22nd September – Elsey National Park, Mataranka, NT

 

Have felt the smooth weirdness today of the wheels on bitumen. The first bitumen we have seen since visiting it briefly in Cooktown and before that leaving it way back on the east coast just north of Cape Tribulation.

 

Gee….we have covered some rough roads not least of all the long arid stretches of the Gulf and its spectacular bulldust corridors. (Parts of the road that suddenly become sand as the hard surface breaks down.) The car has worked hard across this top end, but is still ploughing on. Although our GPS, video camera, tailgate and car seats have all become innocent victims of the never ending dust.

 

The day after we left Lorella Springs Station we made a bush camp by the Roper River just shy of Roper Bar. It was a dry isolated road but as the track followed the river it offered some rare chances for shade along its banks. Crocodiles are prevelant in the eastern sections of the Roper River but our camp, although right near the bank, was a good three metres above the water line. We set up camp and afterwards collapsed into our chairs in the shade of the trees.

 

At dusk the toads came out of the wood work. Dirty great Cane Toads, of every size and shape came hopping up from the banks of the river, with their care free, care less attitude. There was a bit of carnage that night as we did our bit for the aussie environment. Whacking them here and there, sending them back to where they came from where we could. It was all in the national interest of course.

 

After heading to bed that night, we were soon reminded of just how close we actually were to the river. Although high above the bank, we could hear crocodiles moving around, swimming and doing whatever it is that they do at night. The sound was disconcerting, especially as we were surrounded by reeds that rustled every time even the tiniest cane toad stumbled through it.

 

Huge, Giant Fruit Bats, dropped their bits and pieces down upon us from the trees throughout the night, and their wings thumped as they flew from the branches.

 

It was a long night as we pondered the likelihood of a croc climbing the bank. We looked down upon our children at ground level, from high up on our camper's double bed and thought 'I guess it's pretty unlikely'. As you guessed there wasn't much sleeping done that night.

 

We packed up the next day and set out for a different camp. We failed to find a good roadside camp past Roper Bar, so we pushed through to Mataranka where we are due to meet my parents on Wednesday anyway.

 

This morning we saw a goanna swimming in the Roper River. I didn't even know they liked to swim.

 

The croc free swimming of the western end of the Roper River led us to Elsey National Park, just outside Mataranka, where we are camped a few hundred metres from the water. It is a very quiet and pleasant campsite, easy to spend a few days. We will sit and wait for the imminent arrival of grandma and pa and make use of the great swimming…. goannas and all!

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