Kakadu rates very high with international visitors but known among the locals as 'Kaka-don't'. Wanted to check it out ourselves but have to admit we saw more bird life on our own in a little known spot called Leaning Tree Lagoon on the way in. Part of the problem was this time of year they have closed all the 4wd tracks and the waterfalls that you see in the brochures only run in the middle of the wet ( November to March ) which was when we were there but you cant get to them unless you pay for a very expensive scenic flight. It is also over run with Coaches ferrying the tourists around.
Kakadu NP. and lunching with crocs in Anbangbang Billabong.
The photo below shows me having ago at crossing South Alligator River but seeing it was up to my bonnet even before the trailer wheels were wet I decided against it as the sign said it was inhabited by saltwater crocs and I will not risk anyone's life when it is this deep and following fast and so murky that you cant them coming. On the way back south we heard that there was a new National Park that had just been declared so we stopped off at a town near by and found the Ranger. He said that there were no tracks in but said he had been out and tied markers to trees that we could follow. So after drawing up a mud map we headed out there to check it out. As in the photo of Policeman's Waterhole below, the ground was all rock like the river bed. This made for a slow but adventurous journey but was great to one of the first to ever do it.
A metre deep only 10 ft out and big crocs too! Policeman's Waterhole Davenport NP.
They have a program in the Northern Territory where they are opening up tracks for 4wd's only and we took some of these new tracks through a fossicking area just south of the Plenty hwy. which was great fun with everything from gold to garnets being found here. There is also a great spot in Ruby Gap where there is a sign saying 4wd's not recommended beyond this point and of course we did. Well it took us over 1/2 hour to travel the length of a Olympic Pool due to the solid rock we were on and one wrong wheel placement would have seen us slide into a gully. It was bad enough on the way in but did it by torch light on the way back out. Even had to un-hook the trailer as once through the rocky section the track was over some very loose sand which you just sank in. At least with a trailer I could dump most of the camping weight and as I just carry recovery gear and snacks in the car. The East side of Alice Springs is not visited much by tourists and it is well worth seeing where you can do anything from exploring old gold mines to riding camels at Ross River Homestead.
Climbing at Hatches Creek gold mine and Mintabie Opal field.
On the way back south we dropped into the Mintabie Opal fields where opal mining is done on a large scale with the photo above showing a bulldozer at work in the bottom of an open cut. There are also old mine shafts worth exploring for a but of color and we picked up the most opal ever at this place. We took a look at the huge salt lake of Lake Eyre where Sir Donald Campbell broke the land speed record many years ago. It was tempting to go for a spin on the lake but after walking on the lake notice that rains had softened the crust and you could see where others had broken through it and sunk in this putrid black stinking mud underneath.
Camping too close to the railway and Lake Hart salt lake sunset.
We were looking for a camp site away from the road at Lake Hart and could only find a spot a few feet from the railway. It was fun at first having the train drivers sound their horn while passing but when it was the middle of the night and the whole camper rocking with the wind gust each time, ( we sleep in section over the roof of the car ) it soon wore thin. The remaining distance home was uneventful and returned safely home after 12,500 kms or 7,800 miles. It was a good journey with the only problem with the car was that the upper front shock bushes were getting destroyed with the urethane ones lasting only 100 kms one time. Switching to bigger ford rubber ones lasted a lot longer but worked out that it was the shocks running out of travel before the springs did. So by lowering the bumpstops and then extending shock mounts I have never done a bush since. If you want to know more about this then visit my how to section for the details.