Day 29 & 30 - Homeward bound

Kronosaurus model in Richmond

Kronosaurus fossil

Ichthyosaur fossil

 Heading east from Mt Isa we very shortly came across our first 'stop-go' man. Typical really - we have traveled some 10 000km and apart from the 'stop go' guy in the middle of Australia, the only times we have been stopped are in Queensland. Within 300km of being back in Queensland we were stopped and going nowhere. This was in addition to our welcome back to Queensland when within 5 minutes of crossing the border from the Northern Territory we had our first stone chip in the windscreen. Again no damage anywhere in travelling on all the dirt roads and back to Queensland and a truck throws a stone!

Minmi - an ankylosaur fossil

Stephen was quite disappointed that the highway no longer goes through Maxwelton, so he missed the opportunity to go through the 'town' once again. So it was on to Richmond to continue the dinosaur adventure commenced in Winton a few weeks ago. Kronosaurus Korner provided us with another opportunity to check out the amazing fossils which have been discovered in the Winton, Richmond and Hughenden area. to have so many fossils and such complete examples of these dinosaurs is just fascinating.

Richmond Pilosaur almost 100% complete as a skeleton

 To think that these dinosaur fossils have been found by cow and sheep 'cockies' on their properties when they have come across these 'funny rocks' is astounding. It is not surprising that discovering these amazing fossils has turned these people into avid palaeontologists who then set up displays to share the fossils with other people. The number of people who volunteer time to be part of the adventure of finding fossils is phenomenal. You can understand why it is so addictive.

After our dose of prehistoric times we continued on our journey home. We made it to Pentland, a town of about 400, to set up the camper for the night. A lovely little caravan park provided the perfect spot for the final night in the camper.

On Sunday we made the trip to Emerald to stay with Neil and Cathy again before heading home on Monday. Neil and Cathy have provided the perfect bookends to our odyssey - giving us the start and the finish to our trip.

It truly has been an amazing time and we have enjoyed every moment of it. We have experienced so much fantastic nature, learnt much of our history and heritage, enjoyed great company and traveled a long, long way.

Love to all
S & E

Day 27 & 28 - A big Country of contrasts

Katherine gorge looking upstream to
the first gorge

Johnson River (freshwater) crocodile -
Katherine Gorge

 The day started on the Katherine River with a cruise and finished at Daly Waters at a campdraft - a day of contrasts.

The cruise was quite amazing as we were able to see the gorge close up and experience the breathtaking beauty. We also saw our first crocodile in the wild - a freshwater one so some may say we still haven't seen a real one - but this was close enough and wild enough for us. Also on the cruise we went past Jedda's Rock - which featured in Charles Chauvel's movie of the same name. Quite fascinating.

Katherine Chasm

Katherine Chasm is the location of the NT tourism campaign some years ago with Darryl Somers (that is going back a number of years) floating down the gorge on an inner tube saying "you'll never, never know if you never, never go".

Lace curtains in Cutta Cutta caves

Flow stone - Cutta Cutta

 After Katherine Gorge we dashed down the road to Cutta Cutta caves to meet up with Ethan for what turned out to be a private tour of the caves - just so happened we were the only ones present for the 1pm tour.
He was a great tour guide and it was interesting to compare these caves with others that we have toured in Tasmania and South Australia. These caves are much warmer and also drier as they are only really wet during the wet season when they flood.

WWII bullet damage to formations

 During WWII the troops based around Katherine used the caves as their personal playground, even using the formations as target practice with their rifles which you can still see with the ends of stalactites shot off. The stalactites have continued to grow but you can see how slowly they form when you consider the end of WWII was nearly 70 years ago.

The girls at Daly Waters campdraftt

We pulled in the Daly Waters Campdraft ground in the late afternoon to find a spot reserved for us next to the Haines family's impressive setup. Horses were yarded, the truck had been converted into the accommodation and the girls were getting ready to saddle up and head down for some precompetition practice. We were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of horses and equipment. This is one expensive hobby, but they are passionate about it. Even though it was hot and very dusty and noisy, it was great to get the opportunity to live what we hear about from Alison so often. The dusk was really quite beautiful, with the red dust hanging in the air as the sun went down.We watched a road train arrive and the weaners for the draft be unloaded which was interesting for us city slickers! The sounds of horses, cattle and generators provided an unusual lullaby as we finally went to bed.
Things got moving early this morning as Thomas, my brother-in-law, was competing at 7.00am. The girls were up and ready to head down help round up the drafted cattle at the end of each run. They don't compete until tomorrow. Watching those little girls on those big horses was very impressive and they have a great routine before and after each ride. It was a great experience to be there, even for a little while.
So today, we covered another 1000km in this big country as we crossed back over the Barkly, which is definitely not as interesting the second time around! It did seem drier, a month later, but that may be because we have just come from the tropical north. We pulled into Mt Isa on dusk and have set up and eaten in record time, ready for our trip on the Flinder's Highway via Julia Creek, Maxwelton and Richmond to Hughenden tomorrow.

Love to all
S & E

Day 26 - The song of cicadas

Baruwei

 Today we packed up from a very humid Kakadu and started to head south to Katherine Gorge. The weather in Kakadu was actually quite oppressive and we worked up a real sweat packing up. Given that they haven't had much of a wet season and it is now May - this was somewhat of a surprise. Would hate to think what it is like in summer. We have noticed the humidity in the north after leaving the desert previously but it was really a bit like Bundaberg on a fairly warm summer day. This was really the first time it approached unbearable.

Edith Falls and waterhole

Edith Falls

On the way to Katherine Gorge we called in to Edith Falls which is part of Katherine (Nitmiluk) National Park The name Nitmiluk comes from the aboriginal dreamtime story of the gorge and is the sound of the cicadas.. The park only opened a couple of days ago and the swimming area is open during the day. It is closed from 7pm to 7am because the freshwater crocodiles in the waterhole feed at night. Obviously freshwater crocs are more educated than their estuarine cousins since they can read and know not to attack swimmers outside of the 12 hour period.
Passing through the town of Katherine on the way to the Gorge, we noticed a sign at the local sportsgound advertising a Bundaberg flood relief event. It is nice to see our Territorian cousins have not forgotten us.
 

Katherine Gorge from Baruwei lookout

Baruwei lookout overlooking Katherine Gorge

 Did a quick walk at Katherine Gorge up to Baruwei lookout overlooking the Gorge - a very spectacular view and tomorrow morning we are splashing out on a boat trip up the gorge to get a better look.
Then had a cool off in the swimming pool - the best way to enjoy the water at this time of the year. After the boat trip tomorrow we head to Daly Waters to catch up with the Haines crew again at the campdraft. We heard the Daly Waters Campdraft advertised on Darwin radio last weekend so it promises to be a huge event.
Take care
Love to all S and E xxx