buley Rockpools and Florence Falls. Buley was busy so we headed to Florence. Going down was easy, with the sound of the waterfall in our ears, and the though of a cold dip, spurred us on. We dumped our stuff and headed in, it wasn't as cold as we thought it would be. But so much colder than the warm pool water we have been trying to cool off in. There were loads of fish, so John went and got our snorkels, brilliant, the water was so clear.

Florence falls swimming hole.

However as the morning progressed the falls started getting busy as well, so with a sad look back we started back up the 139 steps to the top. However on the way back we spotted a Small eared rock wallaby. He was so cute, and yes we did use it as an excuse to catch our breath.

Back to Darwin..........

Week Seven Day Forty-Eight and Forty-Nine

Hannibals jaws!!!!!!!!!

Darwin, what a lovely friendly place. We have both defiantly fallen in love with it. We spent the morning wandering around the town, before heading for the wave pool. Unfortunately someone disobeyed the lifeguards and strayed to close to the wall. So the waves were stopped while the lifeguards rescued a teenage girl who had been battered against the wall and half drowned. Paramedics were called and luckily the girl was not to bad at the end of the whole saga.

Now the motel we stayed in was in Mitchel Street. Mitchel Street is where most of the restaurants, bars and backpackers are located. Being St Patricks day as well it turned out to be a fun filled evening. Luckily with the aircon on we were not kept awake all night.

This morning we headed for Jabiru and Kakadu National Park. However our first stop was to the "Jumping Crocodile Cruise". This cruise guaranteed "Salties" (salt water crocodiles) jumping out of the water. Were we impressed or what. Just walking onto the jetty to the boat, you heard this splash not more than 20 meters away, and this saltie comes swimming out from under the shrub overhang.

Hannibal, 6 metre Saltie.

Our second encounter was when we were on the boat. We not only had a 6 metre male saltie, called Hannibal, swimming towards but also a 3 metre female. Luckily for the female, she swam away or we would have watched her being attacked by the male. Wow, this guy was huge you would not stand a chance if you encountered him in the wild. Hold on we are in the wild, what happens if the boat goes down? Lets put it this way, with the amount of crocs in the water, some of us would not make it ashore.


Male saltie.

Anyway meat was held out on a bamboo stick and the crocs lunged out of the water to reach it. Again it showed how vulnerable we really were, because there was nothing stopping him "jumping" onto the boat. It was an impressive sight. Three crocs were fed, with the third being encouraged onto the river bed so we could witness how impressive they are. The first and third were male and the second female. She jumped the highest as she did not carry as much weight as her male counterparts.

Female Saltie.

Then it was time to feed the kites following the boat. This was fun to watch and amazing to see their ability in plucking the smallest bits of meat that was thrown from the boat.

Kite flying for food.

After our exciting morning we headed for Jabiru where we are currently ensconced in an award winning "Bush Bungalow" at Lakeview Park.

Our Bush Bungalow.

Hope's Blog........... Mummy wanted to get a picture of me and the croc on the riverbank, to show how close he was to us. But I did not want to turn my back to him, as he was scary. I also had to take my pink sun hat off as they like bright colours. I did not want to be eaten.

Week Seven Day Forty-Seven

The colourful stones on Lammeroo beach.

On our way to Kakadu we yearned for some civilisation and a comfortable bed !! Darwin was only another 315 kilometers away and we could plan our forthcoming trips to Alice Springs and Ayres Rock.

On our way into Darwin, we passed lots of WW2 airstrips. They seemed to follow each other in a long line, running parallel to the main highway. A stark reminder of how the war touched Australia, especially Darwin.

The rain falling in the distance, view from Darwin wharf.

We arrived in Darwin early afternoon to 35 degrees and 70% humidity, boy it was hot !!! Also in town was the "Dawn Princess" standing out majestically, very White against a very Black Sky. With the perspiration pouring off us we explored Lammeroo Beach and the Darwin waterfront wave pool. Lammeroo Beach is very rocky but we found the stones to be very colourful. Mindful of the "Salties" Salt water crocodiles and the "Box Jellyfish" we kept well away from the water. Our trip into Darwin prior to Kakadu has proved very fruitful as we have picked up some good possibilities for tours to the "Red Centre" Uluru, Alice Springs and Coober Pedy.

The Dawn Princess in Darwin.

We both agree we really like Darwin, devoid of the highrise and hustle and bustle of the big city. It comes across as very social, we ate in an Irish Pub and got caught up in the local quiz night scoring a point for the team on the next table!! Yes, we like Darwin so have decided to stay another night in the "Value Inn" a cheap backpacker motel type of accommodation but air conditioning own shower and comfortable bed ...........shear luxury.

Litchfield and Kakadu will have to wait another couple of days.

Week Seven Day Forty-Five and Forty-Six

The last State in Australia.

We are sitting in the shade of palm trees, writing this blog. Perspiration is beading our foreheads, and our drinks are trying to stay cold in "stubbie" holders. We are all alone at this beautiful holiday park in Katherine. We have made it finally to the last state of Australia, The Northern Territory.

We crossed the border at around lunch time yesterday and promptly lost 1.30hrs. As they do not have daylight saving up here. We stopped of course to take a photograph, of the sign welcoming us into N.T. We also took a photo of the black thunderstorm we had just left behind.

The Storm!!!!

After leaving Kununurra we had decided to go to Lake Argyle and the Ord Dam. It was a 34km journey off the highway. There are flood way signs along all the roads in Australia and this road turned out to be no different. However because of the rain, the first in 4 weeks, one of these flood ways was filling up with water. Now our little car would not have been able to go through if the water had got any higher, so we turned around.

Arriving in Katherine we went to the information centre and booked onto the NitNit dreaming boat tour, covering two gorges, including Katherine Gorge. We then went to "Shady Lane" tourist park. Early evening was spent in the pool. Nice!

This morning we were up early and headed for Nitmiluk National Park. I am not sure if we told you about Tracey, she was a lady we met at the Flashpackers in Port Campbell all those weeks ago. She was travelling in the opposite direction to us and was aiming to get to Darwin by the 24th March. We made a joke at the time, that we should meet up for dinner. Ha Ha. Well this morning she was on the same NitNit Dreaming boat tour. Because of all the flooding in Queensland she was in the area earlier than expected. There was only about 18 of us on this trip, so the chances of us meeting up again over the thousands of km's that we have both traveled, on the same day, on the same tour is nothing short of miraculous. I wonder what the odds on that would have been?

Katherine Gorge.

Branches in the fork of the tree, courtesy of flood waters.

Anyway the trip was fantastic, informative and very relaxing. It boggles the brain to imagine these gorges in flood. There were a lot of tell tale signs showing one were the flood waters reach at different times. The above picture tells such a story. However there were a lot of other signs, including a life vest stuck halfway up the sheer rock face, courtesy of a previous flood. One of the sheer rock walls in one of the gorges appeared in the final scene in the movie "Jedda" filmed in 1954.

The rock face facing you, next to the boats appears in the film Jedda.

Afterwards we had a sandwich at the park visitors centre with Tracey, when Wendy wandered over to speak to the local Aboriginal artist John Dewar. He was busy with a painting of a lizard. He offered to sell Wendy two small paintings, one of a catfish and one of a barramundi (fish). These were bought straight away. One thing we have found is that Aboriginal paintings are not cheap. However we did visit Mimi Arts and Craft, the centre where he sells through. We met another artist Marilyn Nakamarra, one of her paintings were going for $8000.00. However we bought another John Dewar and a small painting by Marilyn.

All told we have had a lovely time in Katherine, tomorrow we are heading for Kakadu!

Hope's Blog.............. When Mummy and Daddy were buying the aboriginal artwork, I decided to buy some as well. So I bought a painting from the artist that was there, Marilyn. She told me that it was of women dancing at a ceremony. I liked that.