Halls Creek to Katherine

[Trev Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Trev]

http://s926.photobucket.com/albums/ad106/Trevjk44/

We have arrived in Katherine and spoken to the owner/manager? of the Toyota dealership and will try to find out what the problem is in the morning. Meanwhile try this link to what some people call work and others would call fun (for a while anyway) Will post some text and photographs after we come back from Edith Falls. It is not as pretty as a Kmart Catalogue. Cheers, Trev

[Trev Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Trev]

Re: Halls Creek to Katherine

http://s926.photobucket.com/albums/ad10 ... Katherine/

This link should take you in photos, from Halls Creek to Katherine. Text is to follow. Cheers, Trev

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Re: Halls Creek to Katherine

Halls Creek to Katherine
Thursday
Spent a restless night as the sheila in the unit next door must have slept with the TV on. The temptation to give her a belt with the camel tamer was pretty strong. There was no flapping tent walls but plenty of background noise.
The cook had worked out we could wash the car in a local creek if we could not do it in town. It worked a treat and now looked half normal. She also washed the pillowslips and was taken aback by the amount of red which came out.
We fuelled up and headed for Katherine via the back way. Old Halls Creek was the original starting point for the drovers on the CSR. All that remains to-day is some chimneys and some old walls under a protective roof. The rugged red ranges around Halls Creek lead to many small creek crossings which were very picturesque. We came upon Palm Springs Oasis which was truly amazing. It was a pocket of rainforest with a small rock cliff on one side, plenty of water and a limit of 24 hours camping sign.
The rugged country soon opened up to flat, flat plains with a lot of grass and cattle everywhere. The Indonesian export market is limited to a maximum beast weight of 350kg so many of the cows looked quite small. We crossed the border into the Northern Territory and immediately lost 1 ½ hours in the day. The lunch stop was at a shelter with table, chairs, water and a fair bit of rubbish as no one had cleaned it up for some time. The Northern Territory certainly does tourism better with signs, distance markers and rest areas. We passed a dam with hundreds of Herron around it and missed the photo. We knew there were people around as there was plenty of station chat on the UHF. We went through patches of locusts who were intent on suicide and they took off and flew directly into the car.
Kalkaringi was the main settlement on the way to Top Springs and was where we had intended to stop but after working out that the 40kph zone was there to protect those who went to drink outside the town boundary we decided to press on. It was getting dark and the “we decided to press on” had become a problem so we then then decided to make it to Top Springs the only problem was we didn’t have their phone number or any service. Just then, on top of a hill about 50 km out of Kalkaringi we had two bars and no directory number so it was a call back to Nowra and have Bob look up the number then another call and finally got hold of Top Springs. On the way we passed a great camping spot on Camfield River so that will be one to remember. Talking to locals at Top Springs about getting the car checked at Katherine we found tomorrow is a public holiday because of the show. Sometimes you just can’t win!
I must be going through the Canning Stock Route withdrawal. No one gave a radio call as they left the station road to say which direction they were travelling. No one stopped to talk about the road conditions as we were already at 90kph on cruise. No one called to say they were driving over a crest. The road was smooth and Neil Diamond belted out Sweet Caroline on the CD player. At night there was no solitude. This withdrawal is so bad I may have to get a few more months off work. I hope it doesn’t get better!
Friday
Headed off from Top Springs which turned out to be a top place. Last time we were there it was a dive. This time it was a credit to Pauline as it was clean, tidy and friendly. A room with a king size double and also a king single will set you back $150 and a camping spot $20.
The road north was in most places a single lane tar road with some sections of two lanes. Over the years we have worked out it is safer to pull right off the road, stop and wait for the other car to race past. That way we minimise to risk of doing a windscreen. The country was flat savannah with pretty uninteresting scenery. Once we hit the main Katherine to Kunnunurra Road it was shear panic as there were cars, truck, cars, caravans, motor homes, more cars and the road trains. It was a bit of a shock after all the light traffic of the past two weeks.
We made it into Katherine and called into the Toyota dealership and found the boss working on some quotes before he went to the show. He was really very friendly and helpful as we hope tomorrow morning we will find out why my left hand keeps going to sleep on the long straight sections. We went to the Coffee Club in the main street. The owner came here 12 years ago to build houses after the big flood, stayed and the place has been open exactly 12 months. The coffee was great and well worth a stop. On the same note the lady at Knotts Crossing Resort was really helpful when we explained we didn’t exactly what our plans would be tomorrow. Katherine really is a friendly, helpful place. Although I will call into morrow and see if the salesman who sold me the bloody Nissan four years ago is still around.
We took the drive out to Edith Falls, 42 km to the north and 20km in and we were blown away by the place. It again, was an oasis with a bonus of mown lawns, a little shop and a fantastic water hole and waterfall. Carol had a swim and I stood around as the life guard and photographer. You can’t book into Edith Falls, there are 51 sites, so you have to be there early to get a site. It will set you back $9 per adult and $5 per child. The maximum stay is seven days. We chatted to a young guy helping to look after Edith Falls and he had tossed his in job back in Melbourne and was intent on seeing the most of Australia. We wish him luck as it is a beautiful country.
We are back in Katherine and can here the fireworks. I think tomorrow afternoon we will have a look at a country show. It could be good fun. Cheers, Trev

[dreamon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dreamon]

Re: Halls Creek to Katherine

Where are you heading next

[Trev Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Trev]

Re: Halls Creek to Katherine

After the Toyota dealer sorts things out Roper Bar, Robinson River and down through central Queensland. Cheers, Trev

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Re: Halls Creek to Katherine

Continued in Savannah Way (part) Katherine to Mount Isa