Friday, March 28, 2014

Darwin, September 2010


September 2010 found us heading north for a few weeks in the sun, I went up early with Bel to do the Tabletop Track in Litchfield NP, and then Sam flew up to meet us and we toured around for awhile. I have to warn you that this post will mainly comprise pictures of people in water, it was the build up to the wet and so the sensible option to keep cool was to stay submerged.


Bel, acclimatising Litchfield National Park.
Bel and I had a couple of days to acclimatise to the tropical heat, so we decided that the best idea would be to get out of the air conditioned hotel and do some walking. The first day we spent walking around Darwin and then down to Stokes Hill Wharf for dinner. The second day we checked out some day walks at Litchfield and then wandered down to Mindil Markets for dinner, where we caught up with Skip and Janty who were doing the walk with us.


Dinner, Tabletop Track.
Wangi Creek
Where's that hand Janty?
Tabletop Track crossing Wangi Creek, upstream of the falls.
I've written up the Tabletop Track here  http://hiking.topicwise.com/doc/tabletop , it was my first go at writing a journal, so go easy on me! I wont go into too much detail, but the walk went off without a hitch , we found plenty of places to swim, a must on any deep north walk, the campsites were all good and the walking was generally fairly easy which left plenty of time to kick back.



Tabletop Track
Bel, looking about 17, after three days walking.
All too soon the walk was over and Bel and I headed to the airport to pick up my very understanding wife. We then had the best part of a week playing tourist around the top end. Firstly, after picking up Sam, we headed to Stokes Hill Wharf for a celebratory dinner with Skip and Janty, mmmm Barra, steak, and chips, washed down with a cold beer, it doesn't get much better.

Last day on the track.

Skip



Only a few kilometres from the end.
The three of us then headed down to Katherine for a couple days, on the way stopping at Edith Falls for a swim and a bite to eat,  a couple of years ago Sam and I had been here when we finished  the Jatbula Trail, so it was good to come back and check it out. While the girls swam in the lower pool I headed on the short walk to the upper pool, in my three or four previous visits I'd never been up there. I was rewarded by a sighting of a species that is fairly common in the top end, the bare-breasted backpacker, there was a gaggle of them preening and sunning themselves on the rocks.

Edith Falls
The upper pool at Edith Falls.
Next we headed down to Mataranka for a swim in the hot springs, after about one minute we decided that this was too hot, so we headed a bit further along until we could access the Waterhouse River, I've swum here dozens of times over the years as its a lot cooler than the hot springs but it always freaks me a bit as it looks very croccy. The girls stayed close to the bank  where the hot water from the springs was mixing with cooler river water, I swam out into the middle for the obligatory photo op, absolutely shitting myself as a palm frond brushed against me on its journey downstream.

The Waterhouse River at Mataranka.
Swimming in the Waterhouse River, always makes me slightly nervous!
Back in the car we headed for the best spot at Mataranka, Bitter Springs. Most people don't seem to realise that this little oasis even exists as they all head to Mataranka Homestead and springs. As usual Bitter Spring was far from crowded and we used the current to drift us down stream, taking in the underwater scene through our goggles, the water being so clean it felt like floating in air. Apart from a couple of entry and exit steps, Bitter Springs is also very natural, so there's no concrete to mar the scene like a lot of other hot springs I've been to.

Mataranka Hot Springs, a bit to much concrete for me.
It was after dark when we headed back up to Katherine for a late dinner, but never fear,we had a hire car, its a little known fact that hire cars are the best cars off road, the best cars to throw around corners, the fastest cars, and now I can confirm they also make great fire trucks, as we had to motor through a bushfire on our way back. Arriving back at the All Season Katherine we quickly cranked up the air con, sleep came easy. We've stayed at the All Seasons probably ten times over the years, its probably the best place to stay in Katherine, the rooms are a decent size, and most importantly it has a big pool.

Bitter Springs.
No concrete here, much better.
Next day we headed out to Nitmiluk National Park for a 4 hour cruise up the gorge, on all our trips here we'd only ever done the 2 hour cruise, it was baking hot on the boats, but the short portages provide opportunities for a quick dip in the river to cool off. We had a Jawoyn guide and he gave us a great tour, plenty of information on the indigenous relationship with the gorge. After returning from the cruise we headed to the awesome visitor centre for lunch, sitting on the deck twenty metres above the river its a sobering thought that in some wet seasons the water has been lapping at the deck.

Swimming in the Katherine River, looking slightly nervous in front of the croc trap.
Waiting for our cruise while some fool goes for a swim.
Katherine Gorge near The Lily Ponds.
In all my travels I'd never been to Tjuwaliyn (Douglas) Hot Springs, so I figured we could make a detour there on our way back to Darwin. Maybe it was the heat, but I was fairly under whelmed with Douglas Hot Springs, there was a lot of flood damage and the area generally looked a bit scrappy. Still we had go exploring and eventually found a spot that was cool enough to soak in. After that it was on to the Adelaide River to pub, for Barra and chips for lunch.
Tjuwaliyn (Douglas) Hot Springs.

The remainder of our time was spent in Darwin, we went back to the Mindil Markets, went swimming with the salties at Crocosaurus Cove in the cage of death http://www.crocosauruscove.com/cage-of-death/, the girls went shopping, I walked the Casuarina Beach Circuit, which basically is a 9.5 kilometre walk along the beach and then back inside the dunes on old management tracks. The only note worthy thing that happened was that we got marooned in Darwin, Virgin's computer system had a melt down so we were forced to spend an extra night in Darwin, it cost us a fortune the next day to get ourselves on a Qantas plane but unfortunately we had to get back to work.
Bel and I and a large lizard.
Sam and I, unfortunately it looks like they'd fed the crocs Valium.

Olive Python and the author.
Who's a tourist?
The Dirt
We flew Virgin which was slightly cheaper, but would have been stuck in Darwin for days if we hadn't been able to afford Qantas tickets home, we eventually got our money back for the Virgin flight, and a nights accommodation in Darwin, however no compensation for the extra days hire car or having to pay full wack for the Qantas ticket.
We stayed at the newer Holiday Inn on the Esplanade in Darwin (there's two), which was OK, however next door was a construction site so there was no relaxing on the balcony.
Both the walks, The Table Top Track and the Casuarina Beach Circuit a written up in Take a Walk in Northern Territory's National Parks.
Hire cars in the territory are an absolute rip off, there doesn't seem to be any with unlimited kilometres, with the attractions sometimes spaced hundreds of kilometres apart you quickly build up a big bill.
Crocosauras Cove was good, unfortunately it looks like they'd fed the crocs Valium before we got in with them as they were very docile.
If anyone ever goes to Mataranka, take your goggles and check out Bitter Springs, its great floating down the crystal clear water, and when you get to the end you climb out and walk back to the start, to easy.




Casuarina Beach Circuit near where Sandy Creek comes in.


Darwin from Charles Darwin National Park.


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