31st July Mt Isa

 kms today 456            kms to date 8632

I was woken this morning by the Bush Turkey's getting excited by the sprinklers.  There were dozens of them cackling away.  I was last night there were 1000's of budgerigars at the back of the campsite as well.

I took off at 8:30 and it took about 2 hrs to get to the Queensland border.  The countryside was changing all the time from low scrub to open grassland and later treed and undulating. There was a big border station on the NT side but nothing on the QLD side.

Barkly Tablelands - You can see the curvature of the earth on the horizon

I learned later the reason why there were no trees in this landscape. The soil is volcanic in origin and has been slowly washed to the west from the Volcanic Provinces to the East.  This soil is highly reactive and shrinks and swells a lot due to changes in rainfall.  The movement in the soil will break trees roots and prevent trees growing, whereas native grass can thrive.

I stopped at Cammoweal just over the border for fuel and lunch. There was a big queue of 4WD's waiting for diesel, but I was able to skip round them to the the Premium.  There were Police around, not for Covid border pass checking, but to keep order in  the queue for fuel. This is the only petrol station between Barkly Homestead and Mt Isa, a distance of 460kms.

I arrived in Mt Isa at 2:30 and checked in at the Irish Club.  This is the third time I've stayed here and my room has been recently renovated.  I was also able to do some much needed washing in an excellent laundry.

I rushed to the Mt Isa Fossil Museum and it had changed quite a bit since 2010, but was still fascinating.  Riversleigh, the fossil site that is World Heritage listed, is the source of the specimens.

 

A fossilised snake skeleton looks like a necklace

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This interactive image of a Megafauna would dance if I danced and just as badly

I called Morag and she has got to the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, but unfortunately the bus trip into Purnululu NP was booked out.  She is going to try and get a ride with someone with a 4WD.  She is starting to find that there is so much tourist traffic internally in WA that attractions are getting booked out well in advance.

30th July Barkly Homestead

 Kms today  292                         Kms to date 8177

I didn't sleep much last night worrying about Morag.  I spoke to her after breakfast and she had been able to open up the boot and start the car using the portable battery we bought in Katherine.  She was heading off to Wyndham today.

I put the idea to her that we could meet in Timber Creek and come home together through SA, but that didn't interest her at all.  She is going to try and charge up the Traction HV battery and try and keep it charged by using Hybrid mode only.  Also she is going to get a new aux battery from Repco in Kununurra.

So I am going on to Barkly Homestead as planned and we'll talk tonight and make a final decision.  Just to add more stress, I had a note from my Ophthalmologist that I should try to make the August 18th appointment as it was critical for future treatment decisions.

I stopped to have a look at the Tennant Creek Overland Telegraph precinct but it was locked up.  These telegraph stations were needed a regular intervals along the Overland Telegraph to boost the signal. 

Tennant Creek Telegraph Station

After I checked in at Barkly Roadhouse and had a nap, I rode 50kms down the Tablelands Hwy.  I had decided early that I wouldn't go to Cape Crawford and ride the full 400kms on the Tablelands Hwy.  There was only Regular Unleaded fuel at Cape Crawford and I would need a fuel can to bring extra fuel and add an Octane Booster to avoid damaging the engine of the Kawasaki and it just wasn't worth it.  I passed two mobs of cattle, one each side of the unfenced road.  They seemed to keep a safe distance.  There were 3 cars with caravans and one truck - not much traffic.

 

The evening sun cast a shadow of my bike across the road

Straight and flat as far as the eye could see

There was one truck carrying much needed water tanks

When I got back to Barkly Homestead I sat down for dinner.  After starting I had to go back to my room for my phone and when I came back a couple were sitting at my table and they had cleared my meal away!  I got talking to them anyway.  They were Troy and Jeannie from McKay and he was working in the mining industry.  He seemed to think he was from the "real" Australia not like those people in Sydney and Melbourne with their funny ideas on climate change.  I pointed out politely that half of Australia's total population lived in Sydney and Melbourne and they were real Australian too.  We got onto the subject of electric cars and he was dismissive of the whole idea as being impractical " in my life time"  Jeannie seemed to think she would miss the roar of the V8 supercars and electric cars would be a poor substitute on the race track and I had some sympathy with that.  Anyway we continued our conversation in a civil manner and the mantra "not in my lifetime" seemed to be Troy's answer to any change I suggested.  Later I realised that they lived in George Christensen's electorate of Dawson and they were parroting his views on climate change and policies to avert ecological disaster.  Australian politics is in such a bad state that a few MP's that can convince their electorate that 1 and 1 equals 3 can hold up national policy initiatives that might just head off the climate disaster we are heading towards.  "Real" Australians are taking us over the cliff! 

Morag called again with more battery troubles at Lake Argyle.  She was helped out by a handyman at the campsite who found a way for her to jump start the car under the bonnet, rather than in the boot.  She is getting fed up with the car, but what can she do except struggle on to Perth where there is a Hyundai dealer authorised to work on its electric cars.

29th July Tennant Creek

 Kms today 400            Kms to date 7884

I met the two adventure bike riders as they packed up their machines in the morning.  They had started in WA and rode across to Uluru via Warburton. Then they took every dirt road they could find and were heading to Darwin. Reminded me of two dirt bike riders Alan and I  met in 2010 at Cape Crawford. They would rather ride on the dirt shoulder than on the bitumen!

A KTM and much modified Ducati Multistrada - serious off-road bikes

 I successfully made my application to enter Queensland while I ate my breakfast at the Hi Way Inn.  They had good Optus reception and a good breakfast!  I took off at 8:30 and made my first stop at Renner Springs.  The Chinese lady at the till told me she loved motorcycles and came out to wave me off!

I'm now retracing my steps and that makes the journey less interesting.  After I checked into the Goldfields Motel I walked down the road to the Nyinkka Nyunya Art Centre.  It was very hot. There was a new exhibition being set up. An artist in residence, Bevil Staley, had painted faces of Aboriginal Elders taken from photographs.  He used colours of the earth around Tennant Creek very effectively. I bought a painting by Dianne Williams called Bush Tucker and her nephew was working in the Gallery that day.

It's 36 Degrees a  2:30 in the afternoon

 

One of Bevil Staley's portraits

Bush Tucker by Dianne Williams

I went back to the Goldfields Hotel and front bar was full of local Aboriginals, so I bought a beer and settled down to observe the fun.  A couple playing pool were having a lively conversation in the local language, but things were pretty quiet.  I had a conversation with an old Aboriginal man sitting at my table.  He had a big white beard and shaggy hair.  He told me about his recent journeys around all his relatives, which were numerous, but he spoke very softly so I couldn't hear everything he said.  I finished my beer and stood up to go and as usual my clumsy gene lead to me knocking over my empty glass.  A young Aboriginal man immediately jumped up to help me if I stumbled - he had been watching me even though I didn't notice it.  I thanked him and assured him I was OK.  I thought, they were checking me out as I was the only 'white fella" in the bar.  I didn't feel any antagonism or threat in Tennant Creek, even though there were more Aboriginals than Europeans.  They just lived their own lives and didn't mind me at all.

Morag called me later very distressed that she was still having battery problems. I did some internet research into the Ioniq chat rooms.  It turns out that the aux battery is charged by the traction battery not an alternator. For this to be successful the traction battery has to be regularly fully charged.  When I was with Morag I charged it up most nights and had no problems.  She is going to have to charge it up every couple of days which of course makes free camping much more difficult. She is angry that her plans have been scuppered by the car. I am responsible for this situation because I was against her taking Catherine's car, which would not have had these battery problems when free camping. But I was concerned about more mechanical problems with the Nissan 

28th July Daly Waters

 Kms today 305            Kms to date 7483

I had breakfast at The Beagle Motel where Morag and I stayed.  There were some Aboriginal women having a meeting and I asked them about the Banatjal Garden I was reading about in Bruce Pascoe's book.  This garden was established near Katherine so that the medicinal plants that Aboriginals had used for 1000's of years could be cultivated and understood. They directed me to an Elder called Mavis Jumbiri but she told me it was difficult to get to and suggested I go to the Jawoyn Association depot where there was a mini garden. She wrote down the details for me on a piece of paper in beautiful clear handwriting. So I did and met Samara, who showed me the garden, which had Lemongrass, Korik Korik and Casava.  I bought a jar of ointment which helped aches and pains.

 

Mini-banatjal Garden at Jwoyn Centre

I stopped at Mataranka to see if I could find my blue Yamaha side stand plate, but no luck.  But I did have a look at the reconstructed Elsey Station house used in the movie of We of the Never Never.

 

This Elsey Station homestead was built for the movie

 

 I went back to Mataranka township for fuel and lunch. Home baked meat pies were very good. I stopped at the Alexander Forest cairn.  It celebrated his journey in 1879 from The Pilbara to the overland telegraph at this point and on up to Darwin.  Twiggy Forest the Iron ore magnate is his great great nephew.

 

Alexander Forest Cairn from his journey in 1879 from The Pilbara

I stopped at the Hi Way Inn on the Stuart Hwy to check them out for breakfast.  A cyclist turned up to replenish his water on his way to Darwin.  I had a chat about his journey and his bicycle. A couple of adventure motorcycles also turned up to fill up and I saw them later at the Daly Waters Pub.

 

The tree near Daly Waters marked by John McDouall Stuart in 1862, while he surveyed the route for the Overland Telegraph

I checked in to the Daly Waters pub and found that I had not booked one of the new motel units but an old pub room.  They were cheaper but cold showers and noisy campers nearby made the savings not worthwhile.  Over dinner I chatted with a retired cattle farmer from Dubbo. He referred to aborigines as 'natives' and warned me to avoid Tennant Creek.  I resolved to make sure I was in the bar of the Goldfields Hotel when the local aboriginals were in full song!

27th July Katherine

 Kms today 326          Kms to date  7176

I was packed up early and stopped at local café for coffee and toast and filled up the tank.  I decided to take the Dorat tourist road from Adelaide River to Pine Creek.  It was through scenic country and nice and windy, but the surface was questionable and I never got really comfortable so it was slow going.

 I got to Pine Creek about 12:30 and filled up and had some lunch.  There was another biker in the Pub and he was riding a Honda Africa Twin with a trailer.  He had tried the Tanami three times but had trouble, mainly with the trailer, each time.

 I checked into the Katherine River Lodge, which was a huge place and turned out to be used mainly by workers. After a swim in it's pool, I took a walk along the Katherine River to the Katherine Club for dinner.  I couldn't see the river and the next day realised that Alan and I stayed on the other side of town and had much better access to the river.

After dinner I went into the bar area for a drink and watched a couple of men playing pool.  They were very good and told me they were A grade competition players and were waiting for the NT No 1 player to arrive for a game.  I think there might have been a few side bets going on, but they were very discrete!

26th July Darwin my 70th irthday

 Kms today 11 (to the ferry) Kms to date 6850

I didn't sleep very well and was up early as I had to be at the Ferry Terminal by 7:30am. I rode the Kawasaki down to the port wearing my shorts: the first time I have done this in Australia, mind you all the locals ride round in shorts.

I was getting a Ferry to the Tiwi Islands 80kms from Darwin.  I had booked a cultural tour. Quite a crowd built up at the ferry terminal including a lot of locals, not just tourists.  The trip took over two hours but it as quite smooth sailing so my Kwells weren't needed.

Our very modern INCAT ferry

We arrived at Bathurst Island and were met by a mini bus with some local guides Trevor and Leon and taken for a drive through the community.  About 1,500 people live on  the two main islands and almost all are indigenous islanders and all of them are fully vaccinated against Covid. The Tiwi Islanders are a quite separate cultural group from the mainland aboriginals. They are also mad about Aussie Rules Football and have provided some great players to the AFL, such as Michael Long.  First stop was an art collective called Ngaruwanajirri. It had a section for carving and a section for painting.  

Decorated ceiling in the art collective

We watched artists finish off their work and asked permission to take photographs.  Aboriginals have been traditionally reluctant to have their photographs taken, but the advent of the mobile phone has  just about eliminated this cultural taboo. One man was painting straight lines with incredible accuracy.  Another woman was completing a picture of a crocodile.  I bought a small carving for Morag; a totem for a woman.

This man's line work was as accurate as a printer

This woman was finishing off a picture of a crocodile.

Next we went for morning tea-damper and Billy tea.  There an old fellow called Bernard, who was Macarius in the film Island Wedding, who told us about his dreaming and culture.  I had a go with his clapping sticks. There were 3 women painting scallop shells and the tourists were buying them up, because they were cheap.  

Three women painting shells

Some found the Smoking Ceremony a bit too much

Then the younger men explained the 4 "skins"  that were on the islands and what were the rules for contact and marriage between the skins.  This was all to prevent inbreeding in the small population. We had a smoking ceremony. Then they performed four totem dances for the shark, the crocodile, the brolga and one other.  We had to guess the animals.  

Leon explains the "Skin": rules for social interaction on the islands.

 

Trevor dances like a Brolga

Next we visited the old church and saw the radio shack from which the Father McGrath of the Mission of the Sacred Heart warned Darwin that there was an air attack coming in 1942, which they ignored. There were two air raids that day and the damage to Darwin was extensive.  Japan attacked the north of Australia 100 times, but the Darwin raid was by far the largest. It was about the same size as Pearl Harbour and had the same Jaapanese commander. 

Church of the Sacred Heart

Finally we were taken to the Museum which had the history of the island. There was another art shop on the way back to the boat but I gave it a miss.

 

Entrance to the Tiwi Island Museum

Once we got back to Darwin, I went straight to the Boat Club for dinner and another spectacular sunset and to celebrate my 70th Birthday.  I talked to Morag, Catherine and Lachlan while sinking a few pints of Peroni,  my favourite draft beer..

Happy Birthday to Me!

25th July Darwin

No kms today but I did walk 5kms

After brekkie of Muesli and a cup of tea, I walked to the NT Art and History Museum. My first disappointment was that the art gallery section was closed for set up of a new exhibition.  So I looked at the natural history section. For a diversion I asked one of the assistants if he could identify the small bird I photographed in Litchfield. He admitted that his expertise was lizards, but he would ask a bird expert. He sent a copy of my photo to the expert and the answer was a Syriated Pardalote ( which turned out to be wrong, but I was impressed anyway).

There was a special display about Cyclone Tracey, which hit Darwin On Christmas Day 1974. Before and after aerial photos showed the extent of the damage, and forced the mass evacuation of the population. There was an ABC newsreel of the aftermath, but disappointedly no footage of the Cyclone in action. Morag and I saw a home movie of the actual Cyclone back in 1981. There was an outdoor exhibition about shipping containers, I fool you not!  It described the revolution that containers made to worldwide shipping in 5 brightly painted shipping containers.

One benefit of the visit to the Museum was that I learnt about the Darwin Boat Club nearby, which had a bistro on the beach and was good for watching sunsets.  I rushed over to a Chemist to buy Kwells for the boat trip tomorrow and passed by a large Condo with a café going gang busters on the ground floor a bit like Casuarina.  There was a large private Catholic school opposite with manicured lawns and playing fields. Looks like there is a bit of money in Darwin.

Where the rich and famous in Darwin spend their Sunday afternoons

Dinner at the Darwin Boat Club was nothing special but views of the sunset were spectacular and 1/2 hour later the horizon filled with a red and pink afterglow. 

More rich and famous Darwinians partying on a Catamaran

We were all waiting for this spectacular sunset over the Timor Sea.

Followed by the equally spectacular after glow.

24th July Darwin

Kms today 193 Kms to date 6839 

We had our last breakfast together for a while and headed out together to visit the Magnetic Termite Mounds.  These termite mounds are unusual because they are flat sided in stead of having folded sides.  The reason is that the mounds are built on areas that are likely to flood and so all the internal storage had to be above the flood level, hence the flat sided mounds which have more space inside.  The termites use the earth's magnetic field to oriented the mound N-S and reduce internal heating.  The more traditional termite mounds are in the background on higher ground.

The termites aren't magnetic, but use the earth's magnetic field to orientate their mounds N-S

Morag turned around to go back to Batchelor and Pine Creek, and I kept going through the park and up to Darwin on the recently sealed B30.  It was refreshing to have a long section of winding road to enjoy.

I got to Darwin about midday and after a bite of lunch at the harbour precinct, I went to the Tourist Office and got a city map and booked a day trip to the Tiwi Islands. The next trip was on Monday, the 26th July and my 70th birthday, so it was my birthday present to myself.  

I found the Paravista Hotel, which was in the Parap area of town and booked another night due to my trip on Monday.  The hotel was opened just before Cyclone Tracey in 1974 and was relatively undamaged. There is an aerial photo in the foyer showing the area round the hotel completely denuded of trees after the cyclone.

This is what Darwin looked like after Cyclone Tracey

I had dinner at a local Japanese restaurant and was tacked onto a large group of people celebrating a birthday. It was one of those restaurants were the chef throws bowls of food around and has a continuous patter to go with it. The beer you were encouraged to drink was an import from Japan and cost $16/bottle!

CUmtotheNT was a local Tourist Slogan!

             

After a rather unsatisfying meal, I went for a walk to find an IG for some snacks. The road I took used to be an aerodrome when the first planes arrived in 1903 and is now called Ross-Smith Avenue after the pioneering airman. There was an original hangar used by QANTAS in its early days. 

After I did my shopping I walked home along the shore and saw the magnificent red afterglow on the horizon and decided to see the sunset the next night.

Sunset afterglow.

23rd July Litchfield NP

 Morag drove me around in the Hyundai and there was no starting or battery trouble.

We got up at 7am and left right away so again we could avoid walking in the heat of the day.  We first stopped at Tabletop Swamp to do a bit of birdwatching, but I reckon there were more birds in the car park at The Cascades yesterday. If my father was with me he would have found them.

Plenty of trees but no birds

Next it was off to Tolmer Falls. Judging by the quality of the facilities and the walkways this was a prime bus tour stop. It was even wheelchair accessible which was great.  There were a couple of viewing platforms which gave good panoramas of the valley and plain beyond and another that gave a good view of the Tolmer Falls, except it was in deep shadow as the sun hadn't come round yet.  Served us right for getting up early to avoid the crowds; which were definitely on their way from Darwin as it was a long weekend!

Tolmer Falls

Lookout at Tolmer Falls

We did a circular walk along side the Tolmer Creek back to the car park, just in case I was feeling too fresh having missed my breakfast.  We were in discussions about wether I should wait a few days and meet up with Morag in Kununurra and then continue through WA, SA and back home as originally planned.  I wasn't keen as I would have to crack on to get home in time for my appointment with my Ophthalmologist.  Morag was disappointed even though we would hardly see each other as she would be travelling much slower. .  

Next stop was Wangi Falls, the pick of the waterfalls, not least because there is a large swimming hole there but it was closed because of Crocodiles. This had even more bus tour facilities including a café, which would have been great for us, except it didn't open until 11am when the bus tours arrive. Another lesson for those who rise early. The falls were pretty good and the most impressive I have seen in Australia. There was a walk up to a platform which gave views of the forest and coastal plain but not of the Falls. We had to go through a fruit bat colony to get there.

Wangi Falls

They should learn from the Yanks where you can stand right at the top of the waterfalls in Yosemite and watch the water fall below you to the plunge pool. We walked around the rim to the falls and over the Wangi Creek. On the way down, the track ran alongside the water flowing to the smaller side falls.

This little Gecko was sunning itself on the rocks

It was only 10:30 when we got back to the car, so we decided to drive back to the caravan park for some food.  The cars and busses from Darwin were streaming into the park as we left. There were a father and son on motorcycles in the caravan park so I went over for a chat. The father Liam had done similar long overseas rides as me but his wife went with him! 

He was riding an Indian Classic towing a huge camper trailer.

You won't be surprised to read that when Morag said at 3pm that she was heading out again to Florence Falls that I told her I was buggered and didn't want to traipse up another steep track to another waterfall and get very hot and sweaty.

Litchfield NP has a big reputation but I think Alan and I were right to give It a miss in 2010 after we had been in Karijini.  Maybe it's because Karijini is not close to a City makes it more unspoilt and less crowded and the gorges and pools are more impressive, all set in 2.5 billion year old rocks. 

Morag came back to tell me Florence Falls was beautiful and she had a swim, but it was very crowded.

We got ready and headed off for Batchelor for my birthday dinner, which was just as good as the previous one.  There was a Karaoke singer and I thought maybe Morag and I should get up and show the locals how to dance rock and roll, but we're too out of practice.  

Happy 70th Birthday - Old Man!

There was a huge crocodile skin on the wall just to remind us not to swim where we're not allowed. 

This Croc was 5 metres long.

Tomorrow we will be going our separate ways: me to Darwin and Morag to Kununurra in WA.  It would have been nice to travel together, but I needed to get back to Melbourne and Morag travels too slowly for my taste.  Our week together was unexpected and very enjoyable.

22nd July Litchfield NP

  Kms today  28                  Kms to date 6627

I got up early and rode the Kawasaki into Batchelor to buy some things for a barbeque tonight. It was good to give the bike a bit of stick as I have been following Morag for the last few days.  It was misty at first but the rising sun soon burnt through that.

We had brekkie in the café when I got back. They had gluten free bread and soy milk so knocked Mataranka into a cocked hat!

Morag's plan was to visit the furtherest place first and work our way back.  We had to pack before we left as we were moving into the Happy Camper, a 1970's  Viscount caravan converted into a comfortable single room with double and single beds plus a sink.  I met another motorcyclist who was on a V-Strom and was camping with his father in another part of the site.  He was from Darwin.

Happy Camper which we used for 2 nights

The first stop was Bamboo Creek Tin Mine. Tin had been discovered in 1902 and continued until 1951 There were some buildings left and one of the mine shafts. The crushing house still had the original Rushton engine and flywheel used to drive the machinery by a shaft and belts.

The entrance to the tin mine was rather unimpressive!

The building that house the crusher still (barely) stood

The Ruston donkey engine was remarkably complete

We went on to Walker Creek.  This was a small river with swimming holes and camp sites along it.  The sites were pre-booked and names were written on a chalkboard for the 7 sites available. We passed several groups carrying their tents and Eskys up the path. We walked up to Site 6 and found two family groups there enjoying themselves. We had forgotten our bathers and so took our shoes off for a paddle.  My feet soon attracted the attention of the local fish and shrimps which tried to feed off my toes.

 

Kids splashing about in the Camp 6 waterhole

We had brought some sandwiches prepared by the caravan park and we ate them there. We descended to the car park and drove round to The Cascades. We were surprised when our GPS suddenly warned us of a school zone and sure enough we were passing a large school, but it was a long weekend for Northern Territory Day, so it was not open. 

I decided I had had a enough walking for the day in the heat so I stayed in the car park reading my book while Morag did the walk. I could hear many birds tweeting in the trees but it was difficult to see them and take a photo, but I eventually got a few photos.  

Rufous-banded Honeyeater

Australian Crow

Morag got back after a couple of hours and we started driving home, suddenly realising that we needed to get a move on as the campground office closed at 5 and we needed a key for the Happy Camper.  We made it OK.

There was a camp barbeque beside our caravan so it was very easy to cook tea tonight.  We look very glum in the photo, but we weren't!

Enjoying our steak and a bottle of wine