Caravanning Camping Touring
Let me share some of our stories with you. I'll try to keep it fun and interesting, with heaps of photos, hints, tips and reviews all relating to life on the road.
14th September – 19th September 2025
Although not part of Kakadu National Park, Marrakai is part of the broader surrounding area with lots to see and do.
Just over an hour’s drive from Darwin, it’s easily accessible to all.
We stayed in the Corroboree Park Tavern; a lovely park and an ideal kick-off point for the Corroboree Wetland Cruises, amongst others. Although we complained a lot about the heat while we’ve been in the NT, the silver lining is our timing; most of the smart people have gone back south, so we have missed the maddening crowds of tourists. That included our cruise.
There were twenty-eight seats on the boat, only seven were occupied, meaning heaps of space to wander and get the best vantage point for photos. I was the only person on board with a serious camera, so no one else left their seats while I ran around like a kid in a lolly shop. “Ooo, look, a bird.” Snap. “Oooo look, a crocodile.” Snap. You get the picture? So did I 😊
Corroboree Wetlands (or Billabong) is part of the Mary River system well known for its high population of Saltwater Crocodiles (Saltys) as well as the smaller freshwater crocs (Freshies). Apparently ‘Saltwater Crocodiles’ is a bit of a misnomer as they are just as happy in fresh water as they are in salt. So, even in this serene place, there is nowhere to hide.
Only minutes after leaving dock, we saw this little Freshie sunning himself on the bank. A Salty will hunt, kill and devour a human whereas a freshwater will warn, then bite, then run away. Apart from that fact, the main difference, is the overall body size and shape of the head.
The Freshie has a longer narrower head and snout, while the Salty’s have a bulbous nose and their head and jaw are much broader and much bigger. The Salty also has a pair of protrusions on the back of its head, just behind the eyes that almost look like ears; apparently, these are pressure sensors, so Saltys can sense changes in the water pressure even if there’s no sound. Let’s hope you never get close enough to have to use those distinguishing factors.
Corroboree is also known for its diverse birdlife. Not so diverse while we were there, but I was happy to see many Black-Necked Storks.
Want to see more crocs? Of course you do. I think that they are quite magnificent, and they truly are prehistoric. Descendants of the crocodiles we see now are thought to have been around 250 million years ago and have survived through mass extinction events.
Dated fossils show that, apart from size, (much smaller now) they are surprisingly similar to their ancient ancestors. These magnificent creatures are the closest we will ever get to seeing a real dinosaur.
Look at the front left limb of the last image in the above slideshow. If it looks deformed that’s because it is. This is a nice segway to a very interesting fact about crocodiles, their anatomy and how they can survive otherwise fatal injuries. Crocodiles have the ability to control blood flow to vessels and their heart. They do this via a “cog-teeth” valve in their heart (thank you Google). Now, according to our guide on the cruise, this ability is crucial to their survival. Apart from the fact they can control their heart rate, allowing them to stay underwater for longer periods, and control their body temp, they can cut off blood flow to specific parts of their body. This makes chance of survival after serious injury more likely.
We saw a female croc who, many years ago had had half of her top jaw bitten off. I didn’t take a photo, but I’m sure there’ll be something online if you want to see her. The point is, any other animal would have died from such a wound, but she was able to stem the flow of blood, let herself heal, and learn how to survive on smaller prey. She has survived like this for several years, and though she is small for a croc, there’s no reason why she won’t live for many more. There is also a larger male croc in the area who got into a fight and had a chunk bitten out of his side. Again, he was able to stem the bleeding, heal himself and even though his lungs are literally exposed, (mind-blowing) he’s doing fine. We didn’t see him, but our guide often does.
This is where a zoom lens earns its money. I wouldn’t want to get this close to any croc, but I do love the close-up shots, especially their eyes.
While there may not have been a huge variety of birds, there were still birds and plenty of them, including my first decent shot of a Glossy Ibis much prettier than its cousin the Bin Chicken. 😊
There were also large flocks of ducks flying around, Wandering-Whistling Ducks, Plumed-Whistling Ducks, Rajah Shell Ducks and of course Magpie Geese. This little group didn’t seem too bothered by the Salty floating by, but they did get up and move back from the water’s edge. Maybe he had his sights set on the Nankeen-Night Herron. Right of the picture. The ranger told us that the birds are “very croc aware”, but this juvenile looks less a-ware and more like a-feed!
White-Bellied Sea Eagles are an impressive raptor and there were several pairs around the Billabong. Another fun fact: When a river, such as the Mary River stops flowing through the dry season, or when a river changes course, a permanent body of water can be left behind, this is the Billabong.
A very impressive nest. The eagles will use the same nest for many years, patching it up at the beginning of the breeding season.
Wild Water Buffalo are quite prevalent in the Corroboree area, though not always welcome. They can do a lot of damage and if their numbers become too great, the rangers will be called in. The ones we saw here were actually semi-commercial stock. The local cattle station musters them from time to time and sells them. They are supposed to be kept away from this protected area – good luck with that, maybe the crocks can help keep their numbers down!
We had a fantastic time with Corroboree Billabong Cruises. The guide was excellent, the scenery stunning and we got our first taste of many crocodiles in their natural habitat. Not literally of course, but we want more!
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
Date 12th September – 14th September 2025
On route to Kakadu National Park is Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, a place well known for its bird life. Of course, I wanted to go there. We stayed a couple of nights in Herbert, twenty minutes from the dam. The Lorikeet Bush camp is very quaint, very small but adequately appointed complete with composting toilet, water, power, and one of the friendliest hosts we’ve met during many years of travelling.
We got up bright and early to visit Fogg Dam before it got too hot. My research had shown me that Fogg Dam is one of the areas visited by a bird watching tour, so it had to be good. Yes, I hear all you non-birders sighing, “Not more birds.” But as a wildlife photographer I shoot what’s available, and right now…that’s birds.
Fogg Dam is very well set up. After a short walk from the car park, you find yourself on the boardwalks over the wetlands. This gives you good vantage points and offers shaded areas to rest and to watch from. It really is a pretty area.
On the walk through the scrub, we came across some more Golden Orb Spiders, (mentioned in my last post). In the first image you can see the tiny males on the web next to the female. They really are quite fascinating and completely harmless to humans, which makes a nice change from most of the other spiders found in Australia.
Soon after the spiders, I had my first sighting of the Forest Kingfisher. As with most Kingfishers they were a striking colour, these ones, blue on blue. I was lucky enough to see a pair resting on an old dead tree.
There wasn’t a huge variety of birds here, I guess it depends on the time of year, but I was pleased to see the Comb-Crested Jacanas strolling amongst the lilies, along with the usual suspects.
There were a lot of Magpie Geese roosting and wandering around the muddy waters. I know the waters were muddy as the geese’s white feathers, were not. Magpie Geese are black and white, not black and brown. Peter thinks they are an ugly bird, I disagree. I also get the distinct impression that they are always smiling, and they are obviously doting parents. I watched this family for a while. A juvenile joined her parents, then a second tried to land but there was not enough room on the tree. So mum and the second juvenile flew off leaving dad and his little girl to themselves.
On the way back I spotted this Juvenile Brown Goshawk. Another first sighting.
Much like the birds, there are often Dragonflies around the water, and there were quite a few variations here.
Fogg Dam is a large body of water, and as well as the walkways over the wetland, you can drive over the dam wall. I was walking around trying to get photos of Crimson Finches when a ranger pulled up and told me not to walk too close to the water as there was a crocodile in there. “Sure,” I thought,” that’s what they always say”. And then I saw this lovely freshwater crocodile.
You know, sometimes we get a bit sick of all the warnings. The ‘Don’t do this’s’ and the ‘Don’t do that’s.’ Then we saw an idiot taunting a crocodile with a towel and I understand why these warnings are necessary. Sometimes I think we should let Darwin’s ‘Survival of the fittest’ take its’ natural course.
After all the croc excitement, I got back to my Crimson Finches. They’re quite a scruffy looking bird, I’m guessing they may be molting, or young birds who haven’t quite grown into their feathers yet. Still, quite a striking colour.
And that’s the end of the Fogg Dam story.
Our next port of call as the Leaning Tree Lagoon Nature Park. This is a lesser-known area, but to be honest, I enjoyed it much more. We managed to get up early enough to enjoy the sunrise, and we had heaps of time to explore. You can walk/drive all around the extensive waterhole.
This was the shot of the day for me. This Little Egret was strutting his stuff in the early morning light, his mating plumage screaming…”Look at me ladies. All this could be yours”.
I’ve seen a few Dollar Birds, but none have been as obliging as this one. He kept to the same flight pattern while looking for food. I was able to get a good bead on him resulting in some lovely in-flight shots.
While walking around with my camera, I often get asked, “What are you after?” Unless I am after something specific, I’ll reply, “Anything that moves.” Just to prove my point, I took this shot while waiting for the sunlight to soften. When I say this shot, I of course mean lots of shots, in order to get some nice ones, like this. Let me tell you, these little buggers move quickly. But how cute is he, even though he looks grumpy?
You may wonder what Peter does to keep himself busy while I’m off chasing whatever it is that I’m chasing. This’ll give you an idea.
Great driver and shady spot finder for Arnie.
While Peter was ‘spotting’ with his eyes closed, this Forest Kingfisher landed on a branch above him. At the same time an Agile Wallaby popped into sight.
Seriously though, he is incredibly patient and I’m lucky that he loves the great outdoors just as much as I love photographing it.
Back to the birds. This was my first sighting of the Green Pygmy-Goose, a very pretty bird, doubly so with the reflections.
I’m not sure what was going on with these Pied Cormorants, they flew together for quite a way, then boom, they started to fight.
The water was so calm and much cleaner than Fogg Dam, I was able to get some lovely reflective images, I particularly like these Wandering Whistling Ducks, but the water splashes from the Pied Cormorant landing adds an additional element.
Early morning seemed to be a good time for fishing. This Great Egret caught himself a substantial feed.
As we completed our circuit of the water, Peter spotted a juvenile Jabiru (Black-Necked Stork). Oh, by the way, we had always thought of ‘Jabiru’ as being the aboriginal name for the bird, but it turns out that the real Jabiru is a sort-of- similar South American bird. The name Jabiru means swollen neck and if you find an image online you can see why. Our bird was misnamed a Jabiru but gradually, there has been a name change, so I guess I should start calling it what it is – a Black-Necked Stork.
Soon after that, a Whistling Kite enjoying what was left of his meal.
All in all, we had a great morning here and would recommend it above Fogg Dam. There were many more birds, a greater variety and flocks of Wandering Whistling Ducks, Magpie Geese, and Rajah Shelducks flying back and forth. On top of that it truly is a lovely area.
Our next stop is Marrakai and our first wetlands cruise. This one is the Corroboree
Wetlands cruise and we hope to see a few more crocodiles, only this time, we expect to see the big salties.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
1st September – 12th September 2025
Litchfield is the NP of swimming holes and waterfalls, and you can swim in all of them, crocodile free.
Ok, you can swim in most of them, there were a couple that had had sightings of crocs, and those swimming holes were closed.
But for the most part they were open, and we enjoyed every single one.
First up, Wangi Falls (I think it’s pronounced wong-eye.) We camped there for three nights, that gave us a minimum of two swims a day in this wonderful swimming hole, just a two-minute walk from where we were camped. We also did the loop walk around the top of the falls offering some great views.
We also did the loop walk around the top of the falls offering some great views.
While camped at Wangi, we drove through the Sandy Creek crossing on the way to Surprise Creek Falls. The deepest and longest crossing we’ve done so far. It was not only long, but as it went around a bend we couldn’t even see where it ended, but Arnie did it with ease.
We also walked to the Tjaetaba Falls lookout. It was further than we thought, in the hottest part of the day, and I got my first and so far, last experience of heat exhaustion. I didn’t like it. ☹
Our next day was a little less adventurous. We visited the Magnetic termite mounds which are quite interesting. They’re not as tall as cathedral mounds but they can reach up to two metres tall; some are as old as one-hundred years, and they always face east – west. The termites only build them in open grasslands, and they are not as common as the cathedral mounds. There was also a Blue winged Kookaburra there.
We had one more place to visit before we moved camp, and that was to the Tabletop Swamp. It was, as the name suggests, a swamp, but it was quite pretty and there were a few birds here and a very hungry little skink.
After Wangi, we moved to Florence Falls where we had what must be the narrowest entry point to any camp site. It’s hard to judge from this image, but our site wasn’t much wider than the van. With much manipulation, Peter got us in.
Florence Falls is another lovely area. The walk to the falls was spotted with little water holes you could have a quick dip in on the way to the main event. Going against the norm, we had to walk down to this waterfall, not up, and on the way down we could see people getting ready to jump in.
Finally, we went to Buley Rockholes, this was super fun. Florence Creek feeds Buley as it cascades down over the rocks. When not in full flood, it leaves swimming holes on multiple levels and you could just start from the top; enjoy it there, then slide on over to the next hole. Human white-water rafting. Neither a pretty nor elegant sight, but as I said…fun.
I told you there were a lot of swimming holes. Like most places in the NT, it’s best to visit in the dry season. In the wet, access to a lot of these places is restricted. Roads are closed, the water flow is too strong to swim in and the risk of crocodiles increases.
Again, there wasn’t much in the way of wildlife at Florence, but there were some pretty amazing dragonflies. I must say, I’m becoming rather captivated by Dragonflies and Damselflies. I even know what the difference is now. Dragons are larger and when resting they keep their wings open. Damsels are smaller, slimmer and when resting fold their wings neatly along their back. I have never seen these gold/orange Dragonflies, and boy oh boy, when the sun hits them, they really do dazzle.
Then there was the Golden Orb Spider and yes, they are as big as they look. Females body length is 4 – 4.5 cm, and their legs can span up to 15cm. The males, however, are a tiny 4 -6 mm. You can see the golden sheen on their webs in the second image.
We still had a few days to kill before going back to Wagait Beach, and we felt due a bit of luxury, so we went to Berry Springs – yes, more swimming holes – and stayed at the Lakes Resort caravan park. The resort had a couple of man-made lakes, with limited access, but enough to get some good shots.
This isn’t one of them. 😊
These are
Lakes Resort was a lovely, well-appointed park. Nice and green with plenty of shade and the hosts there were very welcoming. We extended our stay just because we could. There were quite a few birds here, with ample food and water, they have a pretty good home.
We did go down to the Berry springs, which were very pretty, but I think we’d been swimming-holed out by then, so we just enjoyed the early morning serenity.
Berry Springs is a mere hop skip and a jump from Wagait Beach, we went back for a few more days staying with Richelle, then said a fond farewell and continued on our way towards Kakadu National Park.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
15th August – 1st September 2025
Our trip to Kingaroy was a bittersweet experience. It was great to see all the family, but oh so sad was the reason. John was a big man and lived a big life. His heart was as big as the outback he loved, and his humour was twice as dry. He was Peter’s go-to man for all things to do with life on the road, he was my challenge to outwit or be outwitted, and he was everything to Hazel and their family. He will be overwhelmingly missed.
Back in the NT, we were getting ourselves ready to travel again. One of the things that needed to be done was to get Arnie his 30,000 km service. It takes about an hour and twenty minutes to drive from Rick and Michelle’s (Richelle’s) home in Wagait Beach, to the city of Darwin. Arnie was booked in close to the city, so we thought, why not have a day exploring, followed by date night in the big smoke. This was one of three days we spent in Darwin and included a very enjoyable few hours in the Darwin Aviation Museum..
We booked the car in, got a loan-er, and went exploring. After we got Arnie back we freshened up and got into our glad rags. I owed Peter a night out for his birthday, (22nd Aug) so we went to the Darwin Casino at Mindil Beach Resort for a bit of fun. I can’t say that we won at the casino, but our allocated funds had us playing (mainly roulette) until nearly midnight. We had a ball. We also had the best Chinese meal ever at the Dragon Court restaurant. It only had a small menu, but it was all traditional food, and it was delish. I’m a bit disappointed we weren’t able to go back.
Wagait beach is a lovely area, and when I say Richelle live on the beach, I mean right on the beach. The house is great, nice and high to get those sea breezes and open to enjoy the view.
So far, there hasn’t been that much in the way of wildlife. So, I’ve had to get my fix of photography anyway I can. I hope you like insects. I was fascinated by these green tree ants. Such a pretty colour. I discovered later that they are actually distilled, here in the NT, to make Green Ant Gin. Surprisingly tasty, so I’m told. The ants spend most of their time building, moving or rebuilding their nests. There can be as many as a dozen nests in any one tree, and if you leave your car under one of their trees, they will find their way to it by building an ant bridge.
Then I got really excited when I saw these spiders. Don’t know why, it was just a common St Andrews Cross spider amongst the passion fruit vine, and the cutest little jumping spider, sharing the green ant’s tree. And just because nobody loves the Flesh Fly, I thought I’d give this one a chance of fame. Told you I was getting desperate. 😊
We had a few walks along the beach, and we even borrowed Ricks four-wheeler and that was fun. Did we swim, no, not in the sea anyway. There was talk of crocodiles in the area; let’s face it, there’s talk of crocs all over the NT, but more about that later. Richelle haven’t seen any on the beach, though have heard of one being sighted way offshore by a fisherman, and there was one in a tributary up the beach a-ways a few years back. Rick often fishes off the beach, and the only bites he gets are from the fish. We have to remember. if you want to swim in the oceans in Australia, you have to take your chance with the Sharks, the Bluebottles, Box jellyfish and the itsy-bitsy Crocodiles, etc, etc. 😉
I have often seen, as have we all, shells on the beach. But it’s not as often that you see the little critters inside those shells. I don’t know if it was the time of day or what, but there were hundreds of little sand crabs on the move. I had to sit still and wait for these shots as the smallest movement had them withdrawing back into their shells.
One of the other beaches in the area is Dundee beach.
We drove out there and had lunch overlooking the ocean. A very popular spot for charter fishing trips.
Other than that, there’s not a lot else to do in the immediate area, unless you go to Berry Springs, (we did that later) or Litchfield National Park. We went there next.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
6th August 2025 – 15th Aug 2025
Welcome to the Northern Territory, the Top End of Australia, the last untamed wilderness and heat!
Our last 24 hrs at Camooweal saw us enjoying a daily high of 22 degrees centigrade and an overnight low of 11 degrees. Pretty much spot on for us. The following 24 hrs offered up a daily high of 33 Degrees and an overnight low of 23, and it’s still winter!
We spent our first two nights in the NT at roadside stops. One on the Barkly Hwy at Ranken, the second was north of Elliot, then we drove on to Mataranka and Katherine.
Our first impressions of the NT is that it’s very hot, there seem to be a lot of small fires (there have only been few days when we have neither seen nor smelled smoke,) the country looks very dry, even though here is quite a bit of water lying around. But what’s really messing with my head is that a lot of trees are bare, a lot more are still losing their leaves giving the look of Autumn, but the thirty plus temperature screams summer. I have to say, it’s weird.
Saying that, we’ve only seen a tiny portion of the territory. As I said…first impressions.
Driving is a little different in the NT. The speed limit is 130 on the freeways, and it appears that you can overtake on a double centre line. To date we have been overtaken this way four times.
Fair enough we’re not travelling at 130 kms per hour. But then the average ute doesn’t have a combined mass of six and a half tons.
Wait for the overtaking lanes guys, there are plenty of them.
For those of you overseas, the Territory only has two seasons. The wet and the dry. We’re visiting at the end of the dry and we should have another month before the tropical rains set in. Most tourists visit through the dry season (Autumn and Winter) to get away from the cold down south. Also, the heavy rains in the wet season (Spring and Summer) make it impossible to drive to a lot of tourist spots as many roads are closed with flooding.
Fun fact
As land heats up faster than the nearby Arafura Sea, hot air rises over the land and draws in cooler, moist sea air. This raises humidity to nearly 100% daily, causing the moist air to rise, condense, and result in heavy monsoon rains.
In contrast, the dry season occurs for the opposite reason. Thank you, science guys. 😊
Now to the fun stuff. Mataranka is famous for its hot springs, although the fact that it’s the origin of the 1950’s movie ‘We of the Never Never’ really put it on the map in the first place. We could have stayed at Mataranka Homestead CP, a short walk from the thermal pools, we decided to stay at Jalmurark campground, in Elsey National Park. Great decision. Mataranka Homestead is very touristy, caravans lined up, side by side, and it’s not an attractive Park. There is a pub there, (serving cool beer) and a huge car park to accommodate the tourist busses.
Go to Jalmurark. It’s only 5 kms from the springs, an easy walk to th e Roper River, and much more relaxing.
We virtually had the place all to ourselves which was a bonus.
We had four nights there and made good use of our time.
We did visit Mataranka springs and enjoyed it greatly, though the 34 degrees temperature was not discernible from the 33 degree air temp. The water was crystal clear, and a gorgeous colour. Overall, a very relaxing and enjoyable experience.
Jalmurark campground is well set out, plenty of space between sites, and there were a few birds in the area, including an Olive Oriole, Varied Lorikeet, Great Bowerbird and a Brown Honeyeater, all new sightings for me.
On our second day there, Peter got his bike out to cycle the Roper River track, four kilometres – each way, while I walked it. Add on the distance from our site and the detours we took, the whole walk was closer to nine kms. The Roper is a lovely wide river and apart from the heat, we enjoyed the day thoroughly.
Peter left me to wander with my camera and made it to the end of the track long before me. But because he was speeding, he didn’t see the crocodiles, or the Wolf Spider, I did.
Peter had a good rest, then turned back and caught me halfway past the three km marker and the end of the track. And, being the gentleman that he is, he kept me company as I walked to the end. Our reward for the long trek, these little waterfalls. Believe you me, on a hot day like this, they were very inviting but, being croc aware, we didn’t go in.
Peter knew I was getting tired, and I don’t cope very well with heat these days, so on the walk home he doubled back a few times to check on me. Then when we hit the 1 km to home marker, he took off, only to return on foot with fresh water and accompany me home. What a man.
Then next day was a rest day. We just drove around the area, checked out the town and Bitter Springs, another thermal pool. Water just as clear and inviting, and much more popular. It was packed. We also checked out the old Homestead at Mataranka, which was used in the movie, ‘We of The Never Never’.
Our next stop was Katherine, not very far down the road, but we still had to stop for smoko. Peter found this little pull-over on the side of the road. A very pretty spot, croc free with crystal clear water.
We were both keen to visit Katherine gorge and have a good look around the area. We stayed in town at the Riverview Caravan Park. It was good park and an easy walk to the Katherine hot springs, the Katherine River, and the frozen mango man.
He comes into the park every afternoon selling fresh fruit, vegies and frozen mango. We bought a couple of containers, loved them and wanted to buy more. This proved a little difficult as it was hard to catch him. You’d hear his quiet, little bell (if you were lucky,) but by the time you got up and grabbed your money, he was gone. This inspired a limerick.
The old man who sold frozen mangos,
Would sell them where travelling vans go.
But he drove round so quick,
You’d have to be slick,
Or you’d never get your frozen mango.
Don’t fret, we managed to get him on our last day and stocked up.
A 2km walk from the Riverside Tourist Park was the Low Level Nature Reserve. We went to check it out a couple of times. It was quite a pretty area and there was still a good amount of water in the river. I was on the lookout for crocodiles when I spotted this little fellow way on the other side of the water.
It was only a few hundred meters from Chunky Bum to the Katherine River, and it was there that I saw my first Blue Winged Kookaburra. She is beautiful and I can’t wait to see a male. I was also thrilled to see Peter’s favourite bird, the Rainbow Bee Eater. This must one of the most elegant birds we have.
The Katherine River also boasts some impressive thermal springs. Again a short walk from the caravan park, these hot springs are formed on many levels, each cascading down onto the next, and very popular with locals as well as tourists.
A highlight for us was the Nitmiluk Gorge sunset dinner cruise. To avoid confusion, Nitmiluk is the Jawoyn name for Katherine Gorge. The Jawoyn are the traditional owners of this land. The Gorge is on thirteen levels, each separated by extensive rocky areas during the dry, and it is truly magnificent.
I don’t believe that these photos do Nitmiluk justice, but they should give you an idea of the enormity and magnificence of the area. If you get a chance – go and see for yourself.
We left our little boat at the end of the first level and had a wonderful walk along the bottom of the gorge, giving us a chance to experience it on foot before hopping into another boat to explore the second gorge.
After we’d explored the second gorge we retraced our steps and reboarded our first boat for the return trip. Then, as the sun began to drop below the horizon our on-board chefs got to work to prepare our delicious meal while we enjoyed a nice bottle of bubbly. Ahh, could it get any better? It could in fact. You see we were seated with three lovely people (should have been four but Roger was ill,) and we enjoyed some great conversation and exchanged travel stories. That made the evening all the more wonderful.
We highly recommend the sunset cruise. Sometimes on these cruises the food is sub-standard. Not on this one. Plenty of it, cooked fresh on the boat, very good quality.
Our guide recited many facts and stats regarding Nitmiluk, which are awesome, but to many to list. Things like,
- At the time we were on the water the shallowest point was 1.5 metres. The deepest part (a corner section) was between 32 – 35 metres deep. Each wet season it gets deeper. This section is also the resting place of Bolung, the Rainbow Serpent.
- When full, the gorge could fill an empty Sydney Harbour – every nine hours.
- There are thirteen gorges carved from sandstone and are approximately 23 million years old.
- Every wet season the water level in Nitmiluk rises dramatically, in the 2006 floods the river peaked at 19 meters – that would cover a six-story building!
Our next stop from Katherine was to be Kakadu. However, we had some incredibly sad news that our brother-in-law, John, had passed. So, we made our way to Wagait beach, where we set up camp in Rick (John & Hazel’s son) and Michelle’s garden, then made plans to fly to Kingaroy to say farewell to John.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
2nd August – 6th August 2025
188 km west of Mount Isa, 440 km from the Stuart Highway and 12kms east of the Northern Territory border, is Camooweal, our next stop. Now, back in 2018, Peter, his brother Les and I did a three-week camping trip through outback Qld with two cars, a tent, a swag and a shovel. Now that’s bare camping in its truest form. Part of that trip took us to Camooweal where we caught up with Peters’ other siblings, Hazel and John, Robynn and Gil. We found a great place to camp on the Georgina River and had a fantastic time. So, we were really looking forward to getting back there.
The Georgina River doesn’t flow constantly; it relies heavily on the tropical summer rains. Yet there are two water catchments, Lake Canellan and Lake Francis that retain water most, but not all of the time between rains.
As always Peter found us the best spot for our camp on the banks of Lake Canellan. It was pretty, chocked full of birds and we had our very own resident Brolgas to share morning coffee with.
The sun rises yes, I did see them (well one) were lovely, but the sunsets offered much better lighting for photography, that kept me happy. As for Peter, there were plenty of areas for him to go for a ride, Including Lake Francis. This was two to three km further down the road from Lake Canellan, and it too offered some lovely scenery.
Camooweal was just as we remembered. We camped about three hundred meters from where we’d camped with the family on our last visit. But the birds, oh my, the birds! I identified 35 species but I’m sure the experts would have recognised many more So, right here and now I will warn you, there are going to be a lot of photos of birds. I’ve culled and culled and there are still too many but here we go.
First up was a big surprise and a first sighting for me. We drove up to the far end of Lake Francis, and I could not believe my eyes when I saw this pair of spectacular Jabiru (Black-Necked Storks).
The females have a yellow iris where the males have a brown iris. Hard to tell from a distance but easy from these photos
I mentioned Brolgas, we actually saw seven in the area. Two couples and a family of three. To me, Brolgas are a mix of elegance and comedic charm. They are devoted couples and are never far from each other.
Brolgas love to dance. Apparently their most elaborate dances are generally for courtship or strengthening their bond. I think they just love to dance and they dance like no one is watching.
They are big birds and need a decent runway for take-off. Elegance takes no part in this action.
There were a good number of Cormorants in the area, and it wasn’t hard to see why. This fellow got the catch of the day, lord knows how he swallowed it, it took some doing, but he got there in the end.
But there were plenty of small fish to feed the rest of the population. I’d like to say that only a few fish were harmed during the taking of these photos, but there were actually quite a lot.
And at the end of a hard day’s fishing, it’s off to find a roost for the night.
There were plenty of Raptors in the area.
Now you may notice the next three images are not birds, but is this or is this not, the prettiest caterpillar you’ve ever seen?
He was quite big, I’d guess about 75mm long and was all by his lonesome.
From the prettiest caterpillar to the cutest ducks. This pair of Pacific Black ducks were just having a ball. I watched them for a good ten minutes and could almost hear them laughing.
There have been a few birds I wouldn’t expect to see this far inland, including this randy pair of Black-Fronted dotterels. There were also pied stilts, some sort of Tern and a solitary Black Swan.
So, we’re nearly at the end. Here a is a small sample of some of the other birds around our camp.
Dusk provided me with perfect light for the birds and the water.
Congratulations and thank you, if you made it through all these images. You might think I posted every single image I took – believe me…I didn’t.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
