This morning we had an early start and hit the dirt, with us leading the way. Matt gave road warnings on the CB to help the others steer clear of the damaged parts of the road and only after we learned about them the hard way! (i got better at avoiding then telling about the holes, instead of hitting them, then alerting everyone) There were sections that were washed out or very corrugated, but some sections were really quite smooth and near the bigger creek crossings, there was often bitumen. 'Bridget' still filled with red dirt and Matt regained his red beard and face. The green scenery was constantly changing, with grasses, intermingled with orange flowering gums, and pandanus palm trees, and ferns of various kinds. In some sections, there were the magnetic termite mounds, like we had seen last year at Litchfield National Park. The occasional buffalo dead and alive were seen too, but the snakes were the feature of the day, though somehow I missed spotting all of them and I'm quite grateful for that, I had had enough reptilian close encounters!! i saw a couple of 1-2 metre long snakes on the road, an then at one point i saw what i thought was a tree on the road, but it was a snake that was at least 3 metres maybe 4m. ive looked it up and it may have been an Oenpelli python, which are usually found in west arnhem land, maybe it was on holidays too. i'll get a photo off one of the others tomorrow and put it up, as they stopped to get a photo after i had told them about it. i couldnt stop at the time as i saw it and was past it before i knew it.
There were some pretty amazing looking collections of large rocks and hills made of rocks as well. A great and diverse landscape for sure.
It was a long day staying alert for the drivers, with all sorts of challenges, low gear hill descents, blind corners, flooded causeways, oncoming traffic that didn't slow down to pass you, and then in the afternoon it rained, just enough to reduce the dust and highlight all the low spots, as they filled with water. The downside was that all the Clippers have had a red dirt spray paint job to clean up! As we got closer, we drove past all the Rio Tinto Gove mine activities and vehicles. But we finally arrived at Nhulunbuy around 4.30pm. We checked in to the Walkabout Lodge, where we will be parked up the whole time we are here, but then 'Bridget' refused to start. no power. After creating a quick bypass, as in jumper leads from the battery to the body to get it into the caravan park. we were able to get parked up and Matt found the main earth strap had relocated itself on the bumpy drive.
Meanwhile, I started the cleaning process with sweeping up the red dirt and then scrubbing the surfaces and floors, so we could walk around inside and not get red feet or eat dinner with red dirt condiments! After Matt had a shower and removed his red beard and Trump tan, we took an evening stroll down to Town Beach, where the grass seemed alive... with cane toads! So it may have been too dark to really appreciate the beach, but we have the satisfaction that we made it!!!
