Saturday 25^th October

Today we had a late start (10am) and drove to a lookout on the Black mountain. This reminds us of the slag heaps in South Wales but here is formed naturally. Grey granite boulders were thrown up by escaping hot gasses fracturing through the rock, and then eroded until only the hard granite was left. These then get their black colour from the lichen that covers them.

We then stopped at Keating’s Lagoon where we walked to a bird hide along a pleasant wooded path but we didn’t see anything special – just Magpie Geese and Shelduck.

We then drove to the Endeavour Falls where we had a cup of tea and admired the owner’s silky chooks (chickens to us!) before dodging the sprinklers across the camping ground to visit the falls. They were only small but it was quite a pretty place.

We then drove on a 4WD only track to find the Isabella Falls which proved quite elusive – we drove several kilometres down a couple of different roads through the forest before we came across the falls. They were actually on one side of the river we had forded on the main road but we were too busy trying not to splash water over a woman and her child who were playing in the river to notice them the first time through!

We ate lunch just parked up at the side of the road before driving onwards to Hope Vale. Once through the community we were unsure of the way to Elim Bay which was where we wanted to go. The road wandered for twenty kilometres through sand dunes which looked as though they had been covered with a sprinkling of snow because the sand was so white.

We eventually found our way but chickened out of going to the camp site to get a permit as it was getting more and more sandy and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck. We just parked up for a few minutes to take some photos of the lovely bay and then did a short walk to see the coloured sands so we didn’t feel too guilty.

We then drove back to Cooktown and booked dinner for tomorrow before exploring a bit along the waterfront and driving up the Grassy Hill for some great views. Cooktown is a small town (1700) but is quite picturesque situated between the Endeavour River and the Coral Sea.

Hamish treated us to another excellent dinner of spiced pumpkin soup followed by crusted lamb with mash and vegetables (me) and Malaysian Beef Rendang (Iain).

We heard the feral pigs very close to our hut tonight and Hamish has fenced a lot of his property, although the cyclone that came through here last April has still made its mark.

Friday 24^th October

After some deliberation we decided to take advantage of our 4WD and drive up the Bloomfield track from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown, rather than backtracking to the main highway. It was a scenic, if somewhat bumpy, drive along the coast, through the rainforest. We had to go into 4WD mode to ford a couple of creeks, but they were quite shallow. We also stopped to visit the Bloomfield Falls near Wujal Wujal, which were definitely worth the detour.

We then stopped at the Lion’s Den in Helenville for lunch – an unusual pub in the middle of no-where - named after a tin miner who came up from the ground with his shaggy hair all covered in dust causing someone to remark that he looked like Daniel coming out of the lion’s den!

We found the turnoff to Mungumby earlier than we expected and had a few kilometres drive up a windy track to get to the lodge. Apparently David Attenborough stayed here when he was filming part of First Lives and it is a really stunning place. It consists of nine or ten wooden bungalows set in open gardens with some beautiful trees around, a small pool and loads of birds. Hamish, the owner, is lovely and again we are the only guests here. We had a pleasant and relaxing afternoon followed by a wonderful dinner.

Thursday 23^rd October

We were down at the waterfront by 7.50am, with time for a toasted sandwich and coffee before embarking on the Poseidon. Unfortunately the smaller boat we had originally booked on was in for repairs, so we were on the boat with eighty other divers/snorkellers. It took about ninety minutes to get out to the outer Agincourt reef and we enjoyed the snorkelling at three different sites, although it was a bit choppy. The corals at the first site were very beautifully coloured in blues and purples and with lots of small fish. I saw a couple of large fish (?groupers) and a turtle at the second site but got spooked because I started to see jellyfish and returned to the boat. We had on lycra suits to protect against jellyfish but I didn’t want to put it to the test! The water was quite cool so I only stayed out thirty to forty minutes at a time. The third and final site, after a buffet lunch, was Castle Rock which was a large outcrop of coral that we snorkelled around. It was quite rough on the way back but thanks to Cinnarazine I was absolutely fine.

We docked at 4.45pm and then we drove up past Mossman to the Daintree Ferry to cross the river to Daintree NP. It took us less time than we thought to get to Daintree Wilderness Lodge where we were staying the night so we had time for a shower before dinner. We were the only people eating at the lodge so we got personal service and the food was excellent. We had sticky ginger glazed tiger prawns on skewers with rocket followed by wild barramundi – delicious.

Wednesday 22^nd October

Today we had quite a leisurely start and drove up to take some photos at Lamin’s Hill lookout before driving up through Atherton and Mareeba to Mossman gorge. Here we took the shuttle bus up into the gorge and walked a couple of the trails. We have been spoilt by some of the amazing places we have seen on this trip and thought that Mossman gorge was too touristy and not that spectacular,

We then drove to Port Douglas where we are staying for a night at a backpacker’s lodge – cheap but quite adequate with an en suite bathroom. We wandered around and found a very nice restaurant for dinner and checked out where we have to go tomorrow to take the trip to the reef.

Tuesday 21^st October

This morning we did a couple of hours walk on the Rose Gums estate to the creek and a swimming hole where Iain had a swim.

The weather was definitely better than yesterday although still quite cloudy. After an early lunch we went back to Malanda where I had a very welcome massage for an hour and Iain revisited the Visitor Centre and did a couple of short walks.

We then drove to Millaa Millaa and then took a scenic narrow road (the Old Palmerston highway) visiting Papina Falls and then Little Millstream Falls in Ravenshoe. We then had a longer walk to see the impressive Millstream Falls, reputedly the widest single drop waterfall in Australia. We then drove north to walk around the crater and Dinner Falls. The crater is a good example of a diatreme and quite spectacular.

We then drove back via a dirt road around Bromfield Swamp to Malanda and home.

Monday 20^th October

Another misty, moisty day with quite a bit of rain. I got to familiarise myself with driving the monster car today – which wasn’t so bad. We drove into Malanda where I managed to make a massage appointment for tomorrow (my neck and shoulders are missing my regular remedial massage!) and Iain got a haircut. We then drove down to Millaa Millaa where we drove around the waterfall road – about 40Km with 3 lovely waterfalls you can walk to. We stopped at a café and had something to eat and then continued back up to Malanda, as it was still very cloudy and rainy on the top. We visited the Gallo’s Dairy, sampling and buying some lovely cheese, and then drove around Lake Tinaroo.

This is a large and very beautiful lake and the road, mainly dirt, winds its way through the forest and is very scenic. We did a couple of short walks and a slightly longer one around the Mobo Creek crater (an old Maar volcano) which was well worth the effort walking down and then all the way up again!

Iain lit the stove again and I cooked some beautiful steak on the Barbie – we are in the middle of dairy and cattle country so the meat is very good. While I was cooking a large Hercules moth flew by but I am quite surprised (and relieved) by the lack of snakes, spiders and insects.

Sunday 19^th October

After a lie in and breakfast (self catered from the complimentary breakfast basket that had been left for us) we went for a two hour walk on the property through the rainforest on a marked trail to the ‘Hidden waterfall’ – very beautiful but we didn’t really see any wildlife to speak of. We were lucky with the weather as we did get a bit of sun and the best of the day. We then drove to Malanda, where we shopped for the next two days at the Spar and then visited Malanda Falls and the Visitor’s centre, which had a really impressive interactive display. We also visited the Curtain Fig Tree which is the most impressive specimen of a strangler fig we’ve ever seen!

The weather is very cloudy with occasional showers and not as warm as we’ve been used to. The scenery reminds us of Swiss alpine meadows with Lake District type hills in the background – very beautiful – but then you notice the palms and other tropical trees and realise it is definitely not Switzerland!

We then came home, Iain lit the wood burning stove while I made an early dinner and we both had an early night – it’s hard work all this travelling!

Saturday 18^th October

After an excellent and very substantial breakfast we spent the morning relaxing before driving for a couple of hours to the Atherton Tablelands. The scenery was quite unlike what we have seen before in Australia – lush, green hills and a very windy road over the mountains. We stopped at Lake Barrine for a cup of tea which was very pleasant. We are staying in a beautiful wood cabin in the middle of the rainforest – very well appointed and comfortable – it even has a spa bath! We discovered that the restaurant here is BYO for alcohol so we drove down to our nearest town, Malanda, (about 20 mins drive) and bought some wine at the bottle shop. We then enjoyed the spa bath and wandered up the road to the restaurant for an excellent dinner – with torches and being quite wary about snakes as they apparently have quite a few around here! We were deafened for about 15 minutes by the noise of the Hercules moths which, about 20 minutes after sun down, make the loudest and most incredible sound with their back legs(like crickets) to try and attract females. The wichetty grub becomes a beetle that then becomes an enormous Hercules moth with a wing span of 7-10 inches.

Friday 17^th October

We enjoyed a lie in this morning, followed by a large breakfast and then relaxed until our transfer to the airport at 3pm. The two hour flight was uneventful but when we picked up our hire car discovered it was a massive land cruiser (legally we require 4WD for where we are going) which was a bit scary. Iain managed okay though and we found  our B & B without any problem and received a lovely welcome from Linda. It is a lovely place but on the main road so rather a lot of traffic noise that we are unused to!

Thursday 16^th October

Today we were up at 5am to make a brew, strike camp and continue on another bumpy road to meet a local woman with both settler and aboriginal connections who had lived at Oak Valley for thirty years. Her family has the lease on the cattle station and the surrounding land and she has a wide aboriginal family as well. She gave us fascinating insights into the life of both white settlers and her aboriginal relatives. She took us on a walk showing us bush tucker and medicinal plants and showed us Erwinga art site (looked relatively recent) and a very ancient rock etching depicting a map of the area with waterholes etc. (probably about 20,000 years old).

After a picnic lunch we continued on our way back to Alice Springs and our B & B. Margaret and Alf made us chicken curry for dinner and their next door neighbours came around with tuna pasta bake so we all had some of everything!

Wednesday 15^th October

Today we had a late breakfast at 7am followed by a short drive to Ormiston Gorge. It was a bit warmer than yesterday but still pleasant with a bit of a breeze. There were lots of steps to the top and then a gentle path around and down to a boulder scramble to get to the water hole.

Iain had a swim but it was too cold for me! We did have an excellent cup of coffee at the café which was by our parking place. After another short drive we visited the ochre pits where the aboriginals used to collect and trade a fine grade of ochre used for painting and body decoration.

Another short drive brought us to Ellery Creek where we had lunch and a lovely swim (still a bit cool though!) and relaxed for a couple of hours.

An hour or so on another dirt road saw us at Owen Springs where we dropped off the others for their ride back to Alice whilst we continued on to our remote bush camp on the banks of the Hugh River. We slept in swags under the stars and apart from being a bit cold we didn’t sleep too badly. Everything, including ourselves, gets covered in red dust but we have a swim again tomorrow!

Tuesday 14^th October

 

We were up at 6am today for a ninety minute drive to King’s Canyon for another three and a half hours walk around the rim. The weather was cloudy which meant it was much more pleasant for walking. We started with a 150m climb straight up a rock face with rocky steps, helped here and there with cement. It was hard work but once at the top it was a very beautiful walk up and around the canyon.

After lunch we drove to a couple of viewing points to see Gosses Bluff and then drove along the Mereenie loop – a bumpy, rutted dirt road – to Glen Helen. We had to collect enough wood for two nights today as we will be in the national park area later, where you are forbidden to take wood.

There was a bar at the campsite where we played pool in the evening for a bit but it was still a long trek to the toilet block. The sheer cliffs rise up from the campground and look quite amazing especially when lit up at night. We cooked steak over the fire and made damper which tasted very good!

Monday 13^th October

We were awoken at 4am for a hot drink and breakfast for those that wanted it and then a short walk from our camp spot to watch the sunrise over Uluru. We hung around for an hour and a half, in the cold, with nowhere to sit down apart from a fence post, for a very unspectacular sunrise. Remind me never to do sunrise trips again!

We then drove to Kata Tjuta, in the Olgas, arriving about 7.30am to start a three and a half hour walk through the ‘Valley of the Winds’ This was a lovely walk up and around the rocky outcrops, with spectacular scenery and quite cool because of the breeze.

We had lunch at the Ulara campground and thoroughly enjoyed a swim in their pool before collecting wood again on Mulga Park road. We then had a long drive to our campsite on King’s Creek cattle station. This was a more remote site with one loo and shower and an amazing water heater for the shower that we had to light a fire under.

I had a nice hot shower though which was good followed by an excellent chicken stir fry done over the barbe fire, of course.

Sunday 12^th October

We were picked up at 5.45am and discovered that there are only seven of us and only one other Australian couple (David and Glennis from Adelaide) are doing the final night and day. Our guide is a confident young girl (24yrs old) called Kate whose nickname is ‘Cyclone’ because she is such a bundle of energy and enthusiasm! We stopped at a camel farm for coffee but none of us had a ride. We then drove on and turned off the highway to collect wood on Mulga Park Road – lots of dead and dry wattle trees on the ground, so it didn’t take long. We then had a four hour drive through the outback to Ulura where we picked up the others, a delightful German couple (Walter and Rose) and a young Swiss man (David), who are leaving after the four day tour finishes. We found a thorny devil on the road and rescued it from being run over - an amazing creature!

The outback was much greener than I had expected but it is classed as semi-arid rather than desert and we are just coming out of their winter.

We then walked for an hour or two around part of the base of Uluru looking at various art sites and caves. It was very beautiful with lots of green trees, the towering, mainly smooth, rock of Uluru itself and the very blue sky.

We then drove to a sunset viewing area where we had a good view of the iconic outcrop, most of which, apparently, lies buried below the ground. We had champagne and nibbles which kept us going until our kangaroo bolognaise (very tasty) later in camp. We elected to use the tents as they had beds but it was a very long walk to the toilet block!

Saturday 11^th October

We arrived in Alice Springs and had an uneventful transfer to our B&B which is a little outside of town and right opposite the centre for the ‘School of the Air’. We walked down the road to a pizza/pasta family restaurant that our hosts Margaret and Alf booked us into and had an excellent lasagne. It is unsafe to wander around town in the dark and anyway it didn’t look particularly interesting.

Friday 10^th October

Today was a day to catch up on washing, e-mails, diary etc and then to get our medications (apart from my doxazocin which is unavailable in Australia). Joan and Simon are so helpful and a really delightful couple to be staying with... we really feel part of the family! It is getting increasingly hot and humid so we were glad of the pool!

Thursday 9^th October

Today we only had the morning but used the time visiting the art sites around the foot of Mount Borradaille. These are mainly only a few hundred years old and have several examples of ‘contact art’ such as boats and firearms but many figures, mostly stylised female forms, as well.

We flew to Darwin at 12.30 in a small six seater aeroplane and then had to wait almost as long again for a taxi!

Joan had arranged a medical appointment for us to get our extra scripts but even going straight there from the airstrip we were late and had been unable to collect the paperwork to take with us. Consequently we have to go again tomorrow. I had a hair appointment at 4pm so stayed and Joan very kindly picked me up when I’d finished. We went straight into the pool with a glass or several of wine and shared a great supper of hearty lamb shank and barley soup – unexpected and delicious!

Wednesday 8^th October

Another leisurely 8am start and a longer drive (about 30mins) and then we had a longish walk (about 2Km) to the most amazing rock outcrops we have seen yet that contain the ‘Major Art Site’. They call them the catacombs and it is a massive cave system with numerous rock pillars or columns.

Wherever you scramble through the rocks one finds evidence of living quarters with blackened roofs and grinding holes and then areas covered with paintings that are more or, in many cases, less decipherable. There were many paintings in white and yellow ochre so they are more recent. We also saw some ‘contact art’ – some firearms and a man smoking a pipe.

This afternoon we enjoyed another sunset cruise watching the bird life on the creek.

Tuesday 7^th October

Today we had an 8am start (a lie in!) and joined four other guests (a Belgian couple and two German ladies) for a short drive before arriving at a boat to take a route through a different part of the creek system. We disembarked and had a hot walk over rocks (very humid) to discover some wonderful aboriginal art. Our guide was very good at pointing out the various figures, many of which are painted at different times on top of each other. The art we saw today was mostly around two to three thousand years old. The white and yellow ochre only lasts for this length of time and the red remains, as it leaches in and combines with the sandstone.

We returned to camp for another excellent lunch (rissoles and salad) and then went out again at 3.30pm. After half an hour’s drive and a short walk we arrived at a place they call ‘The Left Hand Cave’- an enormous cave with living quarters at one end and art at the other, which is quite unusual. The main, or most famous picture here was the rainbow serpent from the aboriginal creation mythology – it was very impressive. There was also a good depiction of a sailing ship as well as figures, wallabies and fish.

Monday 6^th October

Today we had the bumpy drive back to Oenpelli for four hours and then we left the group to return to Darwin and caught a six seater Cessna for the short flight to Mount Borradaille where we spend the next three nights. We had good views of the fires on the Oenpelli flood plains before landing after 15 minutes at our destination. This is a lovely place that has been established for many years and has comfortable airy cabins as well as a small pool.

We were in time for lunch which was way better than anything we have eaten recently. We then relaxed for the afternoon before going on a sunset cruise along Coopers Creek which runs through the property. We saw lots of crocs and birds of various kinds and enjoyed a glass of white wine and delicious nibbles as well! We also had a good view of Mount Borroadaille which Max Davidson has permission to take people around the base of but not up onto the mount itself as it has special sacred significance for the local aboriginals. As there are many great art sites scattered around the 700 Km² property that Davidson leases from the aboriginal ‘owners’ this is no great hardship.

We had an excellent dinner – the food here is of a very high standard – amazing really seeing their isolated situation.

Sunday 5^th October

Today we had a leisurely breakfast at 8am and drove up the peninsular to the Ranger station where one of the rangers spent her spare time making jewellery. I was hard put to choose only a couple of necklaces! We looked around a small cultural exhibition on the Cobourg NP and then drove to the most northerly tip of the Northern Territory and to a couple of beaches where I found a few beautiful shells. The water looked so inviting but it would have been foolhardy to swim because this paradise contains lots of crocodiles, box jelly fish and sharks. It is still not that unheard of for people to be taken and killed by crocodiles in the Northern Territories.

After a drive through paperbarks (Melaleuca) and small wattle and eucalypt trees on the peninsula we arrived back at camp with time to relax and have a read or a practice with the didgeridoo before dinner.

Saturday 4^th October

Today we boarded a small boat to sail on the still calm waters of the bay and crossed about 8Km of water to visit the Victoria Settlement ruins. Established prior to Darwin as a military outpost by the British, this site represents the third failed attempt at settlement in Northern Australia. After surviving for 11 years between 1838 and 1849 it was abandoned. The walk was around 4Km but it was very hot and humid so I didn’t enjoy it too much.

Once back at the boat we spent an hour or so fishing and I caught a bit of reef, some seaweed, a small rock cod and a yellow banded snapper. Julia caught something large but it was taken by two sharks before she had time to reel it in!

It was very hot in the afternoon so we all just caught up with our diaries and relaxed until nibbles on the cliff top at 5.45pm before an excellent dinner of seafood pasta. Iain and some of the others had been down to the rocks at low tide later in the afternoon and collected clams which went very well with the pasta!

NB Small red crab’s eye beads = abortifacient and can be fatal

            Termite mounds = scrape some and make paste = electrolyte replacement if ill

Ipomoea = pink flowers = decocotion of flowers for box jelly stings, from leaves for stings and wounds.

Friday 3^rd October

After breakfast at 7am we travelled from Jabiru to the northern region of Kakadu National Park to Cahill’s Crossing on the East Alligator River and entered Arnhem Land.

Upon arrival at Gunbalanya, at the Injalak Arts and Craft Centre, we picked up our Aboriginal guide, Roland, to be shown around the Injalak Hill art sites. After an initial climb we spent three hours scrambling up and over rocks looking at some of the best Aboriginal rock art in Australia.

We had lunch up on the hill and then returned to the Art and Craft Centre before setting off again for our 450Km drive over rutted mud road and track to Venture North’s Cobourg Coastal Camp where we arrived around 5pm.

It is in a stunning location atop thirty foot cliffs of red sandstone where we sat to watch the sunset eating nibbles and supping a glass of champagne. Also watching us from the shallow water was Dennis, the local 5 metre estuarine (the correct term for a salty) crocodile. 

Thursday 2^nd October

Today we were picked up by Venture north for our five day Top End safari to the Cobourg Peninsula.

We travelled through the Adelaide River Wetlands and visited the Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve where some Americans had tried to commercially grow wild rice, which failed due to the predations of the Magpie Geese. We then joined a morning cruise on the picturesque Corroboree Billabong in the Mary River wetlands where we saw variety of birdlife as well as a couple of 4-5metres long salt water crocodiles. 

We stopped at the historical Bark Hut Inn to buy a final bottle of wine to take with us (BYO at the Cobourg Camp) before entering Kakadu and travelled along the old Jim Jim Road before visiting Maguk (Barramundi Gorge).  We enjoyed a scenic but very hot and sweaty kilometre or two walk along the edge of Barramundi Creek It was very hot and humid and the at the base of the Barramundi Falls where we had a great swim.

We had lunch in the shade by the South Alligator River crossing. A beautiful spot but with too many flies!

We then drove to the Nawurlandja Lookout where a short climb took us up the sloping sandstone to provide views across Anbangbang Billabong, Nourlangie Rock and the Arnhem Land escarpment. We then walked across to the Billabong (only about 300m) where we saw Black necked stork (or Jabaroo), whistling ducks, a pelican and a couple of Brolgas.

We then drove into our accommodation in Jabiru shortly before nightfall where we have bush bungalows (metal and mesh cabins on stilts) with a nearby toilet/bathroom which was open to the stars.