Our Australia trip

We woke at 5.30 am which in NT time is only 7 am. The sun clearly hasn’t changed it’s clock because at 5.30 am you can already feel the heat increasing. So we have early breakfast and before 8 am we’re on the road.

We stop to check for some suspect sound but find everything in order and the alternator is still with us. You can’t be careful enough though.

Then we stop for some nice views and take some more photos of termite mounds. They are pieces of art!

We stop for fuel at Halls Creek and get dazzled by the fierce redness of the soil.

At the Information booth we ask if we can swim at Mary Pool.The answer is “if there’s any water there then you might”. The question “Are there no crocs” is answered with “well there could be”. So we decide to drive on to Mary pool anyway.

The rest stop is nicely positioned off the road with plenty of shade. Not much water though, so the question of swimming is premature. We do some drawing (Marjo), fixing (Axel) and rolling in the dust (Dotti) and making funny noises at passing cows (Nossi). The wind is nice and refreshing and we are happy.

Posted from Mueller Ranges, Western Australia, Australia.

With a disturbed sleep at night, I can’t wake up very well in the morning and Marjo is so sweet to make breakfast. We lazy a little and then pack up to do shopping, take in fuel and look around in Kununurra.
We stop at a zebra stone gallery and Marjo decides she doesn’t like that unique Kununurra stone but instead she gets a piece of Liesengang Weatherrock, with warm red and yellow colours. Meanwhile we enjoy the animal life around the gallery.

Then we go to a swimming beach in the Kununurra lake that forms an extension of Lake Argyle. Some Japanese tourists that happen to float there too are smitten by the dogs and have photo sessions whilst continuously repeating their names “Dotti”, “Dotti”, “Dotti”, and “Nossi”, “Nossi”, “Nossi”. Having endured that, we refused to give them our names 🙂

At the campground we forgot to fill up with fresh water so we tour town to look for a tap. We follow the two signs for “free coffee for driver” until they stop putting them up and see no free coffee or tap. Then at the sports grounds some builder is using water and we borrow his hose to fill up (his water hose).

Then we are on our way west again.

We are planning to camp near the Orb river but see a spot before that with a little water and some shade. We pull into the stop at an old river crossing and park on the road. Sooooo many flies though.

It being only 100 km south west of Kununurra the temperature is distinctly better. At night it drops to 15! degrees. Nice! At some point it is cool enough to go inside and watch some Bones on our iPads.

Oh, no turkeys in the creek though.

Posted from Mueller Ranges, Western Australia, Australia.

Also this one got wiped by our great blog app……so take 2:

After packing up and making sure the alternator is where it’s supposed to be we leave without a hitch and take the winding road between mountains and passing more Boab trees.

Then at 10.45 am we reach the border between Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA) which for the first time is a real controlled border.

We have to pull over and declare some potatoes as we couldn’t decide whether they were veggies or fruit. The guy didn’t care and we had to throw it out as well as the carrots and cauliflower we were planning to eat during the morning trip. After some inspection of the bus and trailer we were through. Marjo let out a sigh of relief as she was afraid they would confiscate her seed pots (no seeds), her rocks (no bugs) or red sand (nothing but sand).

I hear you ask: “so, what’s different in WA?” and we are prepared for just such a question:
– it feels like we’re thrown back in time. Not only is road repair here by the bucket as we saw in QLD.

But also the clock is turned back 1 hour and thirty minutes. So suddenly it’s 9.15 am!
– the cattle here seems to like to highway better than their paddocks

– people are better off than in NT or there’s better security as the roadside solar panels are still in place

Then we take the turnoff to Lake Argyle, a man made land sea the size of 18 times Sydney Harbour (which seems to be a generally accepted means of measure of water bodies in Australia). The drive to the lake and the lake itself are stunning.

Then we stop for lunch on a field with real grass. I can’t describe how nice it feels to have real juicy grass under your toes, the green lush leaves tickling your foot soles, the smell of the moist, the green colour. Ah well, you get the picture.

Nossi and Dotti drink some water and Marjo shoots some interesting tree which seems to have orchids growing in them.

Then we find some water for the dogs to cool down in and they gladly accept.

And it becomes time to go onto Kununurra for some shower, washing and shopping.
We stop to see if the river is nice, but it works out that the water has inaccessible high edges and weed cover where unpleasant animals could be lurking. It is lunchtime after all.

Then after some more views we come to Kununurra, go to the Hidden Valley camping and find a spot between many many tent campers. It seems that this is the camping where the French go when they leave their country as all we hear is cackling French young man and women. And it never stops 🙂 On the drive, Dotti feels all rested and happy.

While Marjo takes up the vibe, I do some well needed laundry and soak in the pool (very nice cold and shady). Then it’s Marjo’s turn.

Later on she goes for a wander around the Merima National Park that starts at the camping back fence.

That night we did not get a lot of rest. The French keep at it, keeping Marjo listening and I get woken up by some animal in a tree that seems to imitate an alarm, 15 second beeps on, 3 seconds off. 15 seconds on, 3 seconds off, 15 seconds on, 3 seconds on, ………

Posted from Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia.

Soooooo….there was a whole story here, all typed up off-line. Bloody technology erased it all when we got internet reception, so take 2:

We woke up a bit later, at around 7.45 am and had breakfast. Nossi got his Valium to prepare him for the trip and we packed up. After checking that the alternator is still hanging on we hit the road.
A doped up dog works well when traveling 🙂

And as always, Dotti travels easily and seems to enjoy the ride.

Then the scenery starts to get interesting with more mountains. Oh, there is a bit of a warning here: if you’re a surfer dude or girl and not so much into mountains, then I suggest you take that short holiday you always wanted to have ‘cuz theres gonna be a whole lot of mountain pics’. Marjo loves them and she controlled the camera. I must say they turned out nice and there are some nice views here.
To give you a sample:

Also, since we hit Katherine, rivers start earning their name and actually show water:

We now start seeing some other vegetation, such as the nice Coolibah tree which has a nice branch structure whether with or without leaves.

Then more mountains and even Boab trees. Not the single one with a sign such as in Katherine, but thousands of them. Very interesting looking tree.

We pull quite early into a nice road stop and find a spot with some shade. Then someone left, leaving a much larger shady area, which comes at a premium on 38 degree days. So we move camp and set up in the shade. Then we find out what bull dust is: thick and very fine red dust that, with every step you take, engulfs your foot and leaves a little puff cloud. The dogs and everything turns dusty red and becomes a mess.
So when the sun set, we move again. Three sites at the same rest area. Luckily there are not many people there. Then we have a little dried dirt with some dried flat vegetation. We hook up Marjo’s bush shower back and all take our turn hosing off the hot dust.

Because this is our last night in Northern Territory, Marjo gets all organized and wants to prepare our cavity search. It is not allowed to enter Western Australia with anything that can bring in unwanted bugs. So we had a very healthy day with lots of fruit and veggies. Also Marjo dived deep into the honeypot and I cracked some nuts.

Can’t remember exactly where we found the macadamia nuts but now, many weeks later drying in the sun on our dashboard, they seem very edible. Nice even!

Posted from Baines, Northern Territory, Australia.

Although we liked the Lazy Lizard, we can feel the heat and want to move on. We have some business in Katherine and then want to turn West.
The early sun and quick heat makes that by 8 am we’re washed and fed outside to start packing up, feeding the dogs, walking the dogs, dumping the black water and filling the fresh water. So before 9 we’re on the move.

We drive over known roads again, the 300 km back from Litchfield to Katherine and at around 10 am, just before the Katherine campus of the Charles Darwin University the same problem occurs. The alternator drops off. Several hot moments, curses, black smears later we are on the road again, 20 km from Katherine. We pull into the vet that we saw the last time we were in Katherine to get repeat prescriptions for Dotti and then they had to check with our Sydney vet. They still hadn’t done that by now so Marjo put a little pressure on and within an hour we had what we needed. Somehow when it involves pets, the medical professionals seem to be much more strict (and/or chasing money) than with humans. But hey. We have what we needed so we move on. Some shopping at Woolies and new wine for Marjo. Oh no, it is before 2 pm and someone in their wisdom has decided that drinking before 2 pm is not good so no wine. Then the next stop is fuel and new gas. We had to split that in two stops because the first fuel station had no full swap gas bottle. The second only refilled but by now the attendant was gone out for lunch so the cash lady took our money and asked to wait till he returned. Meanwhile we were cooking ourselves in the 36 degrees. That out of the way we returned to the mechanic that serviced our car. When he serviced it before I asked him to check for all loose bolts. He said he did so I wondered how the alternator could have fallen off again. He didn’t know and said, book it in for tomorrow and we’ll have a look. I didn’t want to wait though so asked Tom, the owner. He put the bus in the garage and together we put new bolts in with locktite. Also tensioned some other bolts.

By then Marjo and the dogs were almost melted while waiting outside. So we decided to drive back to the east of Katherine to go to Knotts Crossing where I was a few days before. We all had a nice time and cooled down.

Then we drove back to Katherine for wine (by now it was 3.30 pm) an ice cream from McDonalds and then on, finally west. We had not gone west since we left Barkly Homestead after Marjo’s birthday, a bit over 2 weeks ago.

We did 60 km’s and then pulled over at a road stop for the night, next to a couple who had been traveling in their Nissan bus 6 years. After dinner he came over and asked “can I look at your rear, Axel?” at which Marjo looked puzzled. I had no qualms though and said: “sure, do you need a light?” and proceeded to look with him under the bus. He needed new shocks for his bus and could only get Toyota shocks and wanted to see how they were mounted on the back axle. Later on Marjo wondered how the guy knew my name. I puzzled what she meant as I hadn’t told them my name. The next morning it dawned on me that he had said “axle” instead of “axel” 🙂

Posted from Baines, Northern Territory, Australia.

At around 9 am I get the itchies, it’s getting already hot, the flies are chasing me and I want to move. Ten deep breaths and nothing changes. Marjo offers to do poop patrol and empties the cassette. Then it’s time to roll up the awning and hit the road. We have two last attractions, the cascades (which are 3 km return walk and we don’t want to leave the dogs alone for that long when we’re just starting to travel) which we give a miss and then the Wangi Falls. That’s a great place with stereo falls. Tempting enough to have our morning dip.

Then we follow the road back to Katherine, first the curvy road to Batchelor.

We take some fuel and now we have mobile reception call Niki and Joran to thank them for their nice fathers day messages. We hadn’t even remembered, but now we do I take full advantage!

Then we stop at the same road stop as the way up. The dogs love it.

Well Dotti almost drowned while Marjo posed (it wasn’t that way but the photo worked out that way).

Then we pass the hazy road, which seems to be another back burn bushfire.

We don’t want to travel too far so decide to stay in Pine Creek. It has two options: something with Cat, Pussy and Flat and a Lazy Lizard. We stop at the Cat but it’s sunny, dusty and bare. Not my kind of Pussy Cat. So on to the Drunken Lizard which seems to be the bulls eye, a pub with live music, a shady spot, a nice cool pool and a bit of a breeze and a chatty German neighbour.

Despite it being fathers day I offer to make dinner. So I head to the pub for another beer from the tap and takeaway: Marjo schnitzel and Axel grilled Barramundi. We decided to go halves. Yummie!

Posted from Pine Creek, Northern Territory, Australia.

We have been pondering. More North is more heat and the ocean north is inhabited with crocs so no relief there. So what to do. We already decided that Kakado (or Kakadu for the tourists) is Kaka-no-do for us as it would add 400 odd km with no place to stay with dogs. Also it seems to have a steep entrance fee and severe back burning damage.
We made up our mind and decided to travel the 300 km up to see Litchfield National Park, stay for a night at the Safari campsite just outside the National Park and then head back. Now we’ve come so far we might as well.

The trip is hot and pretty similar to what we have seen before. A bit more hilly with nice views and a surprisingly nice roadside stop for lunch. The dogs love the water.

Then we cross the Adelaide River and turn off towards Bachelor and enter the Litchfield National Park. The signs “no dogs” are everywhere but the camping is dog friendly and this is the only way to get them there 🙂

First we see the termite mounds. There are a great variety we have found: the plain round ones, the spiky ones and then the cathedral ones (the pretty lady was a bonus and for good measure).

Then we see a new variant: the Magnetic Ants (good name for a rock band), who construct their mounds where it’s hot and sunny and to not get roasted in their dirt hills they make them flat and in a north-south direction so that they catch the least amount of sun. Smart buggers.

Then we come to Buley Rockhole and stop for a look, a jump and to just lie around. The dogs are very obedient and watch the bus, in the shade with fans on and plenty of water.

The next stop is Florence Falls, where we just enjoy the view.

When we think we have had our dose of nice nature, we get rewarded with the high Tolmer Falls and a nice walk there.

And we even drove past the Tabletop swamp, the Lost City, the Greenant Creek and the Cascades as you can only test the patience of the dogs so much and also the heat of the day demanded locations with cool water.

Then we arrived at the Litchfield Safari Camp along kilometers (1.2) of dirt road with a great pool.

We stayed there for one night and the heat, the horse flies and the mozzies all confirm our decision to make this our most northerly stop. We go to bed at 11 pm when the bus has cooled down to a cozy 27 degrees.

Posted from Pine Creek, Northern Territory, Australia.

I don’t know how people live here. It’s winter and most people associate that with jumpers, beanies and even gloves. Not here. All day it is too hot to be in the bus and even outside you need water (a hot spring that is everywhere hot however here it’s refreshing, a hose or a pool). The strange thing is that all pools are actually cold, which is a shock to the system but nice to refresh. I have no idea how they keep them cool as every day is between 34 and 37 degrees. It seems there are cloudy days and then they mean there are a few whisps of clouds at dusk, good for a picture but otherwise the sky is blue.
The dogs also pant and drink water and don’t have much opportunity to play. Anything that smells like water either has a crocodile lurking or a sign to say its forbidden for dogs.
So to say it is my favourite part of Australia would be a lie. Granted, it has magical features that can only be found here, beautiful gorges, characteristic people, bizarre termite mounds, but the heat and associated dust are not my thing.

I am thinking more and more of oceans, a nice breeze, the waves and endless water. But there’s more than 1000 km on either side of us to make that a reality.

So, you know now more than you wanted to and I’ve said it and can move on.

Today we went to the hot springs at Katherine. It is walking distance from the camping and not too bad. Marjo finds them too small, too full, too shallow and not hot enough, but that was also influenced by the 30 minute walk she had going in the wrong direction with a black bathing suit, no hat and no shade. She was not a happy camper. The cool pool at he camping fixed that plus the promise that I’m cooking. Ok, ok, takeaway it is.

The second day was much better. At 8 am I was with the bus at Pfennig auto mechanic who gave the bus a service. I walked back to the camping, about 5 minutes, had a coffee with Marjo and two hours later picked up the bus again, serviced and well. The lady in the office said that she was cold and indeed she wore a jumper and tracksuit pants. Crazy people.

We knew that we needed to do something to keep us from feeling too hot, so we left the chairs on the campsite and took the trailer and dogs and went to the Nimiluk national park. We were not deterred by the NO PETS signs and steamed on. Marjo asked for a permit to go kayaken and got one, then for some bizarre reason the ranger wanted $50 in return for a metal disc with number 12. The reason was so that she would come back and wouldn’t be lost. I would have rather asked them for $50 to make sure that they would be looking for Marjo when in case she didn’t make it back in time. In the worst case I would not have Marjo back and we would be $50 out of pocket…..

Everything went well though, Marjo had a great trip.

She saw enough warning sites for crocs and croc traps as well as a water snake crossing in front of her (look closely, or put your reading glasses on).

Meanwhile Nossi, Dotti and I went to Knotts Crossing to cool down a little. Dotti had a ball wading and was happy with the cool flowing water that relieved her from walking on three legs and Nossi was jumping like a kangaroo.

Then we went back to pick up Marjo, saw wallabies close up, found a local Boab tree, cooled again in the fresh pool water (Marjo once, I twice – hey, I’m twice as big as Marjo) and got a call from Corrie, a good friend from Marjo. Oh and we saw a nice sky again. A great day.

Posted from Katherine South, Northern Territory, Australia.

What to do in a sleepy town after dark?

You ask a beautiful lady and go for a swim!

And then it’s my turn.

Finishing off with some star gazing.

We decide to stay another day to play…….

Who needs words on a beautiful day like this……

Posted from Mataranka, Northern Territory, Australia.