FAREWELL TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

1^st September, 2012

Well here we are at Manbulloo Homestead Campground 8 kms west of Katherine.  Wok is relaxing with a very large scotch and coke under the huge shade trees that cover the camping area trying to soothe his jangled nerves.  For some unknown reason the drive out of Gunlom Falls was worse than the drive into it.  We’re still trying to work that one out.  We thought we had managed to escape with only minor damage (eg. 1 cupboard door adrift, cd/radio retreated into its hole like a turtle pulling in its head, numerous articles repositioning themselves in cupboards) but Wok noticed the van tilting to one side and checked the suspension.  Bugger!  A centre location point had broken away from the chassis.  Told you that we just came across the road from hell!  It seemed like a pretty simple welding job was needed but as it was Saturday the repair would have to wait until we could find someone to do the job on Monday.  That was all right by us.  A couple of days chilling out under these shade trees sounded fine.  Sunday morning, after Wok repaired the cupboard door and put the cd/radio back in position, we took a walk down by the river.

The Katherine River at Manbulloo Homestead

Thought we might throw a line in but didn’t see any little fish let alone a big one.  Ran into another couple walking their dog who had been there for a few days.  They had tried fishing a few times but didn’t even get a nibble.  So we spent a nice Sunday afternoon under the trees.  On Monday morning Wok took the rig into Katherine and struck gold at the second engineering place he went to.  By 11am he was back at the campground with the welding done, the LPG Gas Bottle refilled and Mitzi topped up with diesel.  Well done Wok!  That afternoon we took to Mitzi and the Van with a hose, bucket, brush and sponge.  With everything all nice and sparkly we were good to go again.  Early next morning we were on the road heading south to Mataranka.  This time around we are not going to the over commercialised Mataranka Hot Springs.  We have been told about another hot springs not too far from Mataranka – Bitter Springs.  The springs are only 3 kms from the highway and it is a 230 metre walk from the car park to the entry point into the water.

Bitter Springs

The water is crystal clear and the blue-green colour is due to dissolved limestone particles.  The temperature of the water is about 34 C – a whole three degrees cooler than the air temperature.  We slide easily into the water and let the slowly moving current take us down the winding creek.  We float between the palm fringed banks until eventually we come to a bridge and some steps. 

The exit point at Bitter Springs

This is the exit point where you can climb out and walk a short distance back to the entry point and start your drift all over again.  Needless to say we spent the entire morning floating and drifting before walking back to the Van for lunch.  We both agreed that Bitter Springs was much more fun than Mataranka and with no entry fee wondered how long it would remain undiscovered by the mainstream tourists that frequent Mataranka.  After lunch a few kilometres south of Mataranka we turned east and travelled twelve kilometres to the campground in Elsey National Park.  The park is situated on part of Elsey Station which was made famous by the 1908 autobiographical novel of Jeannie Gunn – We of the Never Never.  We stop to take a look at the old Sheep Dip that was in use until the late 1900’s.  

Old sheep dip on Elsey Station

As the campground is located next to the Roper River we decided to spend two nights and try our luck at fishing again even though the camp hosts had said that no-one had caught anything decent for nearly a month.  This may be the last chance we will get to go fishing in the Northern Territory before heading east into Queensland.  We had an interesting night listening to the occasional bray of donkeys.  Apparently there are wild donkeys here that are the offspring of donkeys that were used as pack animals on the station.  The donkeys were released to run free when the station ceased to operate.   We never saw them but we definitely heard them.  After a hearty breakfast we took the track down to the river and along the way found a bower bird decking out his bower with lots of white snail shells and some lime green berries. 

Bower Bird's bower

The bower bird took flight as soon as we appeared on the scene but we got a really great look at his bower.  It must have taken him ages to find all those snail shells.  At the river’s edge we found ourselves a likely spot for barramundi.  Of course after catching one barramundi we obviously know what sort of place barramundi like to hang out.

Wok fishing for barramundi in the Roper River

After an hour or so we decided that there was a more likelier spot further down river and tried our luck there.  Although we saw lots of small fry, a couple of small barramundi and some small long toms the elusive large barramundi did not appear. There were supposed to be ‘freshies’ as well but we didn’t see any of them either.  Oh well!  At least it was cool under the trees down by the water.  The following morning we packed up and headed south down the Stuart Highway.  By 1pm we were at the turn off to the historical town of Newcastle Waters – 3 kms off the highway.  We pulled into a parking spot opposite the deserted buildings, had some lunch and went for a wander around town.

Newcastle Waters

Outside the hotel we find a plaque giving us its history.

Information plaque outside the Junction Hotel

Nearly more fascinating is the fact that the hotel was built from abandoned windmills.

Junction Hotel

Even though it was boiling hot outside, the temperature inside the hotel was surprisingly cool.  The ceilings were very high with lots of shaded windows letting any breezes pass straight through the building.  A large freezer commanded the entire wall on one side of the bar area and the kitchen was located in a separate annex attached to the rear of the hotel.

Kitchen inside the Junction Hotel

This hotel really would have been jumping when the drovers came into town.  A couple of doors down from the hotel is a very strange building.

What on earth was this building used for?

There were no plaques or information boards so we have no idea what this building was used for.  If anyone knows perhaps you could enlighten us.  We continued our journey south and camped for the night next to a radio repeater station.  It was a few hundred metres off the highway and we were screened from the vehicles going past.  All in all not a bad spot to camp for the night.  The following day was a travelling day.  Twenty five years ago the countryside was dry with sparse vegetation but this time around the trees and bushes were green and the ground covered with grasses and spinifex.  Getting rain during the dry season over the last couple of years has certainly made a difference.  We stop at Avon Downs Rest Area for the night.  We are only fifty kilometres from the border so tomorrow we will be leaving the Northern Territory and returning to our home state of Queensland.  We have enjoyed our time in the top end of the Northern Territory and look forward to returning in a couple of years to see the bottom half.  Until then – as the saying goes ‘You’ll never never know, if you never never go!’