Day 72 – Douglas Hot Springs and Butterfly Gorge
Temperatures dropped over night, for which I’m thankful. It was quite convenient then that we had some awesome (and free) hot springs a short walk from our campsite. Unsurprisingly, we were not alone. We also lost the nice bath/pit that I dug last night (it made me sad to see it being used by another). So, with only a slight chip on my shoulder, we headed a little closer to the source to start digging a new pool. We tried close to the source (you could see it bubbling to the surface through the sad), but it was pretty damn hot. There was even steam coming off it! I think the bath that we dug would have been somewhere around 42˚C, which is pretty much ideal for me. Hotter is nice for a short dip, but the sun was shining strong, and I wanted to spend some time relaxing, reading my book.
Innot Hot Springs was similar (hot water bubbling to the surface on the side of a small creek), but the creek there was pretty dirty looking. The water here was beautiful (small patches of algae, but they were in stagnant pools near the source) and the bottom of the creek was nice coarse sand. Easily recommend the detour for a day to relax. After about an hour, the sun was getting too strong to stay where we were. Plus, we really need to get moving and get to Western Australia.
But before returning to Katherine for one last time, we took a detour to Butterfly Gorge. Risa was talking to a Grey Nomad one day while filling water cans and he told her about the gorge (and the hot springs). So, we went and checked them out. It was 17km along mostly good unsealed road – some stretches of corrugations, some rutted sections and a few small creek crossings. From the car park, we noticed there was no information about the area or the walks… We started walking, but had no idea if it was going to be a 5 minute walk, or an hour… Luckily we met some other walkers that were returning and they eased my concerns – it was only a short walk, but there were rocks to climb over.
There were only three or four trail markers on the whole walk, and the trail eventually ended up at a 10m high set of rocks. Surely these weren’t the rocks we had to climb? It wasn’t difficult, but it really felt like we were lost… But, once we got to the top we could see the gorge and knew where we had to go – down the other side of these rocks/cliff.
The gorge was pretty, and if it was safe to swim (it was recommended not to due to crocodiles) I’d have liked to swim to the actual gorge. The murky water also put me off. How I wished to have an inflatable boat/mattress/esky right then. I could hear water flowing over rapids, but it was all hidden from view – such a tease!
We returned back the way we came, up and over that small cliff/rocks, still unconvinced that we’d gone the right direction…
Now it was time to get back on the road. A quick stop in Katherine to re-stock on fuel/water/food and to catch up on business (left my eftpos card in an ATM so had to cancel it, which also cancelled any payments coming from that card) and we were finally headed towards Western Australia. …but, since the sun was setting as we were leaving Katherine, we only made it 35km before retiring for the night (and a feast of bangers and mash!).
Day 71 – Litchfield National Park
Started the day by removing the belt from the AC compressor – no point leaving it connected since the compressor is dead and it’s making a sad sound when rotating…
The national park is set up like a circuit, with several stops/detours along the way. The first stop is the Termite Mounds, which give you a fairly good indication of what to expect (termite mounds, in case it wasn’t clear enough). There are two types of termites here, the cathedral termites which build large (5m+ high) cathedral-like spires, and the magnetic termites that create brilliant mounds that are all perfectly aligned north-south (they are constructed that way to avoid the heat of the sun). The magnetic termite’s uniform mounds look spookily like gravestones, especially since the colour/size is pretty close. We came early so we could have breakfast and make use of the facilities (as our rest stop last night had none). By the time we’d finished breakfast, there were 5 tour busses and dozens of cars/caravans/campervans in the car park – it was starting to feel a little cramped.
Next is the Florence Waterfall / Buley Rockhole detour. Luckily, because we’d spent a little more time at the termites, we’d gotten out of step with the tour buses – they were leaving as we were arriving! The waterfalls aren’t particularly big, but the plunge pool at the bottom is what most people come here from. Cool and shady, just the thing for this heat (still have to remind myself that we’re in the middle of winter…).
We skipped Buley Rockhole as the car park was full. I’d been before (they’re pretty) and knew how small they are (and how crowded they’d be).
Biggest deviation of the day was to The Lost City, which was a 30-minute, 11km 4WD trail from the highway. The sandstone has all eroded/decayed and gave the appearance of a decayed city that had been claimed back by nature. Favourite was a rock that looked remarkably similar to a man (with no arms). To be honest, not that impressive, especially for such a long detour.
Tabletop Swampland was a little unimpressive, but at least it wasn’t really a detour. We’d been spoiled for swampland in Kakadu, so we had a quick glance, then headed back for shade and kept driving.
Tolmer Falls is sadly one of those waterfalls that you can look, but not touch (at least not any more). Not a huge volume of water flowing, but it was quite a large drop. The water feeding the waterfall had also carved a cool arch above the waterfall, as well as several large caves below (which were occupied by large colonies of Ghost Bats – which is the reason given for not being able to enter the water). Was surprising looking out over the plains below – it didn’t feel like we were up so high.
Last stop of the circuit (for us) was Wangi Falls. Twin falls that look amazing in the wet-season photographs, and still respectable even in the middle of the dry-season. The water was amazing – cool and clear. We had a quick swim to the falls, some baking on the rocks beside the falls, and a quick dip in a small rock pool that had formed underneath the waterfall. By now we’d gotten used to the crowds, but at least the tour buses had already started on their way back to Darwin.
We’d wanted to take a 4WD trail south from Litchfield (Reynolds Track), but it’s meant to be in quite poor state – official comment on the entry board was ‘requires extreme suspension and aggressive tyres to exit Reynolds River’. There were a few swimming holes/waterfalls and the ruins of a historic homestead that we missed out on, but it was already 4PM and we were ready to move on.
It was a mad dash (at 80-90kph) back to the Stuart Highway, then south and west to Douglas Hot Springs. I didn’t know much about it, other than it was a proper hot spring with temperatures in places above 80˚C. By the time we’d arrived the sun had set (in a most spectacular fashion, thanks to all the small fires that are burning up here). Turns out it’s a national park! We found a spot to park/camp, then quickly went down to the river to check out the hot springs. There are shallow pools on the side of the river that are filled with ~40˚C water. We dug a hole deep enough for the two of us to comfortably lay, then relaxed in the first proper hot bath we’ve had since Innot Hot Springs back in early June. The water was amazing with the last bit of twilight still in the sky, and the temperatures cooling to the mid 20s.
７１日目 ７月２３日 (火) Litchfield National Park リッチフィールド国立公園
今日は、リッチフィールド国立公園探検の日。 まずは、大きな蟻塚を見に行きました。
ここには、2種類の蟻塚があり、一つは、カセドラル（大聖堂）ターマイト（シロアリ）が作る、５、６mほどのとても大きな蟻塚。
これは、この大きさになるまで６０年ほどかかるらしいです。あり年齢だったら何世代分くらいなんだろう。。
もう一つは、マグネティック（磁力） ターマイトが作る、１、２mほどの高さのとても幅の細いものがあります。
このマグネティックターマイトの巣は、すべてが同じ方角（北南）に面して作られています。 これは、１年を通して、１日中巣の中が同じ温度に保たれるかららしいです。
彼らは、かわいそうな事に盲目だそうですが、マグネティックという名前のとおり、方角を感じ取る磁力があり、それにそって巣を作ります。 研究者が実験で、方角を狂わせてみたところ、やはりその方角どおりに巣を作ったそうです。 すごい！
次は、Florence Fall フローレンス滝
ここは、滝の前がロックプールになっているので、もちろん泳いできました。水は、冷たいですがドボンとすんなり飛び込める良い温度でした。 そういえば、オーストラリア、とくにノーザンテリトリーには、このようなロックプールになっている滝が多いですね。 海がクロ様の縄張りで危険で泳げない分、ちょうどよい遊び場があっていいね〜
その次は、未舗装の道を３０分ほど進んだ所にあるLost City ロスト シティ という場所に行ってきました。 ここには、まるで廃墟の街のような奇岩が立ち並んでいる場所で、たしかに大きな細長いビルのような岩に、窓のような穴が空いていたり、人の形をした岩があったり（私には、立ちションしている人にみえた笑）、なかなか面白い場所です。
この地も昔は、海の底だった場所で、気候の変化により徐々に浸食したものです。 浸食もデビルズマーブルのように、まん丸くなったり、
この場所の様に縦に細長くなったり、本当にちょっとした気候の違いで、全然形が変わるのがとても面白いですね。
お次ぎは、Table Top Swamp テーブルトップ スワンプ これは、池サイズの濁った沼？ があっただけ。 とくにキレイでもなかったので、写真も撮らずに退散〜 雨季には、キレイなのかなぁ？？
気づけばもうなんと2時。お腹がそこまですいてないから（暑さにやられてるからかな）ちょっと遅いランチになってしまったけど、サンドイッチを食べて、Tolmer滝へ、 ここは、展望台から見渡せるのみでした。けっこう大きいし、滝壺にはいくつかの洞窟があって探検新がくすぐられるけど、下へは、行けません。
そして最後は、Wangi Falls
この滝も大きな滝壺があるので、沢山の人が泳ぎに来ていました。 滝の乾いた岩を少し登ると、2人分くらいのちいさな滝壺があり、（深さは、ロスがギリギリ立てる位）プライベート湯船みたいでちょっとおもしろいです。
外の気温が温かいので、ノーザンテリトリーの水はちょうど良い温度で本当に気持ちがいいです♫
Surprise Creekという渓谷と古い廃墟がある道が残念ながら閉鎖になっていたので、この場所には行けずしかもぐるっと元来た道を戻らなければ、今日の宿泊予定場所のダグラス温泉まで行けませんでした。
今日の夕焼けは、本当に真っ赤ですばらしかったです！ 野火があちこちで起きているので、その煙りの影響でとても赤く見えています。
夕日が沈み、真っ暗になる寸前にDouglas Hotspring に到着。 Innoot温泉のように、プール施設の様になってるのかと思いきや、ここは国立公園。
なので、自然のままです。
まだ少し明るいうちにちょっと探検。砂地になっていて、水に手をつけてみると、だいたい４０℃くらい。 外の気温がまだ２６、７℃なので、本当にちょうどいい温度！ さっそく水着に着替えて、ショベルで砂を掘って、ちょうど寝転がってひたひたになるいい感じに。
星も見え始めて、なんとも大自然の天然温泉！ オーストラリアで星空温泉を満喫できるなんて思っても見なかったので大感激。
蚊もとんでるし、夕飯もまだだったのでそこまでのんびりはできませんでしたが、朝ぶろ入りにいこーっと♫
今日もすてきな１日でした☆
Day 55 – Katherine Hot Springs
Another morning taking it slowly – felt good. I’ve finally started reading The Millennium Trilogy – I know I’m a little slow on the uptake (especially having watched the Swedish trilogy of films a few times, as well as the Hollywood remake).
We took it easy because we didn’t have any walks that we wanted to do in/around the gorge, and we had no where to go as we are spending the next week in Katherine (I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to get work doing my old job).
Amazingly with all the people I worked with and the rather large amount of time they spent in Katherine, I’d never heard mention of the hot springs in Katherine. I even asked someone once about NT hot springs, and I heard about Douglas Springs (we’ll be going there shortly), and Mataranka (we were there last week). We saw it mentioned in the Katherine tourist brochure, so we went and checked it out.
At first, it was just like Mataranka – shallow creek that had its banks protected with rocks/concrete and filled with tourists (yes, I realise that we too are the same as the other unwashed masses). A little further up the walkway was another, less crowded and nicer looking, pool. Only catch was there were no official ways in – in other words, you had to jump a small fence to get in!
It’s a comfortable median temperature – cool enough to spend an hour or two in, warm enough to spend an hour or two in. I had to drag Risa out after close to two hours.
For quite a while, I’d been following a Czech couple’s plans for their holiday around the world in a Mitsubishi Delica (http://delicajourney.webnode.cz/), including a lap around Australia. I knew they were getting close, so we got in contact. My mobile reception hasn’t been that great, so I didn’t get the message that they were also in Katherine today (I did get the message, but I thought they were going to be here tomorrow – the message was a day late). So, when we finally left the pool and saw their Delica (hard to miss) we couldn’t believe our luck! It was nice to share travel stories with them, especially since they’ve got the same car, and have come from where we’re headed.
Now there wasn’t much else to do other than check in to our hotel and wait for my colleagues to arrive. Oh, and to choose a dinner venue – possibly the most important decision of the working day (spoiler alert – Sunday lamb roast at Katherine Club).
Australian Road Trip 