After nearly two weeks, we left Darwin and we’re back on the Explorer Way. This time we’re headed South. First stop was Noonemah Tavern for coffee. This tavern is home of the famous frog races and supposedly the best beer garden in the Territory. Today there were no frogs so we “hopped” back into the car. Our next stop was the Adelaide River War Memorial Cemetery. Even though we found it a sombre and overwhelming experience, the cemetery was beautiful and a fitting tribute to all those killed in the bombing of Darwin Harbour in 1942, plus other service personnel that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
We were back camping and pitched our tent at Riverside Tourist Park in Katherine for 4 nights. It had a pool as well as hot springs within walking distance which were so refreshing in this heat. As we needed supplies, we shopped at Woolworths in Katherine. It was around 4:30pm and I’ve never ever seen register queues like that before. We were just about back in the car park in the line up for a register! The locals said it was worse two weeks ago when everyone was waiting here for the West Australian border to open! I’ll never complain about Wonthaggi on Christmas Eve again. In fact talking to all the travellers we have met the main topic is which permit you’re applying for to get into which state. What a divided Australia we live in during these COVID times. One chap even referred to it as a Visa!
The next day we did a circuit walk in Nitmulik National Park which showcased part of Katherine Gorge as well as the bush. The temperature was the same as Darwin but it felt a lot hotter. No sea breeze in Katherine.
You’d have thought we would learn from past mistakes when the next day we went to Edith Falls for a swim. Well we thought we were heading to an easily accessible swimming hole but instead we had to hike up mountain goat country, in thongs, Ruthie carrying her noodle for a kilometre to get there. I must admit, it was worth it. There are a series of waterfalls and pools on the Edith River and the water was really refreshing after our mountain climb/bush walk. After our swim we decided to complete the 1.6 km walking loop back to the car. Along the way we found another waterfall and pool to cool down in. Funnily enough, this pool was about 100 metres from the car park. If we’d walked this way we may not have strayed any further. However, I’m glad we did it the hard way as the vistas atop the escarpments were astounding.
Know you might think that we’re all “rocked out” but wait there’s more! Today we did the 2 gorge tour of Katherine Gorge and the scenery is still jaw dropping. There are 13 gorges in total and you can see the sub gorge’s that broke away millions of years ago. During the wet season there can be a 6 metre overnight rise in the river level with water flowing from the North. Their biggest flood was in 1998 where the township of Katherine was engulfed. The story goes that the local Woolworths had a saltwater crocodile swimming down the aisles and rescue workers scrambling for cover. It is said that is where Woolworths developed their slogan, “ Woolworths, the fresh food people”. On a less serious note, the cruise is well worth doing. The multicoloured sandstone escarpments rising out of the mirror image river is spectacular.
Again we saw ancient indigenous rock art as well as a few freshwater crocodiles. The bird life comes and goes depending on the level of water holes elsewhere. There were many bottle swallows flying out of a cave. When the boat nudged into the cave, it became apparent why they are called that. Their nests attached to the roof of the cave are perfect bottle shapes. I’ve never heard any positives spoken about bats/flying foxes especially in the current climate. They are abundant at the moment in parts of Katherine Gorge. Our guide actually said they are good for the environment. They will strip out an area but the seeds and pollen they drop actually regenerates that area.
Our last stop in Katherine was the museum which highlighted some of the pioneers including Dr Clyde Fenton and his Plane – a Gypsy Moth. Royal Flying Doctor Service founder Reverend John Flynn had a policy of not using Doctors as Pilots. Dr Fenton arrived in Katherine in 1934 after privately raising funds for his own flying doctor service. His one man show eventually became Northern Territory Aerial Medical Service.
Katherine ✅
Onwards south to Mataranka home of the Never Never. Jeannie Gunn wrote her classic novel, We of the Never Never, based on her life at the Elsey homestead. Besides the hot springs, this is Matarankas claim to fame. We visited the cemetery where the real life characters in the novel are buried. There are statues of them, there’s a museum as well as a replica homestead that was built for the movie. Life would have been very harsh on this cattle station so I’m not going to complain about my lack of phone reception here. We thoroughly enjoyed the beer at the pub with a solely indigenous clientele. They were all very welcoming to us and many were wearing various AFL footy teams colours.
The weather is currently unseasonally 10 degrees hotter than normal for this time of the year. Locals describe it as an early build up and the troppo season will be ahead of schedule this year. Luckily being in Mataranka, we have plenty of springs around us to keep cool in. We went to Bitter Springs and did a float down the river letting the gentle current just take us for a couple of hundred metres. We then walked back and did it again. Bliss! We finished our days at Mataranka listening to the music and then entertained by the whip cracker.
The next morning it was back in the car and heading further south. Slowly nudging closer to home. Our dilemma was whether we take the same route home or go via Queensland outback, which was the original plan. There were only two problems with the latter. One was parts of Queensland had gone into Covid lockdown. The other was NSW is now an extreme risk zone and our home state of Victoria wasn’t letting anyone who’d been in NSW into Victoria. If we went via South Australia again, we’ve been advised Victoria will only let you in if you get through SA in 24 hours!!! We decided to live dangerously and chose to go to Queensland. When we started our journey we said we’d play it safe and avoid red zones. That is getting harder and harder as Victoria has now banned entry to travellers from South East Queensland! Stay tuned, which is what we are trying to do but we can go ages without any phone reception!
The traffic on the Stuart Highway was again carrying a fair amount of tourist traffic. In fact I think I’ve got a repetitive wrist strain injury from the courtesy wave to oncoming traffic. The termite mounds dressed in all manner of odd clothing from Hi Visy’s, t-shirts, hats, flannelette shirts, dresses, bra’s and tu-tu’s along with our singing along to various genres of music in the car is helping with the monotony, not to mention improving Ruthie’s singing. I even took the ear plugs out. Before we knew it we were at our stop for the night, the Barkly Homestead. This property is the first and last pub in the Northern Territory depending on which way you’re going. It is also our last stop in the NT outback. We have seen and learnt so much in this mostly harsh and vast Territory. When you do arrive and see the special places, all the driving has been worth it. Before we left our motto was “You’ll never never know if you never never go.” Now we say CU in the NT.
Not in Cape anymore 
Another great read peeps! And great pictures once again. Hope you get a safe and good run back, but make sure you have your cold weather gear at hand! Stay safe, Chris.