Kakadu National Park

After a half hour clamber over a steep rocky hillside we came to the top pools above Gunlom Fall - excellent swimming we loved it. The day was about 36 degrees and a cool dip was just what we needed. Heading to Katherine today (25th Aug) and West to meet Gary and Cath somewhere near Timber Creek....

We spent the last couple of days at Kakadu at the campsite Gunlom Falls - a beautiful spot. This shot is of the bottom pool which we were told has freshwater crocs and on occasion a saltwater version....I let the kids swim first....

There are tours and crocodiles at the Yellow waterholes as in most areas of Kakadu...

From the hostile Northern Kakadu we went south to Yellow Waterholes near Cooinda campgrounds. Sam's attempting to make friends with a local didn't quite happen...

This particular croc recognised me and gave a friendly wave...

At Cahill's Crossing at high tide an amazing scene takes place where the crocodiles wait for the Barramundi and other fish to swim across the barrage to snack on them...

A sample of the aboriginal art that Ubirr Rock is famous for...

Leeanne at Ubirr Rock contemplating how blessed she is with three lovely boys!!....

We camped at a place called Mardugal near Cooinda around the centre of Kakadu and did day trips from this base. In this photo we are standing atop Ubirr Rock which looks out towards Arnhem Land to the East and back towards Kakadu in other directions. Spectacular scenery across the wetland areas.

For those fishermen who think hiding or taking refuge in a tree branch is a good idea - think again. This croc is 3+ metres and eventually took the meat offered with another leap like this one!!

This 4 metre speciman was about 1.5m away from Leeanne when the shot was taken (I was behind Lee!!)....up close and personal!!

We left Darwin where some modifications to the van were completed (toolboxes added) for more storage. On route to Kakadu National Park we stopped at Adelaide River where the "Spectacular Jumping Crocodiles" were a must see. In this photo you can see a 5.1m brute the locals call 'Michael Jackson' - this is because of his white head and black body!! Hard to capture the size of these with distance shots...

Darwin NT

Our friend Maria from the Darwin church took us to 'Aquascene' where the fish come right up to people to be hand fed. Some quite large specimens in this bunch and quite unusual having them come right up to you without any fear at all!!

Joey & Sam enjoying the waterslides at Leanyer swimming centre. It's actually a free swimming area which is amazing. We loved it here and the boys slept well after some long sessions up and down the stairs to the top of the slides!! An added bonus!!

Here we have the boys at sunset from Darwin's East Point - a lovely setting for a meal and some quiet time (not possible with Joey & Sam!). Close to Darwin's famous Mindel beach markets location.

From the natural beauty of Litchfield NP we arrived at the 'Top End' city of Darwin. Quite warm (hot for us southerners) at around 33 degrees most days!! This shot is of the man made wave pool where visitors and locals get some relief from the heat.

This is because most of the waters around Darwin have either crocodiles or marine stingers as a threat to anyone thinking of swimming in them!!

Litchfield National Park

Joey loves Mr Bean!! Florence Falls in the background. No comment from the peanut gallery required here!!

Getting to be a habit, meeting famous movie stars!! At Florence Falls I bumped into the 'three stooges'....

We had lunch near Florence Falls and happened to see this 'Martin's Lizard' make his way across the stream in search of a snack maybe??

We had a rough track to drive across to reach the 'Lost City' - a bunch of rocks that have eroded away into some weird shapes across a couple of hectares of land area....

Tolmer Falls is another of the more popular falls in Litchfield, however there is no swimming in this area allowed.

If you look closely you can see Lee, Joey & Sam swimming at the base of Wangi Falls. Mostly freshwater crocs are found here but they don't trouble people unless they feel threatened.

After the boys and Lee returned safely I went in for a swim!!

This is the magnificent Wangi Falls in Litchfield NP. The camp ground was about 200m from this swimming hole. Very hard to take when it's 32-34 degrees!!

The swimming hole was closed a couple of days before we arrived due to finding and trapping a 2.5 metre salt water crocodile.....

Edith Falls

Here's Joey at the midway point between to swimming areas at Edith Falls. He likes to climb them rocks does our Joey!!

Just north of Katherine is the top end of 'Nitmaluk National Park'. This area contains these lovely falls. Edith Falls was a nice place to stay and swim for a couple of days!!

Katherine Area

Joey, just before sunset at Katherine Gorge lookout. The whole region is filled with aboriginal art and has significance to the local indigenous population.

There was a grumpy old man watching the boat drift past. Stoney faced - like some people!!

The bloke running the tour was stretching the imagination with what he said some of the rocks looked like - all added to a nice day.

Katherine Gorge from the boat cruise vantage point. Hard to capture this on camera. Very scenic and beautiful area.

Sam meets and feeds Skippy.........

Outside of Katherine is the National Park 'Nitmaluk' (formerly Katherine Gorge NP).

The bird life is friendly as shown here. We hand fed the birds and Sam fed the kangaroos - both naughty things to do as we found out later!

From QLD into NT

For anyone interested in details about termites .....here 'tis.

Joey and Sam pictured here at the biggest termite mound that I've seen!! These mounds are significantly bigger from Mataranka North to Darwin.

After a couple of overnighters we were well into the NT and stopped at Mataranka where there are hot springs that are popular with the travellers for a refreshing hot soak!

Lee and Sam are at the main spring 'Mataranka' and the other nearer to where we stayed is called 'Bitter Springs'

We left Adel Grove and headed south to Camoweal which changed the original plan that was to cross the Savannah Way. This happened because some of the creeks north were around 800m-900m deep which is a bit high for our wee Nissan X-Trail and my inexperience at 4x4 driving!!

The picture shows us just having crossed the Gregory River which was around 250mm deep.

Adele Grove & Lawn Hill National Park

This shot is of the small falls between the gorges that we ended up swimming around. Very refreshing. We were glad to get an early start for the canoe trip as we missed the heat of the day!!

Sam and dad swimming under the little waterfall that separated the two sections along Lawn Hill Creek. The creek is similar to Gregory river which is fed via underground water.

This shot is from our canoe which we paddled up Lawn Hill Creek through the gorges ( there are two sections). Very beautiful and a contrast to the dry country around the creek areas. We took two and a half hours to do the return trip but it was worth the effort...

This was our first sighting of a freshwater crocodile - at Adele Grove about 30 metres from where the swimming was happening. Lucky for us it was a baby - about 3 feet long! The locals don't seem to concerned with the 'freshies' as they call them. They think the freshwater crocodiles are happy to keep away from people unless cornered. The saltwater crocodile is another proposition altogether!!

Samuel was too lazy to 'walk the plank' so he was going to take a short flight instead. Lots of fun going on with the boys at Adele Grove...

Adele Grove is a caravan and camp ground about 10 km from Lawn Hill National Park. It has a section of Lawn Hill Creek which is pictured here with the boys swimming around their pontoon. Roads in are rough gravel. The shady grounds give relief from the 34 degrees during our stay here...

Joey snuck this video in when we were dragging the canoe between the gorges. People had to man handle the canoe from one section of the creek into the next to continue on. Nobody likes a smart Alec...especially one who watches others working!!

Normanton. Burketown & Gregory Downs Campsite

Gregory Downs was so nice that even the princess took the plunge!!

After a couple of days it was time to move on to Adele Grove and Lawn Hill National Park.

This was the free camp site that we were told about at Gregory Downs - beautiful spot. The boys loved it and spent a large part of the next two days in the water. Free flowing spring fed Gregory river. It apparently never runs dry like a lot of rivers do in the dry season because it is supplemented by a massive artesian spring that runs a couple of hundred kilometres west into the Northern Territory.

The highlight of Burketown....or so it seemed after a few hours in the car. A suspect person hanging out at the local loo!!

We met a chap from Gosford who told us about a lovely campsite he was staying at near the river at Gregory Downs. We decided to have lunch there and check it out. We weren't disappointed....

Midway between Normanton & Burketown is this nice waterfall - Leichardt Falls. Joey & Sam enjoying the view.

On route to Burketown. Qld's 'Wild West' equivalent. The corrugated dirt roads not very good for the X-trail. We had a good trip across from Normanton without any mishap.

North of Normanton is Karumba, a small town that is the fishing mecca for Southerners who trek north every year to catch the famous 'Barra' or Barrumundi fish

This is the details of the Croc below - Krys the Savannah King Croc

At Normanton stands this life sized model of a 9 metre saltwater crocodile - Krys! It is supposed to be the largest ever shot or captured. The lady who shot this monster is even scarier - she ate her husband (not really)!! Normanton was about 34 degrees and already seeming to be humid! Probably nothing compared to the heat and humidity of summer wet season.

Undurra Lava Tubes (Caves)

The entrance to Stephenson's Cave, which inside was about 20 metres high and too dark too get any good shots. Walls and ceiling all lava. Some of these tubes have collapsed and eventually many more will.

This was our site at Undurra Lava Tubes - a naturally formed series of caves that resulted from the volcanoes in the region - interesting place!!

Sam tried his hand at video. We had a Curlew guarding it's eggs for about two weeks and on the morning we left Cairns they had hatched....much to Sam's delight as you can hear!!