Further up the gorge was a massive waterhole that, as the story goes, a diver camped at KFC and went down the water hole and could not find the bottom. Nicholas reckons that it is more the colour of the water and reduced visibility more than the true depth.
The sandstone soaks up water in the wet and even this late in the dry there was still a steady stream of water coming out if the rock. It would be a real treat to see the gorge in full flow or even flood.
Saturday morning we left KFC, still hankering for some original recipe, with a plan to cover around 200km as the roads were reported as pretty bad. We followed another family out of KFC who were 2 months into 2 years on the road (Nicholas had trailer envy for their Conqueror). The first 60km was pretty rough going, large patches of bulldust so deep the car only just made it through a couple of the longer sections, there was also evidence that the road had been used wet with deep wheel ruts where people had been badly bogged. Once we got to the main road the road was much improved. At the intersection we had to stop and wait for a convoy from the Variety Club Big Bash. It was like being in a town with that many cars. Twenty minutes up the road a road crew was laying fresh asphalt so we all stopped for almost 25 minutes. Opportunity to get out of the cars and chat to the Bash drivers.
As we passed Hells Gate Roadhouse the Bash were rendezvousing there. Thankfully we didn't need to refuel. We are now on highway 1, none of us will complain about the state of our highways again! The highway is dirt with little patches of asphalt and river crossings. Yes river crossings on the highway, not with bridges but with rocks and water that would be about 40cm deep. Could just see that on the Monash at Gardeners Creek!
We made much better time than anticipated and made it across the NT/QLD boarder and on to Borroloola for the night. So did the Big Bash! We were let down at the fish and chip shop because they had run out of fresh wild barramundi. The last of the Bash cars arrived in town around 9pm.
Sunday morning after a refuel we went to the rodeo grounds to see off the Bash cars. After most of the Bash cars had left we drove up to the town lookout then to the museum.
If QLD was the roadwork state then NT is the dumped car state! We cannot have been far across the boarder when we spotted the first burnt out car. At the Borroloola museum there must have been 6 dumped cars with bits missing and windows broken.
We are going to drive the Northern Savannah Way through Limmen NP and stay in the NP somewhere. We stopped for lunch at the start of the NP then headed for the southern lost city where there is camping and some facilities.
The Southern Lost City was amazing. Tall columns of stone that dwarf even the largest native tree around. We did a bit of the walk but it was pretty hot and little shade. The camp was not much better, no shade at all, we decided to head on to the next camp area.
Butterfly Springs was a great find to make camp for a couple of nights. We setup for two nights largely to enjoy the swimming hole to cool off. Again Angela made the most of the opportunity to do some campfire cooking. The firewood around is so hard and dry it burns very hot and slow. No Uncle Andrew fires here. During the night there were distinct noises of something very heavy wandering through the bush. Clearly heavier than any of the GN camping around us! The next morning there was much speculation and we settled on water buffalo due to the large deposits they left. That morning 8 of our 9 neighbours left us, the curse of 'that couple with kids' struck again!
We had heard varying stories about access to the Western Lost City. Some reports say there is no access others said the key and map can be collected from the Ranger. Monday (26/08) we drove the short distance to the ranger office to see what the story was. When we finally found the ranger, getting a key was no problem with directions and track notes. She also assured us that if the key was not back by 5pm someone would come down the track to find us. Great, how bad is this track?
The track was pretty challenging in places, particularly one sandy riverbed crossing (no water) but take it slow and we got through unscathed. The Western Lost city was more impressive than the Southern. The stacks seemed higher but more distributed over a larger area. The vehicle track followed the line of stacks from one end to the other. It really was a special place, probably made more special for us knowing that very few people got to (or took the time and effort to) see this, we were the second group in the last week to be given access! This was once privately owned as a cattle station until NT NP&WS took it over and it all became a NP as of last year when it was officially gazetted. Possibly Australia's newest NP. What a feature to have in your backyard!
Monday night we stayed again at Butterfly Springs. It was obvious how it was named with the number of butterflies around. At particular times of the year the walls of the spring are so covered with butterflies the rocks look like curtains blowing in the breeze of an open window. That would be lovely to see.
Tuesday we left the butterflies and water buffalo behind and headed toward Mataranka. We stopped at Roper Bar for lunch then enjoyed the blacktop road the rest do the way to Mataranka. On the road we were passed by a road train convoy coming toward us and the escort vehicle telling all road users to get off the road. Angela was driving at the time and got so far off the road we almost visited the next shire!
Mataranka was a rather smaller town than the brochures made out! We chose a van park for the night to charge the batteries fully before camping at Litchfield for three nights. Once setup we headed down for a swim in the hot springs nearby. The river was like getting into a bath but with algae instead of bubbles at the edges! How lovely the water was, particularly after a long hot and dusty drive. The spring had an entry point then we floated down the stream to an exit point before walking back for another swim.
Ther clear water of Bitter Springs.
Wednesday sees us drive the last part of the Savannah Way that we will see for a while. We stop in Katherine for a restock of the fridge and lunch before heading for Litchfield and all that lay ahead there!
