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. 

Crocodiles are definitely king

Our rest day today started with a short trip to the Rangers Station and Visitor information centre. We had pretty well already decided what we would be doing today, but wanted to check if there was anything else that needed to be crammed in. Cahill’s Crossing was a definite location and this was confirmed by the Ranger. 

Cahill’s Crossing is the road into Arnhem Land and is underwater for most of the day. The unique thing about it is that fisherman gather just before the high tide for their chance at a Barra, all the while risking their lives with Crocodiles also gathering to catch a feed as the fish cross the road. It was an amazing sight to witness and of course fuelled Dylan’s desire to do some fishing himself. 

As luck would have it, he did manage to catch something, but unfortunately it was only a small catfish. But it was a fish. 

The heat and humidity was stifling (despite the locals saying it is the cold season) so we didn’t stay long and gave up on all other plans for visits, to spend the afternoon at the pool instead. 

The kids met some friends they first met in Alice Springs and were entertained through to 8 o’clock, and we splashed about with a cold beer or two - this entire pool area is a licensed venue with a bar so suited us perfectly. 

Tomorrow we leave for Mataranka, but will be stopping at Gunlom falls on the way for another hike and swim.