Alice Springs (21st - 24th June)

Arrived in Alice Springs in time for a late lunch and a quick look around town. Nothing much open on a Saturday afternoon!

Checked in at the Big 4 Caravan Park and while the kids checked out the play ground and BMX track, we caught the digeridoo exhibition.

Sunday started with free pancakes which are put on by the caravan park every Sunday morning. We then went into the markets in Todd Mall, and also had a look at the Beanie Festival (an annual event which brings people from all over the country to look, make, buy and swap the worst looking things you have ever seen!).

"... what are we going to do with the tea cosy?"

Comedian Dave Hughes was in town for one night, so we went out for some Thai with Troy & Naomi and had a laugh with Hughsey.

We drove out to the West MacDonald Ranges and saw some of the sights...

• Simpsons Gap
• Standley Chasm
• Redbank Gorge
• Glen Helen
• Ormiston Gorge
• Ochre Pits ($5,000 fine if you remove any of the rock)
• Ellery Creek Big Hole

Simpsons Gap

Standley Chasm

Ormiston Gorge

Ochre Pits (his photo does not do the colours justice)

Ellery Creek Big Hole

 It was another chilly night in Alice and Will rugged up accordingly!

Mataranka, Banka Banka Station & Devils Marbles (18th - 21st June)

Arrived at Mataranka and stayed at the camp site in Elsey National Park. First thing to do was check out Bitter Springs. This was an incredible spring located just outside of Mataranka. The temperature was above 30 degrees and the water was crystal clear.

Gus, Will, Ronan, Stella & Georgie sitting on a tree...

We then went for a fish at "4 Mile" near our camp site.

Will in his brand new fishing shirt... if you can't fish you might as well look like a fisherman!

State of Origin was played and we were able to watch the game at the Mataranka Homestead... NSW 6 QLD 4.

Next day we were on the road again, however stopped in at Mataranka Springs before we left. Similar to Berry Springs in Darwin, these were used by the officers in WWII.

Called in at "The Big Stubby" and zoo at Larrimah.

 We then had a Barra Burger at the "Daly Waters Pub". This is famous for the bras, hats, and memorabilia which hang all around the pub.

Lining up for a drink in Daly Waters pub

Will wanted to know what everybody was looking at

Stopped in at Banka Banka Station for the night, caught another sunset and spent some time around the communal bon fire. Ths is a working cattle station on approx 1,500 square kilometres. We had a great night and were able to fill the water tank with some water from the natural spring.

Sunset at Banka Banka Station

Banka Banka's pet poddy called "Betty"

On the way to Devil's Marbles we passed through some other sites...

• The Pebbles (a group of rocks where TO's used to dream)
• Three Ways
• Tennant Creek

We got a great spot at Devil's Marbles and spent the afternoon walking amongst these strange looking rocks. We also caught another sunset (or as the kid's call it, an "ABS" - another bloody sunset).

That's us behind the blue sedan

      

Time for a clean!

We left for Alice Springs on 21st, however not before having a look through Wycliffe Well, the UFO capital of Australia.

We also passed through the Tropic of Capricorn again, and called into Ti-Tree, Australia's most central pub!

Kakadu - Jabiru (14th - 17th June)

We left Mouse and Samantha with a headache and made our way to the Adelaide River Cruises Jumping Crocs. This was an amazing tour and we fed 4 huge crocs. We were also lucky to have to get on the overflow boat, so we had another couple on board with us and were able to get up close and personal to the crocs.

"Dominator"

We also fed "Brutus" who is an icon up here - check out the video http://youtu.be/aZB1Bw5YsQQ .

Next morning we were up early again to see the Ranger talk at Ubirr. The ranger was a Traditional Owner (TO) and was able to tell us what all the different rock art was all about.

Strange to see a "white man" drawn by the TO's - the story goes that they were not very nice

Panoramic view from top of Lookout

Our next stop was Cahill's Crossing. This is the river crossing which takes you into Arnhem
Land and it has been on the news in recent days due to the crazy fisherman which stand in the middle of the river fishing. The locals call these fisherman "Croc Bait".

We arrived right on low tide and were able cross the river into Arnhem Land. We then sat on the side of the river for a while and watched the tide turn... it came up so quick and it is easy to see how the odd car gets washed off the road.

Croc bait in the red shirt

Croc drifting over river crossing at change of tide (notice the beacon on his head for tracking purposes) 

These guys arrived 5 minutes late and were not able to cross

Big day sight seeing the following day...

• Nourlangie (Burrunggui) with a Ranger talk
• Sandy Billabong
• Jim Jim Billabong was closed for seasonal work (ie: trying to get rid of crocs from the late wet season)
• Cooinda
• Yellow Water 
• Ranger Mine Site (this was opened in 1978? and without the money from the mine, there would be no Kakadu NP)

This explains "Kinship Law" for the people of Kakadu and who they are allowed to marry... you thought your family was complex!

Yellow River

Ranger mine site - it is very strange to see this massive whole in the ground with incredible Kakadu mountain ranges in the background.

We then finished the day with another Ranger talk at the caravan park on Aboriginal Art.

Whilst Jim Jim falls was open (with a trickle of water), Twin Falls was still closed due to crocs. As it was a rough 4WD road in and then an hour walk over loose river rocks and sand, we decided not to go in. Next time!

We called into Gunlom on our last day. We left the caravan at the Ranger Station at the southern end of Kakadu and drove in on a rough 4WD road. There was a big pool at the bottom of the waterfall, and an infinity pool at the top where we were able to have a swim. The view up the top of the waterfall was amazing.

Water holes at top of Gunlom waterfall

Infinity pool at top of Gunlom's waterfall

For the last month people have been talking about "Kakadon't" and "Mossidoo" and we didn't know what to expect. The trip to Kakadu was fantastic and a must see for anybody visiting this area.

Darwin (10th - 14th June)

We arrived in Darwin and set up camp at the Big 4 Caravan Park in Howard Springs. After setting up camp we did a drive into town and visited the information centre to find out what we should be doing.

We visited the yacht club for a cold drink and a Darwin sunset, and Sue was in her element, reliving her yachtie days, except this was a cold savvy blanc rather than a warm rum punch for sundowners!

Up early the next day and drove into Howard Springs Nature Park to hear the Ranger talk. The pool and dam wall were made by Australian soldiers in WWII with the area being used as a holiday retreat for the soldiers to recuperate from the front line. We fed the Barra's in the pool and then tried to find a "File Snake". Gus has been our wildlife spotter but is yet to find a snake, a live one anyway.

After the Barra feeding it was into town to the Wave Pool... lot's of fun!

We then visited the Northern Territory National Museum & Art Gallery near Mindil Beach. There was a brilliant array of animals on display and some great exhibitions, including Dairwin pre Cyclone Tracy and what's more ... it was free!

Map detailing all the different Aboriginal languages spoken in NT

After the museum it was lunch at the Trailer Boat Club (right next door to the yacht club), and then onto the water park at Leanyer. This was similar to the water parks in Queensland, but it was free,what a top way to spend the afternoon.

Thursday night was Mindil Markets and it was huge. There was every sort of food stall you could imagine and plenty of stalls selling art and crafts. We caught the sunset on our way in and were greeted by a MD, the rock star playing four digeridoos with a drum accompaniment.

We packed up the camp site at Howard Springs and made our way down to Berry Springs. This is another area which was used by the soldiers in WWII.

You wouldn't believe what happened next... we found another free water park at Palmerston. The final family showdown proved Sue the fastest overall, yet she is feeling it now in the upper arms.

Our last night was spent with Mouse & Samantha and the kids at Moil. We pulled up on the drive way and had a great night catching up, a big thanks to them for their kind hospitality, apologies for the Saturday morning headache that followed.

Socceroos 1 - Chile 3 - Bugga!