The home journey begins.

it was time to say goodbye to Kakadu and begin our South bound journey.

Almost. 

We had just over an hour and a half in the car before unhitching the van at the Rangers Station and tearing down 60Km of dirt road to Gunlom Falls. This time we had no expectations of seeing running water, but did know that there will be rock pools for swimming. 

The walk was graded as steep and strenuous. Easy for us I am sure. 

Well..... after about 40 minutes of climbing rocks up the side of a mountain and my heart stopping twice whilst my calves were burning more than Satan’s backyard, we made it. And once again, it was well worth the effort. This time, we were swimming in “The Infinity Pools”, where they overlook the ginormous cavern that we just climbed, and appear to not have an edge. 

Despite the general green look of the water, it was crystal clear as always and cool and refreshing. 

After an hour of paddling and washing off the layers of expunged sweat, we dried off and got dressed, ready for the descent down the “steep and strenuous” rocks. 

Arriving back at the car sweatier than a barramundi at Cahill’s Crossing, we raced back to the van in air conditioned comfort, and had our usual lunch break. 

We were now on the road back to Mataranka. We had called in on the way up, but will now be staying at the Little Roper campground so we can enjoy a relaxing swim in the natural hot springs. There was also a performance on tonight by Nathan “Whippy” Griggs who is actually a World record holder in 3 different topics of whip cracking. And he was amazing. A super talented 26 year old country kid who specialises in making and cracking whips. The kids were mesmerised by him and felt chuffed to be able to have their photo taken with him. 

The swimming pools here in Mataranka must be seen (and swam in) to be truly appreciated. Perfectly pure clean water that has 31 million litres of water a day flowing out of the limestone into the pools and then into the riverways, free for everyone to use. 

The Stockcamp we are staying in has its own unique way of keeping everyone happy. They bake bread every morning and sell it to whoever wants a loaf. They also have a variety of snakes that are brought out for the kids. This morning it was two small children’s pythons. Dylan and Kayla couldn’t get enough of them, whilst Tyler stood back and Tracy locked herself in the van. 

This stage of our journey had now also come to an end. Tomorrow is a huge day. Driving from Mataranka to as close as possible to Alice Springs. Which turned out to be a roadside rest area approximately 940 km away. A big day in the car, but allowed us to fit in the next stages of our trip without rushing. 

Tomorrow is shopping day in Alice before heading off to Uluru.