Hi-Way Inn

We are at a road house in Daly Waters. They have a filthy pool that I don't like. But the sign says: "OOL Rules - Remember, no P in Pool" -- this is a pretty cool sign :-)

Rock paintings and crocs

We went to Ubirr, our turn-around point for the trip. Ranger Ben gave  a great talk about Aboriginal culture, stories and the dreaming. We have learned about kinship, language and the law, and stories, lots of stories. One is about two girls who liked to play crocodile to scare people. One day, they transformed into crocodiles themselves. They have transformed into the lumps behind the crocs' eyes, to remind all people of their sad story.

The thylacine is extinct on the mainland for 4000 years. This painting must be older.

I bet this one is a girl croc: dressed up for the party with a nice hair-do!

Our cool camp site in Cooinda. Read the croc warning on the yellow sign in the background.

Lelyn (Edith) Falls

We have found Paradise! So that we can stay longer here, we will not go into Litchfield National Park. This waterfall is simply too gorgeous! Find me in the picture below!

Me in the big blue tube that I took out to the waterfall. At sunset.

Mataranka Hot Springs

We are arriving at the Top End. We left the dry - and super dusty - Centre behind and have made it to Mataranka in Northern Territory. After days and days of camping in the dust and seeing nothing but scrubs and grasses, after playing not “foot”ball but “dust”ball in the brown, stinky dust, there is suddenly water and trees!

Our lunch stop is at Mataranka hot springs. The nearby Roper Rive is closed for swimming due to crocs. But the little Rainbow Spring that puts out warm water of 34 deg C is open for swimming! I plunge in and can’t get enough of it! The water is a clear turquoise colour. They have dug out a pool so that it is easy swimming. Mum couldn’t get me out of here!

Back into road train country

We are pushing on from Barkly Homestead to Banka Banka Outstation. This is the end of our trip west, we are now heading north. I am keeping a keen eye on the road trains on the Stuart Highway. At our lunch spot in Threeways, we saw six road trains with three containers. They are up to 53.5 m long. They have got a sleeping cabin overhead for the drivers to rest. Lots of them are loaded with zinc ore or copper ore. Others transport cattle. Some carry fuel for the road houses. Some just mention “chemicals”.

Tooth fairy

Finally, after a lot of wobbles, my second top front tooth fell out. In Barkly Homestead, in the middle of nowhere. This is endless country of nothingness: no road trains, no trees, no toilets, no fellow travellers. Only dead cows alongside the road, dry grass, dry grass, and more dry grass. Occasionally, a little scrub. Or a little rock. But all featureless. Good country for reading thick books (I have just finished the third book of Enyd Blyton’s Mystery Series about the find outers). We have also posted three postcard to Sydney, one to our class 1/2 T.

Croc tour

In Cape Tribulation we went on a croc tour on the Daintree River, where we saw at least 10 saltwater crocodiles. This includes Alpha, the biggest croc in the river. Also a 3 year old croc had red blood-stained teeth. I spotted a 1-year old croc that the guide hadn’t seen.

3-year old crocodile with a red tooth

Alpha

1-year old croc that I spotted