Sage's Video Blog #3

A look at our trip through the eyes of a four year old!

Gold, Waterfalls and Swimming Holes: Pine Creek, Litchfield National Park and Berry Springs

As we traveled closer and closer up the highway towards our Darwin destination, there are tons of beautiful places to stop and amazing things to see. We heard from my Katherine cousin that the little town of Pine Creek was having it's annual Gold Rush Festival on the weekend that we were passing through, and the kids (and Luke) couldn't miss the chance at striking it rich so we decided to stay a few nights. We camped at The Lazy Lizard and it was a great spot with a big pool to cool off in and a token giant croc to sit on out the front... of course!

The Gold Rush Festival kicked off at the local park next to a pretty running creek, just down from the historic Railway Museum. We headed down with a few other travellers and joined the little community of Pine Creek as they celebrated all things gold! It was a great example of a small town celebration and it seemed like all the members of this little town were there to lend a hand or run a stall or make announcements over the loud speaker or help out with the gold panning competitions. It was a lovely day to be apart of!

We all had a go at gold panning and then watched the professionals in action in the Gold Panning National Championships! There is definitely a technique to it but the kids were stoked to find a few golden flecks in their wet rocks... not enough to quit our day jobs and keep this travelling life going but something to float around in our little plastic take home tubes that the organisers gave us as a souvenir.

  

There was also a 'Stake Your Claim' competition, where for $1 you could buy a stake and choose a spot in a little grid, with the chance of finding a gold nugget underneath! Sadly we didn't strike it lucky here either but we all had a lot of fun! 

Another highlight was the terrific Chinese Dragon Dancers who did so well dancing like crazy in the 35 degree heat. With a rich mining history and many Chinese immigrants in Pine Creek, it was a great was to celebrate the colourful past of this Northern Territory town. 

We headed back to the caravan for a rest after our morning of fun - Bassie passing out in the 40 degree heat with both a fan blowing full pelt on his face and the caravan air conditioning on - this constant heat certainly takes it out of you but as the locals keep telling us, "This is nothing!".

That night the Gold Rush celebrations continued, with a bunch of bands playing in the local park on the back of a road train trailer, of course! We were lucky enough to meet up with my cousin Lauren, her husband David and their beautiful little bub Lincoln to enjoy the tunes and the kids danced until waaaaay past their bedtime in the park. A brekkie and goodbyes at the next door Railway Hotel and we were back on the road and onto our next stop at Litchfield National Park.

We stayed at Bachelor, the little town at the entrance to Litchfield National Park, and all the memories of pulling up in our Kombi, some eight years ago, and relishing the green grass and bush around us after camping in the dirt and dust for the last week come flooding back! The kids loved it too and set off on a nature hunt, collecting seed pods and leaves and other treasures to add to their playdough, to make some amazing textured creations.

Litchfield National park is one of our favourites in The Northern Territory and is really accessible from Darwin as a day trip also. There are so many beautiful spots to stop off at along the way, starting with the interesting Termite Mounds.

The kids loved swimming in all the beautiful little freshwater swimming holes and we spent ages at Buley Rockhole, just cooling off in the gentle waterfalls, while Arley and Luke joined the bigger kids and jumped off the rocks into the deep pool below.

Wangi Falls was another favourite spot, with the beautiful cascading waterfalls and the big, deep pool - the only downfall was the cafe closing at 3pm, five minutes before we arrived, so no caffeine fix for us! 

Another must-do for all those heading up this way, is a visit to Berry Springs Nature Park. It's so close to Darwin, just an hours drive, so very easy to visit as a day trip. We dropped by en route to Howard Springs, just up the road. By this point, we'd swam in quite a few natural springs and waterfalls that the kids were a little unenthused as we told them our next stop, but we ended up spending the entire morning, floating in the crystal clear waters of Berry Springs, on the kids' newly purchased noodles (pocket money well spent!). These springs are really kid-friendly, shallow enough near the little waterfall for the kids to stand, but it also has a few big, aqua pools, full of fish, where you could relax and float the day away... or if you're Arley, frantically dip and dive and chase the fish with your snorkel on. 

A trip up the road to Crazy Acres for lunch, a family run mango farm and cafe, and our perfect day was complete! Fresh mango smoothies, yummy salads and toasties and 100% mango frozen ice blocks and we all had big smiles on our faces. What an amazing few days! 

 

There was nothing left to do but set up camp, kick back and do what the rest of the campers at Howard Springs were doing.... enjoying some downtime and happy hour! 

Gorges, Caves, Good Coffee and Family: Visiting Katherine

We were all really looking forward to pulling up stumps in Katherine for a little under a week. We needed to re-charge and stay in one place for a chance to catch up on washing and school work after a busy past week of driving, we needed to re-stock the cupboards and fridge at the first Woolies we'd seen in a week but most importantly, we had family to visit and babies to meet!

My uncle Mark and aunty Simmone are long-time Katherine residents, having lived through two of its worst floods, and have raised their three children here. Two of these cousins of mine now have families of their own and we were dying to meet them and catch up on all the news. The youngest great grandchild in our Crofty crew, beautiful Lincoln, is just a few months old and the kids (and us!) were smitten!

  

We were spoilt with some delicious home cooked meals and outback hospitality and although we'd been to Katherine before, we were given the insider tips on what to see and do in these parts! It helps when your aunty runs the local museum and your cousin Lauren is on nearly every committee in town! And the kids loved getting a local's take on things like cane toads and crocs, as my youngest cousin Hamish told them stories of croc wrangling in the local river and casually nabbed a cane toad with his bow and arrow after dinner one night.... only in the Territory!

Here's a breakdown of our terrific week in Katherine:

1. Nitmiluk Gorge

This amazing gorge, also known as Katherine Gorge, is simply breathtaking. Luke and I have seen it before but have never done a cruise down through the gorge itself and gee, we are so glad we did this time around. Jumping on board the little boat driven by an amazingly knowledgable guide, we learnt all about the importance of this place to the local Jawoyn people and were so impressed with the majestic red cliffs which engulf you as you sail down the river. We saw a fresh water croc, a few different varieties of Heron and were able to get off the boat and walk through from one gorge to the next, where a second boat met us and we continued our magical journey through these beautiful rocks. The cruise was perfect for the kids, not too long or short with a little break in the middle and we all enjoyed it so much - a definite trip highlight! 

 

2: Katherine Springs

Who doesn't love a nice swim in clear, warm water after a big day bush walking? We stayed at the Riverview Caravan Park which is about a 5minute walk from the springs (they run pretty much straight through the town!) so we went down for a dip a few afternoons and it was just so relaxing. We are definitely loving these natural swimming pools in the NT! 

3: The Katherine Museum

My Aunty Simmone runs the Katherine Museum and gee, its worth a visit if you're passing through. The detailed displays and collections of memorabilia highlight her passion for the past and its so interesting to read about the Aboriginal history and people of the area, the ties to the cattle industry and the strong connections to Australia's wartime history. 

The kids loved wandering around the gardens and seeing all the old farm machinery plus they do a terrific devonshire tea, and who doesn't love scones?

 

4: Cutta Cutta Caves

We hadn't been to these caves before and to be honest, we were going to give it a miss, as the day we planned to go was so very hot. But we're all so glad we did - they were amazing! The only way you can see these underground caves is via a tour with a qualified ranger, and at just $22 each and the kids were free, we thought it was money well spent to venture down under ground and have a look at the sparkling limestone formations and some of the five different species of bats that call these caves home. 

5: The Finch Cafe

Luke's always on the hunt for good coffee and we've had our fair share of barely drinkable brews made with long life milk as we crossed over into the Northern Territory, so it was nice to have a little more choice in Katherine. My aunty recommended The Finch Cafe, not just because of its lovely vibe, good food and coffee but because her beautiful paintings were on display there! How special it was to have lunch and be surrounded by Simmone's bright and beautiful artworks! 

My cousin Lauren also put us onto a pop up cafe that was set up just near the Springs selling Blast coffee which isn't a bad drop. The cool shipping container fit out was ironically made in Newcastle! What a great idea for the Katherine dry season and a way to add a little bit of cool to the local park!

6: Edith Falls

Part of the beautiful Nitmiluk National Park but on the westerly side is the amazing Edith Falls. We hit the National Park at about 11am which was really too late to walk up to the top falls, but the kids were keen and despite the 34degree heat, we walked the 2.6km look up and over the beautiful mountain range to the top waterfalls and swimming pools. And boy did we need that swim when we made it to the top! 

The water was refreshingly cool and clear but I still couldn't completely shake the feeling of a freshie croc lurking beneath despite how 'harmless' they are to humans! 

7: The Hang-around

Seeing all these amazing sites around Katherine was broken up by a lot of what the kids like doing best... hanging around! One of the things that makes me smile being on this adventure is watching the kids make do with what they have and play with the few little toys we've bought along with us but mostly with just some sticks or rocks or what ever is around them. The power of outdoor play! It's truly one of my favourite things about taking this time out of the busy routines of life to just be in the moment.. or mud!

 

Arley and Sage spent ages making a 'shop' at the front of our caravan site, complete with signs and a money box and tried to sell all sorts of things like seedpods and rocks, their artworks and paper planes.... they made $2 from some of the sympathetic oldies staying next door but they had so much fun and even conned Bassie into being their Billboard boy!

And we bought a beautiful Aboriginal painting from the local Mimi Art Gallery to remember our time in Katherine!