DARWIN TO MOUNT ISA

We have now left the Top End of Northern Territory but before we move on there are a couple of observations that we have made. The roads in this area, in fact all of Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory, are just marvellous. We dread crossing over the border back into Queensland because everyone says that the roads deteriorate from there on. In the Northern Territory the open speed limit on most roads is 130 kms. but we have seen no police cars or cameras to police this although there are signs telling us that they are policed. Most of the traffic we pass on the highways are other caravanners or road trains. These road trains are huge and most of them carry at least 3 or 4 trailers which are fully laden. We have been lucky so far and have only passed one that we have had to move off the road for. They take a long time to get rolling but once they do, they also take a long time to stop. We have seen a lot of road kill on the side of the roads and most of that would be caused by road trains. Today we saw 2 huge cattle beasts and last week we saw a water buffalo dead on the side of the road. They are just left there for the birds to dispose of. Most caravanners don't drive after dusk as the kangaroos come out to play about that time and they have absolutely no road sense.
In the Northern Territory at this time of the year (the dry) they have “burn offs”. These are controlled fires that burn off all the undergrowth that has grown in the wet season and could cause bush fires. We have watched these guys go along with a fire lighter and just light the scrub and let it burn. As a result we have seen the greatest sunsets up there. These burn offs occur more in the National Parks so most of the beautiful bush we should see has been burnt but it is also necessary for the natural regrowth of most Australian native plants. Most days the sky has a real smoky haze.
The other odd thing about the Top End are the termite mounds. There are thousands of these mounds all over the territory. These can be only a couple of inches tall or some are up to over 2 metres tall. In the Litchfield National Park there are Magnetic Termite Mounds where the termites build the mounds aligned north and south to minimise exposure to the sun and maximise temperature control. There are four type of termites, the first build their mounds around tree trunks; the next ones build theirs with round features, the third ones build theirs with pointed tops and then there are the magnetic termites. Here ends the geological lesson for the day!!
I mentioned in my last blog about going to the night markets at Mindil Beach. I had a paddle there and the water was so warm but no more. A large saltwater crocodile ( the dangerous ones) has been spotted on the beach. It is such a shame that no one can swim in the beautiful beaches around Darwin, and there are hundreds of beaches in the area, because of the crocs and the box jelly fish that can cause death from just one little sting. Darwin is such a beautiful city with 4 lane highways on its approaches and tropical trees and plants everywhere. There is so much history there with the Japanese invasion in 1942 and Cyclone Tracy in1974. It has been rebuilt twice as a result of these disasters and is now a very modern city with a very cosmopolitan population. We just loved it and hope to return there one day.
Because everything is dictated by the weather up this end of the country, lives are regulated by either the wet season ( November to April) or the dry (May to October). In the wet season there is a build up of humidity that is only relieved by the rain. Some rivers rise by as much as 10 – 12 metres and all along the highways there are flood channels to take the run off from the flooding. It must be a spectacular sight to see. Most houses don't have gardens as we know them as nothing will grow but what does grow is bougainvillea in all the colours you can imagine; scarlet, purple, white, peach, yellow. When they are all together it is a sight to behold.
Back to our travels. After leaving Darwin we then headed south to Berry Springs and stayed at a great little camp called Tumbling Waters Caravan Park. I would recommend this camp to everyone. The shower facilities were a little basic but the owners are just doing everything right. On the Saturday night they had crocodile feeding followed by free entertainment with music, singing and dancing and a free sausage sizzle served in the lovely beer garden then we all sat outside under the stars and watched the movie “Mamma Mia”. It was a magic night. There are warm natural springs at Berry Springs in a park surrounded with walking tracks. It was a great place to have a swim and it was there we saw our first live snake in the wild. It was right beside the walking track and was a brown snake. I thought I would really freak out when I saw my first snake but I was amazingly calm. Also in Berry Springs is the Territory Wildlife Park. This is a great nature reserve where you can walk through rain forests; watch birds of prey;visit an aquarium and just enjoy nature at its best. We had a lovely day there and the highlight was watching the eagle who uses a stone or rock that it picks up from the ground to drop on to the emu's eggs and break them. Very clever.
We then moved onto Litchfield National Park which features some beautiful water falls and swimming holes. The most popular water hole is the Wangi Falls where we spent a lovely hot day just sitting in the warm water. What a great life! We drove in a 4WD track to visit the Lost City. This is a collection of rocks and stones that have formed thousands of years ago and they look like ancient ruins of buildings from long ago. An amazing sight. We just loved Litchfield as we have loved all the National Parks we have visited but they are all so different.
We then had to retrace our steps back south on the Stuart Highway on the same road we had travelled about 4 weeks earlier. We decided to do as many kilometres a day as we could as we would be travelling along this same route next year on our way west. We travelled over 550 kms. a day for the next 3 days. It was very hard going, especially for Jim doing the driving. We stayed in road houses every night and didn't even bother to unhitch the caravan. These road houses consist of a pub, petrol station, shop, restaurant and caravan park. They are all different and some are much better than others. We stayed at Daly Waters again but this time at the roadhouse on the highway and when registering we were given a voucher for a free beer and wine and that night they had entertainment. The place was full with a tour bus being booked in as well and it was really jumping. What a great night we had. On the road between Barkly Homestead we came across a remote police station at Avon Station. This station is miles and miles from the nearest town and then it would only be a road house. We travelled over the Barkly Tableland which is a plateau just covered with Mitchell grass for as far as the eye can see. This is good beef country but we didn't see many cattle because of the vastness of the area. We did see a group of drovers though rounding up a group of Brahman cattle. It was a great sight to see; just like in the movie “Australia”
We are now in Mount Isa which is a mining town of about 25,000 people. It is in the middle of the outback and the mines are the mainstay of the area. They mine copper, zinc, silver and lead. The mine dominates the whole township with shafts and chimneys and vents all over the place. It is a huge complex with road trains and railway lines linking the output to the rest of Australia and the world. Today we visited Lake Moondarra which is a vast expanse of water in the middle of nowhere that supplies water to Mount Isa and the mines. It is a lovely tranquil spot where you can swim, fish and boat. Australia is certainly a land of contrasts. Tomorrow we are going to have our first game of golf on this trip. Up to now it has either been too cold or too hot. The temperature has certainly dropped since we left Darwin and we are no back into the low 20s which seem cold to us after what we have had. There is a cool wind blowing from the south most days and this comes from the desert which is over the side of the hills that surround Mount Isa.
We move on in a couple of days to Normanton and up to the Gulf of Carpenteria which we are really looking forward to. My next epistle will probably come from Cairns where we are meeting up with friends from Waikanae and Raumati. Really looking forward to that.