144(3876) kms
I had a shocking night with side effects from the medication and was again in panic mode by the time we set out just after 8:00am for the short hop to Katherine Gorge, in Nitmiluk NP. On our way to the gorge, in our best traditions, Sue and I talked the problem through and had some workable potential solutions by the time we reached Katherine. I visited a pharmacist (it’s a Sunday here) and he was able to reassure me than these are normal side affects but that I was on a double dose and would be wise to half it! Armed with that, we lit for the gorge.
Katherine Gorge is actually a series of gorges on the Katherine River, that are owned by the local Jarwon people and National Parks assist in the management of. The Gorge camping area sits above the river and by marked contrast to Mataranka, has improved out of sight since ‘95. Nitmiluk Tours now run all activities on the gorges, including the camping area and it’s clean, tidy and very well organised. There are sprinklers going in fallowed sections so that most times, most visitors will be on grass. They have a huge camping kitchen where I can access power for the computer despite having a non-powered site. There have been people cleaning this and maintaining that all day since we arrived at 10:30am. The old kiosk is no longer the entry point and they have installed a very large swimming pool as well as additional amenities, They cater for campers, vans (powered or unpowered) and tour groups without anyone seeming to get in anyone’s way.
We had intended staying two nights here, but the cruise we wished to take won't happen again until Tuesday so we are taking that as a signal that we need to slow down. We are both relieved with the idea. More about the cruise later (8 hours, 5 gorges, bushwalking, bar-b-q lunch, swimming). Tomorrow we think we'll go out in a canoe for a few hours depending on how I am settling on the new dose of medication from the puffer.
Today is the best I felt for three weeks.
Hope you are all well. Sue wishes all her work mates a happy return to work and says if that first day back is tough, try to conjure the image of her paddling in a canoe in 35C heat and a steak and red wine dinner at night. She actually believes this image is helpful for you.
Sorry.
Showing posts with label Mataranka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mataranka. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Renner Springs - Newcastle Waters - Daly Springs - Larimah - Mataranka
411(3732) kms
It was our customary early start - pre dawn - and whilst Sue prised the sleep from her eyes, I caught some nice early morning light photos of the pink sky and a giant windmill in silhouette on the film camera unfortunately for you. We were on the road by eight, still with a day to catch up and health issues for me still unresolved. The asthma puffers were giving me a share of nasty side affects which I would have rather avoided.
Our 411kms today took us north to Mataranka. On the way there we called in at Elliott for fuel - as desolate a place as it was on our previous visit in '95. Houses were either half built or half torn down and the residents here and there seemed lost in some sort of dream haze which didn't register visitors. We didn't see Day Waters, as it’s off the Stuart Highway to the west and beyond it, the Tanami Desert, but we stopped in the shade of a tree for morning tea. They have extended their buildings at the roadhouse to include more motel space for the passing trade.
Mataranka Resort was reached just before 1:00pm leaving us all afternoon to kick back and relax in the thermal pool. The pool was lovely - cleaner than I remember it - but then it is managed by the National Parks. The area enclosed inside the NP fence is crossed with walking trails and all sorts of little nooks and crannies, although every track we went on we got looks from grannies. The resort which adjoins it is managed by a private group and it has become a dirty echo. Decay is obvious in everything from the service, to the entertainment, to the campground (luxurious grassed sites in 95 are now deep dust bowls) and the amenities. Sue rates their toilets and showers as the worst we have seen.
Still, you make the most of things and we had a few cleansing adult soft drinks, ordered dinner (Sue's first night off) and listened to a local lass singing to Midi-files!
We walked hand in hand after dinner, finding our campsite in the moonlight before crawling into our swag and letting the possums sing us to sleep.
For the record, they were better at carrying a tune and their Midi files sounded like real leaves rustling in the lazy warm breeze.
We should sleep well.
 |
| Campfire singalong |
Our 411kms today took us north to Mataranka. On the way there we called in at Elliott for fuel - as desolate a place as it was on our previous visit in '95. Houses were either half built or half torn down and the residents here and there seemed lost in some sort of dream haze which didn't register visitors. We didn't see Day Waters, as it’s off the Stuart Highway to the west and beyond it, the Tanami Desert, but we stopped in the shade of a tree for morning tea. They have extended their buildings at the roadhouse to include more motel space for the passing trade.
Mataranka Resort was reached just before 1:00pm leaving us all afternoon to kick back and relax in the thermal pool. The pool was lovely - cleaner than I remember it - but then it is managed by the National Parks. The area enclosed inside the NP fence is crossed with walking trails and all sorts of little nooks and crannies, although every track we went on we got looks from grannies. The resort which adjoins it is managed by a private group and it has become a dirty echo. Decay is obvious in everything from the service, to the entertainment, to the campground (luxurious grassed sites in 95 are now deep dust bowls) and the amenities. Sue rates their toilets and showers as the worst we have seen.
Still, you make the most of things and we had a few cleansing adult soft drinks, ordered dinner (Sue's first night off) and listened to a local lass singing to Midi-files!
We walked hand in hand after dinner, finding our campsite in the moonlight before crawling into our swag and letting the possums sing us to sleep.
 |
| TODAY'S PHOTOS |
We should sleep well.
Thursday, 17 August 1995
Mataranka Return
Mataranka
Pine Creek, Katherine (Kakadu & Stuart Highways) 365 kms
Our accomplished routine in packing up the full tent and all of the paraphernalia continued, with a 90
minute effort and we were pulling away from Muirella Park after final farewells with the Campground Manager (Graham) and the friendly retired couple (lan & Elizabeth), at 8:30 am.
We had a reasonable leg ahead of us, as we were making for Mataranka and a return visit to Elsey Park and the Thermal Pool. The route would take us through the southern entrance to Kakadu and on to join me Stuart Highway at Pine Creek.
The roadside scenery was definitely different in this area of the park, with rolling hills through open
woodland. The surface of this road - the Kakadu Highway - was excellent, with the exception of twenty-odd kms of unsealed road.
Hearts were heavy as we passed by the entrance station and then through the gates of the southern
entrance. However, we left enriched by the seven nights we had stayed in this World Heritage listed park.
Our first stop was at Katherine for the basic necessities of fuel, food and money. In the process of completing the shopping and returning to the car, we happened upon an aboriginal art shop. Wandering in, we discovered the shop was owned and run by local artists as a means of providing a commercial avenue for their work. Large panels of marvelous paintings made of thousands of coloured points, adorned the walls and the shelves held decorated boomerangs, beads, smaller paintings and rhythm or clapping sticks. However, it was the rows of didjeridoos on racks which drew our attention. I had wanted to purchase something of the indigenous art work whilst in the top end and given Chris's musical talent and my interest, it was towards these incredible instruments I had a leaning.
In different places we had seen obvious fakes and highly priced originals. Here we found beautifully
decorated didjeridoos which were of reasonable price and we also watched as one of the artists sat, cross-legged on the floor, decorating one such instrument with the most intricate lines of naturally ground paint. His application was of the finest detail, which belied his application tool: a piece of stringy, chewed grass ! Time and again he dipped that long string of grass into the paint mixture and wrapped it around the didjeridoo as he turned it with his other hand and feet.
Before long, we had our purchase, complete with beeswax mouth piece and following a test playing by the shop manager. With it safely wrapped In bubble plastic, the task of finding a place for it in our transport was fore-stalled until the evening.
We reached Mataranka by late afternoon and had the dome tent up infifteen minutes. Ten minutes later, we were all lazing in the warm water and wondering if "Monty" would make an appearance. Updates on his well-being had reached us during our travels in the Top End, with the latest information indicating he had not been well. Our neighbours at Muirella Park had told us of assisting a fellow tourist - who happened to be a zoologist - remove ticks and treat lesions on it's skin. By the time we were wrinkly, no sign of Monty was to be had.
Bedtime came early for the children, Sue went to the bar and listened to the live music and I caught up on my writing. An uneventful, boring but necessary driving day.
Pine Creek, Katherine (Kakadu & Stuart Highways) 365 kms
Our accomplished routine in packing up the full tent and all of the paraphernalia continued, with a 90
minute effort and we were pulling away from Muirella Park after final farewells with the Campground Manager (Graham) and the friendly retired couple (lan & Elizabeth), at 8:30 am.
We had a reasonable leg ahead of us, as we were making for Mataranka and a return visit to Elsey Park and the Thermal Pool. The route would take us through the southern entrance to Kakadu and on to join me Stuart Highway at Pine Creek.
The roadside scenery was definitely different in this area of the park, with rolling hills through open
woodland. The surface of this road - the Kakadu Highway - was excellent, with the exception of twenty-odd kms of unsealed road.
Hearts were heavy as we passed by the entrance station and then through the gates of the southern
entrance. However, we left enriched by the seven nights we had stayed in this World Heritage listed park.
Our first stop was at Katherine for the basic necessities of fuel, food and money. In the process of completing the shopping and returning to the car, we happened upon an aboriginal art shop. Wandering in, we discovered the shop was owned and run by local artists as a means of providing a commercial avenue for their work. Large panels of marvelous paintings made of thousands of coloured points, adorned the walls and the shelves held decorated boomerangs, beads, smaller paintings and rhythm or clapping sticks. However, it was the rows of didjeridoos on racks which drew our attention. I had wanted to purchase something of the indigenous art work whilst in the top end and given Chris's musical talent and my interest, it was towards these incredible instruments I had a leaning.
In different places we had seen obvious fakes and highly priced originals. Here we found beautifully
decorated didjeridoos which were of reasonable price and we also watched as one of the artists sat, cross-legged on the floor, decorating one such instrument with the most intricate lines of naturally ground paint. His application was of the finest detail, which belied his application tool: a piece of stringy, chewed grass ! Time and again he dipped that long string of grass into the paint mixture and wrapped it around the didjeridoo as he turned it with his other hand and feet.
Before long, we had our purchase, complete with beeswax mouth piece and following a test playing by the shop manager. With it safely wrapped In bubble plastic, the task of finding a place for it in our transport was fore-stalled until the evening.
We reached Mataranka by late afternoon and had the dome tent up infifteen minutes. Ten minutes later, we were all lazing in the warm water and wondering if "Monty" would make an appearance. Updates on his well-being had reached us during our travels in the Top End, with the latest information indicating he had not been well. Our neighbours at Muirella Park had told us of assisting a fellow tourist - who happened to be a zoologist - remove ticks and treat lesions on it's skin. By the time we were wrinkly, no sign of Monty was to be had.
Bedtime came early for the children, Sue went to the bar and listened to the live music and I caught up on my writing. An uneventful, boring but necessary driving day.
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