Litchfield to Kununurra via Katherine 11/06/2011-17/06/2011 by Mrs Kanga

Day 57 - 11/06/2011

Woke to a cool windy day with bright sunny skies at Litchfield Safari Camp. Packed up and on the road by 9am and headed for Buley Rock Holes for a look on the way out. Parking not suitable for anything with a trailer so we didn’t stay long. Really lovely spot though, water wasn’t cold. Obviously gets very popular, lots of great water holes cascading down with good access to the water. Pressed on and stopped at Adelaide River, had a quick look at the markets there then had lunch at the Pub. Telstra coverage, so caught up with some family, no Virgin coverage though. Back on the road and passed three wild donkeys(first ones we have seen) 79kms from Katherine, where we still had 3G coverage so I phoned and booked a couple of sites at Riverview Caravan Park in Katherine. Also passed three horses and a huge dead pig on the side of the road. Took a short detour to see Edith Falls. Falls are quite small but the swimming hole is about 150m across with excellent access, parking and camping. Was still a bit cool and windy so even Adriane didn’t go for a swim, would be a great spot to stay if it was a bit warmer. While we were there we bumped in to the couple with the UK Landrover that we had spoken to in Croyden and caught up on each others travels. They were thinking of heading to Darwin so we mentioned that they might need to book if they were going to be there on 17-19th of June because the V8 Super Cars where due in town. Headed in to Katherine and checked in to camp, had a quick look at the Hot Springs (more like lukewarm)just a short walk out the back gate before heading out to their markets, bit quiet, more of a community social gathering. Turned quite cold after dinner so before long in was a hot shower and snuggled up in bed.

Day 58 - 12/06/2011

Had a bit of a lay in til about 8am. Out with the tracky dackies this morning, made some pancakes that we topped with raspberries and maple syrup and ate them in Gordon and Andreas camper so that we were out of the cold. Adriane and Gordon went for a walk to the river while Andrea and I put dinner in the Ecopot and caught up on some computing. After lunch went for a drive to Rare Rocks where the interesting old chap there informed us that last night was the coldest so far this year, 9°C I think he said. Next stop was the Museum lots of interesting old stuff. Was good to see the video of the 4Corners report on the 1998 floods here because it was hard to imagine the river being that high. The Museum Café wasn’t open today so we decided to go to Coffee Club Katherine for afternoon tea. But first we had a quick look at Knotts crossing where some locals were fishing and Adriane found a tiny snake. Back to camp and Andrea did some washing, I did some blogging while Adriane went back to Knotts crossing to do a bit of fishing before dark. After dinner Andrea and I played cards while the boys played Angry Birds.


Day 59- 13/06/2011

Cold again this morning and windy too. Got some washing done before breakfast (4 x $1 coins). Andrea had bumped in to a lady (Carol) she recognised from the Newsagents in Shoalwater yesterday. Carol and her husband Bob came over for a chat, turns out her husband (Mr Wilson) was a teacher at Rockingham Senior High School when Adriane, Andrea and I were there. Went in to town for a few supplies then back to camp. I had got Dale (son) to put the computer on at home so I could catch up with a bit of work by remote. Had a few jets fly over, were beginning to think they had followed us from Darwin. Adriane went to see if he could catch something for dinner. Carol and Bob came over for happy hour and we reminisced over high school days. No fish again so Adriane and I had soup for dinner and Gordon and Andrea enjoyed a lovely lamb roast she had got from the butcher in town today. After we washed up Adriane went for his shower and Gordon finally buckled and played cards with Andrea and I, let him win so he might play with us again.

Day 60 - 14/06/2011

Not quite so cold this morning, clear and sunny. Packed up camp and headed back in to Katherine for another look in the camping shop and Gordon picked up some oil and stuff for the next service on his car. Headed out of town on the Victoria Highway towards Kununurra before 9.30am and soon passed a huge Wedge Tailed Eagle on a dead wallaby. Some stunning scenery coming in to Victoria River Wayside Inn where we stopped for an early lunch. This is “Keeping Up With The Jones’s” territory. Back on the road just after twelve and more stunning scenery as we drove through cliffs reminiscent of the Cockburn Ranges then on past Coolibah Station turn off. Turned down the Buchanan Hwy to check out a possible camp spot in Jasper Gorge. It is shown as part of the Savannah Way and is a little rough in places. They are working on some sections and some major works happening to replace a bridge. Found the camping spot, sign posted from the road but not shown on most maps. There were two couples there and one couple were saddlers and had a large motor home equipped for their saddlery business. They were on way to Coolibah Station and would be gone by 2pm. Had a quick look around, there were walking tracks down to the water and a couple of level areas suitable to camp but no toilets, which was evident by the amount of toilet paper littering the area. Why can’t people burn the stuff?, chances are they have a camp fire going they could chuck it in. Decided to head back to the Victoria Hwy and on to Timber Creek. Passed a small herd of wild donkeys on the way back up the Buchanan Hwy. Booked in and set up camp about 3.30pm($27.50pn powered). Walked down to the creek for the 5pm croc feeding session on the suspension bridge. Only Freshies but one sizeable one had a go at a turtle that was eating the croc food. Lots of Fruit Bats around chattering away. Cooked up most of our fresh produce in preparation for tomorrows border crossing. Ate some of it for dinner and froze the rest. Adriane had a chat with a couple called Carolyn and Rob with their late model diesel Range Rover and band new Track Trailer Topaz, might catch up with them in Kununurra. No one would play cards with me so I had an early night.

Day 61 - 15/06/2011

Packed up and on our way by 9am. Stopped off at Big Horse Creek camping ground and boat ramp. Quite picturesque, not a bad spot. Spoke to a guy from Huntingdale who reported that no fish were being caught so we decided to go back a couple of kilometres to the lookout and see if we had phone coverage. At the lookout, our Motorola Defy had no coverage but Andreas Iphone did so she phoned the caravan park in Kununurra who at first said that everywhere in town was full but then managed to move someone around and get us on two sites together. After allowing for the 1½ time difference she said not to arrive before eleven. So we headed down the road with the plan to stop before the border and eat the rest of our fresh produce for lunch. We also might get a chance to wash the cars and campers before checking in to camp at Kununurra. Nice to be back in Boab country again. Passed the Bullo River Station turn off, 75km driveway! Pulled in just before the Quarantine check point and ate most of our salad stuff for lunch. Gave whatever we had left to a pair or cyclists from Spain and Italy then proceeded to the checkpoint. Showed the nice young chap there what we had, all ok. We were disappointed to hear that Cane Toads have got in and spread through the irrigation channels. Turned our clocks back and headed for WA through some great scenery. Checked in to camp at Discovery Tourist Park (formerly Kona Waters I think) then did some shopping. Car wash in town was indefinitely disabled so we will have to stay dirty for now. Went out to have a look at Ivanhoe Crossing and couldn’t believe the amount of water going over, needless to say, it was closed. Back to camp in time for the 4.30pm Bocci (BYO drink and chair and they supply the nibbles). Andrea and I managed to win a couple of games before the more experienced lawn bowlers turned up. Gordon and Adriane got talking to a nice Aboriginal man called Trevor that lives next to us in the park, he was preparing his nets for catching Cherabin. They were hoping to find out where to catch them.

Day 62 - 16/06/2011

Trevor had his pots in overnight and had caught half a dozen decent sized Cherabin. Went to Mt Romance Sandalwood Factory, lots of nice smelly stuff there. Had a delicious cup of coffee and cake at their café. Went and did a couple of the scenic walks at Hidden Valley National Park (Mirima), not unlike walking through the Bungle Bungles. You are supposed to pay on the way in, but the machine was broken. Lookout at the top was also closed for safety reasons. Back to camp for a spot of lunch then we all decided to go fishing. Had a look at Swim Beach then crossed the diversion dam in search of Trevor’s secret spot. Think we found it over the second bridge so tried out the new lures we bought in Katherine. Gordon did an oil change on his car while Andrea almost lost a lure snagged in some old fishing line. Shame to see so much rubbish left here messing the place up. Back to camp empty handed and watched Trevor cook up his Cherabin. Mossie sprayer started to drive around the park just before 5pm so we went in to town to get some Strongbow and half a dozen cans of Cougar and Coke. Only allowed to buy it between 5pm and 8.30pm takeaway, so there was quite a queue when we got there just after five. Guy working there reliably informed us that we would only be in the line for seven minutes and he was right. Andrea and I played cards after dinner, until we got too cold. Then it was a nice hot shower and snuggled up in bed.

Day 63 - 17/06/2011

Cool clear morning, had breakfast while Gordon took his car in to town for it’s 8am wheel alignment. Got a few loads of washing done (4 x $1 coins) then Adriane dropped me off in town with Gordon and Andrea for a mooch about the shops. Back to camp for lunch then a lazy afternoon blogging, reading, repairing and the like. Adriane popped out for a bit more fishing. All in all a pretty quite day, and no fish.