September 8th to September 15th 2025
Our second state and dire warnings about alcohol as we entered. I was glad I already had my 4L cask stashed away and hoped it was legal
With long distances to cover we were continuing to stop off along the way to our destinations. Our first stop in Northern Territory was Tennant Creek a small town just off our route. This was the first time we were locked in for the night. We had a code to get out but it was a bit unexpected. We got talking to a Kiwi couple and they said they’d been warned to put their camping furniture away at night in case anyone climbed over the wall to get it. Not too good. Apparently they were stuck there for a while . They had bought a campervan (ex hire) which had problems and it takes a whìle in the outback to sort. Glad I didn’t do that now!
As we left the next day they commented that if we went into town we’d see lots of police. We decided we would go back the way we’d come and shop for anything later. On the way out I looked up crime in the area. Apparently this was the worst town in Northern Territory with a homicide rate double that of New York. Most crime is alcohol related. Aah, that explains the alcohol restrictions. In fact that pattern carried on around towns in Northern Territory.
I saw women fighting outside the shopping centre elsewhere and Ashley got nervous about a group of guys drinking and smashing their bottles while he was waiting for me.
Unfortunately as in other parts of the world, it is the native population that are using alcohol as a prop as their way of life has disintegrated.
We were now on the Stuart Highway, named after an explorer who surveyed the route for the first telegraph line. At our next stop Daly Waters, we connected with the Stuart trail and i found the Stuart tree where he engraved his initials. I’d also hoped to find the first telegraph station there. I got within 1 minutes walk according to Google. However it was on the other side of a creek, and I wasn’t dressed for a major scramble in the bush.
I also got close to a giant termite mound for the pictures. Did you know these mounds are carefully constructed to regulate the temperature inside and keep it constant.
It was here that I had one of my most traumatic events so far.
A couple of times in the night I thought I felt a fly or something on my shoulders. I woke up to very itchy burning legs and I could only think I was allergic to the washing capsules we’d just used for the sheets. I sighed got out of bed ( a gap between the kichen units just wide enough to sit in, grabbed my wash bag and shot off to the bathroom block. On returning I went to sit on the bed and discovered it was a mass of ants. Hundreds if not thousands. They were nowhere else just our bed.
I’d got the bedclothes off and outside by the time Ashley returned so he never saw the full horror. The bed clothes got washed and the rest of the van thoroughly checked over. We found the entry point was up the electric hook up(apparently ants can be attractedto electricity) now sprayed with ant deterrent and they were probably looking for moisture, which was us on a humid night.
After the horrors of invasion of the ants we drove up to Katherine Gorge. A beautiful river in a series of gorges. We had booked a sunset cruise and dinner, which was one of the most magical and relaxing evenings of my life.
Prior to the meal and sunset we had an opportunity to see some of the wildlife including the posing Data bird and to see the red bouys used to check for saltwater crocodiles. They get curious and bite them and leave tooth marks. Saltwater crocodiles only come this far upstream in the wet season when the gorges are flooded, looking for nesting places. However the area isn’t suitable for nesting so the females soon depart and the males follow. At the end of each wet season the gorge has to be checked for any remaining salties. This involves night patrols and a crocodile trap as well as the bouys. After 8 weeks of no sightings the upper gorges are open for swimming. The bottom one never is because of a small creek off to the side which is too difficult/ unsafe to check .
At this time of year near the end of the dry season the gorge was still and calm with beautiful reflections.
We saw the nesting sites for the fresh water crocs, which are different from salties. Freshies use sand banks and bury their eggs to incubate them. The sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature of the eggs. The hotter ones are males and these ones tend to be on top of the clutch. If the temperature is too hot or cold they are all the same sex.
It was a real gourmet meal despite being served on a boat. We tried crocodile and kangaroo meat as part of the starter
It was a really special evening.
The next day I explored a bit further up the gorges. The photo of the caves is because most wet seasons the level rises up halfway on the big cave. But it has been known to be above the top cave. The photo of me is just after being under a waterfall for us to all cool off. We then went swimming in a rock pool between the gorges. In the wet season there is one navigable course through the bottom gorges. Thus when boats can be repaired or replaced. In the dry they are in three separate gorges with natural rock barriers between.
The wildlife wasn’t limited to the rivers. The local birds were attracted to the water pipes including these Rainbow Lorikreet.
On our way into our next national park we got treated to a wallaby posing for us and later by a dingo wandering past us.
Kakadu national park was very different from Katherine Gorge, this was a flood plain rather than an enclosed river. We were treated to a boat ride on possibly the most saltie infested creek in Australia, East Crocodile River. We were treated to sightings of many different birds, along with of course several salties.
Of course there were Data birds out stretching their wings to dry out after a bit if fish hunting, and if you look closely at the bottom picture you can just make out a birds nest.
There were plenty of birds congregating in the shadows, or enjoying the sunshine and several salties on the banks. As the weather warns up they spend more time on the water as they don’t need do much sunbathing to keep their temperature up.
We saw a whole family of baby Jacana birds out on the lily pads that had just hatched. Also a variety of different Egrets. Pelicans and several Jabiru amongst others. The Jabiru below is carefully eyeing up the crocodile next to it.
Here blending into the tree is a White bellied sea eagle.
After Kakadu it was a long drive back through Katherine to Timber Creek for a night before travelling onwards to Kununurra. Here we had to empty out our leftovers fruit and vegetables, not much and take the opportunity for a clean up in the fridge, before entering Western Australia.
