Grey nomads in Australia: Litchfield National Park and the Northern Territory to the WA border and Lake Argyle

Everyone told us we must go to Litchfield. When we got there we realised why. There is a series of waterfalls in different parks of the park, many of them with a plunge pool in which swimming is safe. Hot and sticky as we were it was a joy to swim in the cool water. We met so many young Germans still on the road. It is very quiet now as it gets close to the Wet but the only disadvantage to travelling at this time is the heat. Otherwise it is delightful to have caravan parks almost to ourselves.

Wangi Falls with their plunge pool

Buley Rockholes

Florence Falls from the lookout above ........

......... and the plunge pool below. Not so easy to get into this one.

We left the Park the way we had come in, through a little place called Batchelor. There was a little general store that we went into and were amazed to hear a lively conversation going on between the shopkeeper and some clients in Swiss German. It was the second time that day we had heard Swiss German and it sounded odd in such a lost corner of the Northern Territory!

A brief stop at Adelaide River allowed us to look at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery where, among others, the victims of the bombing of Darwin in 1942 are buried. As always, the cemetery is immaculately tended. At Hayes Creek, in mining country, there was a constant stream of road trains passing but it was nonetheless a peaceful night in an almost empty roadhouse caravan park. There was mail waiting for us in Katherine, and also a very convenient carwash suitable for our, by this time, very dirty Winnebago. We wanted to push on so, having dealt with those, we drove on to Victoria River. It was stormy-looking and cloudy the whole day, which took a lot of the heat away, and when we arrived at the roadhouse it was clear there had been heavy rain. Again we had escaped it. The sign at the roadhouse amused us.

Typical Aussie humour

There was not much to stop for before the border, so Isobel was up early cooking the remaining vegies for the freezer and cutting fruit to eat on the way. Quarantine restrictions are enforced between NT and WA and we knew the van would be inspected. No fresh fruit or vegetables are allowed in. There is only so much one can consume, however, so at our lunchtime picnic spot a passing nomad going in the opposite direction gladly accepted the remaining tomato, avocado and cos lettuce, while we had left a quantity of garlic at the roadhouse. (That was supposed to have been left with Patsy and Richard but the bed episode put it out of our minds.)

Even before the border, the scenery had changed to the impressive red rock formations so typical of the WA Kimberley. It can be breathtaking against a clear blue sky, which there was as the storms had passed. There are so many deep gorges and it is interesting to speculate on what the countryside must have been like in the Ord River valley before the dam was built in the '70s. Even now, the huge lake that has been formed by the dam has steep sides and cliffs. For those who are familiar with Australian history, this is Durack country, settled by the pioneering Durack family from Ireland, and described in several books by Mary Durack, notably "Kings in Grass Castles" and "Sons in the Saddle". The Argyle Downs Homestead, which was moved when the Ord dam was built, is now a museum, but it is already closed for the wet season. We have actually been there before, back in 1985.

The caravan park at Lake Argyle was also very quiet. It is a beautiful site, with an infinity pool from which there is a view over parts of the lake. A swim there at 7:30 in the morning made a great start to the day.