Katherine Gorge



Crocodile in Gorge



Termite Mound


Monday June 7th
Mataranka to Katherine 130 k
Arrived in Katherine about 1pm. We went to the information centre which was very interesting in itself and beautifully set out. Came out with lots of pamphlets to pursue. Had large list of grocery items to purchase. We learnt a valuable lesson on the way to the caravan park. That is: Don’t rest 10 cartons of milk on the bench as you go round bends thinking that they will remain there. They don’t, they drop and break on the floor sending a stream of white liquid heading for anything that was on the floor, e.g. cameras and computers. This meant we had to stop and clean up the mess before we could go proceed to the caravan park.
Tuesday June 8th
Had a great trip up the Katherine Gorge for 2 hours. We saw a few crocodiles and a species of crow that eats Cane Toads and has learnt not to eat the poisonous part. A late lunch flowed into happy hour and then of course dinner. At night in the caravan park the amount of stars that can be seen is amazing. The Milky Way is clearly visible and we are getting better at spotting various constellations, e.g. Scorpio. Where the laundry is there is a wildlife show to be seen if you take a torch. Lizards and frogs gather to feast on the insects that abound there at dusk.

Wednesday June 9th
Left Katherine Caravan park around 10.a.m for Kakadu National Park , stopped for lunch at Mary River Roadhouse and continued our journey on the Kakadu Highway where we saw hundreds of termite mounds which were as high as 10 feet and incredibly solid like concrete. We arrived in Cooinda at approx 3.00 p.m.and have another lovely site in a very nice caravan park. The current temperature is around 30 degrees and a lot of people are heading for the pool.

The Spring



Sign at Spring



Pathway to Spring



Spring Source



Spring Source pandanas



Kangaroo



Mataranka 5th – 7th June

We booked into Mataranka for 2 nights. The Caravan Park wasn’t great, but the Thermal springs made up for it. Alan & Reg went into the spring around dusk on the Saturday and stayed there for around 30 minutes or so. It was so therapeutic, warm and relaxing! The thermal springs are a constant temperature of around 30C. Sunday saw us doing more or the same, such a routine we have now! We all headed down to the spring and spent a good hour or so in the water. A constant stream of people coming and going to the spring for a dip, with Alan always having someone new to talk to! All good things must come to an end with us packing up and moving onto Katherine on the Monday Morning.

Standley Chasm



Glen Helen Gorge



Claire & Vicki at Glen Helen Gorge



The Devils Marbles


Friday 4th June
Having stayed an extra day at Alice Springs we packed up and had an early start for one of the longest days driving on the trip. Our destination was Tennant Creek some 510km up the Stuart Highway. We had several stops along the way. First break was Renner Springs for a cuppa, then onto Elliot for Lunch. We arrived at the Caravan Park around 5.00pm and booked in for the night. The Manager couldn’t be any more layed back than he was. “You can pick your own site, drive around til you see something you like” We did just that and had a site with Bougainvillea plants around us. We set up the Motorhome just in time for our happy hour at 5,30pm we had an executive meeting that night on discussion of our destination the next day. The Choices were Daly Waters or Mataranka. The unanimous decision was Mataranka which was a further 100km north.

Saturday 5th June
Another early start. We departed Tennant Creek around 8.15am. Today is a travel day, with some scheduled stops along the way! Reg drove the 1st leg to Dunmarra Roadhouse, while Alan stacked a few zzzZZZZZ in the back. At Dunmarra Alan took the wheel and took us to the Pink Panther non descript menagerie at Larrimah, including an 8' Salt water Crocodile, saw us arrive in Mataranka around 4.30pm.