HEADING  WEST

The past couple of weeks have convinced us that we've left the humidity behind.  As we headed back down to Katherine we started to see quite a bit of smoke, and we've seen lots more since then.  There's a great deal of burning off at this time of year, to keep the grass down for the dry season. 
After spending a few days at Katherine, we turned west. 






Timber Creek
One particular stop brought back memories.  In 1988 we spent our birthday on a boat trip up the Victoria River from Timber Creek.  The tours still run, but old Max has now retired.  We remember seeing crocodiles in the river, and sitting around a fire drinking billy tea as Max spun his yarns.  The bougainvillea is still growing up the post of the pub. 

Lake Argyle
A great place to stay!  Probably the friendliest staff we've come across so far. 





Fantastic views across the lake, & an amazing "infinity" pool. 









We spent several days exploring the area, the highlight being a sunset cruise on the lake.  Lake Argyle is a vast area of water - something like 20 times the volume of Sydney Harbour.  The rugged rocks are absolutely stunning in the afternoon sun.

We've found it hard to adjust to W.A. time.  Being so far east in the state, the sun rises early - just after 5 a.m., and sets at about 5.30 p.m., with little twilight. 

Kununurra
Our  stay here coincided with the Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster for 2012.  So there's been plenty of activity around the town.  Enjoyed a stroll around the markets, a visit to the Zebra Rock gallery where we fed some fish in the Ord River, have seen more mango trees growing, and discovered that sandlewood is a large crop in this area. Visited the hoochery distillery, and had a tour around HCJB - a Christian mission group that transmits into Asia, India & the Pacific. 
We'd have to say that the highlight of our stay here was the Rodeo.  We headed out along a dirt road on the edge of town - along with about 3,000 others.  Fortunately we got there early, as seating was limited.  It was great watching the cowboys "riding" bucking bulls & broncos - not many stayed on too long.  Some of the bulls took a bit of convincing to leave the ring after they'd got rid of their rider.  Not sure that we'd like to see our grandchildren being bucked off the poddy calves though.  It was lots of fun - enjoyed the whole thing.

The weather's definitely cooled down - and very windy.  We even had to search out our jeans & jumpers for the Rodeo.

THE  TOP  END
We've packed a lot into the past couple of weeks. John & Carol flew up from Melbourne to join us for 10 days of adventure in the Northern Territory!
Darwin has continued to grow since we were here in 2004 - modern, with lots of tropical growth.  We did all the touristy things in Darwin - saw museums, gardens, the wharf, the markets, fish feeding.  But the highlights were having dinner - once at the Trailer Boat Club by the ocean as the sun set, and another on the wharf, watching boats sailing on the harbour.

In the few days before John & Carol arrived, Geoff had a couple of fishing days, but the big one has managed to elude him so far.  We were lucky enough to score another free feed though.  We were given a freshly caught mud crab.  We weren't sure it would fit in our little cooking pot, but by the time we got home he'd died and shed his big nippers.  So he fitted in the pot easily.  And he was very tasty.

Kakadu: It was a bit of an effort getting up at 4 a.m. so we could drive from Jabiru to Yellow Waters for the sunrise cruise, but we made it.  We rode in a 4WD bus for the last couple of kms. as there was water over the road (and the possibility of crocs in that water).  Worth it though!  Sunrise over the South Alligator River was magnificent.
We saw a great variety of birds, lots of water lillies and a few crocodiles.  Even saw some fish being caught - unusual for a national park, but quite legal.   The guide was a real chatterbox.  A local part aboriginal man, he didn't stop talking for over two hours, so we learnt a lot.  Being a birdwatcher, Carol had a ball. In other areas of Kakadu, some of the tracks were closed, but we did some walks and saw quite a lot of aboriginal rock art. 






































Litchfield: The brochure for Litchfield Safari Camp was glossy, but the reality wasn't! When we pulled up at the gate, we found Reception under a tent, and the "shop" in a metal donger.  John & Carol's accommodation was a safari tent, which had seen better days.  But it did have ensuite facilities and a fan! 

Actually it turned out to be better than first appearances would have suggested, and we enjoyed our two nights in the bush. We did have to retreat indoors fairly early in the evenings, as the mozzies started hunting in large packs just after sunset.   Litchfield has beautiful waterfalls and areas of rainforest. We cooled off our feet at Buley Rockhole, found the Lost City along a 10km dirt track, wished we could swim at Wangi Falls (also closed due to strong currents & the everpresent threat of salties), got hot & sticky walking to the Tolmer Falls lookout, and enjoyed the magnificent scenery, & spotted more birds and even a couple of snakes along the way. 

Territory Wildlife Park: A great way to finish our time together, we enjoyed this NT nature park.  It covers quite a large area, so we were glad to be able to catch a little train between exhibits.  Geoff decided he'd like to know what it felt like to have a large albino python around his neck - said he enjoyed it!  But the rest of us were happy to just take photos.