Hi,
well we made it home ok, after 4 weeks on the wallaby. I guess it is
kind of in my genes to be out on the road, maybe not quite like Henry
Lawson described, but the spirit of the swagman, escaping the towns
and heading "nor'-west and west o'er the ranges" .
I'll bore you with his poem;
On the Wallaby by Henry Lawson
Now the tent poles are rotting, the camp fires are dead,
And the possums may gambol in trees overhead;
I am humping my bluey far out on the land,
And the prints of my bluchers sink deep in the sand:
I am out on the wallaby humping my drum,
And I came by the tracks where the sundowners come.
It is nor'-west and west o'er the ranges and far
To the plains where the cattle and sheep stations are,
With the sky for my roof and the grass for my bunk,
And a calico bag for my damper and junk;
And scarcely a comrade my memory reveals,
Save the spiritless dingo in tow of my heels.
But I think of the honest old light of my home
When the stars hang in clusters like lamps from the dome,
And I think of the hearth where the dark shadows fall,
When my camp fire is built on the widest of all;
But I'm following Fate, for I know she knows best,
I follow, she leads, and it's nor'-west by west.
When my tent is all torn and my blankets are damp,
And the rising flood waters flow fast by the camp,
When the cold water rises in jets from the floor,
I lie in my bunk and I list to the roar,
And I think how to-morrow my footsteps will lag
When I tramp 'neath the weight of a rain-sodden swag.
Though the way of the swagman is mostly up-hill,
There are joys to be found on the wallaby still.
When the day has gone by with its tramp or its toil,
And your camp-fire you light, and your billy you boil,
There is comfort and peace in the bowl of your clay
Or the yarn of a mate who is tramping that way.
But beware of the town -- there is poison for years
In the pleasure you find in the depths of long beers;
For the bushman gets bushed in the streets of a town,
Where he loses his friends when his cheque is knocked down;
He is right till his pockets are empty, and then --
He can hump his old bluey up country again.
Anyway, enough Henry Lawson, back to reality!
After Claudie and gang arrived in Darwin, we spent a couple of days
around Berry Springs and Lichfield National Park. It is fantastic
spending most of the day in the falls and pools fed by pure spring
water. It sure beats the 35C and high humidity of the build up.
We headed south about 400kms to Mataranka and stayed next to Bitter
Springs. We set up in the little caravan park and decided to spend 3
days. The springs are emerald blue and much higher than last year due
to a big wet season. We got some great video using the new GoPro
underwater camera. I can now show people the amazing world beneath the
surface.
At the end of the day we were all set up having a cool ale, when it
started to happen.
In the part light of dusk, we could see fruit bats flying North. There
were just a few initially, then a few more, then the whole colony
blackened the pinky grey sky. They were moving out from the Homestead
Springs where they spend all day 'hangin' around. They sleep all day
and feed all night. This is ok, as long as you did not set up your
caravan campsite underneath a tree that has any type of fruit or
nectar laden flowers. And you guessed it, we were partially under a
tree full of flowers that are the property of one or two bats that
return every night to feast.
These fruit bats are a 'protected' species, so virtually nothing can
be done to remove them. National Parks are so screwed up about
protecting these rats with wings, that I think that I would even cop a
fine for giving them one of my 'don't fool with me' looks. They
obviously haven't heard of the Hendra virus in the NT.
These bats spent all night screeching, eating and then
crapping/vomiting all over my caravan. Even a half arsed attempt at
persuading these darling creatures to not stop in this particular tree
had little effect. We stood out in the early evening darkness, XXXX in
one had, rock in the other. After a half an hour of persuading, I
think we only inconvenienced them, as they flew away and swooped down
with another load of vomit/crap for a direct hit on the van's roof!
Despite the bat issue, we had a great time at Mataranka, and we headed
North back towards Darwin. We stopped at the Cutta Cutta Caves which
are cut from the limestone by millions of years of erosion. That was
ok, if a bit overpriced at $17 per adult.
We spent one night in Katherine so that we could go down to see the
Katherine thermal spring. It is a beautiful little spring on the
outskirts of town. However it does not get looked after with rubbish
and general wear and tear.
It is also a hang out for the locals who get on the piss and create a
real antisocial feel to the place. They were all wearing at least one
wobbly boot by 2pm as well as vomiting up all over the walkways. This
mob must be part fruit bat!
It is a shame as it is a pretty little spring.
On to Darwin for a week of tropical civilisation. We went to the
sunset market at Mindil Beach, which I never get bored of doing. We
also went to the other markets at Parap and Rapid Creek. These are
more traditional markets with a good mix of food, craft and fresh
produce. I always grab a Thai green paw paw salad and a cold drink
when at these markets. It is a great way to spend a lazy Saturday or
Sunday morning.
We went out to Corroboree Billabong for a 1 hour cruise. It was very
hot, but it is beautiful place with lotus lilies, sea eagles, magpie
gees, Jesus birds and salt water crocs. We got some great pics/video
and it was well worth the 3 hour round trip from Darwin!
The poor caravan copped another going over at the caravan park in
Darwin. There were no bats this time, only 2 x Timor pigeons! These
birds are about the size of a magpie, but look like white pigeons.
They eat the berries of the palm trees and within 40 seconds it
passes through them and they poop out the seed. These two birds
decided to raid the palm tree on the other side of the park, fly over
to the tree above our van, and carpet bomb the awning and van until
their bomb bay was empty. You could be sitting out under the trees and
all you hear is a series of rattles as the seeds hit the awning and
land next to your chair! Bastards!
After a week of swimming, eating and generally living the tropical
lifestyle, Claudie and the kids flew back home. They left at about
1.45am from Darwin. It was about 26c and 85% humidity when they left.
They stopped over in Brisvegas where it was 18c and about 16c at
Newcastle. We live in an amazing country.
There was no easy way to get home for the caravan party. There was
4000 kms ahead of us, at least it was downhill!
We only had one instruction from Claudie on how we should make our way
home. She didn't care how long or our route, but we had strict
instructions to STOP at Adelaide river and remove as many large
mangoes as possible without getting locked up!.
So in the mid morning heat of Adelaide river, we strategically
positioned our vehicles to not only provided cover and concealment,
but to provide a platform to reach the higher, larger mangoes. As it
was getting up to the mid 30's, most of the workers at the pub were
not interested in our dad's army operation and we were able to secure
about twenty large mangoes to be shipped south. After achieving our
mission I knew that I could return home without being in deep bat poo!
We had a pretty uneventful trip home, heading south by south east as
quick as we could as it was starting to get very hot, with 39c at Mt
Isa.
Overall it was a good trip with very little grief and minimal
breakages. The only real casualty was the dignity of our new van. It
had been crapped on by fruit bats and Timor pigeons, but after a good
scrub at home, all traces of this indignity were removed.
Did someone say Cape York?
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