We last left you, as we were about to depart Alice Springs for the second time. It took us a while to get organised Friday, with laundry, food shopping and vehicle refuelling. Once sorted it was a late departure and we still hadn’t decided where we’d stop for the night. In the end we pushed on and got to ‘Devil’s Marbles’ moments after sunset. ‘WOW!’ What a great spot! Yep, the Devil IS mad, because this is where he lost his marbles (but ‘shhhh’… don’t tell him).
Dan got up early to see the formations with the sunrise, then dragged the rest of the family out and we explored with the kids loving climbing up and down everywhere over the rocks. Hitting the road after a quick brekkie we aimed to get to our next stop early.
Reaching ‘Newcastle Water’s’, a free roadside side stop, by about 2PM we set up just in time before many more arrived at this popular stop. Even when we arrived there was near a dozen vans and likely there was more than 25 in the end in a fairly small area. With our early arrival we relaxed and lit a fire early to cook a dinner in the camp oven – Mmmmm! Apricot Chicken!
The next morning, again leaving early for us, we continued north to Mataranka. The main attraction at this tiny town is the Elsey National Park and several hot springs in the area. We stayed at the Mataranka Homestead Caravan Park that is right by a couple of springs that feed into the Waterhouse River. You can swim in the river but it’s not recommended as it can upset the local fresh water crocs (‘freshies’), and we did see a couple. Swimming in the spring is nice, though not very hot at a comfy 30 degrees. Very pleasant when the outside temperature is 25 degrees!
The following morning we saw Barramundi feeding at the Territory Manor Resort in Mataranka, followed by devonshire tea in the courtyard. Then another swim in the Bitter Springs which was even nicer than the first ones being larger, slightly warmer and in a more natural setting. After lunch we’ve driven a relatively short hop to Katherine, and then out to Katherine Gorge National Park where we camped for the evening. It was a great spot with a very nice pool that the kids and Liz cooled off that afternoon. We were treated to friendly wallabies and squawky bats that evening!
The next morning was an early start with a Sunrise Breakfast Cruise up the Katherine Gorge (gorge 1 and 2). What a feast for our eyes!! It was an amazing experience, and we kept saying how much we want to go back there for more… perhaps even camping along the gorges. We enjoyed a hot breakfast of bacon, eggs, mushies, tomato and sausages whilst taking in the spendour of the sights around us. The photos don’t even do it justice, but show a little of what we experienced. It was definitely a nice time to be on the river, before it got too busy with all the other cruises, canoes etc.
Back at camp for a quick dip in the pool to cool off, pack up and then we headed off for the drive to Darwin.
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