Camooweal to Katherine

Mt Isa to Camooweal is a fairly featureless drive but it does prepare you for the empty centre.  I have been through the area in 1971 and 1991 or 2 and there appeared to be much more vegetation than I can remember which must be a product of the good wet seasons in the last 6 or so years.  We decided to stay beside a waterhole on the Georgina River just west of Camooweal.  It was a great site with tracks along the river for several kilometres.  The water holes were huge and full of plants and birds; very pretty and peaceful.  Which probably explained why there ended up being about 20 vans camped in the same area.  Carol got on with some sewing in the afternoon while Garry went for a drive about 25kms south to the Camooweal Caves Nat Park.  They are along an average bush track and do have a camp site beside another pretty billabong.  The ghost gums are so white amongst the red soil.  The caves (2) are interesting in that they were formed by surface water washing through the dolomite to a more solid lower level then washing open huge long horizontal caverns throughout the dolomite layer.  The unfortunate thing is that the entrance to the caves is via a vertical drop which is 15m and 75m to the floor of each cave. 

 Opening of the larger cave.

 Birdlife on Georgina River billabong  

 Remaining summer flowers

 Leaving Qld again

Our drive west to the 3 Ways just north of Tennant Creek was interrupted only by a stop at the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse where diesel hit $2.03/litre.  Unfortunately it was in the middle of having the floors replaced and it was well before lunch so we pushed on to spend the night at another roadside camp at 41 Mile Bore.  We were told to buy fuel at Barkly Homestead because it was owned by the same people that own the 3 Ways Roadhouse but at $2.03 we decided to chance it.  We passed several old bores sites beside the road but only saw one still working (not 41 mile bore).  I found an open hole and dropped a rock into it; as you must.  There was still water in it but it is no longer pumped to the surface.  We refuelled at the 3 Ways Roadhouse (for only $1.84/litre!!) and had a talk with a Hungarian guy who is attempting a Guinness World Record for riding/driving a 3 wheeled 1961 Chekoslavakian vehicle around the world.  The converted bike has a top speed of 118kph, has 2 front wheels, a steering wheel, and vinyl/canvass covered panels.  It didn’t look comfortable but was no doubt much easier than the two Asians we saw a couple of hours north peddling a loaded tandem push bike uphill into a strong headwind; what makes them do it??

 1961 3-wheeler something. Hungarian driver in the background.  He was interesting to talk to.

 They even name towns after our grandchildren up here - got RBT'd in Elliott !!

That night we stayed at Daly Waters pub.  The yard next door filled up with vans and the overflow block over the street ended up with 18 vans in it as well.  Apparently over 100 vans gathered for the night and that is normal at this time of year.  No room for annexes; the vans were backed in to each other about 2 metres apart and you don’t get to leave before others leave around you.  The pub is a remarkable old place with great collections around the bar walls and roof.  The collections include hundreds of baseball caps, dozens of bras, dozens of knickers, hundreds of bank notes, and hundreds of coins stuck to the posts.  There are also collections of cloth badges, number plates, etc inside and outside. Chilli’s shop across the road is unique. It looks ready to fall down but you can’t miss it with an old helicopter sitting on the roof.  He sells jewellery and timber signs and key racks with bush sayings on them.  Chilli happens to be the entertainer at the pub during dinner.  Dinner was a Barra & Beef BBQ and both meats were fantastic.  We are amazed that they serve so many meals so quick and still hot.  As well as Chilli, there was also another Country singer, Rod Dowsett, on first.  He sang then Chilli recited poems, sung country songs, and told yarns for ages.  It was a very funny night.  

 Chilli's shop - a good wind and its gooone. 

 Outside the pub in front of my least favourite plant.

 Some of the collections inside the pub.

 Garry at the bar under the bras

Next morning the road north was full of vans with the odd quad road train trying to maintain its speed of 100kph+.  When I came out with Brendan and Fabian in 1991 or 2 (can’t remember which), we camped a night at the Roper River near Mataranka.  I was keen to find it again and we spent a night there.  The camp is now on a bitumen road but is still very pleasant on the banks of the river.  The hot springs at Mataranka are still very popular (not crowded) but the area around them has changed dramatically as a result of heaps of ‘Little Red Bats’.  They have destroyed the vegetation around the pool with only the tallest palm trees having leaves. The pandanus palms have disappeared and all the low palms have been flattened.  Carol was disappointed as I and others had told her how good it was going to be.  The river was pretty and it is a good camp area. The caretaker told us he had caught 30 barra in the last month but that they had gone off the bite with the overcast weather.  Typical of fish!!!

 Mataranka thermal pools - clean and clear.

 Carol at the spring supplying the pool with 30.5 million litres of water a day. Note the palms stripped by bats in the rhs of the photo.

 Roper River near our campsite

We moved on to Katherine.  Thursday we took a tour through the Cutta Cutta Caves.  This cave system is different to the Camooweal Caves.  They are limestone caves similar to the Etna Caves near Rockhampton.  Our Aboriginal Guide was very good and the caves are very interesting.  The caverns are huge with interesting rock formations and beautiful sparkly crystals. 

 Entering Cutta Cutta limestone caves

 A limestone formation dripping from the roof - note the clean side and the muddy side. It contains lots of sparkly bits of silica - just like stars but hard to photograph.

 Another stalagtite

After the humid caves we cooled off in the thermal springs pools in town.  They were cooler than Mataranka and also beautiful and clear.  Today we have been on a tour through 3 gorges in Katherine Gorge.  It is several boat rides with a walk in between ending in a side gorge with a waterfall and swimming hole.  The guide was great and made the tour special with his commentary on indigenous and geological history of the place.  It is very pretty. The guide recommended a walk to the top of the cliffs to a lookout to view the sunset.  We made the climb with about ten others and watched a lovely western sunset over the gorge. 

 Katherine Gorge #2

 Waterfall and swimming pool.

 A fine looking Johnstone River freshwater croc - not dangerous to humans of course.  We saw him and about 10 of his mates along the gorge.

 Another tour boat all run by the local Aboriginals group.

 Gorge #1 from the lookout on top of the cliffs

 Setting sun over 17 Mile Valley

 Sunset

 Just after sunset - very peaceful and only 200 steps back down again in the failing light.

The quote of the day was attributed to the local aboriginal leader just after the land claim in recent years - "All you white fellas thought we were going to take all this land off you when we won our land claim, but see; its still all here!!"

p.s.  Someone might want to warn the barra because tomorrow, Garry is going fishing!!!