Kunnanara and the Northern Territory

We spent 2 nights in Kunnanara staying at the Kimberleyland caravan park which is nice, and situated right on the lake in town. We went to the Hoochery for some rum tasting, the Cane Royale is the best- coffee and chocolate flavoured rum!! We did some maintenance and cleaning of the car which was needed after the Gibb river road.

Russ did a bit of fishing and caught a 64cm Barra at Ivanhoe crossing. The water flowing through the dam is incredible (the equivalent of Sydney harbour is flowing through the overflow every hour). There is just too much water here which is causing problems, I think the pipeline from Kunnanarra to Perth is a great idea.

Russ with his Barra at Ivanhoe crossing

Freshwater Croc and Bungarra at the Caravan park

We saw a number of dead Barramundi and crocodiles on the side of the water and were told by the locals that they are dying for eating the Cane toads which is very sad.

We left Kunnanarra and went out to Lake Argyle for the day which was interesting to see. There is so much water there. We crossed the border into the Northern Territory and stopped in at Timber Creek for some takeaways which was interesting. There are strict liquor restrictions in Northern Australia, and there was a blacklist on the blackboard in the pub for those from the local community that aren’t allowed in the pub for a certain length of time. We stayed the night a Sullivan Creek campground in the Gregory NP which was a nice spot, and we caught a dozen Cherabin in the creek overnight.

Lunch- Cherabin and Barramundi

The following day we when to Nitmiluk NP and stayed at the Edith falls campground for a couple of nights which was a great spot with nice big shady sites with swag tables, and only a short walk to the falls and large swimming hole. We did a big walk through the park to the top pool the following day.

Camping at Edith Falls

Middle pool at Edith falls

Our next stop was Darwin where we stayed for 4 days. The first night we stayed at Lee Point caravan park which was dodgy, a bit like a concentration camp!! The next 3 nights we stayed at Cullens Bay Apartments which was really nice, right on the marina and it was great to sleep in a bed after 6 weeks in a swag!! We hired bikes and it was easy to cycle into town, to the Mindil beach markets, museum etc. We also went to the Territory wildlife park which is situated on berry springs and has great enclosures such as nocturnal house, walk through aviaries, walk through aquarium and billabongs.

Sunset at Mindil Beach

Dingo

Wedgetail Eagle at Territory Wildlife Park

Jabaru at Territory Wildlife Park

We went to Litchfield NP but only stayed one night as only the northern park of the park was open, which was disappointing. We went to Florence falls which was really pretty and an easy walk into, and to Bluey rockholes which would have been a nice spot for a swim if it was a bit warmer. We continued onto Mataranka where we swam in the thermal pools which was lovely and warm. We camped for a couple of nights at the Elsey NP which had great camping sites with fireplaces, BBQ’s and nice hot showers. The animal noises overnight were crazy!!

Florence Falls at Litchfield National Park

Butterfly springs at Limmen National Park

Camping at the Lost City, Limmen National Park

The Lost City, Limmen National Park

Next we drove to Limmen NP which is situated on the western side of the Gulf of Carpenteria. We camped the first night in the northern part of the park on a branch of the Roper river. We caught a few Cherebin but no fish. We went to butterfly springs which was a nice spot for a quick dip with a small waterfall flowing into a pool. We camped the second night at the Southern lost city which is really amazing with these large sandstone pillar formations, and we had a nice campsite overlooking the lost city.   

We continued along the Savannah way across the border into Queensland and spent the night in Burketown which is a nice tidy town situated on the Nicholson River. 

Traffic on the Savannah way

Flock of Brolgas