Claire surprised me with a trip to Katherine staying at the new Cicada Lodge (or as she pronounces it, kick-arda). It was in January so we couldn’t swim anywhere there, but we took a boat trip down and got to see some of the Gorge itself.
I’m hardly used to staying in fancy resorts instead of a tent, but I really liked the place, and the food was really good. Here I am on the balcony… note actually the Melbourne is mine
On the way back home we thought we stop at Edith. It was open, the second pool was available to swim in, and no one was there! It is usually a really popular spot, given it was open for swimming on a weekend, I was amazed that we were the only ones there.
I was down in Victoria for New Years Eve and I was invited along to a camping festival to celebrate the new year. It is run by some friends on mine from high school. It is pretty difficult to describe to people who haven’t been there, it is camping, loud music and partying, very bright colours, silly costumes (just for the sake of it). I won’t post anything too detailed as I suppose some people may not want their ridiculous attire on the internet, so just a few snaps: the campsite; and a group of us playing in the river:
Took the old man’s Pajero complete with car fridge. Definitely a step up from my rig, but a bit out of price range at the moment!
These festivals have been running for a few years, usually on private property and invite only (like this year). This is the second one that I have managed to get to – but hopefully that will change when I move to Victoria!
We decided to take our good friends Tom & Ails down to Butterfly Gorge. It is a series of rock pools in a narrow gorge with very steep and beautiful escarpment.
The 4WD trip was nice, I do love getting out on the tracks, but I have to admit I like the softer tracks more. We got there and there was barely anyone there, and that was the same for most of the day, which always makes for a good trip.
Claire and I had been there before, but it is still one of the best places to go for a swim. We entertained ourselves with a makeshift water slide down a rock, Tom being the most awkward, and Claire being the one who managed to put a large bruise on herself. Of course.
I would highly recommend everyone sees Butterfly Gorge at least once.
We went to Kakadu for the night with Claire’s parents. Managed to see Ubirr, Yellow Water cruise, and Nourlangie. We stayed in the crocodile, so technically we did swim, but it was the pool – not quite the same thing.
The first night we went to Ubirr but it was very cloudy and we didn’t get a sunset. The second day we got up early and went to the Yellow Water cruise, and later went to Ubirr again, this time the sky was clear and it was a great sunset. That night was amazing as it was the night of a supermoon, which was rising directly behind the sunset.
An amazing trip. One of those trips where everything goes according to plan, the weather was nice, the locations were great, more than a few laughs.
First Claire and I went down to Garnamarr and set up camp. We didn’t burn any wood on the first night as it was pretty warm. The stars were just amazing. We had both been working pretty hard and hadn’t been out in a while, it felt like we were on holidays.
The next morning we headed to Twin Falls. The river crossing was great fun. It is paved, so not as scary as it looks. When you get there, you then take a boat. The indigenous guide/captain was really interesting, he told us a few stories, what the land means and so forth. I found it interesting that all indigenous cultures across Australia believe that a serpent created the earth. Anyway – when we got there, wow! It was paradise on earth. Beach, vegetation, escarpment, rock pools, still a trickle of a waterfall…
Just a real shame that it is now closed for swimming. So we headed to Jim Jim Falls.
Jim Jim wasn’t flowing at this time of year. The walk was interesting… the distance is quite short, but it takes forever, as you need to jump from large rock to large rock to get there. The water was colder than I expected, and the water right at the base of the fall (pictured) was freezing!! Who would have thought?
There were a lot of people there, it is clearly a popular place for guides. It was great, but it still amazes me that Maguk gets so little attention in comparison. After a swim, a packed lunch, and an even longer trip back, (tried to take a shortcut, that was my first mistake) we headed back to camp.
The stars were even brighter than the night before, if I had any skill as a photographer I would have tried to take a photo. We lit a fire for cooking and also to keep the midgees away. Nothing better than having a few beers around a campfire. We stayed up late before packing up and heading home.
