Point Stuart - Mary River - Batchelor
Today's route.
We would like to stay here for another day, but they don't have any rooms available. We cook breakfast on the barbecue by the pool, Aussie style. While we are packing up one of the fishermen meets us and insists on giving us the 1kg barramundi steak he promised me in the bar last night. It goes straight in the fridge - dinner sorted.
We drive to Mary River, 40km down the dirt road. We see lots of wallabies hopping across the road, as well as a swarm of Galahs.
A wallabie sitting in the shade.
At Mary River we join a boat cruise, guided by one of the locals I met in the bar last night. We had discussed the methods of preparation of kangaroo meat - he was a chef in a previous life. The boat trip is the same format as Kakadu: Spot crocks and birds; don't fall in. This time, we are relaxed, the sun is higher up, so the awning does its job and there is a slight breeze. Result: A much more enjoyable trip. We also see loads more birds.
A Pandanus island surrounded by waterlillies.
As the water level drops around here, water lilies start blooming. We visit several spots where there are white and pink water lilly flowers as far as the eye can see. Croc-spotting is a bit disappointing, since we only so one freshie.
Waterlillies everywhere.
A close up waterlilly.
Today's route.We would like to stay here for another day, but they don't have any rooms available. We cook breakfast on the barbecue by the pool, Aussie style. While we are packing up one of the fishermen meets us and insists on giving us the 1kg barramundi steak he promised me in the bar last night. It goes straight in the fridge - dinner sorted.
We drive to Mary River, 40km down the dirt road. We see lots of wallabies hopping across the road, as well as a swarm of Galahs.
A wallabie sitting in the shade.At Mary River we join a boat cruise, guided by one of the locals I met in the bar last night. We had discussed the methods of preparation of kangaroo meat - he was a chef in a previous life. The boat trip is the same format as Kakadu: Spot crocks and birds; don't fall in. This time, we are relaxed, the sun is higher up, so the awning does its job and there is a slight breeze. Result: A much more enjoyable trip. We also see loads more birds.
A Pandanus island surrounded by waterlillies. As the water level drops around here, water lilies start blooming. We visit several spots where there are white and pink water lilly flowers as far as the eye can see. Croc-spotting is a bit disappointing, since we only so one freshie.
Waterlillies everywhere. A close up waterlilly.
A freshie giving us the eye.
Some of the birds we saw on the cruise:
Dollarbird
Cockatoo
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Jabiru Stork
Magpie Goose
Masked Lapwing
Pied Heron
Plumed Whistling-Duck
Radjah Shelduck
Wandering Wistling-Duck
White Bellied Sea Eagle
Whistling Kite
A Masked Lapwing.
A tree full of Cockatoos.
A White-bellied Sea-Eagle
A Pied Heron
At about noon we go ashore again. We say our goodbyes and head off. We stop at the Bark Hut Tavern for another home made lunch. It is becoming a bit spartan, since we have not restocked for a while, but its good enough.
These kind of taverns are dotted throughout the Northern Territory. It is a restaurant/convenience store one one side and a bar on the other. Supplies petrol and diesel and provides a wide verandah with roof-fans, tables and benches. The result is that travellers and fishermen stop off here to fill up on fuel, food and beer.
Eli finds a place stay outside Batchelor, next to the Lichfield National Park. To get there, we need to do 180km sealed road or 80km dirt track suitable for 4wd vehicles only. We check the condition of the dirt road with the locals - its fine to use as long as your vehicle has a high clearance. No problem for the Land Cruiser then. As it turns out, it was not much of a challenge, except for two river crossings.
At the first crossing I got worried, because a Mazda pickup was parked next to the road. I walked over to find out whats up, but they were just having a beer in the shade. They told me this crossing was no problem, but warned me against the next one. I had a look at the crossing and it looked pretty tame all the way through. This turned out to be the case.
The second crossing seemed quite daunting. About 30 yards wide and dammed up by a rock wall. There are signs up saying 'Beware of crocodiles' and 'No Swimming', but what can you do? So I walked through keeping a very close eye on any movement in the water. Maximum depth was about halfway up my thigh, flowing at about 1 meter per second. No holes or big rocks. Of course the Land Cruiser doesn't even break a sweat. The only sweating is done by me - I don't fancy being crocodile food.
Harry 1, Crocs 0
Our digs for the night is a luxury room in a campsite just outside Lichfield National Park - a portacabin with a double bed, its own en-suite, verandah, and 2 air conditioners. The proprietor provided a gas barbie and gas on the house. This was lovely: Spacious, cool and clean. Once again, we celebrate our good fortune with G&T's while looking at the birds. We move on to the pool for a swim, where one of the other campers introduces Eli to the Red Seed Tree.
For dinner we grill the fresh barramundi the Aussie way. We eat it with lemon butter and boiled potatoes with sour cream. A magnificent meal.
There are a few mosquitoes about, but nothing to worry us since we are protected by our newly purchased, the NT's own, Bushmans anti-mozzie spray. We sit outside, drinking wine, listening to the sounds of night and looking at the stars while it cools down.
Tomorrow: Swimming through Lichfield and into Darwin...
Cockatoo
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Jabiru Stork
Magpie Goose
Masked Lapwing
Pied Heron
Plumed Whistling-Duck
Radjah Shelduck
Wandering Wistling-Duck
White Bellied Sea Eagle
Whistling Kite
A Masked Lapwing.A tree full of Cockatoos.A White-bellied Sea-Eagle A Pied Heron At about noon we go ashore again. We say our goodbyes and head off. We stop at the Bark Hut Tavern for another home made lunch. It is becoming a bit spartan, since we have not restocked for a while, but its good enough.
These kind of taverns are dotted throughout the Northern Territory. It is a restaurant/convenience store one one side and a bar on the other. Supplies petrol and diesel and provides a wide verandah with roof-fans, tables and benches. The result is that travellers and fishermen stop off here to fill up on fuel, food and beer.
Eli finds a place stay outside Batchelor, next to the Lichfield National Park. To get there, we need to do 180km sealed road or 80km dirt track suitable for 4wd vehicles only. We check the condition of the dirt road with the locals - its fine to use as long as your vehicle has a high clearance. No problem for the Land Cruiser then. As it turns out, it was not much of a challenge, except for two river crossings.
At the first crossing I got worried, because a Mazda pickup was parked next to the road. I walked over to find out whats up, but they were just having a beer in the shade. They told me this crossing was no problem, but warned me against the next one. I had a look at the crossing and it looked pretty tame all the way through. This turned out to be the case.
The second crossing seemed quite daunting. About 30 yards wide and dammed up by a rock wall. There are signs up saying 'Beware of crocodiles' and 'No Swimming', but what can you do? So I walked through keeping a very close eye on any movement in the water. Maximum depth was about halfway up my thigh, flowing at about 1 meter per second. No holes or big rocks. Of course the Land Cruiser doesn't even break a sweat. The only sweating is done by me - I don't fancy being crocodile food.
Harry 1, Crocs 0Our digs for the night is a luxury room in a campsite just outside Lichfield National Park - a portacabin with a double bed, its own en-suite, verandah, and 2 air conditioners. The proprietor provided a gas barbie and gas on the house. This was lovely: Spacious, cool and clean. Once again, we celebrate our good fortune with G&T's while looking at the birds. We move on to the pool for a swim, where one of the other campers introduces Eli to the Red Seed Tree.
For dinner we grill the fresh barramundi the Aussie way. We eat it with lemon butter and boiled potatoes with sour cream. A magnificent meal.
There are a few mosquitoes about, but nothing to worry us since we are protected by our newly purchased, the NT's own, Bushmans anti-mozzie spray. We sit outside, drinking wine, listening to the sounds of night and looking at the stars while it cools down.
Tomorrow: Swimming through Lichfield and into Darwin...
Hie hie hie... Our survivor game at Thornhill comes to mind...
ReplyDeleteGood thing Mom was not with you!
Jeanie