Berry Springs – 12 July 2012
We got to the Territory Wildlife Park this morning at about 9.00am. First stop was the pelican feeding at the billabong. The girls, once again, got to feed the stars of the show. After a short walk we got to the aquarium, where we saw many different fish, reptiles and native animals presented in their natural environments. Good educational matter for the rugrats.
Next was the Ooloo Billabong presentation. The keeper stood in knee deep water with whip rays and large barramundi. As he fed them, we learnt about the environment they came from in the upper Daly River at Ooloo Crossing. Georgia felt a bit woozy and had to sit down. We think she might have been affected by the heat and having to stand for a while listening to the keeper. We jumped back on the train to the air conditioned kiosk. She came good after a chocolate muffin and a cold drink.
The whip rays and barra at Ooloo Billabong
We jumped back on the train and headed to the Nocturnal House. Here we saw the creatures of the night in a very low light environment. It took a while for our eyes to adjust before we could spot the critters. The girls enjoyed being the first to see the animal in each enclosure.
A short walk away was the Monsoon Forest Walk. Unfortunately the walk-through aviary was undergoing renovation, so we just strolled to the end of the boardwalk, where we found a small stream with a few fish in it. The girls and I fed the fish some Cheetos (like Cheezels).
We again jumped on the train and headed back to the kiosk for lunch. I walked back to the car and grabbed the coolbag with our sandwiches, and we cooled off while we ate.
After lunch we grabbed some golf clubs and balls from the kiosk and went across to the Woolybutts area, where Georgia and I sweltered while we enjoyed 9 holes of mini golf. We just finished our round in time to make the short walk to the Birds of Prey presentation.
Here we saw a barn owl, an Asian baza, a rufous owl, a brahminy kite and an osprey. After the show, the two handlers held a wedge-tailed eagle and a peregrine falcon and we were able to take close-up photos.
One of the handlers with a wedge-tailed eagle after the show
Another handler, this time with a pergrine falcon
Katherine – 13 July 2012
We left Berry Springs, and after a stop at Adelaide River for fuel, we had lunch in a shady park at Pine Creek. After lunch we continued on our way to Edith Falls, turning off the highway 40km north of Katherine. We changed into our swimming gear in the van and then headed off on the 1km walk up to the top pool. It was just as beautiful as we remembered and we enjoyed a refreshing swim with the girls.
The upper pool at Edith Falls
The girls looking for good skimming rocks in the lower pool at Edith Falls
We returned home and spent the rest of the arvo researching accommodation for down the track.
Katherine – 14 July 2012
We headed into town to the shops and spotted a local market on the way. All the girls cruised the stalls, while I cruised the tackle shop on the corner. We picked up a few things at the shops afterwards and then returned home and cranked up the air conditioner while we had lunch.
After lunch I hit the computer to catch up on some outstanding drafting work, while Sue and the girls returned to town to do the grocery shopping. Sue also picked up a few early birthday presents for the girls. When they returned, Sue cooked while the girls played with their new Trashie Trucks.
As we were heading into WA in a couple of days, we had to eat all our fruit and veg, or declare it at the border. So that night, we enjoyed roast chicken with a magnificent potato/sweet potato bake.
Katherine – 15 July 2012
I once again hit the keyboard and almost finished my drafting backlog. Sue took the girls for a walk/bike ride down to the Katherine Hot Springs, which were just around the corner, about 1km away. They didn’t swim but returned after lunch, and while Sue watched, they swung from the rope with the local kids into the warm pool. Sue had a lot of trouble getting the buggers to come home, they had that much fun.
Once again we enjoyed a fresh batch of potato bake for dinner, this time with barbecued steak and snags.
Kununurra – 16 July 2012
We woke early, just after 6.00am, to prepare for our long drive to Kununurra. Fortunately we woke to a cool, dry easterly breeze, which made for ideal driving conditions, providing us with a tail wind all the way to WA. The classroom in the back seat was also very comfortable for the teacher and her students. Not long after leaving, we noticed a crack spreading across the top of our windscreen . . . . . bummer!
We got fuel at Victoria River and then stopped for lunch at the entrance to the Bulla community, where we took photos of a few large boab trees, the first the kids had come in contact with.
A large boab tree beside our lunch-time stop
We arrived in Kununurra at around 3.00pm Territory time, gaining 1½ hours with the time zone difference. Perth time was 1.30pm, giving us a longer afternoon to do things in town.
After organising a new windscreen claim with RACQ, we headed into the local Novus repairer and booked the car in for the next morning. Then it was off to the post office, where we picked up a couple of packages of forwarded mail and our new satellite tv kit, which we’d ordered back in Darwin. Pretty flash hey!
There wasn’t room for the kids and the sat dish in the back of the car, so I left Sue and the kids in town and dropped the kit home. I returned to find them in the toy store, of all places, putting in orders for more birthday presents. After we finally got out of there, we headed over to Coles, picked up a few items and then headed home.
Kununurra – 17 July 2012
After a quick brekky, I dropped the car off at Novus and the boss dropped me home. On the way I picked his brains for fishing and swimming spots. He was accommodating.
Back at camp, we began packing up the caravan to shift onto a powered site, as none had been available when we arrived. Without a car our generous neighbour kindly offered his services and repositioned our van for us, enabling us to have everything set up before we got the car back.
I got the car back from Novus just before lunch, so after a feed we headed into town, with the intention of getting some information from the Tourist Information Centre and then taking a drive along the dirt road adjacent to the Lower Ord River, ending at Wyndham. But as is often the case with us, our plans changed, and we ended up chewing the fat with one of the staff at the Info Centre for a lot longer than expected. Before we knew it, the afternoon was fading fast, so we took a trip to get Sue a mango smoothie and then headed out to the Zebra Rock Art Gallery. Sue and I had visited here 15 years ago and while the zebra rock art was very interesting, it was the catfish in the river behind the gallery that we thought would hold the biggest appeal for the monsters.
The kids really enjoyed the rock art as it turned out, but the catfish were still a big winner. All those white whiskers above the water’s surface, clamouring for each small morsel of bread was something to see. There were also about half a dozen turtles in the mix, who didn’t stand a chance competing with the catties. But we discovered, that by dropping the bread onto some adjacent floating weeds, the turtles, with their heads above water, could zero in on the bread before the ravenous hoardes below could find it. The turtles did okay in the end.
So many whiskers, all straining for a piece of our bread . . . .
After the gallery and the catties, we headed up the road to one of the local fruit farms. We had great memories of selecting all our own fruit from large bins at farms such as this in the past. There was a multitude of different fruits available. Our favourites were the many different varieties of melons which we devoured with ice-cream back in the van. To our dismay, all that was available now, was about half a dozen different fruits, pre-cut and glad wrapped in a fridge . . . . . very disappointing. We grabbed ¼ of a watermelon and a rock melon for later before heading home.
Kununurra – 18 July 2012
Georgia and I went into town after breakfast and picked up a couple of things from the supermarket and then dropped the tyre pressures at the servo. When we got back, Sue gave me a hair cut with the clippers and re-plaited the rat. We left town at about 9.30 and took the turnoff onto the dirt to follow the old Wyndham Road. We had stops at Valentine Springs, Middle Falls and Blackrock Falls. None had any flow, but were pretty nonetheless. We also took a turnoff back to Ivanhoe Crossing and had a look from the other side for a change. It was closed to traffic. After a couple of pics we headed off towards Wyndham again and stopped for lunch at the Manbi Island boat ramp. The river here was a good 15m below ground level, but a lower section of bank was big enough to provide some really nice campsites. Even though the road in was quite corrugated and dusty, there were still a few caravans on the lower bank enjoying the isolation.
Ivanhoe Crossing from the western approch
Another hour on the road saw us arrive at Parry’s Creek Farm, where camping was available. We drove in for a quick look and then continued on to Wyndham. As we entered town, we stopped at the Big Crocodile in the main street for a couple of pics with the girls. They were most disappointed that no climbing was allowed.
Wyndam's big croc
A tour of Wyndham took all of 15mins before we headed up the steep access road to the Five Rivers Lookout. From there we saw the mouths of the King, Pentecost, Durack, Forest and Ord Rivers, where they enter the Cambridge Gulf. Julia Gillard became the first Prime Minister to visit Wyndham that morning. What a shame we didn’t arrive until the afternoon. Never thought I’d owe so much to corrugations . . . . .
About 40kms south of Wyndham we turned off the highway into the Grotto, a small, fern lined gorge with extremely cold water, just ask Georgia. She was determined to swing from the Tarzan rope that we’d seen on the internet. She surprised us all when she actually entered the water, got hold of the rope and then managed to bring it to the edge. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t tall enough to swing from the short rope and could only let it go and watch it swing back to where it started. We climbed back up the 140 steps to the car park and made our way back to Kununurra.
Georgia . . . valiantly retrieving the rope at The Grotto
With so many tired bodies on board, an executive decision was made to grab Chicken Treat for dinner. No arguments there.
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