Robinson River Crossing

Tuesday - We continued down the Savannah Way towards the Robinson river where we intend to camp the night, it's 390km from our Bullawaddy stop. The road is sealed as far as Borroloola then it's dirt again. The road alternates from single lane to 2 lanes from around the Mt Arthur zinc mine (this would be to accommodate the trucks) the scenary doesn't change much, scrub on both sides of the road.

There are only two places to stop for fuel and supplies, Cape Crawford that has the Heartbreak Hotel and caravan park and the Aboriginal township of Borroloola, I had to get gas at the local supermarket, noting the location I expected to pay at least $35 to get a 4.5kg bottle filled, it cost $19,cheaper than home. The supermarket was also the bottle shop, the hours it could sell booze was Monday to Saturday 2.30pm to 5.30pm, none on Sunday. There was an interesting notice displayed where the alcohol was sold, it read " Due to Community unrest, only 6 cans per person per day will be sold, normal trading will resume on 25th July". Luck I didn't need any as we where there at 12 and I would have needed more than 6 cans. We then hit the dirt again and it's amazing what you see on the side of the road.

We continued on, going through a number of small river crossings before getting to the Robinson river where we camped for the night, two other campers stopped as well. Tomorrow it's onto Kingfisher Camp.

Savannah Way

Monday - left Katherine this morning and headed south towards the Daly Waters turnoff onto the Carpenreria Highway. On the way we stopped of at Bitter Springs thermal pool at Mataranka. Bitter Springs thermal pool is 3km out of Mataranka, it is a spring fed thermal pool set among palms and tropical woodland, the pool is crystal clear and a constant 34 degrees, it was a refreshing break in the middle of the day.

We then continued down the Stuart highway to the iconic Daly Waters pub, the pub was established in 1924 and has been operating ever since, even during WWII. We arrived after 2 so we missed out on lunch so we had to settle just for a beer. The pub is renound for two things, it's Steak & Barra dinner and the internal decor, the caravan park adjacent to the pub was packed with people staying for the dinner meal. The internal decor is different, if you wish to leave a souvenir it costs you $1 and all money raised goes to the Variety Club.

Across the road is a unique souvenir shop. 

We then continued onto the Bullawaddy rest area for the night, there are about 8 campers here tonight.

Katherine Gorge

Sunday - today we left Kakadu and ended up in Katherine about mid day, we decided to try and get a 3pm cruise on Katherine Gorge which we where able to. It was then restock time at Woollies before heading out to the gorge. There where plenty of sites available so we setup before going on the cruise. There are actually 13 sections to Katherine Gorge and the tour takes in 2 of them, at the end of each section you get off the boat and walk a short distance to the next boat. This gorge was probably one of the best so far on this trip.

There are Freshwater Crocodiles in this section of the gorge and there are sections where the they lay their eggs, this is one of them.

Kakadu -Mary River Region

Saturday -today we headed south about 160km to the Gunlom (Waterfall Creek) campground, it's the southern most campground in Kakadu. The dirt road in has been one of the worst we have travelled but at $20 a night with hot showers it was worth the trip. The campground is located near a clear plunge pool and waterfall, we went for a swim as it was 33 degrees. The pool had an abundance of fish, especially the small ones that would come up and nip you, it would give you a scare, as we where told there where 6 freshwater crocodiles in the plunge pool. In the evening a Ranger gave a slideshow talk on Bush tucker. Tomorrow we begin the journey home with only 3 weeks left of the trip.

Kakadu - Yellow Water And Nourlangie Regions

Friday - today we headed south to have a look around the middle of the park, we decided to give Jim Jim Falls a miss as it is a 2 hour drive in so it is really a day trip to do it and Twin Falls properly, a good reason to have to come back. We headed down towards Yellow Water wetlands, on the way is the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre, the centres large display was developed by the local Bibinj/Mungguy people and provides detailed information about Aboriginal culture in Kakadu, it is an excellent place to visit, the displays and information provided is very informative, It was then onto the Yellow Water wetlands which is part of the South Alligator River floodplain, we decided not to take the cruise as it was $90 each and we had already planned to do a tour on Katherine Gorge which we feel is better value. There is a a boardwalk that provides good views across part of the wet lands.

We then went to have a look at Gagudji Lodge  Cooinda, the lodge has a motel, camping area, general store that sells fuel and a Bistro. We decided to have lunch, I had a hamburger and Chris a steak sandwich, it was the dearest hamburger and chips I had ever had at $29, the price of beer was ok at $6 a schooner.

We then headed back up towards our camp and stopped off at Anbangbang which has rock art similar to Ubirr. Anbangbang Gallery has a number of sites that display the rock art.

During the walk through Anbangbang there is a shelter that Aboriginal people have been coming home to for the last 6000 years, it was last used about 20 years ago. Occasional use dates further back 20000 years, when the the climate of the area was drier and food more scarce. An Archaeological dig carried out in 1982 revealed organic objects not usually preserved in the hot, wet climate of northern Australia, safe in the dryness of this shelter. The dig went down 1.5 meters at the bottom section of the shelter before hitting solid rock, it was what they found in this 1.5 meters of dirt that allowed the Archaeologists to determine that the shelter was more than 20000 years old, they have found evidence within the park dating back at least 50000 years.