Following
the VT big downunder meet in the Whitsundays, our mate Zig who is a Kakadu
ranger in the Northern Territory, hubby and I drove in Zig's 4x4 across the top end of Australia
from Cairns to Darwin in 7 days.
If you
are planning to do this trip then I would suggest a 4 wheel drive. There is one bit that we had to do a river
crossing near the QLD/NT border. I
wouldn't dream of attempting this if you didn't have a 4 wheel drive. I believe that you can do the trip in a 2
wheel drive but you will need to take a big detour half way along and travel
down to Mt Isa and across to Katherine. Better to pay the extra to hire a 4x4 as the
scenery across the top end on the Savannah Way is better than travelling via MT
Isa which is a dusty mining town.
Also I
would probably take more than 7 days on this journey to enjoy your trip more. I will tell you as I relay the trip where you
could spend an extra day and why.
Be
prepared for some long days travelling. Make sure you have plenty of snacks in the
car and an esky with cold drinks and take regular stops along the way to
stretch your legs and freshen up.
DAY 1 -
TO UNDARA VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK
Via
Millaa Millaa falls and Lake Barrine -
4 1/2hrs
Millaa Millaa falls and Lake Barrine are 2 places along the way that you need to visit. Devonshire at Lake Barrine is a must do. I'd plan to arrive earlyish before the crowds so that you can get a good spot outside on the shady verandah overlooking the lake.
If you
are a birder, you'll love it here.
~~oOo~~
UNDARA
Undara near Mt Surprise has unique railway carriage accommodation. A little expensive but well worth it.
The
lava caves were amazing and the buffet food was great. We had emu, kangaroo and crocodile. Emu is my favourite.
I loved
the entertainment around the camp fire with a lovely elderly gentleman doing
his rendition of some great Aussie songs and including everyone in the
singalong.
It was cute, funny and the overseas visitors just loved it!
VIDEO
There is
also a nice pool here in bushy surroundings that you can cool off in.
Plenty of wildlife here. Tons of butterflies and red tailed black cockies.
Plenty of wildlife here. Tons of butterflies and red tailed black cockies.
We left
our VAa's to hang around and take care of our railway carriage accommodation
and went to check out the lava caves.
VA's -
you'll get used to these as you read through my travel stories.
VA's are
people from all around the world that could not be with us so the next best
thing is to print out a pic of them, laminate and take them along for the ride.
~~oOo~~
DAY 2 -
TO NORMANTON - 6 HRS
This is a
long trip, same scenery. Just woodland
and scrub and more woodland and scrub.
So head off early in the morning.
So head off early in the morning.
I would
have liked to have taken a detour to Karumba
on the coast. If you have an extra day
then I would suggest you do this.
Unfortunately, we didn't.
When we
arrived at Normanton there was not much light left in the day. We were famished, thirsty and couldn't wait
to hit the pub!
~~oOo~~
NORMANTON
There are
3 pubs in the main street here which is common in small outback Aussie towns.
There was
the Purple Pub, the Green Pub and the Central Pub.
The
purple one looked pretty cool from the outside. Inside was another story. It looked real dingy and didn’t smell too
good. The Green Pub had loud music and
as much as I would have liked to venture in, we just wanted some comfortable
and quiet time.
So it was
the Central Pub.
Glad we
picked the Central Pub because we stayed out back in a cabin so accommodation was
within staggering distance.
I had the
best fresh barra here!! Omg, my mouth is watering just
remembering!!!
~~oOo~~
DAY 3 -
TO HELLS GATE - 8 HRS
VIA
BURKETOWN - 3 1/2 HRS
Coffee to
go and we hit the road.
The scenery
along this stretch changes from bush and woodland to low lying scrub. A bit
like the Nullarbor.
I find
the change in scenery interesting and quite like it.
VIDEO
We saw a
variety of bird life, especially around the lakes region heading into Burketown.
This part of the trip was most enjoyable. We crossed the Leichardt River at a place called Leichardt falls. No falls. Looked like a lovely place to free camp though.
VIDEOS
~~oOo~~
BURKETOWN
Burketown
has a unique tourist attraction in its own right. It's called the morning glory.
Usually seen around September to November and best described as a roll cloud up to 1.000 k's long.
Shame we
didn't see it.
There
were a mob of hang gliders in town that were obviously here for the morning
glory.
Burketown
is also located on the Gulf of Carpenteria top end of Australia and is known as
the Barra capital of Australia. That
explains why the barramundi I had in Normanton was so fresh and tasty.
We checked out the river inlet and the sign also listed a stack of other fish to be caught here.
So if you are into fishing, then you would most definitely want to stay here
for a day.
The
town seemed awfully quiet.
We soon realised that every Tom, Dick and the dog in the ute were at the local
rodeo.
We didn't
stay as we were on a strict itinerary to get Ranger Zig home to Darwin.
So we grabbed a snack at side road burger stop, stocked up on beers at the pub and hit the road.
~~oOo~~
BURKETOWN TO HELLS GATE – 4 1/2hrs
Hells Gate
is in the middle of nowhere!!!
Check out the pic of hubby below contemplating our journey, in the middle of nowhere lol.
Just as
the name suggests, the accommodation was pretty hellish too.
But I guess that is what makes for an interesting travel story.
Also,
luckily we stocked up on beer because we couldn't buy any here. Hells Gate stopped selling beer a while ago on
account of the locals. As there were no
locals in sight, the owners let us bring our byo to dinner. Dinner was actually good.
Next
morning we woke up early, and no wonder! Sleeping in dog boxes!! (Dongas).
Zig still
had his socks on. Bit cold in the night
for you hey mate.
Just out
of town is the hells gate rocks. Well
worth seeing.
Must be the only hill in the area lol. Pretty good view.
Must be the only hill in the area lol. Pretty good view.
Dog Rock?
Rock Monster!
Hanging around the rock 😏
The next
stop was too far away and it was just on dusk so we had to stop here.
Time to
hit to froggin' toad (road).
~~oOo~~
DAY 4 -
TO MATARANKA – 8 HRS
VIA BOOROLOOLA
AND DALY WATERS
This was
a long trip for us - 8 hours. We had
planned to stay at Daly Waters. Didn't
happen! Read on.
Don't
take notice of google maps. This
journey is not as long as google maps says.
In
between Hells gate and Booroloola is the QLD/NT border. A good place to get out and stretch.
Zig hit the
pedal - finally back in the Northern Territory. Dust kicked up behind us.
Zig was on his
way home.
We
arrived at our first washout Calvert River crossing. This is a 4x4 drive crossing. Ahhhh, finally, NT! Nice scenery here btw.
This is the reason why you cannot do this part of the trip in a 2 wheel drive.
BOOROLOOLA
A quick
pit stop for lunch at the tavern. Then on to Daly Waters.
We hit bitumen finally!
Why didn't we stay at Daly Water Highway Inn?
Well the pool looked dirty and green.
That's enough reason to turn anyone off!
So we hit the road to Mataranka.
We hit bitumen finally!
Why didn't we stay at Daly Water Highway Inn?
Well the pool looked dirty and green.
That's enough reason to turn anyone off!
So we hit the road to Mataranka.
~~oOo~~
MATARANKA
Mataranka homestead is the place to stay! Friendly staff and great bistro.
Birders
will love this place. There is a nice
bush walk, and awesome thermal pool.
And then
there are the stinky bats! So many
great memories!!
HOT SPRINGS VIDEOS
~~oOo~~
DAY 5 -
IN AND AROUND MATARANKA
Mataranka
was paradise!
We had
completed many hours of driving through the great harsh, dusty outback.
It was
time to spend a well-deserved full day in semi-civilisation.
~~oOo~~
WEE OF THE NEVER NEVER
We did
quite a bit in one day, but it didn't seem too busy.
Elsey's
grave site was cute and interesting - located in the middle of the scrub. It is home of the first pioneers and famous
Aussie history book Wee of the Never Never.
~~oOo~~
BITTER SPRINGS
Bitter Springs
thermal pool was so cool! Here you can
take the current down the river, and walk back along a nice tree lined path and do it all again.
~~oOo~~
BARRAMUNDI FISHING
We
went Barra fishing. The type where we
got to
feed the Barramundi.
VIDEOS
~~oOo~~
MATARANKA HOTEL
I tasted the best oysters ever! At the Mataranka Pub. Yuuum!
Full and
satisfied, happy with our great day out in paradise, we arrived back at the
homestead and strolled down to the beautiful blue thermal pool.
A great
way to end the day!
Just
before dusk, those pesky, smelly bats come out.
The sky is dark with so many bats flying.
Quite an amazing view.
The sky is dark with so many bats flying.
Quite an amazing view.
BAT VIDEO
~~oOo~~
DAY 6 -
TO KATHERINE - 1 1/4 HRS
Before we set off to Katherine, it was time to clean
the dust out of the car using our newly purchased
dust pan and brush.
~~oOo~~
KATHERINE
It
wasn't a long trip to Katherine so we had plenty
of time to look around. We stayed in a central
location, basic hotel
but clean.
Katherine
is the central hub of the top end of Australia. The Savannah Way crosses Katherine going from
east to west. The Stuart highway runs north to south from Darwin to Adelaide.
There is
not a great deal to do in town. The
attractions are outside.
We did have a nice pub meal at the pub in town which was spacious and relaxing.
We did have a nice pub meal at the pub in town which was spacious and relaxing.
Katherine is the home of famous gorges.
What better way to experience them besides
canoeing than to take a chopper ride.
My first ever! Yea.
😁
FIRST EVER HELICOPTER RIDE
VIDEOS
The
Katherine River is a nice place to cool off in the chilly, clear water.
If
you are into gem collecting there is a rock store
in the back streets of
Katherine.
Unfortunately it was closed when we visited.
~~oOo~~
DAY 7 -
TO DARWIN – 3 ¼ HR
VIA PINE
CREEK AND ADELAIDE RIVER
Head off
without breakfast because Maise's Cafe at Pine Creek makes the best burger!
Washed
down with a coldie from the Bottlo, Doesn't get any better.
The
railway museum here is good for a wander around.
FUNNY
AUSSIROSE STORY
Watch out
for missing VA's.
Previously in 2008 we were in Pine Creek as part
of the Aussie VT meet road trip from Darwin into
Arnhem Land up to the top end and passing
through Pine Creek on the way back.
I got my VA's out for a photo shoot on top of the
sign post. Things
were going smoothly.
That is until this VA stepped back and fell down
the mine shaft.
Well I
called it the mine shaft for the sake of a good story at the time lol. Pine Creek is an old mining town.
Anyway
the poor VA fell down behind the sign in between the sign and logs, never to be
seen again. And left the other VA alone
on the sign.
Never
mind, I just had him printed again back in
Darwin to continue on with us at the
big Darwin
VT meet. You should have
seen the look of the
bloke in the print shop!
Priceless.
Pic is a little fuzzy because I was laughing so
much. 😂
So here
we are again at Pine Creek again.
The
scene of the crime.
VA is probably still there to this day, behind that sign.
VA is probably still there to this day, behind that sign.
But Ove wanted to come again. This time with a miner's helmet just in case.
You
are pretty game Ove!! lol.
😂
~~oOo~~
ADELAIDE RIVER
Adelaide
River is the home of Charlie who starred
in the Crocodile Dundee movies. There is also
an amazing WW II cemetery that
is interesting to
walk around.
2 happy VA's enjoying a beer back at Zig's place in Darwin.
~~oOo~~
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