The Road to Kununurra

Clouds

We leave Darwin late after a visit to the doctors to get antibiotics for Daniel’s ear infection and an some essential trailer maintenance.  Luckily we are only travelling 100k’s or so to our stop for the night.  We’d made the decision to skip Kakadu NP altogether on this trip.  A big call but not one that we regret – not because we don't think that it's worth a visit (don’t believe the Kakado – Kaka-don’t mantra), but because we are conscious that we need to beat the rainy season to the Gibb River Road (and also because we are always happy to have another thing to add to our “Reasons to Come Back” list).  We're realising that even though being away for six months sounds like a long time (well, OK, it is), it’s a big country and we are constantly driving straight past some amazing places because it’s never possible to see everything.

So, instead of Kakadu, we head down through the lesser know Litchfield NP and Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) NP.  They suffer from being within an easy day trip’s distance from Darwin and so some of the swimming holes that we visit are busier than the Lido in Battersea on one of London’s three hot summer days, but don’t let the crowds put you off a visit.  On one day we swam in three separate spots – Wangi Falls (breakfast swim), Florence Falls (morning tea splash)  and Edith Falls (pre-diner dunk), and each one was a stunning combination of cool clear water, towering gorge cliffs and impressive waterfalls (even this late in the dry season).   If you want seclusion, do as one bloke that Jules spoke to at Wangi Falls did, and go for a swim at midnight to avoid the crowds.

We are starting to get a few clouds and a bit of rain now.  At first it was nice to enjoy a few clouds and the relief from the searing sun.  They also provided a bit of entertainment for the kids along the long, straight NT roads:

“Look kids, that cloud looks like an elephant”.

“Yeah, and look over there, a turtle.... and look, that one looks like a Death Star spaceship from Star Wars...”

“Yeah, yeah, and look at that one...exactly like that Grandpa dude from The Simpsons”...

However, we are now starting to eye these same clouds with a bit more suspicion.  A bloke I spoke to in Bamaga told me that they expect the wet season to come early this year as the mango trees are already flowering....  An early wet would have an interesting effect on our Gibb River trip...