Around Oz the First Time - Chapter 16 - Mataranka to Cooinda

The cockatoos are at it early today. My cold is abating nicely but Robyn’s is worsening. It doesn’t help she gave it to me originally. My lower back is back to giving me some grief so I dig out the deep massager and relive the stiffness somewhat.

Its overcast, which in itself is interesting. The last couple of days have been lovely, I wonder what today will bring – surely not rain.

We will need supplies today. We are out of tomatoes and a few other things plus the meat situation is down to one lot of steak and three satchels of mince. Might take one from the freezer and if we do not hit a pub for dinner make Tuscan Meatballs or Robyn could whip up a Shepherd’s Pie. I could do Tuna Casserole but firstly it’s not Robyn’s favourite dish and more importantly, secondly, I don’t think we have a casserole dish to make it in (or that is what Robyn tells me when I suggest that might be on the menu?).

Doing the Wille Nelson – on the road again – and we head north towards Kakadu. Today we travel through Katherine, aim to stop for lunch at the Mary River Roadhouse and head on to our final destination Cooinda in Kakadu, just shy of Jabiru. Silver Leader has a “one job” moment as does Forbsy. Silver Leader has not turned on his radio whilst Forbsy has not secured his shower vent. Forbsy waits until Mary River. The Silver Leader obviously works out something is wrong, turns on the radio (to the hysterical joy of the crowd) and spends the next 5 minutes paying for it.

Today we covered only 358 kilometres but we also passed the 4,000 kilometre mark.  In fact if we hadn’t done the running around gawking yesterday we would be just shy of the mark.

Along the way Robyn struggles with her cold and the camera, missing many of the things she is trying to capture. She finds signs particularly hard to capture seeking to capture them out her passenger window rather than through the windscreen, suggesting the glare on the front will rubbish the pictures. Better rubbish than nothing at all in my opinion.

She is successful with the Katherine sign and mostly successful with the landscapes. A couple of Brumbies become a horse in the very corner of the photo – but you can’t have everything. All along the way there is evidence of fire. Either one side of the road or both have been scorched, which allows us a view into the bush that is impossible otherwise. The topography changes with every bend, knoll or hill. There are rocks, lots of rocks, anthills as far as the eye can see, then in other places the land is quite flat and looking quite alluvial.

Most of the creeks and rivers we cross are dry. The bridge at Katherine is in excess of 17 metres of the normal water level as the graduations up the pylon show. In days gone by this bridge goes under in times of flood. Katherine is a very “new” place. The police station, the fire station and ambulance facilities look very modern but then we only really skirt the edge on our quest. We will be spending a night in Katherine on our way to The Kimberly (and hopefully meeting up with the missing Link)

Lunch and Mary Waters Roadhouse. Not quite similar to the iconic pubs we have stopped at previously, but this comes has a live freshwater crocodile on display, along with some art by an artist who likes to sign pictures with the face of an emu much like the ones on the windscreens of the VW Beetles at Silverton just out of Broken Hill. They are quite comical really.

On entry into Kakadu National Park the road becomes decidedly windy and undulating. This could be a tough drive into the campsite. Up hill and down dale for several kilometres before the road straightens out. The temperature gauge shows 34 degrees outside, a far cry from what the south east are experiencing at the moment. All of a sudden Silver Leader calls a stop as his rear-view mirror has come adrift, but before he even hits the brakes it is off. Forbsy picks it up as he passes it. Luckily it is not shattered, just a few scratches. Job #2 on arrival after we get set up.

We have heard from the fishing charter in Darwin and Wednesday is set for 2 separate charters with the same boat. A morning jaunt on the Barramundi and the afternoon on the blue water species. The combination of the two tours is quite economical. I would have thought we would pay the same for each as we are paying for the combination.

Happy hour here is from 4.00pm to 6.00pm and all agree its time. Like many of the “resorts/pubs and other tourist type establishments” many of the workers are backpackers. Here is no different. The barman is from Kansas, this is his second season in the north. Kakadu reminds him of home he says to me, after I suggest to him quoting The Wizard of Oz – the exact opposite. He speaks of the monotony of the bush reminding him of a similar feeling looking over the crops of his home. Funny how something completely different can remind you of home.

Dinner was a little disappointing. We decided to try the local fare but the Barramundi and Chips we so battered you could hardly taste the fish. I will have to catch my own and grill something special to gain the real taste of this most sought-after fish. During the meal what appears to be a dingo comes into the eating area and lays in the middle of the floor ready to be petted, and allows many of the tourists the chance to get up close and personal. I look around and the dog has gone – hopefully ushered off by the staff.

Its Friday night here in the park. The park is by no means full but the ambience of what we have come to see is full on. The air is warm and close, but not oppressively so. The sun wanes on the western horizon. Tonight, there is no red glow over the horizon that I can capture as in previous sunsets. The team put in our daily call to the Missing Link but he is obviously out on the town and says he will call back later – he doesn’t. There will be payback ?

Forbsy is unable to get any TV reception in the park so he enquires if anyone has a DVD they can share. One DVD? We bought 2 entire ring backed folders full, not that we have touched them yet, nor for that matter even taken the TV out of the box and turned it on this trip. He grabs a season of NCIS and heads off to his van suggesting he will be lucky to get through the first episode before the sleep gets him.