Category Archives: river/creeks

Corroboree Billabong and Sweets Lagoon

Australia, coastal, flowers, Kakadu, lakes, Landscape, Plant, river/creeks, Wildflowers

The Doc has spent the last 2 days out on tours, to Sweets Lagoon and Corroboree Billabong (Mary River Floodplain). The Patrol had been serviced and it was time to see the wetlands by plane and boat (to avoid the mud and crocs by doing it on land).

On paper, Outback Floatplanes Adventures trip to Sweet Lagoon looked the better option. It had a floatplane flight, airboat (flat bottom boat driven by a V8 using a propeller), helicopter flight and cruise in a flat bottom boat.

Corroboree Billabong was the Wildlands Ultimate Tour consisting of an airboat and flat bottom boat tour. The BBC has filmed twice here. This billabong has the highest concentration of crocs in the world. The billabong is fed by the massive Mary River Floodplain. The wildlife has to be be seen to be believed. Thousands and thousands of birds, fish a plenty and lots of top line predators like crocs and White Bellied Sea Eagles. The Doc even got to eat some bush tucker from the Sacred Lotus Lily and another flower.

Hands down Corroboree Billabong was better and around 1/3 the cost of the Outback Floatplanes Adventure. Sweet lagoon was expensive at $800 [2017] for what it was, a little bit of the four things from around 8.30am to midday. They even charge a credit fee of 1.5%, unlike Wildlands. As an experienced Outback Traveller The Doc would not do it again, but would return to Corroboree Billabong in a heart beat, and that cost only $240 for both.

The Doc was left with the feeling Sweet Lagoon was all about maximising bums on seats and putting the tourist thorough the production line. This is the first time The Doc felt this on his trips. It was not the people, but the production line process.

The auxiliary battery in the Patrol failed on Saturday morning so The Doc has extended his stay in Darwin 2 days to wait for the replacement. A bit lucky the battery failed while the The Doc was in Darwin rather than in the Outback. The Doc has never seen a battery fail so fast, almost no warning signs (The Doc knew there was an issue Friday, but Saturday morning confirmed the failure). The demands of the hot weather was too much.

This is a sample of the floodplain in and around Mary River and Kakadu.

Corroboree Billbong, water, flowers crocs and birds, all in abundance.

Sweets Lagoon images.

Ormiston Waterhole & Gorge – West MacDonnell Range

Alice Springs, Australia, landscape, mountains, NT, Plant, river/creeks, The Red Centre, trees

As noted in the last blog post, the first part of the week was hit and miss. While Rainbow Valley was impressive, the Rogue’s Triangle of Uluru, The Olgas and Kings Canyon was not. Kings Canyon was $40 per night for a single unpowered site! Ulura was $45! Plus the access fees. So The Doc gave both a wide birth, which involved more travel.

Diesel was $123.9 a litre in Alice Springs, 200km south at Erlunda it was 52 cents a litre more, and over $2 at Ulura. It comes to a point where a fair profit margin becomes a rip off. The Doc turned around and avoided the Rogue’s Triangle. If you want to visit these places, pay a travel provider and be ripped off in style – these locations are now hostile to the average traveller.

Sadly The Doc has not seen so many places, so close together requiring you so often to put your hand in your pocket – no other place in Australia is like it. Even at Standley Chasm the access fee is $12.

In contrast, the $32 entrance fee to the Alice Spring Desert Park was a worth every cent. While the fee seems high, the value for money was excellent, great displays, several walk in aviaries, nocturnal house with rare animals and the list goes on. Visit while in Alice Springs, as it is about a 7 minute drive from the highway along Larapinta Drive. A single morning in this one location shows you what could take months in the field to see.

So the week was not going well until the Doc drove into Ormiston Gorge Campground, when things changed for the better, nice grounds, showers, shade and the gorge a short walk away. Up early the next morning for a sunrise photos at the gorge, but the light was not right until around 9am. Then a walk along the gorge, with a climb up to the lookout. A steep decent and a bacon and egg sandwich was the reward at the end. Then off again at around 11am.

A visit to Grosse Bluff was interesting. It is an imposing bluff on the northern side, but the track takes you into a picnic area in the centre where you are surrounded by walls– it turns out it is a meteor crater. The cataclysm when the meteor landed must have been big, no humugous.

Images of Ormiston.

 

The waterhole and gorge also had many large Red River Gums and their amazing textures. Enjoy.

Back to Finke Gorge in the morning.

Darwin, Arnhem Land and Mighty Kakadu

Arnhem Land, Australia, coastal, Kakadu, Kakadu, lakes, Landscape, mountains, NT, plains, Plant, river/creeks

The Doc recently visited Darwin, Arnhem Land and Kakadu on a four day helicopter tour, with a few days each side in Darwin.

The flight was based out of Darwin and Jabiru (the township near the Ranger Uranium Mine), with some landings to refuel from jerry cans in remote parts of Arnhem Land. So The Doc got some ground shots.

The trip was at the end of the wet season and the scenery was spectacular, extensive wetlands, rivers, gorges, waterfalls and escarpment a plenty. These photos have minimal post processing.

Arnhem Land is a up on a plateau surrounded by an escarpment. The rain that falls runs off the escarpment and feeds a multitude of rivers along the coastal wetlands, including the Adelaide River, Mary River, Wildman River, the East Alligator/West Alligator/South Alligator Rivers, Liverpool River, Goomadeer River, White Creek, Julia Creek (tributary of Magela Creek), Mann River and Katherine River. Katherine River being the only one listed that flows south into Katherine Gorge near Katherine.

Along this coastal plain, there was an abundance of water, rivers, creeks, streams and wetlands that have abundant crocodiles and water buffalo. With so much water the crocodiles were very hard to spot.

This area has more rivers and water than either Cape York or The Kimberley and The Doc has flown over both of those areas.

On the way into and out of Arnhem Land you must fly over the escarpment, which is hundreds of metres tall in places. Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls are well-known waterfalls that flow off the escarpment in Kakadu National Park.

The Doc nicknamed one part of the escarpment the Guard Towers, these massive structures were imposing as we flew by. They look smaller in the photos (The Doc used a 24mm lens), compared to real life.

We flew across Kakadu into Arnhem Land and through and abundance of waterways and gorges. The gorges were often full of dense rainforest, unlike any other place visited by The Doc. It makes you wonder what wildlife it hides.

As we approached one river and waterfall the copter noise spooked a black wallaby. So The Doc managed to see the rare all black wallaby. An All Black Wallaby may do rugby union supporters heads in! It is the male that is black, it is normally nocturnal and only found in Arnhem Land across to Nabarlek.

The abundance of water in the Wet Season means lots of waterfalls. The Doc was most impressed by the Mann River Gorge Waterfall in a remote part of Arnhem Land, even more than Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls in Kakadu. He got both aerial and ground photos (as we refuelled), and a passing thunderstorm made it look even better.

The Doc is now frantically packing the Patrol to drive into The Northern Territory in the next few days. The last blog post for a while, enjoy.

Bell Gorge – Gibb River Road, The Kimberley, Western Australia

Australia, Kimberley, Landscape, landscape, mountains, Plant, river/creeks, trees, WA

One of the iconic destinations on the Gibb River Road in The Kimberley is Bell Gorge. The Doc will let the pictures do the talking. Remember to click on the image to see the full size (the thumbnails are blurry). Enjoy.

AWC’s Paruna Sanctuary Perth – wildflowers

4X4, Australia, AWC, flowers, Landscape, macro, mosses/lichens, Paruna, Plant, river/creeks, trees, Uncategorised, Wildflowers

While the Doc was in Perth he visited two more AWC Sanctuaries, being Paruna and Karakamia. The wildflowers were out at Paruna. Most wildflowers are very small ½ to 1 cm. Here is a selection. Enjoy. Click on the images to see correct size, the thumbnails are blurry.

The Savannah Lander – Day 4

Australia, bark, Cairns, Cairns, Gulf Savannah, Landscape, moss & lichen, mosses/lichens, other, plains, Plant, Qld, river/creeks, rock, States, Textures, Uncategorised

The last day was mostly train travel from Mt Surprise back to Cairns. The Doc was up early and walked to the railway station, having a look around the township. There was also a small market in front of the station with locals selling to the tourists. A great idea. However the food was mostly in glass, so The Doc passed on the opportunity.

There was some excitement on the way home including the train being held up by young bushrangers. A great way for kids to earn pocket money! The passengers were warned that we’d be robbed 😉

Instead of repeating some of the earlier photos let’s look at some textures, here bark and leaves.

And some rock and minerals. Enjoy.

Next day the flight home. An enjoyable trip which included a visit to Pungalina and the Savannah Lander train trip. Yes The Doc used the wrong watermark on the pictures.

The Savannah Lander – Day 3

Australia, Cairns, Cairns, Gulf Savannah, plains, Qld, river/creeks, States

The Doc was up before dawn. Near The Doc’s Room was an unusual looking Toyota Kluger, when he looked closer it had Texas numberplates. The US version of the Kluger is certainly chunkier than the Australian version.

Off to have an early breakfast near a very nice infinity pool as the sun came up.

Next stop was Cobbold Gorge itself. After travelling through the Kimberley and Pilbara The Doc has visited many gorges, but nothing like Cobbold Gorge. This gorge was formed when an earthquake ripped the earth apart. Over time it weathered into an extremely narrow gorge, what the Doc calls a Weight Watchers gorge! By narrow, The Doc means a standard tinny could not get through some parts of the gorge.

10 people each got into the 2 custom-made boats. The boats were narrow and long with an electric motor at each end (a trolling motor). Silica has leached out of the sandstone rocks forming an extremely hard but polished surface, making it very resistant to weathering.

While the gorge is not particularly long, it is unique. There is plenty of freshwater fish, including the resident freshwater crocodile.

We headed back to the camp, collected our gear, and were loaded onto the bus. We were driven back to Forsayth but the train had already left earlier in the morning. The bus drove us to Einasleigh to meet the train at lunch time.

We ate a simple lunch at the Einasleigh pub and were back onto the train. We travelled back over the rivers and waterways to Mt Surprise. We were booked into our rooms at Bedrock Village.

We had to be on the bus within 30 minutes and were taken for a tour of the Undara Lava Tubes. Gary was our guide.

‘Undara’ is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘long way’. The park protects one of the longest lava tube cave systems in the world. About 190,000 years ago, a large volcano erupted violently, spewing molten lava over the surrounding landscape. The lava flowed rapidly down a dry riverbed. The top, outer-layer cooled and formed a crust, while the molten lava below drained outwards, leaving behind a series of hollow tubes. (Department of Parks)

We visited The Archway and the nearby Stephenson’s Cave. The stairs and walkways made the whole experience enjoyable (as well as protecting the caves). The archways, colours and textures were extraordinary and the size of the caves bigger than what the pictures show. These are lava tubes so they don’t have stalagmites and stalactites like limestone caves.

Look closely and you can even see Tweety bird on the wall.

The Doc also saw 2 Mareeba Rock Wallabies darting around. Gary said it was the first time he saw them in this area and The Doc saw two! These wallabies were fast and agile across the rocks.

We travelled back to Bedrock Village for a meal that night. A simple meal well done is one of the simple pleasures of life. It was a full day and probably the highlight of the trip.

The Savannah Lander – Day 2

Australia, Cairns, Cairns, Gulf Savannah, landscape, Landscape, plains, Qld, river/creeks, States

The Doc was up early, we had a simple breakfast and were transported back to Almaden and boarded the train.

The Savannah Lander soon turned off onto the Etheridge Line where the rail was lighter and the trip now quite rough.

Plenty of water crossings like Sandy Tate River, Rocky Tate River, Saltwater Creek (no it is not salt water) and Fossil Brooke. It is the dry season, so only a little water – actually more than normal, due to recent rain. Unfortunately the train does not operate in the wet season as the water would transform the landscape.

The morning tea stop was at the Bullock Creek Café. OK it was an enjoyable morning tea beside the train, prepared by Wil and Leigh.

Lunch was at Bedrock Village, Mt Surprise. Yabba dabba doo! It was owned by Joe and Jo not Fred and Wilma. I did not see Betty or Barney either.

Then a long but picturesque train trip to Forsayth. The Doc took a turn up the front pretending to be train driver Casey Jones (played by Alan Hale Jr. later to be even more famous as the Skipper in Gilligans Island).

There are an historic train and car near the Railway Station. It included the Desert Rose, a Dodge truck used by the old dunny carter, I kid you not.

We meet the bus and were driven to Cobbold Gorge. We arrived after dark and enjoyed a nice dinner. Off to bed for an early rise and tour of Cobbold Gorge.