The Road South - Cold Days, Colder Nights, Coldest Weve Ever Been

First stop was Bitter Springs, Mataranka for our last float and our last wear of the swimmers booooooooo.

This is no swimming pool but some of the clearest water you will see

 You cant make me leave and wear a tracksuit

 Just when we thought we had left Croc territory another of the cheeky buggers appears

 The view from below the surface

A Town called Alice

 Ice, Ice Baby

 

Now there is a man who fears nothing wearing a fashion statement like that beanie

Into Coober Pedy

They are Opal mines not ant hills

Oi go get your own road kill say the Wedgetail Eagles

Well after 2000k in 3 days it was time for a break and what better place than Wallaroo SA

 Sunset selfie on the Beach once again rockin the latest beanie fashions

Well after thinking it would be warmer down south by the water and realising we were totally wrong (screw you Antarctic Vortex) it is time to head East and catch up with family for a month or so, were we will enjoy such delights as Diesel that is cheaper than $2.10 per litre, showers that don't need 20 cent pieces and a bathroom and toilet that you can get to without putting on a tracksuit and boots. But hey these are the things that make travelling this great brown land the awesome time it is.

Stay tuned.

Katherine - Hot Days, Hot Springs, Hercules

Ok back on line again from Kunanurra we legged it over to Katherine and the first job was to wash off the new coat of bat poo the Dmax had got on it then to chill out. Some nights it was a bit hard as for those who don't know Katherine is home to Tindall airbase down the road we were given a show most nights of returning AUS and US Air force machines as we were lead to believe they were playing war games up the road. We were treated to Hercules, F18 Super Hornets, Apache Helicopters, Black Hawk Helicopters, a refuelling tanker and an American Cobra attack helicopter so a good show most afternoons and nights.

But the main reason for visiting Katherine is Nitmiluk which is laymen's terms is Katherine Gorge one of the great sights and this time we decided to view it from a different point of view, that being in Kayaks it was awesome see below.

Look at my Speed

The Gorge



 Croc tracks on the right

 The view from the middle

 Incredible to believe that water made these cliffs

 The end of Gorge No 1 Ps there is 7 more to go if you are really keen (or you take the boat tour)

 A couple of Gorge No 2

 Somehow we went up in 2 single Kayaks and came back in 1 double, this is how it works in the Top End

 Alarm, Alarm, Alarm our first Croc sighting

 Second Croc coming into nest

 Crap they are circling us

Where the last 3 Crocs escaped from

Kununurra - Bedlam, Bungles, Bats,

So we finished the Gibb and apart from one dodgy tyre and half of the dust of the Kimberly in the car and camper we made it unscathed. It was on to Kununurra for a little relaxing and a hell of a lot of washing. So after changing Kimberly dirt into Kimberly mud in the washing machines we decided to do a flight over the Bungle Bungles for a look and we had to get out of the van park for a while after having all the space we wanted it was a shock to come back to the bedlam of a packed in on top of each other caravan park in school holidays to boot.

We wanted the 9am flight we got the 6am flight so with alarms set for 04:40am off to bed we went and were awoken at some ungodly hour of the morning or still night for our flight. So after a quick trip to the airport, a weigh in and briefing I then went from nervous as I had never been weighed before aflight before to even more nervous when Gen won the toss and was put up the front of the plane in the Copilots chair. It all worked out and the views were fantastic see below

 Ready for Takeoff

 This is Co Pilot Gen who will be photographing from the front of the plane today

 The Ord River

 Trent's first sunrise this holiday

 Lake Argyle Inland Sea

 Cattle Country

 The Bungle Bungles

 Cathedral Gorge

 Echidna Chasm

As well as the Bungles they also teased us by flying over the Argyle Diamond mine. The worlds largest producer of a girls best friend

To celebrate our last night and our last sunset in Western Australia for a while we went down to the river with a bottle of white to watch the view, and yes those black things are some of the million bats that we saw

Home Valley Station - Camping, Crocodiles, Crossings

So after an overnighter at Ellenbrae Station it was on to Home Valley. We decided to camp at the Pentecost river camp and heeded the warnings of no swimming at all if we valued our limbs as we were now in Saltie territory and unlike Freshwater Crocodiles they play for keeps.

It was not all bad to help us to get over the locals we had a lovely view of the Mighty Pentecost River and Cockburn Ranges.

Gen was too busy chasing her bird shots that she apparently missed a croc sighting.

Whistling Kite

Black Kite

Whistling Kite

Whistling Kite Up Close and Personal

 Willie Wagtail

 Peaceful Dove

We had a lovely spot on the river with excellent birdlife the only disconcerting thing being the splashes we heard all night as the local residents of the reptilian variety partied on.  Locals only in this river and by locals we mean Saltwater Crocodiles.

So here we are nearing the end of the Gibb and the road presents us with one last challenge crossing the mighty Pentecost river but lucky for us the water level was low so we made it with no dramas