Blog 16 - 7th to 16th August 2013

Wednesday 7th August - another day in Burketown, with not much to do but wait for our parts to arrive on the road train from Townsville. Had dinner with our new friends from the caravan park - Charlie and Wendy, and Neil, Kristie, Kaydee and Bailey - the fish we had caught the day before was more than enough to feed all 8 of us with some left over.

Thursday - another day in Burketown, with not much going on, but at least the parts had been loaded on the truck and were on their way.

Friday - went for a walk early around town, and then waited for the truck to arrive. In the meantime, we dragged the camper from the holding yard across to the mechanics and they started to dismantle the old axle and springs, and then once the truck arrived, it was all systems go to get all the new bits fitted, connect the brakes and we were on our way around to the caravan park for our final night in Burketown. Spent the evening with our new friends Charlie and Wendy chatting the night away, solving all the world's problems.

Saturday - time to continue our trip. Drove west to Doomadgee, arriving at the supermarket just in time before closing to stock up on a few things we were running low on. Then continued west, arriving at Hells Gate roadhouse mid-afternoon to set-up camp. This was the last stop before crossing into the NT tomorrow. We had spent 17 weeks travelling around QLD, with 3 weeks spent waiting for repairs to be done to the trailer. An amazing place to explore, and we still missed lots of things.

Sunday - crossed over into NT mid-morning,

and then continued along the Savannah Way, crossing the Foelsche River where we had lunch with a lovely couple from SA with a cute puppy. Stopped in at Boorooloola for a re-fuel, and then north towards the coast to spend the night at King Ash Bay fishing club campsite.

Met some lovely oldies who come here every year for several months to go fishing and escape the winter down south. They even gave us some fresh fish they had caught that day - very nice, and would be dinner the next night. Went up to the bistro and bar for dinner - $16 for a roast chicken and vegies (big meal). Bought some tickets in the raffle and won ourselves $20.

Monday - left early, back through Boorooloola and then towards Cape Crawford. On the way, we passed a sign for the Caranbirini Conservation Reserve, so decided to stop in and have a look. What an awesome place this turned out to be - very much like the Bungle Bungles in WA, and also a bit like the Lost City near Lithgow but heaps bigger and more spectacular.

Spent about 2 hours doing the 2km walk, and taking lots of photos. Back in the Triton and heading west, we finally arrive at Cape Crawford and book in at the Heartbreak Hotel caravan park for the night. After a swim in the pool (damn cold), and then dinner, we make our way across to the bar for the entertainer - he was very good and a real character.

Tuesday - due to the time we had lost in Burketown with the trailer, we had decided to race west across the NT, and postpone the top end (Kakadu, Darwin and Litchfield) until we return next year. So we continued westward, seeing lots of the same scenery between last nights camp at Cape Crawford and tonights spot at Daly Waters.

Camped in behind the pub, booked our dinner of barra and beef, and had a quick walk around town before happy hour started. The entertainment started at about 5.30 and continued through the night until a bit after 9.00, with 2 guys singing, telling stories, and some bush poetry - a great night, and the food was yummy.

Wednesday - after a quick chat to Amy and James, and making sure they were all good with the dramas they were having, we decided the dirt road across the Buchanan highway was a better option than the tar via Katherine. A bit south, before turning west again for 182km's of good dirt road, arriving in Top Springs for a late lunch. The caravan park looked a bit feral, so we continued our trip, which was another 220km's to the Victoria highway near Timber Creek. We knew we wouldn't make it that far, as the road was nowhere near as good as the mornings and it was a lot slower going. We finally arrived at Jasper Gorge about 4.30pm and set-up camp in a free spot by a waterhole.

Thursday - on leaving our campsite, we were stunned at the beauty of Jasper Gorge, and this continued for about 20km's with cliff walls both sides of us, and stunning landscapes, with vibrant colours contrasting with the dirt and dust.

At a junction in the track, we could turn left and travel 21km's along a 4WD track that would take 3 hours, or continue up to the highway, along for 14km's and then back down for 35km's to end up at the same spot - we chose the longer route, but it would be quicker. This took us into Gregory National Park, and we camped near the Bullita homestead,

which was an old cattle property. Damned hot and lots of flies - and there was this sign along the river bank.

Sick of seeing these signs, and now they are all over the NT as well - maybe WA would be better for swimming.

Friday - packed early and drove to Limestone Gorge to go for a walk. The lookout was only 600 metres away, with great views over the valley with the gorge at the end.

Then we did the walk into the gorge, which was very rocky - and the sun was beating down on us. Back to the car, and we drove back out to the Victoria highway, turning left and arriving in Timber Creek after 10km's. Booked into the caravan park in town, and for the first time in weeks, we were finally able to walk around on grass instead of dirt and dust - what a thrill. Had a nice relaxing swim in the pool after doing the washing. Someone said that Timber Creek is the hottest place in the NT due to the surrounding rocky escarpments that trap the heat like an oven - was certainly like that today.

Tomorrow we are heading for Keep River NP to do a few walks, and then across into WA where we will visit Lake Argyle and do the sunset boat tour. Then to Kunnanurra for a re-stock of the pantry and supplies.

More to come soon

Di and Hammo