Top End

We headed north from Alice and it warmed up quickly. First stop was Mataranka. There are a couple of great swimming holes that are sourced from warm underground springs at 33 degrees. Bitter Springs is a little larger being the pick of the 2 but we were conveniently camped 200m from the Mataranka spring. Whilst at Mataranka we seen Nathan “Whippy” Griggs do his show which is a cracker! Check him out on YouTube for more action. It was great to catch up with Mel, Boff and the kids here too.

Continuing on to Katherine we checked out the Gorge via

a half day kayak paddle up stream. Spectacular paddling up the gorge and found some great cliffs to jump off. Some nice MTB trails in the area too. Edith Falls is also a ripper swimming & camping spot too.

After Katherine we headed into Kakadu. Things really started to heat up - 35 each day 20 minimum overnight. Jim Jim Falls is by far the most epic swimming hole imaginable. A 200m sheer drop waterfall into 150m diameter pool, the 200m cliffs continue 1km on either side out of the gorge. Pictures don’t capture the scale and can’t do places like this justice. More cathedral like than pleasant waterhole. The cold water a great relief on a hot day. The walks to the top of Jim Jim and Twins were both short and steep, revealed more great views and we found some more nice swimming holes at the top.

Whilst in Kakadu we checked out some fantastic rock art at Ubirr and Nourlangie, checked out the crocs at Cahills Crossing and Maguk was another very good swimming hole. We got a houseboat for the night at Corroborree

Billabong which is part of the Mary River NT. There is heaps of great bird watching for all you twitchers out there. Jabiru’s, Brolgas and Sacred Kingfisher’s among the highlights which you don’t often see on the East Coast. Nada managed to catch his first few Barra albeit undersized or part of a classic one that got away story. Super fun to catch, and easy to see how people get obsessed. Few crocs floating around too.

Into the Big Smoke of Darwin we were very warmly welcomed by Karen and Tony who were great hosts while we camped in their yard for a few days. Great people, it was great chatting to some territory locals to get some insights into the place. We found Darwin to be a nice sized city with interesting landscape, history and local attractions. It was great to see the ocean again but slightly frustrating not being able to dive in. Checking out

museums, markets, festival shows, the waterfront and a bar or two while we were there. It was nice to be out of the dust for a few days.

Litchfield National Park was the next stop. Wangi and Florence falls were busy but nice swimming holes. Our favourite swimming was right by our campsite in the Central Valley crystal clear flowing water into a variety pools and holes just 30m from the tent -ripper spot!

In amongst all that we discovered the car wasn’t charging the batteries of the trailer while we were driving and 2 weeks after that the solar panels gave their last amperes away too. So as we write, a new DC to DC charger is going in the trailer and we will shortly be the owners of some brand new solar panels. Albeit slightly lighter in the pocket. All part of the fun!

Looking forward to heading to WA in the next day or 2. Across the Gibb River Road then to the longed for west coast for a dip in the ocean.