Tuesday 14.8.12

Today we drove from Douglas Hot Springs to Mataranka via Katherine. 

After packing up we drove for about an hour and a half before we got to a place called Pine Creek where we stopped to have a look at the old train and early mining equipment museum. 

We drove for about another hour and a half before we stopped in Katherine for lunch and to do some shopping.

Once we had packed all the shopping in the cars and the campers we were off again for another two hours hoping to get to Mataranka.

When we arrived at Mataranka we drove out to the old homestead and hot springs because that was where we were staying.

Before setting up I went down to feel how hot the springs were and it was no where near as hot as Douglas Hot Springs.

We planned to stay in Mataranka for two days.

Wednesday 15.8.12

Today we went to the Barramundi farm (Territory Manner) and to Bitter Hot Springs.

After getting ready for the day we went down to Mataranka Hot Springs and had a swim in there before we had lunch.

Once lunch was over we went to the Barramundi farm to watch the feeding and it was not as exciting as I thought it would be.

Next we went to Bitter Springs. Bitter Springs was not as nice as the Mataranka springs because it had slime and algae in the water but it was still crystal clear, warm and there was a current that carried you down the creek. We all hoped in at the start and floated down the springs until the last exist ladder then Dad, mum and I decided to swim back against the current back to  the start.  It was quite hard to swim against the flow of the water and I was exhausted when we got back to the start. It was fun though.

That night we went out to dinner, and when we got back Louise taught me how to make paper cranes (origami).

Thursday 16.8.12

Today we drove for two hour to get to a place called Roper Bar. Roper Bar is actually a river crossing into Arnhem Land. 

On the way we saw lots of wildlife on the road (kangaroo’s, Eagles, Water Buffalo and horses).

Friday 17.8.12 

Today we went and had a look at the old police station just above Roper Bar crossing and discovered that it was the crossing first used by Ludwig Liechart in 1845 as his expedition made it’s way north (he was one of Australia’s early explorers).

While we were down there we went walking along the Roper River, near the crossing, and every time you would walk past a tree, hundereds of butterflies would fly off and then land again. Mum took heaps of photos and a video of all the butterflies.

Saturday 18.8.12

Today we drove to a place called Limmen Bight River Fishing Camp.

After setting up we had lunch and then we just rested. After our rest Dad, Louise and I went for a drive. The road we were on was very bumpy and in some places I almost hit my head on the roof of the car. When we got back we had showers and then had dinner.

Sunday 19.8.12

Today we drove to King Ash Bay Fishing Club via Borroloola. After fueling up in Borroloola we drove 54km out and set up. We plan to stay at King Ash Bay for 3 nights before getting on a house boat with my Nanna and Granddad, who are flying up tomorrow. 

Monday 20.8.12

Today we prepared all our stuff for the 6 day house boat stay on the Mac Arthur River. My Nanna and Granddad flew into Darwin today, arriving at 1:30pm, and are driving to Katherine where they plan to stay the night before catching up with us tomorrow at King Ash Bay. I am really excited about seeing my Nanna and Granddad as we have not seen any of our family for 6 weeks.

Dad took me to the Mini Mart (King Ash Bays Kwiki Mart)  and we both bought matching fishing shirts. We then drove back to camp and the others were so jealous that they went to the Mini Mart to get there own.

Tuesday 21.8.12

Today Karen, Louise, Mum and I spent the day in a Cabin waiting for my Nanna and Granddad to arrive.

While we were in the cabin to keep ourselves occupied we coloured in mandala pictures.

At 2:00 we went to the clubhouse to play a game called Hoy. Hoy is a game where you have thirteen cards each and when a caller calls out a card and you have it on your board you put a bottle cap on the card and once you have filled all your cards you yell out Hoy!!.

After Hoy we went back to the campers just as my Nanna and Granddad turned up. I was really happy to see them.

That night we went out to dinner.

After dinner we went to bed and because my Nanna and Granddads cabin slept three I slept with them in the single bed near their queen bed.

Wednesday 22.8.12 - Monday 27.8.12

Today we were hopping on the house boat.

We got up at 6:15 got ready then we went over to the campers and had breakfast. Not long after breakfast Steve (the guy who owns the house boat) came over with a tiny on the back of his ute. So we packed that up and Nanna, Granddad, Dave, Louise and I hopped in as well and he drove us out to the house boat.

Once all the stuff was on and every one was there we took off. Steve stayed with us for a while and then once he thought we had got the hang of it he left us to it.

On the way out there we spotted three crocodiles and one of them was huge.

In the afternoon when Dave, Karen and Dad had gone fishing we put a couple of lines in the water and lucky enough I caught a fish (and later that night identified it as a Sooty Grunter). Mum also caught a catfish.

That night we had a great time talking and laughing.

Most days Dave, Karen and Dad went out fishing with my Nanna and Granddad alternating from the morning to the afternoon. They caught lots of fish most of them were either catfish or undersize, the ones that were not undersize we kept such as Granddads and Dads Barramundi also Dads Golden Snapper and Jewfish. Nanna also caught her first Barramundi.

Every time they went out fishing they would bring big Mud Crabs back to have for lunch or with dinner.

Sometimes when my Nanna, Louise and I were on the houseboat in the afternoon we would watch a movie.

Some nights after dinner we would play a game of cards. We all had a lot of fun playing.

The worst part about being on the houseboat was all the sandflies. Mum, Louise and I suffered the most because we had bites all over our bodies, I even had 10 bites on my neck. When a sandfly pees on you it stings and then it is really itchy and if you scratch it comes up in a big sore.

I was so happy when we were getting off the boat because I would be sandfly free. I was also sad because that meant my Nanna and Granddad were leaving. It was great to spend some time with my Nanna and Granddad because I haven’t seen them for such a long time.

Tuesday 28.8.12

Today we were leaving King Ash Bay to go to Lorella Springs. After saying good-bye to my Nanna and Granddad we packed up and drove the 180km’s to Lorella Springs.

On arriving at Lorella Springs we set up and then hopped into the springs. The springs were warm but not as warm as Douglas Hot Springs.

Wednesday 29.8.12

Today we went to a place called Water Slide which is on the property of Lorella Springs Station.

It was a 12km drive with a 500m walk to the slide. When you first looked at the water it looked murky and disgusting but once you cleared the surface it was fine. The water slide consisted of a series of rock pools with water trickling down onto a smooth rock surface which went down into another big pool at the bottom. Where the water continually flows down the smooth rock surface it gets quite slimy ideal for sliding down. We came close to the end of the dry season so the water was not flowing as much as it would in the wet. There was just enough water flowing down the slide to slide down without stopping. We had so much fun sliding down, we even found a bump on the slide and when you went over it you went up in the air and then came down before landing in the water.

After lunch we spent a few hours soaking in the thermal springs by the homestead.

Thursday 30.8.12

Today we left Lorella Springs to drive to Barkley Homestead. It took us three hours to get off the dirt road before arriving at Cape Crawford for lunch.

We then drove for another four hours along the tablelands highway before we arrived at Barkley Homestead. The wildlife is very scarce. We have been manly seeing Wedge Tail Eagles. The Tablelsands that we drove through had no trees only grass for as far as the eye could see.

Friday 31.8.12

Today we left Barkley Homestead for Devils Marbles.

On our way out of Barkley we were stopped because of huge fire that went right across both sides of the road. So we drove back and waited at 3 ways roadhouse for lunch.

Once the police let us through we drove for about an hour and a half before we got to Devils Marbles.

After setting up we went for a walk to have a look at the huge piles of rocks that they call Devils Marbles. They are called Devils Marbles because they are large ball shaped granite rocks that look like they have been randomly placed there. They are in fact a natural formation that have been weathered and eroded away. Dave, Karen, Louise, Dad and I climbed up a huge pile of rocks and if you looked over the edge it was a long way from the top to the bottom. It gave us a great view of the entire area. Some of the boulders were cracked down the middle which looked like someone had cut through them with a knife. We had such a great time exploring the area.

After our walk we went back and I read my book (which I finished) before we had dinner. After dinner we sat around and talked. While we were sitting having dinner a dingo walked past our camp scoping out the area.

Tomorrow we are planning to get to Alice Springs restocking and relaxing before we head out to the Mac Donnell Ranges.

Saturday 1.9.12

Today we drove to Alice Springs.

We drove for two hours before we got to a roadhouse in a place called Aileron where we stopped for lunch. Aileron is just a small roadhouse and campground that has an aboriginal art gallery and two large statues of the traditional land owners.

We then drove for another two hours before stopping in Alice Springs where we will be staying for four days.

After setting up Louise and I went for a walk around the park. Later that afternoon a didgeridoo player came to the park and taught us how to play a didgeridoo (I still can’t play though). He showed us circular breathing and played for about an hour.

Sunday 2.9.12

Today we went to the markets, went shopping and then went to the Desert Park.

At the markets they didn’t have much that I was interested in because it was mainly Asian food stalls.

Then we met Dad in Coles. Shopping was boring luckily for me he had already started and after about 20 minutes we were done.

After lunch we went to the Desert Park. The Desert Park is mainly the different types of terrain that you would find out in central Australia and the animals that are associated with it.

After walking around most of the park we went to the amphitheater (a theater which has a shade cloth over cement seats) to watch a birds of prey show.

The guy that was doing it was very good and knew what he had to say. The cutest thing that came out would of had to be the echidna. The reason I thought it was cute was because of the way it was climbing over everything and the way it was walking.

We also went through the nocturnal house and had a look at the small Marsupials like the Desert Hopping Mouse, the Brush tail Phascagal and Quoll’s. There were ghost bats, a Twany Frog Mouth, nocturnal snakes (Pythons), Thorny Devils and geckos.

That night we went out for dinner because it was Father’s Day. We went to a place where they do Thai and Indian food.

Tomorrow morning we have booked to go on a hot air balloon ride.

Monday 3.9.12

This morning we had to get up at a quarter past four in the morning to catch the bus for hot air balloonning. The reason they start so early is to get the balloon up in time to see the sunrise.

It was freezing cold when we first got up so we piled lots of clothes on and our beanies.

Then we hopped onto a bus which took us out to a field where they were going to inflate the balloon.

When we reached the field the guides unpacked the basket and the balloon. Once the balloon and the basket was ready they put a big fan in front of the bottom opening and started to blow the balloon up enough so that they could then put the gas burners on to heat the air inside. They do this because hot air rises and makes the ballon inflate fully and allows it to float.

Once we were in the air it was amazing it felt like I was flying (technically I was). We watched the sunrise over the Mac Donnell Ranges and drifted silently over the out back landscape. We were in the air for about an hour but the time went really quicky and we managed to travel about 20 kms.

After landing we all had to pitch in and help pack up the balloon and basket before having a little picnic breakfast.

For the rest of the day we plan to do nothing.