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Bachsten Gorge

Posted on September 13, 2014 by

Bachsten Gorge waterfall. Look closely at the two smallish figures swimming in the gorge. It just happens to be Lachlan and Ashley, who along with Nathan, walked up ahead of Michelle and I and then decided to do the extra (30 minutes climb) down to the bottom of the gorge by themselves.
We told the boys (incorrectly) to follow the track along the river and we would catch up. Unfortunately for Michelle and I, the track veered away from the river. The boys did the right thing and followed the track however now Michelle and I had the decision to make, either follow the river as we instructed or take the track marked with pink ribbons.
We decided on the river but after another kilometre of walking in the 36 degree Kimberley heat, we decided to turn back and follow the track.

By the time we got to the Gorge lookout, we were both exhausted, stressed, then relieved to spot the boys at the bottom but then annoyed because now I would have to walk to the bottom and bring them back up.
We also hadn’t been prepared to walk 3 hours in the heat as the walk was only 1 km with a nice easy swim at the end. We were so wrong.

New rules are in place now for all our of walks – always carry water bottles, wear appropriate footwear, wear hats, wear tshirts and above all, stick together!!

Posted in Destinations Tagged with: bachsten gorge, munja track

Spotted Quolls, Kimberley

Posted on September 13, 2014 by

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Spotted Quolls in the heart of the Kimberley. When staying at Bachsten Camp, we were advised to shut the doors in the car.
We listened to the advice but left the rear door open for easy Fridge access (to get beer of course).
At 3 am I was woken by something going nuts in the car. On closer inspection it was one of the Quolls who had decided that he liked most of the food in the back of the car.

Spotted Quoll

I wasn’t spending an hour trying to get him out so I just left the window open for it to get out.
I got a surprise the next morning when packing the car. Michelle said I screamed, but I’m sure it was more of a gasp.
Anyway, the Quoll then decides to run up inside the dash in such a small spot that he wasn’t going anywhere.’ There was no way we were pulling the dash again so he would have to come for a drive with us.
He ended up coming out that night and disappearing into the bush after a long day on the Munja Track.

Posted in Camping Tips Tagged with: bachsten camp, kimberley, munja track, spotted quoll

Bungle Bungles

Posted on August 21, 2014 by

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Spent a couple of days in the Bungle Bungles. The road into the Bungle Bungles is heavily corrugated, a few river crossings to navigate and takes just under 2 hours to travel 50 kilometres!
Visiting the Bungles needs to be on everyone’s must do when they are travelling through the Kimberly region.

Bungle Bungles

bungle bungles campground

Posted in Destinations Tagged with: bungle bungles

Swimming with Crocodiles, Darwin

Posted on August 6, 2014 by

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I was lucky enough to swim (and come out alive!) with a 4.5 metre crocodile while visiting Darwin. They call it the “cage of death”!

Swimming with Crocodiles in Darwin

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: cage of death, crocodiles, crocs, darwin, swim, swim with croc

Darwin Cup 2014, Northern Territory

Posted on August 6, 2014 by

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While we were waiting for the car to get fixed in Darwin (waiting for parts), Ash and I decided to apply for some work at the 2014 Darwin Cup. We had a 60 second interview and secured 4 days work for myself and 2 days for Ash, including the Monday Cup Day Public Holiday.
I worked with the HR Team while Ash cruised around picking up rubbish (mostly empty beer bottles).

Horsing around at the Darwin Cup

Santa paid a visit to the Darwin Cup

The HR team grows from 1 to 6 during the carnival recruiting 660 people to help out from clean up crews, serving drinks, stock running or clearing tables. Quite a few people come up to Darwin and work the whole Carnival each year.

Darwin Cup finish

Take a look at this link if you’re interested in working during the Carnival.

Darwin Cup Stables

Teds Bar, Darwin Cup

Posted in Destinations Tagged with: darwin cup 2014, darwin turf club, horse, job, racing, teds bar, work

Crocodiles in Kakadu National Park

Posted on July 9, 2014 by

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After not seeing any crocodiles on Cape York, we were pretty stoked to see our first saltie near Cahills Crossing in Kakadu NT. We spotted about 30 crocs over 5 days while staying in Kakadu National Park. Definitely not a good place for swimming!

Crocodile swimming in Adelaide River, NT

Posted in Destinations Tagged with: crocodile kakadu national park

Bitter Springs, Mataranka, NT

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

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Bitter Springs, Mataranka, NT – The thermal pools located 3 kms from Mataranka are just what was needed after spending 3 days driving from Lawn Hill National Park. We booked for 2 but ended up staying for 3 after finding how relaxing the Bitter Springs were.

Bitter Springs, NT

We stayed at the Mataranka Cabins and Camping which is not as popular as the Mataranka Homestead. However, after finding 3 bus loads of people at the homestead when we went there for a swim, we were glad we stayed away from the Mataranka Springs.

Bitter Springs, NT

Grab a noodle from the park and float down the 100 metres or so creek in the crystal clear water. We used our own noodles and mask / snorkel and found small fish and a few turtles along the way. No crocs thankfully.
The Bitter Springs are about 10 minutes walk from the Park.
Mataranka Cabins and Park is nicely intergrated into the bushland and is a peaceful setting with plenty of shade. The showers were clean and only a few years old.
Highly recommended

Bitter Springs, NT

Posted in Destinations Tagged with: bitter springs

Palm Creek, Cape York

Posted on June 15, 2014 by

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Palm Creek, Old Telegraph Track, Cape York.
This is the first crossing on the southern section of the track when you go past Bramwell Roadhouse. Not far from here is the infamous Gunshot crossing.

Everyone was saying that Palm Creek this year was the hardest section on the track.

These guys were winching themselves up the other side. Needless to say, we decided to give this section a miss.

I asked Michelle if she would pull out the winch cable and walk through the mud so we could get through! No guessing what the answer was!!!!

Posted in Destinations Tagged with: cape york, old telegraph track, palm creek

Far North Queensland

Posted on May 22, 2014 by

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12th June 2014
After spending 15 nights on Cape York sleeping in tents, we have finally finished washing our clothes, moving back into the caravan and drying out our tents. Drying out in Cooktown however the weather is still not good. Many locals cannot recall when it rained so much in June.

We also heard reports today that the road is closed to Cape York so we are pretty happy we drove into the evening to get from the top to Laura where our van was parked.
We will be travelling down to the Atherton Tablelands for the next few days, getting some new tyres in Mareeba for the car then heading west.

Hoping that it is raining less often in the Northern Territory.

Posted in Destinations Tagged with: cape york

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