Driving South in the Northern Territory

Driving south from Kakadu National Park, our first destination was Katherine Gorge. Believe it or not, but we're early birds at the moment – meaning we get up everyday between 7 and 8 o'clock! On the way there we visited Edith Falls and went for a swim in the beautiful small lake. Afterwards we went on to Katherine Gorge, where we wanted to hire a canoe. However this was not possible as they would only offer them at specific times. Therefore we went for a 3 hour hike where we had a spectacular view over the gorge. We took notice of an Italian family at Edith falls and they also were our neighbors at the campground that night. Keep that in mind while you read on ;-)

The next day started with a visit to the School of the Air (world's largest classroom). They teach kids via radio in the entire Northern Territory and even some places abroad. We met the Italians there. We then went shopping – and met the Italians again. Afterwards we went on to Mataranka where we took a bath in the natural hot water pool (32 degrees). In the evening we stopped at the Daly Waters Pub. In was a funny, historic bar with bras hanging from the ceiling, friendly barkeepers, delicious BBQ – we even tasted the popular fish called Barramudi – and last but not least good live music. One guy even wore a hat with two chicken sitting on it. Oh and then, later that evening, the Italians turned up there as well.

The following day our destination was Devil's Marbles, which is about 600km south. We took a break in Tennant Creek and – as we were accidentally early that day – decided to go for a swim in the Mary Ann Dam lake. Can you figure out whom we met there? We finished the day by watching the sunset at Devil's Marbles and enjoyed the amazing red colors changing in the sun. The Aborigines consider that place to be the eggs of the Rainbow serpent. It really looked like that, because there are lots of big round rocks lying around. When it was dark, the Italians arrived (obviously!) and they invited us to coffee, tea, and biscuits – very nice people!

We traveled on to Alice Springs the day after. After a short visit to the town, mainly for filling up our food, water, and gas storage, we headed to the West McDonnell Ranges. Our first stop was Simpsons Gap, a beautiful gorge just 17km west of Alice Springs. We went on to Ellery Creek Big Hole and spent the night on a National Park campground. The water in this lovely little lake was icy and therefore very clear.






Early in the next morning we went back to Alice Springs and visited the Desert Park. There you have a good insight into the three main landscapes of the outback: desert rivers, red sands, and woodlands. We also saw what animals live in which area and learned quite a lot about Aboriginal survival in the desert. This includes for example what they eat, how they find water, and what tools they use. We also learned that they eat parts of a termite mould to stop diarrhoea. Aborigines really have a good understanding of the nature and we were really impressed by their knowledge. Afterwards we went on to Alice Springs downtown, which isn't really big, and bought some souvenirs. In the evening we wanted to go to the rodeo, however nobody could tell us where it is – not even a policeman! Still, all of them told us that it should be at that day.