Weekly roundup - Week 2

Well hello everyone - here we are at the end of Week 2 at Batchelor.  Actually, we were in a place called Hayes Creek at the end of the week last week but the population there is nominal as is the phone and internet signal.  Today is now Tuesday and we have signal here at Batchelor.  All is still OK although a couple of casualties in the last couple of days but you will have to wait till Week 3 round up for details since they both happened on Monday and Tuesday of this week. 

Week 2 as it happened......
Monday - We went on an underground mine tour at Mt Isa which was interesting and disturbingly, I think the tour guide who looked all of 16 to me, had the hots for Rachel.  He blew it big time when he snuck up on her while she was in the dump truck thing and said boo in a loud voice.  She gave him a withering look and it was all over red rover.  If looks could kill he would have been the next underground casualty!  She didn't even jump which I thought was pretty impressive given the darkness and the eerieness of the underground tunnel we were in.

Tuesday - We moved on to Barkly Homestead for an overnight stop.  Not such a good day really.  The kids bickered in the back seat and when I tried to plug in my ipod into my ears to escape the noise from the back seat (we are trying to let them both sort out their differences themselves as they have weeks and weeks to go of being together), the girls had run it out of charge. Put that together with a sore neck and I was a grumpy mummy. We paid $2 a litre for diesel here and can't get milk at all.  The generator thumped all night so I chalked this day up to the first bad day and hopefully one of not very many like it.

Wednesday - Today we travelled to Cape Crawford.  I have posted about Cape Crawford earlier this week so won't repeat here.  We are still really happy to have been to this place and will be watching with interest if the tourist plans for the area ever take off.

Thursday - After moving on early in the morning we ended up after a big day in the car at Mataranka. Home of the thermal springs - and hundreds of arthritic grey nomads.  We stayed at a van park rather than at the springs themselves and the girls were able to watch hand feeding of Barramundi.  Mal was very tempted to throw in a line but expect that it would have been a fast eviction by management if he had done so!  We swam at the less touristy Bitter Springs and it was truly lovely.  A few people there but nothing too awful and you have to be able to swim to go in here to cope with the current and both our kids were fine. 

Friday - A rest day at Mataranka.  We went to the Roper River area within the Elsey National Park to have a bush walk but as soon as we stepped out of the car we spotted a huge croc trap so changed our minds rapidly and made back for the car at a fast rate.  The wet season this year has been huge and went for 2 extra months so here, we are in the start of the dry rather than in the middle of the dry.  A lot of roads that we want to take are still closed and areas that we would like to visit are off limits due to flood damage or water still over the roads.  The girls swam at Mataranka Thermal springs which is now all built in like a very large swimming pool and it was a matter of finding a bit of water big enough to wallow in around all the other grey nomads.  Mal and I refrained from swimming and the girls were happy to hop out after a half hour.  We explored the local park and saw the We of the Never Never statues so gave the girls a lesson about Australian Literature.

Saturday - We drove to Katherine and had a rest day for the rest of the afternoon.  It was insanely hot.  So hot and humid in the afternoon that it was hard to feel like doing anything.  We sat and did not much for the afternoon before heading to town for a week of groceries as we will be heading into no where land for a week when we leave here.

Sunday - the real highlight of the week.  We went over the main road to Nitmiluk National Park - formerly Katherine Gorge.  So wonderful a place.  We went for a bush walk to the top of the gorge.  The view was spectacular but the heat was almost unbearable.  We were all wearing almost nothing - shorts and t shirts and there were pommie tourists wearing jeans and long shirts - most were stopped along the way and looking dangerously hot sucking madly on their water bottles.  I have to say that for the first time in as long as I can remember I felt very hot.  I now understand what people are talking about when they say their undies are wet with perspiration.  Walking back was like walking into a fan heater.  The information centre is not air conditioned (it is winter here!!!!!) so no respite there at the end of the walk.   Back to the car for lunch and more water consumed.  I think we all drank about 3 litres each that day.  After lunch and the obligatory ice block at the Tourist centre, we took a boat cruise up the gorge.  Jaw dropping scenery and stunning views.  We wanted to hire a canoe and paddle but again, due to the wet, the canoes can't go out till they catch the 7 salties that have come up the gorge in the rains.  We went up 3 gorges and just were stunned at the scenery.  Awesome stuff that is not done justice with a camera.  They took us to a bank where we had to climb up and up and up and at the top was a waterfall with a deep swimming hole.  We all were in for a swim.  Wonderful wonderful day.  It was a huge day out by the time we drove back to the campsite and made dinner on the camper kitchen, did dishes and fell into bed. 

The good, bad and the ugly this week - the good would have to be the Gorge hands down.  The bad would be the sudden heat that we have struggled a bit to get used to.  We are doing better now and have decided to buy some more hot weather clothes in Darwin.  Till then, we are living in swimmers most of the time.  No one seems to care and we certainly don't.  The ugly would have to be the number of people who insist on running generators out here in the middle of nowhere where most of us are trying to have peace and quiet.  It doesn't seem to matter that you aren't allowed to run generators - there people just do what they want and don't consider any one else.  Very ugly.....

The Dream Stealer Award - a toss up this week between the guy at the Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park and the guy at the lookout on the gorge walk.  The guy on the gorge walk told us that there are no Barramundi to be caught anywhere around here and its just a big line to get tourists to come to the area. Couldn't convince him so we will let you know if we win that one.  The prize goes to the guy who had just come over the Gibb River Road - the road is crap, Cooper's tyres are no good and shred to bits, the only kind of camper trailer that is any good for our conditions are the ones that are imported (at this point it was strike 3) so he is the Dream Stealer of the week but we will let you know if it is Crawford's two, Dream Stealers nil after we have done the Gibb River Road, with our Aussie made trailer running Coopers tyres.

Take care everyone
Love and mossies,
Mal, Jane, Rachel and Eloise