Northern Territory
Adelaide – Our First Large City and Rain
The distance between Coober Pedy and our next stop in Port Augusta was a little over 500 kms. You may ask what is there to see along the way? The answer is (apart from two roadhouses and an artificial town) absolutely nothing! The landscape changes slightly from open desert plains to grey saltbush. After a […]
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Across the Desert to Marla
Just about in the geographical centre of Australia and located in the heart of the Red Centre, Alice Springs is a vibrant modern town with a thriving population of 28,000 people. It was made famous by the Neville Shute 1950’s novel ‘A Town Like Alice’, In modern days, Alice Springs has evolved into a modern […]
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Disappointment in the Western MacDonnell Ranges
We drove 125 kilometres west along Namatjira Drive from Alice Springs to find the attraction that we planned to visit was closed. Not far from Alice Springs we came across the grave of Rev John Flynn, the founder of the Flying Doctor Service. It sits under a high bluff and is topped with a rock […]
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Alice Springs Sight Seeing
After checking out the local temperatures, it seemed that yesterday was a good day for walkiing around the Alice Springs Desert Park. The forecast was showing a maximum of 33C -a far cry from the hot and humid 38C that we have been experiencing in the far north of the Territory. Not only that, but […]
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We’ve Arrived in Alice Springs
We are gradually making progress south down the Stuart HIghway towards Port Augusta and Adelaide. Yesterday’s segment from Tennant Creek to Alice Springs (505 km) was our longest stage yet. We drove on kilometre after kilometre of dead straight road through largely uninteresting desert country. For much of the way, there was nothing of interest […]
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World War Two Military Operations.
It was a long way from Daly Waters to Tennant Creek today – a trip of around 420 kms on another day of 36C degrees. The topography was quite featureless and the environment grew gradually more arid. The trees of yesterday were replaced with small desert shrubs. It was a rather boring drive. We did […]
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Outback Towns and Pubs
On our 250 kilometre drive to Daley Waters today, we travelled through a savannah landscape with millions of termite mounds, both large and small. The temperature was a little kinder – the daily maximum has droppred from 38C to 36C. Such a difference! Not long after leaving Katherine. we passed the entrance to the Tindal […]
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Kakadu to Katherine
After having a few days around Darwin at Point Stuart and Jabiru, we have commenced our journey south to home with our first stop in Katherine. We have allowed sufficient time here to visit some historic places and to take a boat cruise on Katherine Gorge (now known by its Aboriginal name of Nitmiluk Gorge). […]
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Ancient Rock Art and Uranium
Today is our last day in Kakadu National Park before we start heading south on our 3,800 kilometre (2,400 mile) trip back to Melbourne. We had mentally divided Kakadu into three regions – Central (Nourlangie Rock), South (Yellow Waters) and North (Ubirr). The northern section was our destination for today. Ubirr is approximately 40 km […]
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Boat Cruising on Yellow Waters
Today’s outing from Jabiru took us 57 km south to an area known as the Yellow Waters Billabong. It is one of the most famous areas within the Kakadu National Park.It gets its name from the distinctive yellow hue that appears on the water, particularly during certain times of the year. This coloration is primarily […]
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Onwards to Jabiru
It’s been very hot today with a temperture of 38C (100F). The last few days (and the next week are no different). The trick is to freeze your warer bottles overnight so that they stay cold for a good part of the day. From Point Stuart Wilderness Lodge, we drove toward Kakadu National Park along […]
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Our Last Day in Darwin
Yesterday was our last day in Darwin before we begin our road trip to some interesting places and eventually home. After checking out from the Free Spirit Resort in Palmerston (where our reunion was based), we drove back along the Stuart Highway into the city. Our first destination was to the Botanical Gardens. It was […]
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