We set off to Hell’s Gate. Our lunch stop was at Gregory Downs, down by the river. Another awesome spot for anyone travelling through and a free camp too! Nothing like a good swim at lunch to tire out the kids and then they sleep the rest of the trip.
Hell’s Gate was a good stopover. We met a group of Rangers who were staying there for a week to do a Fauna survey. They came over to our camp with a legless lizard to show the kids and taught them about different wildlife you might find while walking around at night. The kids then grabbed their torches to see what they could find. They learnt that if you hold a torch light at eye level, you can see green diamontes shine, these are wolf spiders out to catch insects of a night. It was crazy how many we could see!
We had our first night of rain, apparently about 28mm fell. The kids were asleep within minutes listening to the sound of it ( a rare sound for us) The next day we crossed the border into the Northern Territory.. Woohoo! On our way to King Ash Bay. Getting ready to do some fishing.
We arrived at King Ash Bay and spent a relaxing 2 days here.. No luck catching any big Barra though! Spotted a couple of Saltwater crocs, Milli was convinced she found some of their tails
We have really enjoyed getting to know some of the locals here, such welcoming and generous people. Ended our stay with free Pancake Sunday and the craft markets!
On the road to Daly Waters we stopped for lunch at one of the Northern Territory’s Iconic hotels, ‘the Heartbreak Hotel.’ This hotel is one of Australia’s last remaining frontiers.
We set up camp at the Daly Waters Caravan park for the night, just in time for the Happy hour horn.
Daly Waters Pub would have to be our new favourite outback Aussie pub. So much character. A must see if you are travelling past! We had to have the Beef and Barra for dinner, after a few recommendations from other travellers and it definitely didn’t disappoint! The atmosphere is great too with an entertainer on every night.
It’s such a small world.. After setting up camp next to another little family and chatting over a beer at the pub, we found out they were from Cairns and use to work with our Brother in-law and also live a street away from our family in Kewarra Beach.. Crazy!
We also spun out when we came across guys who we camped next to at Bathurst last year. As you could imagine, we had a top night with some awesome people!
This morning we woke (as well as everyone else at our campsite) to an unusual Alarm, one that got the heart racing! Our little man’s blood curdling scream! He has been sleeping in the swag by himself and got up for a morning pee behind a tree with his eyes half closed, when a grasshopper landed on his arm! Yep.. you know those Northern Territory, meat eating grasshoppers?! One of those. We of course thought the worst, a snake had bit him! I’ve never seen Mitch leap out of the tent and turn into Steve Irwin so fast, The poor couple next door in their caravan came racing out as well but Levi flew into our tent just as quick! We are all now cracking up at how funny it must of looked.. What a way to start the day haha!
A short drive to Pine Creek today
The McCabe Mob 