Traipsing the Top End

16.7.2023 - 18.8.2023

The excitement was palpable as we neared the Northern Territory border. After three months on the road, we were leaving our home state behind and heading into unknown territory (literally). Before we realised it the border checkpoint (or lack thereof) was upon us, and we confusingly crossed into the NT before hastily pulling up, thinking we had to stop for quarantine requirements. To our chagrin, not a single F was being given at the NT side of things, whereas on the opposite side of the road the WA checkpoint was not mucking around - teeming with uniforms and cars pulled up for inspection. What the? From what I had looked up online, I was under the impression one couldn’t take any fresh fruit nor veg over the border, and we had therefore begrudgingly omitted a food shop, despite knowing we wouldn’t get to the next town for a couple of days. There were no signs at the NT side of things confirming or denying what the go was. We shrugged our shoulders, snapped a pic with Champ at the border sign, and played on. Immediately, I had a sense of entering a different part of Aus – the road markings were slightly different, and we were greeted by a 130 km an hour speed limit (for the first time in our trip, the speed Matt was going was actually legal!).

Our first sign of civilisation was a weird little outpost by the name of Timber Creek, and consisted of a one size fits all service station/camp ground/grocery store/bottle-O/restaurant, all fitting into the space of a regular servo. There were some interesting characters lurking about and the Troopy stuck out like a sore thumb amid the beat up old utes and dusty holden commodores getting around. A single cardboard box in an overworked fridge contained the entire towns offering of fresh provisions, and I gingerly selected a dilapidated broccoli that set me back $7. It was getting on for late arvo and we debated spending the night, but the town was giving Wolf Creek vibes (#micktaylorpleasedtomeetya) so we hit the highway again and found a free camp down by the Victoria River (keeping a watchful eye out for crocs).

The next day we made it to Katherine, where a much needed supply top-up occurred. We checked out Katherine hot springs which was a great place for a soak in crystal clear waters among the pandanus, then spent the night in a caravan park whilst we plotted our route for the next day – destination: Litchfield National Park. There is a couple of different spots you can enter Litchfield NP from, and we opted to go via Daley River road which is the 4wld option, and consequently led us into the least busiest spot in the park (which suited us down to the ground). We slowly travelled 16 km to Surprise Falls along a single lane dirt track, weaving in and out of different vegetation types and occasionally passing through fields of huge termite mounds that stood like tombstones. We arrived at the falls just as a group were leaving and had the whole thing to ourselves. It was an unbelievable spot to take a plunge bath after a hot day, with two waterholes to choose from (and a cheeky jump spot to boot). Afterwards, we backtracked the way we had come and found a free camp semi-hidden from the road (we crossed our fingers no-one would pass by that late in the arvo and spring us). As we set up in the twilight Matt got the fright of his life by stepping out of the car and narrowly missing putting his hoof down on a large black headed python – turns out we had set up right by his hole, and we observed him sliding in then poking only his head back out, clearly laying in wait for some unsuspecting prey to walk by.

The next morning we couldn’t help but pull in at Surprise Falls again for a morning dip, then carried on to Tjaynera Falls which were absolutely speccy. On the way to our next set of falls we pulled into Blythe Homestead (built in 1928), which is still intact and contains relics from back in the day which the public can view. There was a fascinating book detailing the history of the family and homestead – it was built as an outpost where some of the young Blythe children lived by themselves. During the day they worked mining tin (you can walk to the old tin mine too). One of the youngins had commandeered a baby freshwater crocodile and kept it as a pet, taking it with him wherever he went on a homemade sled thing (kids back then, I tell ya).

After our brief history tour we backed it up with another waterfall – Tjaetaba Falls. Bit of a hike through some epic monsoon rainforest, then a climb to get to a plunge pool atop the falls. Alas, when we arrived there was a serious rowdy bunch sinking tinnies in the plunge pool and generally causing a ruckus (can’t blame them really). We sheepishly slunk in for a quick dip but it felt like we were gatecrashing an invite only pool party so hopped out again pretty quick. They showed no indication of getting out anytime soon so we didn’t hang around – bit of a shame, but you get those unlucky breaks sometimes. We found an epic free camp to bunker down in for the night near Tolmer Falls which we checked out in the morning. Tolmer I think takes the cake for highest waterfall we have seen so far (35 m, which doesn’t seem that high does it…but it sure looked it). There’s no access to the falls themselves, and one must admire from the distance at the lookout. The falls are home to the rare ghost bat and a colony of orange horseshoe bats.

The next day we did Florence Falls which is one of the textbook tourist spots in Litchfield (warranted), and nearby Buley Waterhole which was a lovely little spot. We also checked out Tabletop Swamp and the Lost City, a series of ancient sandstone structures. The day was getting on and we had booked an Airbnb in Darwin for that night in anticipation of a car service the next day, so we boosted out of Litchfield (pulling into a random joint called Rum Jungle Lake for lunch) before sending it up the highway to Darwizzle. We treated ourselves to dinner on the town and took in the waterfront.

*On our silly little walk through the monsoon forest.*

*Beautiful butterfly, iPhone camera nailed it.*

Our first few days in Darwin were spent soaking in the sites and living it up with a bit of city life. We had only planned to stay for a week or so but Matts mate Joel decided to pop up for an impromptu trip so we stayed an extra week. I barely saw the lads for the week as they were off BMX’ing their little hearts out and doing “boy stuff”, so my days consisted of morning rides for ice frappes, blogging, Netflix sessions and trying my best to get some jogs in despite the hectic heat and humidity (jog comp with the gals is not to be messed with).

*Champ didn’t hesitate to jump on the white sheets of the AirBnB bed.*

*This frappe was king, set me back 9 clams a pop but I got one everyday in Darwin, no regrets.*

We did take a sunset cruise out at Corroboree Billabong to check out some big crocs and I saw my first jabiru (fricking awesome birds. Hate to be on the receiving end of one of their beak jabs though). We made a fatal mistake of doing a cook up at dusk by the billabong and were swarmed with clouds of mosquitos, absolutely the most we have seen on our entire trip so far (sorry Joel!). A hot tip from a fellow snake enthusiast (shoutout Joe) had us deviating past Fog Dam on the way home for a night drive where “guaranteed snakes” were apparently on the cards. Well, we didn’t see no snakes but there were some tortoises kicking around and we saw a big salty as well. Matt and I also took a day trip back into Litchfield NP to tick off Wangi Falls which we weren’t able to get to first time around – another speccy spot. A few weeks earlier someone had gotten nibbled by a stray salty there – after seeing all the waterholes in Litchfield, that would be the last place I would have expected a salty to turn up – it was a super isolated water hole, and unlike all the others pretty shallow (you could see the bottom). Goes to show, you really do have to be croc wise even in the most unlikely of spots – they’ll find a way to get there!

*Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park.*

Our last day in Darwin finally arrived and I must admit I was keen to get out of there – they were having an unseasonable hot and humid stretch of weather and it just wasn’t doing it for me (although I didn’t expect our next destination would be any cooler). So of course, Matt decided to have a major stack on the BMX resulting in his second hospital visit of the trip. I knew it was bad news when I pulled up to pick him up and saw the sling – he’d torn through a few ligaments in his shoulder and would be wearing it for the next 6 weeks. Now, I’d consider myself a feminist, but let me tell you that had conveniently gone out the window when it came to assigned gender roles whilst travelling. I was more than happy putting my silly little apron on and cooking us dinner every night, whilst watching Matt push up the heavy pop top roof, lug our gear in and out of the car, fix shit, and wrestle the trestle table off the roof every night. I was also more than happy relaxing as a passenger princess because Matt insisted on doing all the driving.

Couldn’t you have done the injury two weeks earlier when we had an Airbnb and were relaxing Hat?! And so, I was forced to entered my man of the house era and not only do all the driving, lifting and packing, but also the cooking and cleaning whilst Hat relaxed of an evening up on the mezzanine. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but we had no choice but to continue on.

And so, we left Darwin late in the afternoon and made it as far as Corroboree Tavern where we pitched up out the back for 10 clams each. Funny characters abounded – went to the pub for a cheeky one and got chatting to a local lady who enthralled us with a story of some old mate – “bit of a creep but. I don’t trust him – he carries a handkerchief.” The tavern is also home to the largest saltwater crocodile skull in Australia. The next day we set out towards Kakadu, but detoured to explore Point Stuart Coastal Reserve and Mary River National Park. Not much happening up at Point Stuzza, just broiling mangroves and croc infested waters. At Mary River NP we pulled into Shady Camp, Couzens Lookout and Rock Hole – nothing too enthralling from my point of view, but I guess worth the sticky beak because it’s not like we are coming back any time soon.

*Biggest croc skull in Australia (apparently).*

We awoke the next day to discover we were slow cooking like a couple of rotisserie chickens in the Troopy by about 6.30 am. After helping my liege out of bed, cooking his breakky, making his coffee and doing the whole pack up we were on the road, and finally entered Kakadu National Park. Kakadu is one of those iconic destinations you hear about all the time and throw it onto the bucket list, so expectations were high. At first, it was not what I expected… for some reason I was thinking it would be sort of a lush, tropical destination akin to the stuff we were seeing in Litchfield – but it begun by serving us baked, dry, wetland vibes. It was too hot for any type of hike, so we spent the day exploring by car – checking out Red Lily, Bucket and Alligator Billabongs, and Mamukala Wetlands. Definitely an interesting landscape and no doubt a bird watchers dream. We found a camp down a random track (standard) where a bushfire must have recently passed through, because the landscape was chargrilled. The mozzies were out in force and the heat of the day wasn’t dissipating. I found myself daydreaming of WA’s down south landscapes – Karri trees, tall eucalyptus, cool rivers and crystal clear bays – the oppressive heat was definitely getting to my head. Luckily we had bought a portable travel fan in Darwin and got it cranking in the Troopy for bed time – it was an gamechanger and made a huge difference. Despite the heat, it was great finally getting out bush again and into the great Australian unknown.

The sun was our alarm clock once again the next morning, and our first stop was the township of Jabiru where we got some fuel, water and a lemon – just in time too, because half an hour after we got there they turned the entire towns water supply off for the day. At the local shop I asked where I could get a coffee in town – “just down the back, but they’re not doin coffee at the moment.” – seems like the perfect spot to get coffee in town! Lol. We timed the tides and ventured to the infamous Cahills Crossing – a low lying concrete road that crossed the South East Alligator river, and that one can only drive across at low tide. At the change of the tide, fish stream over the road and into the waiting maws of the salties that lay in wait below. It’s the largest congregation of crocs I’ve seen (MaxN = 15, and they say whatever you see on the surface you have to double to account for the ones lurking below). The rest of the day we checked out Ubirr to look at rock out, and explored the savannah which was beautiful. The humidity was soaring, it was another oppressive day.

*Bad day to be a mullet. Cahills Crossing, Kakadu.*

The next day we checked out Nanguluwurr art site, Kunwarddewardde lookout, and Anbangbang billabong. I went through about a litre of water just on the short walk to the lookout (Hat of course is yet to take a sip this whole trip). We swung into Cooinda for lunch where hot chippies and a matsos ginger beer was on the cards. That night we camped at Jim Jim billagong.

*Even Champ needed a broad brim to survive the heat.*

We were back at Cooinda bright and early the next morning for a boat tour on Yellow water – a must do when in Kakadu. Heaps of birds, crocs and all things wildlife getting about. Then it was off for a swim swim at Jim Jim falls – our first waterhole of Kakadu, and we were excited.

The hike in was shady and beautiful. No one was swimming in the main Jim Jim so we had it to ourselves – amazing. We found an epic camp spot that evening in a dry river bed (our fav) and then tackled the 6 km Twin Falls escarpment walk the next morning. Luckily there was a bit of a breeze blowing and the weather wasn’t as oppressive as the past few days. From there we explored down old Jim Jim falls road and found a nice bush camp. We continued the 4wld to Black Jungle springs in the morning, crossed the creek by foot (keeping a wary eye out for crocs) and did a deep shaded monsoon rainforest walk. We got back to the main drive eventually and headed to Maguk falls, the only other swimming spot we got to in Kakadu (there was one more, but it was closed unfortunately).

We found a camp down another random off limits track, and set up behind a huge tree. Matt went for a wildlife wander and I saw him in the distance getting chased by a heard of brumbies. I carried on making my red cuzza only to get the shock of my life when I hear a roaring animal right by the car – in the past hour I had seen brumbies and buffalos wander past, so I was worried – I stuck my head out and came face to face by none other than a wild donkey. What the heck.

*Didn’t expect to see these blokes around Kakadu, but there ya go.*

*Standard sight of a dingo roaming round.*

The flies decended on our camp early the next morning (probably had something to do with all the animal dung we were camped atop of) so we absconded early and made breakfast elsewhere. First stop was Bukbukluk lookout which was beautiful and gave us sweeping views over the escarpments of Kakadu. Next, we turned towards Gunlom but the whole thing was closed. We deviated elsewhere and rattled down a track for about 40 minutes to checkout a place called “Gimbat” but it turned out to just be a poxy picnic area – coupla dingats at Gimbat. Koolpin Gorge was out in this area, but you need a permit to go there. We checked out some walk trails at Yurmikmik on the way out but it was too hot to do any strolling so just had a geez from the window. That was our last stop before heading out of Kakadu for good – we had anticipated spending up to a fortnight exploring the national park, but ended up doing seven full days. The heat and humidity was a big factor in us getting through it a bit quicker than anticipated, but we still ticked off all the major sights so #noregrets.

Our road map let us know the Mary River Service Station was the closest spot for fuel – but alas when we arrived the whole thing was closed down. Another stark outback reminder to fill up fuel when the opportunity arises, even if you think you don’t need any for awhile – because the outback plays by its own rules. On our way back towards Katherine we checked out Umbrawarra National Park which was off the beaten track a bit but provided a nice quiet camp spot (only one other couple in the campground). I did the walk down to the gorge at 6 pm because I was hoping for a swim and freshen up – but when I arrived the water was shallow and stagnant so I didn’t chance it #meningococcalvibes.

On our way back down to Katherine the next day we stopped at Edith falls which is a must do, we even managed a decent hike up to different water spots. We filled up with provisions in Katherine then hightailed it straight to Bitter Springs where we wanted to stay (wasn’t interested in hanging around Katherine too much longer…). We indulged ourselves in both Bitter Springs and Mataranka Springs the next day. The temp was actually too balmy for me (standard) but Matt managed to get into the 30 ish degree water without a wetsuit, so that was something. The next day we had booked in to do a gorge tour at the famous Katherine Gorge, so we backtracked for that, checking out Cutta Cutta caves on the way. The gorge was nice, but I think after smashing all the gorges in the Kimberley I was a bit ambivalent towards them at that point.

But why all this back and forth around Katherine and surrounds? Well, we were trying to kill a couple of days before the next leg of our journey began – East Arnhem Land. It’s not somewhere you can just go on a whim (requiring permits and what not), and thus we were having to wait a couple of days until our travel permit started. And, as it turns out, it was worth the wait…but that’s for my next blog.

Until then my corrupted cuttlefish,

Yours faithfully,

The Dugong.

Bunging round the Bungle Bungles