Day 36 The Tiwi Islands

 An early day, we got to watch the sunrise as we headed down the last stretch of the Stuart Highway (Bridget has now been driven down the full length)  and into the Darwin CBD and to the Cullen Bay Marina. We caught the Sealink ferry to the Tiwi Islands, which is a 2 1/2 hour journey. The engines were loud, and Matt being bored used his noise level testing app to see how loud the drone of the motors were, and it turns out it’s 83dB! At one point as we neared the islands, we assumed they were trying to wake up the passengers as the boat was gently veering from left to right repeatedly. But when we commented to the boat crew that afternoon, we found out that the auto pilot was playing up, but the guy was amused that we had picked up on it, as they had commented that the passengers would get woken up, when it had occurred.

We were welcomed at the wharf by a friendly Tiwi guy named Phelan, who was our guide for the day. We were taken to an area for a welcoming smoking ceremony with a few older Tiwi ladies and men hosting it. They also showed us some dance moves that represent various animals.  We both observed and felt like this was something they had probably done too many times, as their enthusiasm and effort was pretty poor (but who can blame them with all the tourists like us coming over so often). From there we had tea and damper. We split up into 2 groups and our group had a workshop in screenprinting. Tiwi arts is a big thing over there, and had been set up with assistance from the Catholic mission over 60 years ago. We got to choose either a tea towel or t-shirt to print on, then chose a screen print design, and were assisted with the paint and doing the print itself. We both chose the t-shirt option, and mine is of a turtle with rainbow colours, and Matt’s one is a pattern with various shades of green. Lunch was packs of sandwiches and fruit that were provided for the group. Our group then headed out to see the museum. The museum was full of information and history and had a pretty fancy AV presentation complete with a working smoke machine. Phelan was very passionate about telling us about the Dreamtime story and about the clans and the story about the Catholic mission there and how they have integrated faith and Tiwi culture well. The Tiwi islands were only really affected by white man since 1911, but the decline in their health and well being was quite swift, compared to the longer time frame it took for mainland Indigenous peoples. Phelan took us to the historic Catholic Church, made famous in the movie ‘Top End Wedding’ written by and starring Miranda Tapsell. She also happens to be Phelan’s niece. Sadly the church needs a lot of work, and is waiting to be heritage listed before it can be restored. So we were unable to go inside and see the amazing artwork painted in it. He told us a few stories of how the first Catholic priest on the mission connected with and helped the community, especially saving underaged brides from being forced to marry older men. They seem to love and appreciate what the mission did, and although it’s been closed for a long time, it has many current services and support available for the islanders run by the Catholics. This includes the school of 200 or so kids from years K-13. The island is also a no alcohol zone.

 AFL is also very big on the island and a few stars have emerged from the community. We were also shown the coastline and how beautiful and inviting the water is, but swimmers beware in the Top End, including on Tiwi, crocs, stingers and jellyfish are in the water. We didn’t get to see much of the island, but I did get to talk to one of the non Indigenous residents, and she said that unfortunately technology is one of the big problems for the kids, and the loss of language as they prefer not to speak the full Tiwi languages but rather a mixture of the Tiwi language with English. This is something the older folk are saddened by. Although the healthcare is available or they have visiting specialists, in an emergency, it’s a matter of if Careflight or RFDS are available and can make it over in time, and people have died as a result of waiting too long for emergency care.

Soon it was time to leave, and we had to board the very full ferry, as many islanders were heading to Darwin for the funeral of Phelan’s brother. We shared a seat with an NDIS worker, who had spent the day with a client on the island. Matt had to sit under the air conditioning unit which was dripping condensation, especially every time the boat lilted, and poor Matt got dripped on. Im pretty sure it was wetter on my part of the boat than under it, we've sat under waterfalls with less water coming out of them.  It was a bit of a rough ride home, and there must have been a fault in the boat, as we happened to be sitting right in front of the floor access to the hull, and the boat engineer made a few trips down into the hull and we could see the fuel tanks and pipework right below us as our feet dangled, while the access panel was off. Well it made the trip home more interesting.

We returned back to Darwin in time for Matt to do my IV care, and eat dinner and then we headed out to enjoy the sunset out to sea. We also found an open ice cream shop and enjoyed some; a perfect evening to enjoy it. i learnt that you cant get ice cream in a waffle cone in Darwin, as the cones suffer too much from the humidity, and go floppy. Weary from the day, we headed back to our caravan park.

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Day 35 Darwin - WWII Military Museum

 My IV pump was being over sensitive again overnight, alarming for air bubbles far too often, so we didn’t have a great night. So we got up early and packed up and headed back onto the dirt road, traversing the creek crossings and rough parts of the road. Before long we were back cruising down the Stuart Highway and on our way to Darwin. We made it into Darwin mid morning and went around to the various suppliers that Matt had ordered parts from to fix the various issues or replace parts for the solar system and other parts of the motorhome fit out. We also ventured into Bunnings, and were pleasantly surprised to discover it was air conditioned and not just the big roof fans. 

After lunch we went to East Point along the harbour and went to the World War II Military Museum and enjoyed the various presentations and displays about the bombings in Darwin from 1942-43. There wasn’t much there about what the military did when my Grandfather was up there serving, but an interesting museum. It even had a section for the holocaust survivors and the history there. It was refreshing to see a list of other events where genocide has happened, including Australia’s treatment of our Indigenous people. Inside the main museum was a lot of interactive audiovisual projections and recreations of the bombing of Darwin. It was pretty well done and they have a huge collection of military stuff I there. We’re not massive military fans but it’s was interesting and I like big machines, and there was plenty of those 

We were able to pick up the solar panels and battery that had fortunately arrived in good time, that we had ordered and Matt is currently up on the roof of Bridget and removing the old ones that were failing, despite it now being dark. He was able to enjoy a great sunset up there and watch some Air Force or Navy Osprey planes that can land vertically and whatever else has landed as well, as the caravan park is right next to the runway. 

Update , old solar panels are off , new ones are mounted and two of them wired up.

Day 34 Kakadu - Bukbukluk Lookout and Yukmikmik- Boulder Creek; Umbrawarra Gorge

 From Cooinda we headed out to the Bukbukluk Lookout, less than a kilometre of walking around to enjoy some views of the escarpment and ranges further southwest of Cooinda and looking back into Kakadu. I finally found the plant with fragrant flowers that I had been smelling from time to time but hadn’t found until today. Not sure what it is but enjoying a stem of it in the Clipper. smells better then me probably

 From there we headed further out to Yukmikmik and onto a 16km dirt road to head to the Boulder Creek walk. Although the track advice was that it was a moderate 2km walk, there were a few creek crossings, one with tricky rocks to skip across the creek, and the next one had an old tree trunk that was slightly bouncy and narrowed. I over balanced and landed in the water rather hard but had saved myself from falling over. Matt made it look easy. We had another scramble up and over a few rocks to reach the upper pool of the creek, but worth the effort. There was a small waterfall and very clear waters in the pools of Boulder Creek. On our return trip, I just skipped trying to balance on the tree trunk and tried to step through the water, as my hiking boots are waterproof, but one of my steps the water was too deep and the waterproof boots got a little wet as the water went over the top and into my sock. This time Matt had trouble walking across the trunk and landed hard, so it wasn’t just me! Then we headed back to Bridget and down the dirt road back onto tarmac. A practice for our upcoming adventure on the Gibb River Road. We headed out of Kakadu and to Pine Creek for lunch by the historic railroad. 

After lunch and back on the road, we headed to the Umbrawarra Gorge. This involved another 22km of dirt road and many creek crossings, but it was worth the effort. some of the creek crossings were steep in and out and sandy, so i was a little concerned about the tail of the bus bottoming on the way out, but only whacked the reversing light a 15th time ,so all good. more tape. it's mostly tape now that glows. went to book a site at the campground at the end of the road, and the type of vehicle selection usually has mototrhome for the site as an option. this one only had 4wd & campertrailer , high clearance 4wd or motorbike. I ticked high clearance 4wd as there are 4 drive wheels on the back. clearance is debatable, but it bounces fairly high. it was a rough road.  We parked Bridget up and headed out onto the walk through the gorge by the creek and rock pools. The cliffs and colours of the rock were pretty amazing and although we had to clamber over the rocks to reach the pool that we soaked in, it was worth the effort. Matt had a soak while I just dipped my feet in to cool down, as I was connected up to my TPN. We lazed away the rest of the afternoon, mostly having the water hole to ourselves. We headed back and had dinner and a quiet night in, too many biting bugs outside if you stay still too long once the sun goes down.

Day 33 Kakadu - Mirray Lookout, Cooinda and Yellow River Cruise

A quieter day today, we left Jabiru, spying two roaming dingoes beside the road, and headed out to the Mirray Lookout. A short walk compared to yesterday, with a steep hike 2km return, up to the lookout. There was an elevated viewing platform, but sadly the surrounding trees are overgrown, and the view greatly reduced to what it could be, and the smoke haze also reduced the clarity of the views of the outlying rocky escarpments and wetlands around Kakadu. Still worth the hike up the hill. I must add that Matt always has me walk first, apparently so I scare away the snakes, or at least be the early warning sign that there is one; and for the downhill trips, so he has something soft to land on, should he fall. Thanks Matt, love you too!😜 We headed into Cooinda and enjoyed the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, before chilling out in the bus, yesterday's big walks have hit us a bit today.

We had our Yellow Water Cruise in the late afternoon, and ventured out onto the billabong and Yellow River to see all the various birds, wildlife and of course crocodiles. There were whistling ducks in the plenty, that don't quack and don't really go swimming (are they really a duck...). Apparently birds are not usually food for the crocs, as they would essentially choke on the feathers and cough up feather balls... There were pied cormorants, magpie geese, a black stork aka Jabiru - they have renamed the specie apparently, white bellied sea eagle, egrets of various sizes, the Lotus birds aka Jacana, whistling kites, and more. We saw water buffalo and even pigs, getting very close to the crocs but none disappeared. We also enjoyed another magical sunset across the billabong. One croc was named Van Gogh as he had a deformed ear due to misfortune as a young croc, and he was very big. Matt was able to capture much of the wildlife in photos. I may be Matt's safety net on our walks, but he sat next to the edge of the boat and was mine against the crocs.

Another good day in Kakadu.

 

Day 32 Kakadu - Kubara Pools and Nanguluwirr

 An early start today, as we planned to do a 6km return trip walk to the Kubara Pools, and aimed to miss the heat of the day. The walk took us through more savanna and woodland areas. We didn't rush but took our time to soak in the beauty we were immersing ourselves in. As the road that led to this track was a dirt road, we knew that we wouldn't find any tourist coaches on this walk. 😅. The birds were very chirpy and darted around between the trees. There were orange coloured flowering gums, purple turkey bush flowers and all sorts of other pretty little flowers dotted along the way. We saw tracks belonging to lizards of various sizes, and even dingo paw tracks visible in the sandy path. Butterflies flittered around us, and when we walked past the browned long grasses, if you stopped and listened, Matt reckoned it sounded like a rice bubble breakfast, when you first pour the milk on - snap crackle and pop!! There was so much action and insect life in the grasses, that you couldn't see but could hear. Red tail black cockatoos flew above us, and little doves whizzed around and beside us. Matt reckoned these doves flew like the speeder bikes in Star Wars, they were so fast and confident as well, darting about through the trees in a flash. (not like city doves that are inherently stupid and couldn't weave their way under the harbour bridge without hitting something) We had a rocky escarpment that again was similar to what you see in the Blue Mountains, but the weather is a lot warmer here!

We finally reached the Kubara Pools, and hiked up to reach the main pool. Compared to other rock pools that we had enjoyed in Litchfield National Park, it was underwhelming but pretty all the same. We stopped for an hour here, taking in the little fish darting under the slightly murky water. Some had vertical stripes and another type had one horizontal stripe with colourful fins. Matt threw in some crumbs from the pretzels he had eaten and they would rush up to eat them and then fight over them. yeah i know i've upset the ecological balance and they're probably all dead now. well the crocs gotta eat something. Matt ventured up further to see the little waterfall.  We headed back onto the track, again enjoying the beauty around us, our church for this Sunday, and returned back to Bridget.

 We looked at the time, and decided that we still had time to do something else, and opted to go to the nearby Nanguluwirr Indigenous art site. That would involve a 4km return walk in the middle of the day, but we felt like we could manage it after Matt had lunch, less grumpy that way, then we headed out into the heat. We headed off down the fairly flat walk, and eventually reached the caves with the art work. There were spirits with 6 fingers, barramundi, turtles, people, and more. Some were painted in the 1960's and the oldest has been dated around 20,000 years old. It was worth the heat and the walk to come and see them. We made it back to Bridget and headed back to Jabiru and we were grateful to plug into power and turn on the air con. Matt went and had a swim in the pool (very cold )after doing my IV care so I could have extra IV fluids after being in the heat and the long walk. 

We just relaxed in the cool for the rest of the afternoon, catching up with my brother James and sister-in law Natalie, and our eldest son Jolyon on the phone, and writing up my journal and this blog.  As I write this up, the Curlew bird is having a sing, with its eerie call. I am hoping these blogs are inspiring others to want to travel to the Top End, and explore for yourselves, our varied and spectacular country.

Day 31 Kakadu - Burrungkuy and Nawurlandja Lookout

 It's hard to believe that we have already been on the road for a month, time flies when you are having fun, as they say! We finally had a cooler night and were able to sleep in a bit. This morning we headed to the Burrungkuy area, an area that helped the world heritage listing of Kakadu National Park with Indigenous art that is over 20,000 years old. As we drove into the carpark, there were 3 tour coaches, and you guessed it, the one being used for our favourite tourists were there. My heart sank. Optimistic that they would be far ahead on the path, we ventured in and spotted a track that led off the main path and to some of the Indigenous rock art, me hoping that they would only stick to the easier main path. We saw some pretty amazing drawings  and caves, and it's hard to believe how old some of these paintings were. One of the paintings was of a tall ship. Makes you curious why these people, so far from the sea, knew what a tall ship looked like. As we proceeded on, we heard lots of voices and who should we catch up to, but our favourite group of tourists! Matt will tell you that it was like when I had spotted a roo or something else hidden in the bushes, (more like when she sees a snake) I stopped and became very still and paused, as I didn't want to be seen or heard! So we waited for them to move on, before we progressed. We continued to enjoy the various rock art caves and got to the point of waiting too long for the tourists to move on, so found a bypass and got away. We headed back onto the main path and found the path to the Kunwarddehwardde (she looked that up) lookout and headed up the steep path to enjoy views looking out to the rocky escarpment that was above all the rock art caves. It was spectacular. We sat and took it all in while Matt had morning tea and took photographs. It was nice to stop and enjoy the beauty around us. Again there were small fires for the fire management, off in the distance, making the view in the distance hazy.  We eventually headed down from the lookout and back onto the main path to the car park. Hoping that our tourists were long gone, we walked along only to discover they were just ahead of us. So we waited, before we walked on and then walked slowly. We watched from the distance before we saw the coach loaded with the tourists drive away, and felt safe to return to Bridget.

From there we headed to the Nawurlandja Lookout, not far away, in the same area. There was a 150m steep walk up to the lookout, but we were rewarded after we turned around to look, with another amazing view. It looked out over the Anbangbang Billabong and another rocky escarpment way off in the distance, that reminded us of the Blue Mountains. But sadly the smoke haze made it a blurry view. As initially we were the only ones there, it was nice to find a spot in the shade, just to rest but be present. Present to all the creatures and nature that we were immersed in, present with each other and present with our Creator God. It was nice to be still and know God. A few others wandered up the rocks to enjoy the view too, and one gentleman recognised us as being the people with the bus, and got talking. We have met some interesting people. On a side note, if you have a inclination to randomly light fires then dissapear and let the bush do what it does when on fire, then you should work for NT parks. we drive one way down the road in the morning, everything normal. we return 3hours later and half the roadside is on fire. i'm sure they know what they are doing..

After we headed down, we drove out and did a quick check on the path we want to take tomorrow, to make sure it was open, as we keep finding a lot of the walks have not been opened yet, or are closed with the fire management. It is open and we look forward to going on it tomorrow. Weary from our earlier walks, we headed back into Jabiru and drove around the town and found quite a few abandoned homes and townhouses, it looked quite derelict and unloved. We found the caravan park and checked in and found a spot and plugged into power and enjoyed the air conditioning once more. I caught up on some washing and prepared dinner. i fended off the old blokes who wanted to know why the bus doesn't have a detroit diesel in it anymore😣 It is good to rest.

i think this means Crocs don't like breakdancing

Day 30 Kakadu - Ubirr, Cahill Crossing and Mamukala Wetlands

 Last night was another long night for us, with heat and humidity keeping us awake and uncomfortable. The downside to not being plugged into power, and no breeze to speak of, coming in the windows. At one point of tossing and turning, I glanced out the window and saw a beautiful starry night, but I was too tired to take the moment to enjoy it. Sleep did eventually come, but because we had kept the blinds up to let air through the windows, we were awake at sunrise.

After breakfast, we headed back out to Ubirr to enjoy the Indigenous rock art, and the stories they represented. Not far down the road, we explored Cahill’s Crossing, the water crossing for the East Alligator River into Arnhem Land. Due to recent rains, the crossing had water cascading over the road and rocks next to it. This didn’t stop a big semi driving over the crossing. This wasn’t the kind of situation for the crocs to swim in and catch fish, which is the spectacle that you come to see there. We did the walks along the river near the crossing, but no croc sightings for us. My mum was pleased about that. But we did see a rather fearsome looking king skink lizard that gave me a threatening look, before deciding i wasn't worth his time.

We returned to the campground for lunch and a nap, before heading out again to the Mamukala Wetlands. We ventured out on the bird walk beside the wetlands, but only succeeded in spotting 2 bin chickens and a few egrets. We saw more wallabies, butterflies and dragonflies than birds, ironically. We headed into the bird observing platform on the wetlands themselves, and were able to enjoy watching a family of Lotus Bird chicks with a parent. These small birds have long green legs and a tiny body, with long toes and can walk on lily pads and lotus leaves.

 We headed back to Ubirr for another attempt at viewing the sunset.

On arrival, as Matt pulled into the coach parking area, the driver of the AAT Kings coach already there, was filming us. Matt went and had a chat and it turns out this guy used to work with Matt’s boss from Fantastic Aussie Tours, Darrell. Matt has observed that lots of people we have met know Darrell. As Matt was on the phone to Darrell, another bus load of Italian tourists arrived, the whole busload then proceeded to take photos of Bridget, and one lady in particular kept coming over to take photos and despite Matt clearly being on the phone, and then later clearly occupied as he did my IV care, and she was calling out and wanting our attention. Now, I know Bridget is one of those ‘look at me’ vehicles, and some days I don’t mind the attention she gets and all the questions and photos; but some days, today being one of them, I just felt over the total disregard to us and that we were ordinary people trying to have a holiday.

the photo the driver took then was bounced across the country to Katoomba , and then back to me within the next 15 mins via Darrell

Eventually, we were able to escape and get out and up to the sunset viewing escarpment, and enjoy a much better sunset than the night before, so worth the hike up the rocks and all the effort. Matt had an amazing  blue butterfly land on him and later a dragonfly as well, he felt a bit special, but I was too slow to photograph the moments. Yes Bradden i am a bit special, and specifically the butterfly landed on my bare toe as i had taken off my shoes, and no Bradden, it didn't instantly die. it tickled.

this afternoons sunset was better, this is untouched colour exactly as it was.

  We waited to let the tourists and other sunset viewing people go ahead, so we could quietly get into Bridget; and so the mozzies would eat them instead of us, but alas, as we reached the carpark, we hear this boy calling out to his mum and sister about the really cool bus. Ok, so I don’t mind hearing that. But as we neared the coach parking area, we noticed the bus driver and tour guides taking heaps of selfies in front of Bridget. Then others raced over to do the same; cars leaving the carpark were stopping to take photos as well. We stayed away, waiting patiently as we got eaten alive by midges and mozzies. And just when we thought it safe to approach her and jump in, another car full of girls asked to take photos. Eventually we were able to drive away, but I still do wander what happens to all these photos of Bridget? Are they all on Instagram tonight?

Anyway vent over, it’s a bit cooler tonight and we are exhausted from clocking up lots of walking, so hoping we get some sleep and I can face being in a vehicle that is a celebrity for another day!

it was a day of creek / river crossings too some very pretty spots that would be great swimming holes if they weren't full of teeth...