Kakadu

Happy Birthday Dad! We had a very sleepless night - a few of the locals were staying in the nearby cabins and after a few drinks got louder and louder, screaming obscenities at each other and culminating in a fist fight. It continued till about 3 in the morning. I woke up with a shocking headache from too much sun and lack of sleep. We decided on a restful day around the pool. I went to reception to enquire about booking the Yellow Water Cruise and also to find out about the situation overnight because we would have to consider moving. They were very apologetic and offered the cruise free of charge - yeah! We didn't move too far from the pool for most of the day. Later in the afternoon we did the boardwalk at Yellow Water which looks over the wetlands.

Kakadu

After a leisurely breakfast we decided a good place to start was the visitor centre which is over 40km further north. There was a great library which the kids enjoyed and habitat display. We collected some info and watched a short movie in the theatre room which was lovely and cool. We decided to continue on to the East Alligator region which is further north again. We bought some groceries at Jabiru and some fantastic salad rolls at the bakery. First stop was Cahills Crossing where there is a viewing platform over East Alligator river which is suppose to be a great spot for viewing crocodiles at high tide when they wait for the fish. The river forms the boundary between Kakadu and Arnhem land. We spotted quite a few crocs but high tide wasn't until 4pm. We had a picnic lunch then went and did the Bardedjilidji sandstone walk which the ranger said would be shaded. We tipped water over the kids to keep them cool - Cooper cracked it because he didnt like his t-shirt getting wet! The walk meanders amongst layered sandstone outliers. It wasn't very shaded apart from a couple of caves. It was actually quite silly hiking in the middle of the day in 39 degrees but it seemed like a good idea at the time. The 2.5km seemed like 5 but before long we were back in the air-conditioned car. We bought an ice-cream at the boarder store and then meet with the ranger to do the guided Manngarre rainforest walk which was at least shaded. We then did the Ubirr rock art sites and a couple of the informative talks. We climbed the rocky outlook for views over the Nadab floodplain. We decided to head off before the sunset because it was over an hours drive back to the campsite.

1/2 way point

We have been away three months today which marks the half way point of our journey. Everyone is feeling a little sleep deprived with another hot night and screeching bats in the early hours of the morning. The family in the van next to us left their air con all night which we might have to try. We were all feeling a lot better after a relaxing swim in the pools and we had it to ourselves for part of that time. Then we were on our way to Kakadu. We stopped at Katherine and bought some lunch at Brumbys. it was about 360km to Cooinda which is were we decided to stay mainly because it had a pool and with 38 degrees forecast for the next few days we thought it might come in handy. We parked the van and hit the pool before cooking a BBQ for dinner.

Mataranka

Lots of 'little red flying foxes'

We did not sleep too good at all with the heat, insects and thundering road trains only metres away. We did break a new record however, and were driving by 8.00am. We arrived at Mataranka Homestead around 11am to the smell of bat guana. We checked in at the campground and were suprised at how very few people were around. After setting up and a quick lunch we headed down to the thermal pools. The warm thermal springs which are part of Elsey National Park are 34 degrees and set amongst a lush pocket of palms and tropical vegetation. There may be not many people around but loads of 'little red flying foxes' - we read later about 250 000 hanging out in the tree tops in huge camps. We had a lovely swim and then went for a drive into Mataranka and then went to Bitter Springs which is another thermal spring without the bats. Although we didnt bring our bathers the kids and Rick couldn't resist going in again. Caitlin and Cooper were very excited when another little girl brought a small turtle over to show them. Back at the van it was an amazing sight to see all the bats take to the skies. We were in two minds about going to Darwin or Kakadu first with the tempertures hovering around 38 degrees in Jabiru. We are so close now and it is only going to get hotter so we made the decision that tomorrow we would go to Kakadu.

Are we there yet?

A big day of driving ahead of us today. There was a lot of smoke haze around and the sun was orange. We set a new record and were driving out of the caravan park at 8.15am. I did some grocery shopping while Rick gave the van a wash. We were heading north out of Alice on the Stuart Hwy by about 10. We plugged Mataranka in to the GPS - over 1000kms of long, straight road! The kids started off well - some school work, DVDs, DS, and plenty of snacks kept them going. We stopped and made some salad rolls for lunch at a roadside stop. We fueled up at Tennant Creek and were pleased when we passed 'Three Ways' because it meant we had started to cover new ground. Cooper had a melt down in the last hour. We pulled into Elliot just after 6pm and after seeing the campground we decided we would prefer to find the next roadside stop - a further 25km north. Everyone else must have thought the same because it was packed. We set up and cooked some dinner. It was still hot and there were heaps of bugs! Just under 300kms to do in the morning to get to Mataranka.

Alice Springs

The park hosted pancakes every Sunday so that was breakfast sorted. A housekeeping day today - washing clothes, repacking the van, washing the car etc. The kids did some journal writing in the morning. It was a scorcher - 37 degrees so we visited the pool a couple of times. We decided to go out for dinner to celebrate the half way mark of our trip - 3 months down! At 5 we watched the didgeridoo performance at the caravan park. Caitlin & Cooper voluntered to get up and have a go. It was quite entertaining. We went to Memos (services club) for dinner.

The Red Centre Way

Black footed rock wallaby

Glen Helen Gorge

Orminston Gorge

It got quite cold in the early hours of the morning. We had some breakfast and started the pack up. The kids were a lot more helpful this morning. On the way out we stopped to do the Kalaranga lookout walk. The scenery of the surrounding sandstone amphitheatre was amazing. We saw a few lizards and a gorgeous black-footed rock wallaby. We continued driving along the rocky tracks and sandy bed of the Finke River back out to Larapinta Drive and had a quick drive through Hermannsburg, an Aborginal community. Originally set up as an outback Lutheran mission in 1877 there are a number of historical buildings but we weren't too keen to hang around. From the outside it seemed a scene of despair - whatever we are doing doesn't seem to be working for the Aboriginal community. We drove west again then headed north along Namatjira drive. Our next stop was a quick side trip to the Tnorala Conservation Reserve (Gosse Bluff) where we saw the remarkable ring of rugged hills formed by am ancient meteorite crater. The comet was believed to have hit the earth over 140 million years ago and measured over 600 metres in diameter. Now we were in the West Macdonnell Ranges N.P. We stopped for lunch at the Glen Helen Resort. We did the short walk to view Glen Helen Gorge and continued driving the short distance to Orminston Gorge. It was really hot. We were originally planning to stay the night here but after a quick inspection of the camp sites we all decided to spend the afternoon here and continue on to Alice Springs back to our van. We did the Ghost Gum Lookout walk (2.5km) for views down the gorge and a rock scramble back up the river beds to the waterholes where we had a swim. We got back to the car just after 5 and headed for Alice. Rick spotted a bearded dragon sitting in the middle of the road so we stopped for a closer look and get him off the road. When we arrived at the caravan park we got our van out of storage and set up.