Paper, Rock, Scissors

May 6

5,586 clicks

Bullita Homestead to Edith Falls

Discovered the Wombatmobile's antenna today & tuned into our first radio station in 5 weeks. It only lasted about 1/4 mile past Katherine "city" limits, but we heard about the mass kidnapping in Nigeria & a program about the psychology behind the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors."  (Aussies call it "Paper, Rock, Scissors," but the psychology's the same!). 

That was all the international news we've heard for the last 5 weeks -- we don't even know if the black box from that Indonesian airliner was ever found. Our only "news" fix has been the short bursts of Facebook & the local newspapers Chris has scored to dry his plant specimens.  It's irresponsible perhaps, but we've honestly not had time enough for that kind of "luxury" -- so much of our day is spent fulfilling our basic needs: food, shelter & finding solanum!!!

Fifteen dollar road-house recharge:

We'd been recommended an historic roadhouse called Grove Hill to camp by, but decided to stop at Edith Falls instead.     Grove Hill is apparently a place that time forgot sometime around 1953 -- the furniture & owners alike. Alas, the sun was low in the sky & we wanted to make camp.  We decided to re-visit the very first campground we'd stayed in -- Edith Falls in Nitmuluk National Park. The lower pool was croc-free this time around, so we were able to take a quick dip before dinner, homework & solanum fruit processing. 

On to Florence Falls

Today turned into another long driving day. The 4WD road we wanted to take to Litchfield National Park dotted with plunge pools was closed (this is when Internet access would be useful...there's a well-maintained website indicating road openings and closures in all the territories' parks). Coulda saved ourselves some clicks!

Stopped at Robin Falls along the way as Chris had promised plunge pools to the kids with our original route -- it was just 300 meters off the road to Litchfield. Not a bad place to eat our final can of tuna...(big smiley face).  

Despite its beauty, it was the first campground we'd been to where there was garbage everywhere -- Pepsi bottles, XXXX Beer cans, and paper plates. Litchfield is fairly close to Darwin & many of its campgrounds are 2WD accessible, making it accessible to carloads of kids & people that don't ordinarily camp, but want the experience of sleeping outside.

Saw our first live snake...a golden tree snake:

And a gray tree frog in a paper bark tree:

Took a quick look at magnetic & cathedral termite mounds. The magnetic termite mounds are named such because their ends are built toward the magnetic poles. These particular termites would broil in the mid-day heat if it weren't for one flat side of the mounds being shaded at all times (east or west). Experiments have been done using magnets to change the poles partway through mound construction & the termites adjusted their structures to compensate. Cool, right?

The cathedral termites are grass-eaters & this particular mound is over 50 years old:

At Florence Falls:

This campsite is jam-packed with 20-somethings who travel in packs & like to play loud music & drink lots of beer. It's similar to Robin Falls in that there's garbage everywhere & the people aren't very friendly (completely different experience from our experiences deeper in the bush!!).  Thank goodness we found our camp first & then walked to the falls.  While we ate dinner, we watched carload after carload of people drive back & forth, searching for a spot because they'd done the opposite. 

Pan's shadow:

What's in the Fry-Bake?

Only the best camp nachos EVAH!!!

This turned out to be our last supper & our last night in the bush -- The Lost City trail was our final solanum destination & was still closed. We're heading to Darwin so Chris can have a full day in the NT Herbarium tomorrow & the kids & I can work on permutations & a biography about "Russian Jack," a gold-digger from the mid 1800s.   

This means private showers & toilets that flush, no house geckos on the walls, no ants in our food, no swarms of bugs when the lights are on, water from a faucet & not the truck supply, no red dirt in our shoes, socks, & fingernails, no tents to set up, a fridge with a door & shelves and a freezer, mattresses for everyone, no same field-pants I've worn for 5 weeks, no sulphur-crested cockatoos screaming at dusk, no Fry-bake camp nachos, no spontaneous clotheslines, no rationing of electricity, no fruit bats overhead, no kookaburras waking us in the morning, no crocs in the swimming pool, no water buffaloes on the road, fewer stars in the sky..it's all kind of sad. This adventure of ours is already starting to feel like a dream.