Kununurra

Kununurra was established in the 1960s to service the Ord River Scheme. The Ord River was dammed in 1971 to form a storage reservoir to supply water for irrigating farmland. 'Argyle Downs' cattle station was flooded to create the biggest man-made lake in Australia - and is classed as an inland sea now known as Lake Argyle. It got light at 4.30am so needless to say we were up and about quite early. Caitlin and Cooper found some kids to play with. Mid-morning we went to have a look around the town and drove to the other side of Lily Creek Lagoon for a look at Celebrity Tree Park and a large Boab tree. We then went to the nearby Mirima (Hidden Valley) National Park but decided to drive back into town to buy a National Park Pass. On the way to the DEC office we saw a frilled neck lizard on the road. The kids started protesting at the mention of walking (it was 39 degrees!) We did a short walk through the sandstone formations which they say resemble mini Bungle Bungles. We then went for a drive 7km out of town to Lake Kununurra and the Diversion Dam over which the main highway passes. It provides water to the farming area by gravity fed irrigation channels. We drove up Paddy Creek road which was a dirt road to Valentine Springs which was all but dried up. Further north we got to Middle Springs before heading back to Ivanhoe Crossing which was closed as the water was flowing too fast. So we had to drive right back around where we had come from. We had lunch at a cafe in town and went back to the van. We cooled off in the pool and got a phone call from Gary to say they would meet us at Home Valley tomorrow.

Katherine - Kununurra

We had every intention of setting off early to do the Barrawei Lookout walk but we all slept past our usual 6.30am wake. So we packed the van and then did the walk which was under a kilometre but a steep climb meant we were all dripping with sweat by the time we got back. It was a great view over the river and first gorge. We drove back into Katherine and got a few groceries before heading west along the Victoria Hwy towards Kununurra in WA - 513km. The landscape changed from desert to the sandstone outcrops of the remote Gregory National Park. As we got closer to the boarder we started sighting more of the distinctive Boab trees or as Cooper likes to call them 'upside down trees'. We had a quick stop for lunch and made salad sandwiches at Timber Creek. At the boarder we had to go through the fruit fly quarantine checkpoint and hand in all our fresh fruit and vegetables. We had taken this into consideration when stocking up on supplies but did have a few things we hadn't managed to use up. They also took our honey! We also had to turn our clocks back 1 1/2 hours so it was now 3pm. It was only another 35km to Kununurra. We drove through town and dropped into the visitor centre. We had made rough plans to meet up with the Halls but didn't have anyway of contacting them as they had no phone reception. We booked into the Lakeside Caravan Park which overlooks Lily Creek Lagoon. It was quite weird having the sunset at 5.30pm - haven't they heard of daylight savings.

Katherine Gorge - Nitmiluk

We had to meet down at the river at 8.45am. We chose to do the 4 hour 3 gorge tour. We headed off with our guide providing commentary on the Jawoyn people (the traditional owners) and the plants and animals. The Jawoyn Aboriginal people jointly manage Nitmiluk with Parks and Wildlife. Katherine Gorge is a series of 13 deep sandstone gorges which have been carved out by the Katherine River on it's journey from Arnhem Land to the Timor Sea. When Rick and I were here 19 years ago we did an overnight canoe trip to the sixth gorge. It would have been a little difficult canoeing with the kids as they only hired out two person canoes and carrying the canoes over the portages in 39 degrees was not appealing. The boat cruise was relaxing and thankfully not too crowded. It was still as spectacular as I remembered. We went to the third gorge and came back to the second gorge for morning tea and a swim. Back at the van we hid out of the heat inside the van with the air-conditioner on then went for a swim in the pool. We had a BBQ for dinner. When we went to bed at 10pm the temperature was still hovering around 30 degrees.

Litchfield N.P.

The Lost City

Tolmer Falls

Wangi Falls

We packed the van up and left it in the car park out the back as we would be driving back out the same way. Back into Litchfield we took the 4WD track to 'The Lost City'. The weathered sandstone formations are reminiscent of the ruins of some long lost civilisation. The next stop was the Tolmer falls lookout which cascades over two high escarpments. Several colonies of the rare and protected bat species live in the caves at the bottom of the falls- the ghost bat and orange horseshoe bats. We were all ready for swimming again so we hit the gorgeous plunge pool at Wangi Falls. After a swim we had a picnic lunch and drove down for a quick look at Blyth Homestead built in 1929 by the Sergeant family as an outstation to the main homestead. We arrived back at the caravan park around 3pm, hitched up and headed to Katherine Gorge.

Litchfield National Park

Cathedral Termite Mound

Magnetic Termite Mound

Florence Falls

Buley Rockhole

Rick and Cooper were up early to go on a fishing charter. Caitlin and I packed the van up and hung out. They arrived back around midday without any fish. Cooper was pleased to tell us the score was 3-0. He had three catches which he had to throw back including a baby reef shark. Rick had zip! We headed off towards Litchfield N.P. which was just over an hour away. We decided to stay at Litchfield Tourist Park (just outside the park boundary) as it looked like it had the most shade and grass. After setting up we had some lunch and drove into the park to check out some of the main attractions. The first stop were the gigantic termite mounds. The magnetic termite mounds are in a north-south orientation which acts as a built in temperature control mechanism allowing only the least possible surface area to be exposed to the heat of the sun. Next stop was Florence Falls, a double waterfall set amid monsoon rainforest and a great swimming spot. It was great to cool off. There were a few people around but I could imagine how busy it would get in the high season. We spent a couple of hours there and then had look at Buley Rockhole before heading back to the van. Rick and Cooper had a go at flying his boomerang and Caitlin continued practising on her didgeredoo.

Darwin

Not too much going on today. We sorted out some bills, Rick did some maintenance jobs and the kids a little schoolwork. We went up the street to get a few bits and pieces although I am not sure how we are going to store anymore in the van. Caitlin and I went shopping in the afternoon to Casaurina Square. In the evening we went back to Mindil Beach Market. Caitlin had her heart set on buying a didgeridoo.

Darwin

In the morning the kids did some journal writing and school work. We then went to the East Point Military Reserve and Museum. The area was originally established as Darwin's main defence point and included gun emplacements, communication rooms, command post, search light emplacements, lookout towers and the command post which housed the memorabilia. I really knew very little about the extent of the bombing which I think is true of most people because official reports at the time downplayed the damage and strict censorship was imposed on any information. During WWII Darwin was the frontline for the allied action against the Japanese in the Pacific. The first attack on Feb 19 1942 was the first of 64 attacks over 21months. Our defences were totally inadequate and there were over 200 casualties on the first day. Apparently the Japanese were preparing to invade Timor, and anticipated a disruptive air attack would hinder Darwin's potential for a base from which the Allies could launch a counter-offensive. The kids were more interested in a gorgeous green tree frog they found in the barrel of the 9.2inch gun. Back at the caravan park we headed to the bistro to watch the Grandfinal. I spent most of the time in the pool with the kids.