Katherine and beyond

·         Mt Isa

·         Three Ways Roadhouse

·         Longreach Waterhole – Elliott

·         Katherine

·         Mataranka

·         Darwin

·         Bark Hut Roadhouse - Kakadu

After Lawn Hill N.P.  we  clocked up some kms towards N.T.  First stop Mt Isa.  We stayed a couple of nights and had a look around (don’t think we want to live here!).  Expensive groceries here.    You tend to do a lot of long distances to get to where you want to go so its wake up pack up drive for hours and not see much and do it again! Hence Mt Isa to Three Ways to Elliott - Longreach Waterhole for a night just out of Elliot N.T. , great bird spectacle, hundreds of Pelicans and other water birds moving up and down the water way, made a nice sunset scene.

Pelican Highway

All sorts of birds

You could watch them all day!

Really graceful

Pelicans from behind

Pelicans from in front

Pelicans landing at sunset

Really Pretty place to watch the sun go down

 On to Elsey N.P. just out of Mataranka. (Fuel at Barkly Homestead $2.10 per litre and we have since heard $15 to have a shower).  Speed limit in NT  130km – handy when you need to overtake a road train but real dangerous when a van in front  is only doing 80km and you have trucks and cars and vans piling up behind and drivers that loose patience and take on a few vehicles at once on double lines near bends and just push their way in.

130 speed limit wow!

Beautiful aqua colored rivers (Roper Creek) that look so inviting for a swim.  The signs said that swimming was open so we took a dip off the swimming platforms that were provided, refreshing cool water on a hot day. On the way back to camp we walked up river and noticed a croc trap about 50 mt from the swimming pontoons.  You hope that the bait in the trap is tastier than tourists.

Roper River great spot to swim or be a part of the food chain

Croc trap around from swim hole

Wallaby's on the other side of the river

I can recommend the Hot springs at Bitter Springs just north of Mataranka  for a dip just get there early before the crowds, the oldies were hoping it had anti-aging properties and looked like they were going to brew themselves  all day and school holidays are here at the moment so throw in the mums, dads and rowdy kids. Human soup mmmm.

Katherine Gorge

Katherine was a bit of a zoo, a lot of aboriginal mayhem on every corner around town – even early in the morning (a bit scary really) so we opted for a quieter and cheaper  caravan park 9 km out of town so we could have a look at Katherine Gorge.   We had an early start to get this hike done(Butterfly Gorge) in the cool of the morning (temps about 30 every day)but real hot sweaty dehydrating heat from about 11am to 4pm and real cold a night.

  In to Darwin for about 4 nights doing the tourist stuff (beer can regatta – markets, sunsets.  The museum – would recommend this) and a windscreen replacement and car service ouch!   Darwin’s van parks are expensive and most reports from other travellers are similar – disgracefully dirty amenities for the huge price and very noisy. Litchfield National Park for the day was good but just way too many tourists.

Alot of people on the beach not alot in the water though!

Darwin Beer can Regata

Cycad's at Litchfield N.P.

They look prehistoric 

Magnetic Termitme mounds at Litchfield

Butterfly's are always worth a pic

Next destination is into Kakadu with the first night being at Bark Hut Tavern/Caravan park and for $15 per night non powered out the back which is quite and relaxing by the pool is hard to beat.

This is how we was a camper up here
"Di not a hope"