Umbrawarra Gorge is about 25 km off the highway, most of
which is corrugated dirt with some washouts/dry creeks. This at least meant it
was quiet - there were only three cars there when we pulled up. The walk in was
easy enough, starting off well-formed but with a bit of rock hopping as the
water came into sight. We had a great swim and explored upstream a bit, but the
large boulders on ungainly angles made this tricky and we only went so far
before we returned to the main swimming area; you could easily go for ages
though.
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| The pool we spent happy hour in at Umbrawarra Gorge. |
With the day progressing and both the beauty and quiet of
the place, we decided we would stay the night at the campground. At $3.30 per
person we weren’t going to complain, and within no time had camp set up and
plans to head back to the water for happy hour. This time we had the whole gorge
to ourselves. With a camp oven meal planned, we started up the fire and got the
coals red hot, producing a stunning lamb casserole that would be feeding us for
the next few days.
The morning started early as we watched the sun rise in bed,
with a slight chill in the air from the night before. We were quickly on the
road, feeling it better to explore new places than enjoy the beauty of
Umbrawarra Gorge yet again. We ventured out to Pine Creek where we spent a
little time making contact with the outside world, and checked out some history
from the area – some dating back over a hundred years. This area used to be a
goldfield, with a super old open cut mine that has now been filled with 135
metres of beautiful, fresh water. The train line from Darwin to Adelaide (via
Alice Springs!) eventually wound its way through the town (sounded like there
was heaps of issues finalising the deal and making the northern and southern
ends finally connect), and also houses the oldest restored train engine in
Australia. This old trooper started life in 1877 in England before being put to
pasture in 1945.
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| Thomas has nothing on this old beauty! |
With plans to reach more water, we headed north along the
highway for a little while, seeing a dump truck on the back of a semi trailer
(luckily pulled over for pies, it would have been twice as wide as a standard
car), and a quick glimpse of an old 1910’s car on a trailer (there is a
Show’n’Shine on in Katherine on Sunday, sadly we just missed it). The rest of
the road was pretty boring, until we made it to our turnoff. This led us past
the old Fenton Airfield and Base Camp, from when troops were stationed here in
WWII. It was great to drive through the old camp and get some information and
wonder about the hardships here in both the wet and dry season. There were only
a few bits of rusted metal left, however most of the cement foundations were
still near perfect. As the info sign stated, white ants quickly wreaked havoc
with the old timber floorboards, so as payback the men crushed down the termite
mounds and made what seems like very structurally sound concrete.
Although that was fun, our main hope was to go to the
airfield and have a look for some old plane wrecks. This was not to be,
however, as all the gates in were padlocked – we might try and find another way
in tomorrow…
Our aim for the day was to reach Butterfly Gorge, and after
travelling a bit further down the road and along some gravel, we made it as far
as the campsite at Douglas Hot Springs NP. We had a quick look around, a quick
chat to the American couple we met several times along the Gibb then it was
time to hit up the 4x4 track into the gorge. We aired down the tyres to give us
some extra suspension then proceeded on. I made Michael take the chicken track
right at the start, feeling it unwise to get stuck in what looked more like a
river than the actual track. Michael pretended to be disappointed, but continued
on anyway and we enjoyed the rest of the drive in, with a couple of small creek
crossings, some good wheel placement and once again a lot of corrugations (the
dash has a few more rattles than it did a couple of months back…). We welcomed
the sight of a couple of fourbies parked up, including another one that we
recognised at the couple with the flat tyre at Galvan’s Gorge (also from the
Gibb), as it meant we were at our destination. It was time for a quick lunch
then get ready to go in.
Just as we had everything packed up and ready to go, the
couple from Galvans came out and had a quick chat, telling us where to go to
get some peace and quiet (and a great view/swimming hole) and that we were well
over prepared as we had to swim to get there! This was sounding to be a great
adventure and we got straight into it. The walk in was simple enough (didn’t
need the hiking shoes, oh well), then we ditched the shoes and backpacks at the
first pool of water – a deep river crossing, and packed light to continue on. The
main pool was gorgeous, with a nice white beach surrounded by green palms and
gums on two sides, the river on the third, and a huge rock wall with a gap down
the middle right in front of us. That gap was our destination, leading up to
the upper pools. We had a quick swim over, then were greeted by a slim,
slippery gorge that we had to work our way firstly out of the water, then over
a boulder caught in the middle, then slide our way back into the water on the
other side. The pleasure of making it past that first obstacle was great but short-lived,
as we were faced with smooth walls on three sides, and one section where the
water enters this pool that looked like we had a chance. Michael got through
easy enough (damn long arms and legs), however being somewhat shorter in limb,
those hand and footholds were slightly out of reach for me. This was only a
setback though, as we eventually worked out how to get up and we made it to the
next pool. This one was only shallow (we couldn’t touch the bottom in the last
two) but the small waterfall was great fun to stand under. This area was once
again beautiful, however we were on a mission and wanted to get to where the
beauty was either going to blow us away, or slowly peter out and we could then
choose where to hang out. I managed to somehow fall into the shallowest pool
and land on my butt and jar my wrist and shoulder – not great with the rock
climbing we were about to do.
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| Swimming into Butterfly Gorge. |
We gingerly walked up the super smooth rocks and made our
way to another large pool with deep walls on either side. At the far end was
once again a rock obstacle that once again long-limbed Michael made it up, but
that I was dragged up by my (jarred) arm. Ouch but worth it. This top pool was
beautiful and warm, and we sat around for a little while, played slippery-dips
on the super smooth and moss covered rocks, chatted to another couple we
ventured up with, then began our descent back down. Knowing how the rocks
dropped off at each of the waterfalls we had climbed up made it much easier to
descend – jump! After a while we were back at the river crossing, not wanting
to get out because of the warmth of the water, but the allure of a nearby
campsite, chats with the neighbours, and of course beer o’clock we hopped out,
dried off, walked back (barefoot) and were back on the track in no time.
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| One of the many pools we climbed/swam through. |
The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting away with the
two couples we met on the Gibb, swapping stories, trip plans, food and drink. Leslie
and Allan (from Galvans Gorge) made an offer we couldn’t refuse and so we spent
the evening there eating a wonderful dinner and chatting through the night. I
think we ended up staying up later than the young Darwin locals who had their
music blaring from the car so the whole camp could hear. Eventually the cold
got to be too much and we called it a night and went to bed.
The next day’s plans were all but non-existent, composed
mainly of going for a swim in the thermal pools and possibly go a bit closer to
Darwin in preparation for Michael to fly to Sydney on Wednesday. By mid-morning
it was obvious we were staying put – what’s the point of saving an hour the
next day if it means leaving paradise to stay in a rest area. So we lazed
about, had some more chats and exchanged details and watched the campground
slowly empty around us. A few odd jobs later, another swim and a bit of a walk
and the day was done.
The next morning we rose with a purpose, by the end of the
day we would be in Darwin! We packed up and farewelled the Springs and hit the
road north. It was still only mid-morning but we decided our first stop was the
pub! The pub at Adelaide River has been home to Charlie the Buffalo for the
last 50 odd years, made famous by the film Crocodile Dundee. Once upon a time
this big fella was the family pet, then when he got famous he hung around
giving kids rides. Now he just stands around on the bar – dead, stuffed and
mounted.
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| Charlie - still going strong but I think his joints have seized... |
We found our way into the outskirts of town and started
seeing dual lane roads for the first time since Perth. First stop was
Casuarina, home to a Westfields and therefore more shops than you can poke a
stick at. We needed to shop around for a suit for Michael’s interview, and
luckily the first one we went to came up with the goods. We wandered around the
rest of the shops for a little while before venturing into the CBD. This ended
up being a breeze, and we had found a car park in no time and looked around.
With elections coming up, we also managed to fill in an away vote, and was sooo easy, with almost no hecklers trying to show you “how to vote” and no line
whatsoever, we were in and out in no time. With Michael flying out the next day
and me holding down the fort, the best move was to book into a van park, opting
for Oasis on the outskirts of town.
I spent the next few days doing odd jobs, trying to cool
down in the pool and experimenting with different ways to make cake in the camp
kitchen - mugs and microwaves=success! The days flew by and before I knew it I
was back at the airport picking Michael back up. He made it through to the
final nine (from +500) but didn’t get the job, but at least got to go home for
a night and say hi to his folks – so jealous, I might just have to meet mine in
Darwin ;)
Lesson of the Week: Good deeds are great for the karma
kitty, but can also bring you beer and chippies – lend a hand whenever you can.
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