The Northern Territory

The prediction of heavy rain for last night did not eventuate but we did receive some rain in Camooweal although it was hardly enough to wet the ground.

There was also a rowdy mob at the pub which ended in a fight and the van park we are in is attached to the pub. We were kept awake well after midnight with all the drunks out in the street. Lesson learned...

Departed around 9ish and were soon crossing the border into the Northern Territory. The majority of the creeks for the next 66 km until we reached Avon Downs still had water in them and for our entire journey of 376 km the roadsides were covered with lovely green grass.

A brief stop at Wonarah Bore for our morning coffee before stopping at the Barkly Roadhouse for lunch. Two bottles of iced chocolate a sausage roll and an egg and bacon roll was over $23.00. Ouch..

We were going to continue across the Barkly Tableland past the Three Ways this evening but once we reached the 41 Mile Bore Rest Area I decided that was enough for the day and needed to stop for the evening. The strong head wind we'd been driving into all day was another factor in retiring early.

Last year when we camped here we spent time collecting eight bags of rubbish and depositing them in the bins that were provided. This year we were so surprised how clean the area was until we walked towards the rear of the site and were totally disgusted by the amount of toilet paper and faeces lying about on the ground. Soon free sites like this will be closed all over the country. I'm not sure if it's the backpackers in their whizz bang vans or Australians who have no bloody idea or just don't care.

Several drops of rain fell this afternoon and more overnight but again not what had been predicted.
We left just after 8am and 70 km later reached the Three Ways before turning north onto the Stuart Highway which would eventually lead us to Darwin. From here we continued north towards Daly Waters. Our original plan was to spend seven days camped at Longreach Waterhole but with recent rains we have decided the black soil that surrounds the waterhole may trap us indefinitely.
As we passed the turnoff we could see that the access road was covered with pools of water so our decision was a good one.

We arrived in Daly Waters and paid $20 for an unpowered site with powered sites at $32.
The campground is no more than a large dirt paddock and a better option would be to stay at the Highway Inn Motel and Caravan Park. It's on the Stuart Highway not far from Daly Waters but has much better facilities, swimming pool and even green grass.

The pubs license has been in continual use since 1930 and it's a little unconventional because over the years many female customers have donated their bras and G-Strings which hang from the ceiling along with all other sorts of memorabilia.

The nearby aerodrome was built in 1930. Qantas used the facility from 1935 as a refueling stop for its flights to Darwin and London. The RAAF also used the strip during WW2.

It rained on and off for most the night but not quite enough to stop us exiting the campground although we did pick up some mud on our tyres.

We continued further north and were surprised by the amount of water lying beside the road and in the spoon drains. I lived in Darwin in the seventies and the water beside the road reminded me of what it's like during the monsoon season.

We passed through Mataranka before stopping for several nights in Katherine. Katherine received 42mm the night before we arrived and it rained on and off on our first day. We were here to purchase groceries and alcohol to last us for the next two weeks.

Alcohol is now only sold from 2pm onwards and each outlet has a policeman stationed on duty to ask where you are staying.

As we left Katherine this morning the skies were dark with storm clouds.
We were now on our way towards Pine Creek and drove through some quite heavy rain on several occasions.

Our original plan was to spend a week in Darwin but that turned into two weeks. The high temperatures and strength sapping humidity has meant that most southerners have left to return home. We are staying at Hidden Valley Tourist Park about 10 km south of Darwin and just off the Stuart Highway. At present there are 15 sites occupied out of the 180 sites on offer.
We wouldn't dare to come here in the busier months when it's wall to wall camping as it's just not our scene.

We left Darwin after a very enjoyable fortnight. Our drive today of just over 300 km will see us again camping in Katherine for four days. Our Landcruiser is booked into the Toyota dealer for its 30,000 km service and have a wheel alignment.

If you don't mind the heat then the middle of September and October is the perfect time of year to be away north of the Tropic of Capricorn. The days are hot but the main bonus is that there aren't too many people out travelling. We are again staying at the Big 4 park with just ten vans here at present. Beats being squashed in like a can of anchovies.

Daily temperatures are in the high thirties with temps expected to reach the forties later this week.

Our drive today on Monday 17th October will be 435 km with the last 13 over a sandy and slightly corrugated track. We are again camping at Longreach Waterhole just north of Elliott on the Stuart Highway.

We camped here last year on our way to the Kimberley's.

This waterhole is a permanent body of water on Newcastle Creek. At the southern end is Lake Woods which fills after good rains. Unlike Longreach Waterhole, Lake Woods is on private property and access is not possible.

The area is managed by NT Parks and Wildlife and of course camping is allowed with the only facilities being rubbish collection and a long drop toilet. There are numerous spots to camp beside the waterhole that stretches for many kilometres.
We spent two days here and on arrival there was just one other van here. We camped about 20 metres from the waterhole and because the ground sloped towards the water I dug two holes so that the off-side tyres would sit in the holes without the need to use our levelling ramps.

Whenever we free camp we like to leave the area in a better condition than when we arrived. Our walk this morning of just over a kilometre with disposable gloves in hand and a bag produced this which we deposited in a nearby bin.

After experiencing the bird life in Kakadu its almost impossible to get excited about any other area we have ever visited. Apart from the several hundred pelicans and the odd kite flying overhead that was pretty much it.
We have often seen the ritual whereby the pelicans work together as a team to herd fish into the shallows before its bums up and heads down underwater to locate the fish. It was no different here watching this spectacle played out many times each day.

It was time to move on and we soon rejoined the highway as we continued south towards The Three Ways before turning east onto the Barkly Highway. Our drive today of 587 km sees us camping at the Soudan Bore Rest Area which is located 132 km past the Barkly Roadhouse.

We thought we would have company tonight but the two groups of people who were travelling together left just after we arrived so we had the whole place to ourselves for the evening. The site is quite close to the road but we only heard the occasional truck pass during the night.
Yet again the whole campsite resembles a pig sty with rubbish lying about everywhere including toilet wipes and toilet paper blowing in the breeze. I cleaned up the immediate area around our campsite which was a thirty metre radius and deposited what I had collected into one of the many bird proof bins spread around the site.