North to Katherine (4th August - 12th August 2010)

We left the caravan park in Alice Springs fairly early as we had to have some minor caravan maintenance completed in town before we could head off for the day. This didn't take too long and we were on the road and ready for our first tourist stop - Telegraph Station (only about 20km north of town, so this got the girls excited - they thought we were there!!). We spent a little while figuring out how this early form of communication worked. How lucky we are to live today in this world of technology. A little too hard for the girls to fathom that communication was not instant!!

Our first campsite of the night while making the trek to Katherine was our first (and only one so far) free camping night. We pulled in to a road side stop at Taylor Creek and set up for the night- along with about 15 other families. And what a beautiful night it was. Stars shining so clearly in the sky, birds singing in the trees and lights out early for everyone to get a good sleep. The girls made friends with Ella and Connor from Melbourne and loved sharing their travel stories with each other.

On from Taylor Creek, we headed to Banka Banka Station. The in between of a caravan park and a free camp spot. Again, a lovely little place to stop and enjoy the surrounds, especially the kangaroos. It was certainly a very busy place by dusk when the gate was shut, as it was full for the night. Unfortunately, we gained some old cranky neighbours in a little tent and their annoying sighs and looks at any noise just wound me to encourage the girls to make even more noise. Even more encouragement given when they packed up for the night at 6.30 and climbed into their bed. No surprise that they were up and off early the next morning - cranky old whingers!!

So, after packing up we were back in the car and headed up the road to Daly Waters. A pub Peter and I had visited before and one we really wanted to see again. A stop for a look at the Devil's Marbles on the way up the Stuart Highway and we could feel the weather getting warmer and warmer. By the time we arrived in Daly Waters mid afternoon, it was the quickest set up so far, change of clothes into our summer wardrobe and then to the pub for a cool drink. The girls also went swimming while I had an afternoon siesta (started as a read and ended up a great sleep). The night saw us head to the pub for dinner. Again the girls made friends with some kids from Tasmania and enjoyed socialising throughout dinner. A highlight of the night was the kids' performance on the stage singing a varied version of Waltzing Matilda. Ella loved being on the stage, while Zali sat with us and watched from the stands.

From Daly Waters we continued the trek north and arrived at Mataranka and the hot thermal springs. We decided to stay at the homestead at the springs so that we were right there. On arrival and while detaching the caravan from the car we noticed a major bend in the weight distribution bar of the caravan. A small panic before I calmly decided all we could do was to try and get it fixed and see how we go from there - amazing how relaxed I can be at times!! We had been told these bars never bend, but where Peter took it to get fixed the man had seen it many times before. Not sure how it happened, but thankful it wasn't too major a problem in the end.... Enough of the maintenance and onto the beautiful location we were in for the next 2 nights. Wildlife in their natural habitat surrounding us and the call of the hot springs in Mataranka and nearby Bitter Springs called for a swim. We headed off to Bitter Springs for the afternoon and spent our time floating in the warm water and meeting more people. So many wonderful and friendly people on the road. The two days were spent swimming at either springs and enjoying our surrounds.

After two days relaxing, we again hit the road for the 100km trip up to Katherine. If we thought it was hot at Mataranka we were certainly ill prepared for the heat of Katherine. A good tip on a caravan park from a family we met at Bitter Springs turned out to be spot on. A visit to the Information Centre for places to visit (besides the obvious ones) and then onto Knotts Crossing Resort, where we would set up home for the next 3 nights while we visited Nitmiluk NP. A perfect park by me and then off for some downtime in the pool. Our time in Katherine saw us join a 2 gorge cruise of Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge and a day of swimming and walking at Edith Falls. Both places were magical and well worth the time we spent in the area. From here, we were already to make our way to Western Australia!!