Day 16 Saturday 30th April

(Don't forget to watch the video of Tolmer Falls - Litchfield NT at the end of today's blog)

We went out to Litchfield National Park today. It was brilliant but really tiring. The weather started out overcast but soon cleared and reached temperatures of 35 or 36 degrees. So it was very hot. The park is made up of a series of waterfalls on the local rivers.
First we saw the Magnetic Termite mounds. Not sure of their magnetism but they were quite tall and faced in a north south direction to avoid the heat of the day.
Then we went to Florence Falls where we had morning tea beside a creek and later swam in the falls. It was beautiful as it cooled us down.

There were many young people swimming and jumping into the pool so of course Doug tried to jump into the falls as well. The current was very strong.


Then we went to Tolmer Falls where you couldn’t swim as you couldn’t get down to them. They were protecting some rare bat species in the caves nearby.
After that we went to Wangi Falls for lunch. This was the best falls but you couldn’t swim here either as it hadn’t been cleared for crocodiles. It was a shame as it would have been divine.

After that we went to the Buley Rockpools and had a swim before leaving for home.

It was a very hot day but delightful to be able to cool down in the water. You can’t swim at the beaches in Darwin , not just because of crocodiles but because of box jellyfish.
Distance driven today 325kms
Total distance 3725kms

Day 15 Friday 29th April

We had a relaxed morning this morning. Gary and Joan have arrived to spend a week with us. We had a walk through the city looking for the information centre.


We went on a sunset cruise on Darwin harbour this evening. The prawns, oysters and fish were fantastic and the view was exceptional. It was a wonderful evening. This is such a beautiful city.

Day 14 Thursday 28th April

We left Mataranka at 7.40 after a small issue with the toilet. All has been fixed now, I hope. We drove through Katherine, had morning tea at Pine Creek and arrived in Darwin at about 1.00.
Later that afternoon we went to the opening session of the Mindil Beach Markets. It was extremely crowded but fabulous. The food stalls were great. There were thousands of people watching the sunset on the beach.
Distance travelled today 402km.
Total distance travelled 3400kms.

Day 13 Wednesday 27th April

School started today!! Well for some but not for all.
Doug made microwave scones for morning tea this morning. They were pretty good but I guess that is what all campers say.

Then we headed off to the Stockland gallery where there were many beautiful paintings.
We then went down to the Roper River and looked at various water holes such as 4 Mile, Mululark, Wabalarr and 12 Mile. It was very interesting and exciting especially when we read the no swimming signs.
Then we went swimming at Mataranka Thermal Springs. It was lovely and warm.
What a great day!

Day 12 Tuesday 26th April

We left Newcastle Waters Rest Area at 7.40 this morning. The vegetation has changed and there are a lot more trees between here and Mataranka. Temperature has still been quite hot although the nights are cool.
We passed through Daly Waters where there was a monument to John Macdouall Stuart. There is a tree here with a big S carved into presumably done by Stuart when he trekked through this area in 1856.
We arrived at Mataranka at about midday and after setting up camp, went out to Bitter Springs for a swim. The water temp was about 32 degrees and was lovely to swim in. The area had been severely hit by floods this year and was a bit of a mess with fronds and trees everywhere, but the water was very clear.


We watched the barramundi being fed this afternoon and I got to feed one. They certainly splash.
Distance travelled today 304km
Total distance travelled 2998km.

Day 11 Monday 25th April

The sunset last night was beautiful. Later the sky was so dark and then there were thousands of stars out. It looked magnificent through our skylight.

We left Wonara Bore Rest Area at 8.00 in the morning.
The countryside was very flat but grassy and very windy as we travelled from here to Barkly Roadhouse and then to the Threeways. The tableland rose 120m and then started to fall after we turned onto the Stuart Highway at the Threeways. There wasn’t much to see along this road from the Threeways to Renner Springs to Elliot and then to our camp for tonight of Newcastle Waters, however, there was a lot of water in the creeks and plenty of grass in the fields.

It surprises me how many people use these free camps. There are about 12 groups of people here. It was very hot when we arrived at 3.30. (about 33degreesC)
Distance travelled today 481km.
Total distance travelled 2703km.

Day 10 Sunday 24th April

We left at 8.00 this morning. The countryside was still beautiful with lots of grass and trees. We had morning tea at Camooweal. After this the countryside changed to very flat plains, grasslands and very few trees.

We had to put our watches back half an hour after crossing the Northern Territory border.


Temperature got to about 30 degrees today but there was a cool breeze blowing.
We camped at Wonara Bore Rest Area and were surprised to see quite a few vans here with us.
There is nothing else here except a broken windmill and a pool of water.

Distance travelled today 412km.
Total distance

2222km.

Day 8 Friday 22nd April

We slept in today. It was great. We went for a drive around town to look at our old house, the Lookout, Lorelle’s old house, the shops, Doug’s old school and then to Lake Moondarra. Such nostalgia! The place looks so much better than it did 4 years ago when we last drove through here.

Day 7 Thursday 21st April

We left Winton at 8.00 and travelled through Kynuna and McKinlay to Mt Isa. The grass and vegetation is still lush and green.

We stopped at McKinlay to see the Walkabout Hotel where Crocodile Dundee became famous.

We arrived in Mt Isa at about 3.00.

Distance travelled today 468km.

Total distance travelled 1810km.

Day 6 Wednesday 20th April

fossil of conifer 95 million years old

Today we spent the day in Winton. We went to Lark Quarry in Geoff’s car. It was a great journey out past lots of bush and dry ground. We saw quite a few eagles but they flew away when we got closer and we couldn’t take a photo. 80 km of the road was dirt so it was very dusty. The temperature got up to 35 degrees, but it was not humid so wasn’t all that bad. The dinosaur quarry was very impressive. People had found the footprints of a dinosaur stampede and enclosed it in a large shed. The view was spectacular as you can see where the river would have been.

We had lunch there and then drove back with a slight detour along the River Red gums circuit.

 There was Red River along here where people could camp and swim.

It was a tiring day.

Day 5 Tuesday 19th April

We left Longreach at 8.40 and drove the 180 km to Winton, arriving at about 11.00. The grass in the fields is very long and thick and green. The foliage on the trees is thick. They have obviously enjoyed a good wet season.

After morning tea we went down town to view the sights. We went to the Waltzing Matilda Centre and saw many artefacts of long ago as well as the history of the song by Banjo Paterson.

The camping area is nowhere near as crowded as the last time we came here 5 years ago.

Off to Lark Quarry tomorrow.

Distance travelled today 171km.

Total distance travelled  1342km.

Day 4 Monday 18th April

We left our camp at 8.30. It had rained a bit the previous night but looked like fining up today. As we drove further north west the clouds started to thin out and we missed most of the storms.

We had morning tea at Barcaldine where we also saw the Tree of Knowledge. There is a large structure built around the tree now to commemorate its significance.

We then drove on to Longreach, getting there at about 12.30. It was much warmer here but there were still some threatening clouds in the sky.

We drove out to the Thompson River to have a look and found a free camp with at least 20 vans already camped there. Quite a few people were fishing from the banks. The Thompson River meets the Barcoo River where it becomes Cooper’s Creek.

We set up camp in the Discovery camping ground. There were 2 brolgas walking around. They are such beautiful birds.

Distance driven today 262km.

Total distance driven  1190 km.

Day 3 Sunday 17th April

We left Roma at 8.00 with a blue sky but crisp and cool. It stayed like this until Tambo when you could see clouds forming followed by rain. The temperature didn’t go above 24 degrees c. The road out from Roma was very bumpy but the landscape was beautiful. There were lush, rich grasses and trees full of leaves and of various shades of green, yellow and silver. Fields of maize grew along this road later being replaced by cattle.

On the road to Augathella

Lunch at Tambo

We had morning tea at Morven and lunch at Tambo beside the lake. We camped along the Barcoo River in a rest area, about 59km north of Tambo.

Camping on the Barcoo

Distance travelled today  436 km

Total distance travelled 909km

Day 2 - Saturday 16th April

We left Gatton at 9.00 this morning after getting some rain during the night. Those blue skies of yesterday are gone. The skies were overcast all day. We drove past fields of cotton near Dalby followed by cattle and sheep. We arrived  in Roma about 3.00 pm having driven 372 kms today. Fortunately we got a drive through site so we don’t have to unhitch the car. Distance travelled today 372km

Total distance travelled 463km

Day 1 - 15th April 2011

We left home at 10.30 this morning. It was a bit sad leaving the children behind. We got to Gatton at 11.45. We had lunch with Geoff, Gary and Joan and then waited for Lorelle to come home from school. We spent our first night at Gatton. It rained during the night.

Distance travelled today 80km