Welcome to Cindy and David's 2022 Adventures
8 Mataranka to Batchelor
We were kindly invited to Merrin's house for a"Going Away" dinner with Sybil and Budda before taking off up that straight road directly to Darwin (something approaching 1000 kms!)
Sunset at Dunmurra, our first stop after leaving Tennant Creek. It was actually a Station with a pub on the roadside and a caravan park on the side.
We had a couple of days at Mataranka and enjoyed several trips to the thermal pools.There were no noodles for hire as I think the Northern Territory are still in recovery mode for deliveries of goods. However, our very kind neighbours lent us their's and we floated down the magnificent waterway in total bliss
We had a great evening at the caravan park up the road where the band played from 6pm to 8:30pm. They were very, very good. Especially the lady on the right. The drummer in the photo almost unseen was her husband and he ended up playing a mean guitar (and banjo) and the bass guitarist played drums magnificently. The guy in the centre was the country and western singer who liked also to tell a poetic story. They all switched instruments throughout the evening. Quite magnificent altogether and great fun.
Bea Eater in a tree at Katherine
Caravan Park at Mataranka (seriously lots of red dust).
The graffiti we put on the Ghan Railway in July 2008 is still there !
Termites must build new cities after or during the "Wet". This one, next to our caravan has been built right through the palm frond without moving it.
No trip to NT is complete wihout visiting Edith Falls (Leliyn) in the Nitmiluk National Park
Neville and Jeff may remember this spot as our first night camping on our Gibb River adventure
Neville and Jeff may remember this spot as our first night camping on our Gibb River adventure
I (David) decided to do the walk up the mountain to the top pools. It was hot and it nearly killed me. Took me 2 hours because I had to stop to get my breath so often, I genuinely thought I might have a heart failure up there. It was worth the swim in the top pool and the view down the gorge.
The horse and rider in the entrance to Katherine is a monument to the cattlemen who pioneered the area. The names of the people who conntributed to the project are inscribed on the plates on each side
Katherine has its own thermal pools. We had a very pleasant swim there. The council have obviously improved this facility enormously without actually taking away the natural feel and charm.
We arrived at Batchelor to find a secluded place to park the van and a base to explore Litchfield National Park and its many swimming holes in the next few days. About 100 kms to Darwin!
Onwards, ever onwards and we reached Katherine determined to take a couple of days off.
We were somewhat disappointed with our stay in Katherine due to crowds. Honestly our trip out to the Gorge ended up with our "running away" from the point of view of Covid! Just too popular. Not to mention the astronomical cost! We had done the trip previously so decided to leave.
We were sad to find that Springvale Homestead caravan park had closed (our previous favourite stay) so we settled on a Big4 which turned out to be another disappointment with huge amounts of people all around us with very little space. Most unusual for a Big4. Huge grounds too. Lots of lovely lawns........Great swimming pool though!
Katherine main street.
And yes, that is Cindy!