Katherine to Borroloola

Katherine to Borroloola

After a couple of nights in Katherine again to shop and get ready for the next part of the trip which was to include the Savannah Way from Daly Waters to Burketown. As we really didn’t know the conditions ahead and the road was to include 500 km of gravel we expected to be camping along part the way so stocked up on cryovac meats, fruit & vegetables, petrol, water etc. Also, although the Hema Map showed a few roadhouses along the second part, we were informed they were no longer open. We also visited Knotts Crossing, the original ford to where the town of Katherine was first founded.

The first day we headed south along the sealed road, destination Daly Waters, an important allied force base during the WW11 period, with up to 6 aircraft landing every 15 minutes. We drove through the town of Mataranka, home of the Never Never Graves, but didn’t stop there.

On the way we saw some runners and caught up with the support vehicle to find that they were part of a group called World Harmony Run, running around Australia, and they had then covered 15,000 km in 111 days. We didn’t envy them as it was already 28 deg. C and only mid morning. We also called into the Alexander Forrest memorial, a point where he reached the overland telegraph line in 1879 after an epic journey from De Grey on the W.A Coast.

We had lunch at the Historic Daly Waters Pub, which has to be seen to be believed. Every conceivable bit of memorabilia is hanging or pinned up. Along the top of the bar are discarded bras and pants and many travelers leave their business cards or in the case of some of the back packers, ID cards. The pub is very popular with tourists, bus groups etc. as a stopping off point for lunch. While we were there a group of World Youth Day pilgrims from Europe came in and said they had never seen anything like it. Also many other quirky sayings and some of the buildings opposite were great fun.

On the way out we visited the Stuart Tree, where the explorer John McDouall Stuart is believed to have carved his initials on his successful expedition from Darwin to Adelaide in May 1862, what was left of the Overland Telegraph Station, and then took a look at the old airstrip and hangar which is now under the control of the National Trust. When we arrived at our motel on the highway, we noticed the tyre which had been damaged on the Gibb River Road was a bit low, but we were able to have a tube inserted which seemed to fix the problem. The car had travelled 3500 km on Heinz’s repair job, over quite a lot of gravel roads, some 4WD, so we thought this was very good.

Next day headed off on the Alternative Savannah Way to Borroloola, via Cape Crawford. This section was sealed, even if some of it was one lane. There were a lot of cattle on the sides of the road and you had to watch carefully. Cape Crawford is a very pleasant spot and is at the junction of the Savannah Way and the road up from Barkly Homestead. The hotel is called the Heartbreak Hotel, after the famous Elvis song. We noticed a Telstra Work Van with one driver in the park nearby setting up his camp for the night, which was just a “camp cot” with a net, a couple of plastic crates, and his clothes in a “$2 shop” red and blue bag. Apparently his living away allowance didn’t include a room for the night! Some Rosella Parrots were having a great time flying through the sprinklers.

On the way to Borroloola we stopped off in the Caranbirini Conservation Reserve where there is a lovely lily carpeted lagoon and a walk which takes you past ancient sandstone rock formations, some 25 metres high, created by millions of years of erosion. Heinz did the walk up to the lookout for a better look.

We arrived at our cabin late afternoon. Borroloola is now aboriginal town and in the mid 1850’s was considered a lawless outpost. It is now a remote fishing community on the Mc Arthur River and tourists come from all over Australia to fish and camp during the dry season, chasing the elusive barramundi. We felt the town is still struggling with the bank foreclosing on the only hotel/motel. The owner is now only allowed to operate as a “licensed” restaurant. The licence covers low alcohol beer in cans and cask wine served by the glass with a meal. The meals themselves were excellent. As in Katherine, there were strict rules on the purchase of alcohol, which seemed to be a bit strange. Only 1 cask or bottle of spirits/per person/per day (with ID), yet in Katherine you can buy as many slabs of beer or bottles of wine as you like. The liquor stores were not able to open before 2.00 p.m

The next day we took a drive up to a lookout at Bing Bong, about 50 km each way, hoping to see the Gulf of Carpentaria for the first time. However, the Mc Arthur Mine port loading facilities are in front of the lookout so you can’t see much at all. On the way back we drove out to the King Ash Bay Fishing Camp on the estuary and couldn’t believe the number of caravans, boats, trailers etc. set up there.