687 Clicks
Edith Falls
April 13
On our drive to the campground at Edith Falls, we passed many a critter. We noticed numerous "piles" left behind on the road and were curious to know what had left them. The perps? Wild horses (herd seen below) and water buffalo. We actually saw a water buffalo munching grass by the roadside, but were nervous to stop in front of it lest it get annoyed & gore the Wombatmobile, so no pic. Sorry!
The horses hung around long enough for several photos and a short video. They were all a similar shade of brown & were smaller in stature than your standard horse. We were told their forefathers were most likely let go at abandoned cattle ranches.
Here's Chris & the kids setting up our home away from home. Will give a full-tour in a future post.
We learned the hard way not to pick the campsite near a fruit tree. All night we listened to the flutter & swooping of flying foxes over our heads & the rustling of leaves as they landed on branches to grab fruits & then the thud of the half eaten fruit on tent fabric or ground. Erin's tent was directly under the tree -- she definitely bore the brunt of their poor manners...
But all those bat shenanigans were worth it, because we woke up the next morning and hiked to this:
Edith Falls is another gorgeous spot in the Northern Territory. We couldn't go to the lower pools because of crocs, but were able to swim in the higher-up pools (which you see). It's a short hike (only 1.6 km round trip) & is apparently very popular. There were probably about 25 other people sharing the spot with us, jumping off rock cliffs & riding the "chute" made by a strong current in a narrow, rock-lined corridor. Jackson wants us to build a replica in our backyard.
Chris was probably the only person who was more interested in doing anything other than swimming in the pool or lolling on the rocks. He searched the entire range for Solanum.
After dinner (tonight we had burritos with rice, corn, refried beans & canned chicken with canned fruit salad) we converge in the kids' room & journal, tell stories or read. Chris is reading Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country" to us every night before bed.
1,236 Clicks
Timber Creek
April 15
Put some mileage on the Wombatmobile today. Chris was disappointed to hear that a couple sites he wanted to stop in are still closed because of high water -- even to 4x4s. We might be able to hit them on our way back to Darwin in a few weeks, so for now, we're forging ahead!
At one point, we left skid marks as the botanist braked to a halt, thinking he had spotted a Solanum roadside. He was right & was super excited to collect Solanum dioicum -- the furthest east he's ever collected it. We did that a few more times, though we were fooled by a look-alike plant -- a species of wild cotton has the same color leaves & flowers. At the third false id, we mighta heard some curse words...
The closures limited our campsites, so we decided to stay at the Sullivan Campground, in honor of cousin Erin. "Uh, where are the bathrooms, Dad?"
asked Isabel. Sullivan had no running water and a single outhouse without a door. A nearly unanimous vote was made to stay in the truck & to drive another hour to a more "amenitized" location.
Arrived at Timber Creek and for $30, we have showers, potable water & ELECTRICITY!!! We were taking turns in the truck today charging our devices "just enough" so we could read or listen to music without killing our batteries. Kindles and iPads seemed like great ideas at the time (more books, less to pack), but they all seem to need charging at the same time.
Dinner was Rotini Alfredo with vegetables on the pull-out stove (So what if the cheese sauce was powdered & the veggies were canned?? It was delicious!).
Sun set quickly & we were read to by Chris before lights out (somewhere around 8:30). Tomorrow is a school day while Chris checks a couple sites & then we move on...
No comments:
Post a Comment