Tag Archives: Adventure

Through The Forest Of Litchfield

November 2, 2016 rmadventures Leave a comment

We only had a short 45 mins before finding ourselves crossing over into Litchfield National Park. It was interesting that leading up to our arrival we hadn’t come across too many brochures of the NP but Nay had rummaged around to gather what we could. The first small stop in the park was at the Termite Mounds. Having seen so many grand variations of these on our journey up the Cape we were still impressed by the size Litchfield had to offer. Even the crazy thin magnetic termite mounds were again a sight to see.

Needing to escape the arvo heat, we went looking for one of the many waterfalls ahead of us. The tourist Parks must complete all their maintenance work just out of the dry season before the real wet season hits. As a result, one of the two major attractions, Florence Falls, was closed but the look out was still spectacular. Only a short 5 minute drive around the corner was endless entertainment at Buley Rockhole. The car park was chock-a-block with tourists and we quickly discovered why. A long series of waterfalls flowing into deep plunge pools allowed everyone to spread out and relax in their own space. We still managed to find all the spots to take selfie bombies!

We set up base camp at Wangi Falls (the most popular site) as the maintenance at Florence hadn’t given us many options. We couldn’t complain as in the mornings, we had the most impressive ‘bath’ to wake us up. Opening up from the bush, Wangi was a vast swimming hole with two cascading falls enclosed by lush vegetation. We knew why this was popular but to our luck (until a school bus rolled up just as we left) there was never more than a handful of people swimming!

We swam around to explore both waterfalls and found a deep little plunge pool 10m up the waterfall cliff. A small climb gave us amazing views looking back from the falls – if only glass bottles were allowed! We spent a lot of time floating around the base of the falls which to us, really put them into perspective, imagining what they would be like as Litchfield flooded in the wet.

One of the nights spent at Wangi Camp we enjoyed a fire with a few backpackers around the area. The Dutch bloke that organised it explained to us how he was hitch-hiking around Australia – what an adventurous fella!

Once leaving Wangi, we backtracked a little through the park for some sightseeing. With no access for swimmers, the Tabletop Swamp and Tolmer Falls were still great spots for lunch. Fortunately for us we could escape from the main drag and went further south down a 4×4 track to Tjaynera (Sandy) Falls. Along this path was the Blyth Homestead which was definitely worth visiting. A couple of small 400mm deep river crossings (nothing like the Cape!) we came to the quaint homestead which seemed to be built for midgets as we had to duck as roof was so low!

There was a small display of old assorted tools and a ‘Family Album’ that was very well presented. Reading through the book we learnt that the husband and wife had a total of 14 children! The extracts through the album explained their hardships of growing up so remote and how they quickly improvised out in the bush. One of the boys also had an entry that explained how he had a pet freshwater croc! As it was hard to muster cattle in the wet, they also owned a Tin Mine a stones throw away to keep a steady income. With an ore sample near the site, it was interesting how heavy a small clump of it could be!

When we arrived at the Tjaynera Falls camp ground, there was a 3.4km return walk to the swimming hole. As soon as we left for the walk, the sun magically disappeared and it started bucketing down! This didn’t ruin the experience but just kept us a little cooler. The falls at the end were very rewarding with us both agreeing that it would have been one of the better spots at Litchfield. The only downfall was that the population of march flies seemed to have quadrupled. They were monstrous falls with sheer cliffs hugging the pools edges, Mark looked so tiny in the big picture.

We crawled out from the 4×4 trail to enjoy a morning stroll to Tjaeteba Falls. Litchfield was a gift that kept on giving. Just as we rolled up a couple was leaving and we had the entire place to ourselves. There were different levels with waterfalls of various sizes. It started off with a small trickle through a paperback tree root system to a lower pool that flowed off to a sizeable waterfall. In the larger pool we were shocked to see a goanna dive in the water with us! We quickly shot out and went to another pool where he ended up following us! He then put on a spectacular show for us as we watched him swim in the shallows chasing fish.

The floating from waterhole to waterfall had come to its end as we took the northern road to Darwin. We dropped into the Cascades and Walker Creek on the way out to have lunch and Nay nearly stepped on a snake while wading in the shallows! A bit disappointed by National Parks for having no rubbish bins, we had to carry our rubbish with us for the better part of 5 days. On the menu over this period included tuna, chicken, steaks and mouldy pumpkin. You could imagine what the bin was smelling like!

On the way to Darwin we went to Berry Springs which was said to be a great place for swimming. Upon arriving, the waterhole was closed because our croc mates had made a recent appearance. Continuing along, it wasn’t long before making it to Darwin! It is such a small capital compared to the others along the east coast. We had planned our arrival for the Sunday arvo where we just made it to the famous Mindil Markets, the second last before they closed for the wet season. This was a great evening watching entertainment, browsing the stalls and of course, watching the sunset as everyone gathered around – some even applauded once it slipped past the horizon!

The next days were spent around Darwin fixing up a few minor mishaps from past adventures and gathering everything together for the next two weeks. Being budget smart, we found ourselves on the awfully cheap 1:40am red eye flight to Melbourne! We’re going home to catch up with family and friends. It will be interesting to see how we fare in the cold 18-20 degree max temperatures that Melbourne has to offer…

19/10/2016 – 27/10/2016

Northern NT

A Well Known Gorge And Her Relaxing Surrounds

October 26, 2016 rmadventures Leave a comment

Having stayed just out of Mataranka, we were only a stones throw from the famous Katherine Gorge! Once in the town of Katherine, we organised for the whooping cough vaccination as it was needed for the next big stint in our journey. We then decided to browse through the Art + Culture Gallery in hope for some brilliant Aboriginal art. Unfortunately there was minimal and instead, there was a series of ‘creative’ displays on.

We escaped from the heat that afternoon at Katherine Springs. Similar to Mataranka, there were minimal people around as it was now the wet season and we were able to relax in the warm waters. There was even a small flowing waterfall to add to the serenity. We could have stayed there forever but instead thought it better to find camp. Finding a cheap $10/pp camp out of town at North Bank Park, we were greeted by a very accommodating bloke and would highly recommend this hide-away in the Katherine area.

We woke with excitement the next day to see what Katherine Gorge had in store for us. When we came through the gates into Nitmiluk National Park, we were slightly disappointed on our arrival. On numerous signs on the way in, we read the Gorge was closed for swimming due to the recent rainfall and increased chance of saltwater crocs. As a result, we had to take the tough option of lounging around the pool for the arvo.

The staff at the tourist information had recommended a short 1km walk (with a couple of beers) to the Baruwei Lookout for sunset. Listening to her advice we packed the backpack with the essentials. By the time we arrived at the top we were buggered by the steep hill climb. Luckily for us, the view was breathtaking and well worth it. A group of backpackers also had the same idea and as we began chatting, we quickly discovered they had come from the W.A coast. Many laughs were had in the exchange of stories from all of our adventures, as the sun slowly set over the Katherine River. The full moon had also made an appearance at the same time as we returned to camp.

Up at 5:30am to beat the heat, we decided on a walk to explore the Gorge as we couldn’t swim. As the weather was averaging 39 degrees we wanted to be back by the pool early. Hiking along the southern walks track we made it to two stunning lookouts, Pat’s Lookout and Jedda’s Rock. These were outstanding views of gorges 1 & 2, only hitting the sides of a total 13! Having some smoko at Jedda’s Rock Lookout as the sun was beating down on the river, we spotted the morning cruise returning from its adventure!

On the return trip we visited the Southern Rockhole. This was still prohibited to swimmers due to a high risk of crocs but it was still a tranquil place to cool down and have a rest. Back in the searing heat on the trail we couldn’t drink fast enough as the sweat dripped off our faces. We had been 3 hrs and 43 mins, trekking for 12.2kms. Nay even powered through the end as a gnarly blister was causing her serious grief! Lucky we could retire to the pool and recover from the big morning.

We’ll be back to see Katherine Gorge in her entirety at full force, as we plan to return for a scenic chopper ride and experience her beauty during the wet season.

Back on the Stuart Hwy was the only way from Katherine to visit Edith Falls (Northern Nitmiluk NP) where the waterholes were open to swim! Once again, dripping with sweat, we took the 2.6km loop to the upper falls. It was a fantastic refreshing swim when we jumped in, trying to avoid the blistering hot rocks. With minimal shade around we didn’t hang for long and hiked back to the lower pools. We spent over an hour snorkelling around, swimming 150m to the waterfall and to our suprise, saw a barramundi in the shallows! With a solid day like this, we could only reward ourselves with wood fired pizzas in the camp oven that night!

Having a rough sleep due to the heat and woken several times by an unbelievable thunderstorm, we were up at 5:00am for another walk. It sounds crazy but we hoped for an amazing reward! Smashing through the first 4.6kms the weariness subsided and we arrived at a brilliant private swimming hole, Sweetwater Pools. Being so early and remote, Mark may or may not have been one with nature before the 4.6km return walk for some lunch!

After exhausting the Nitmiluk NP waterholes, we were back on the Stuart Highway. A quick stop at Hayes Creek lead us to the Butterfly Gap, compliments of WikiCamps . Following the directions on the app we were suprised to find hundreds of butterflies fluttering around us in the secluded ‘cave’ system. Arriving at a free camp at Robin Falls we had our own little swimming hole. Relaxing in the waters we were stunned when we thought a snake was only 3m away from us, luckily it was just a goanna! Only a week prior we had learnt that the little buggers could swim!

Feasting on leftover pizza, we chatted about our next destination and what it had to offer. We had heard numerous opinions, seen many brochures and known it was a very famous location in the northern NT. We were thrilled to be heading to Litchfield National Park…

13/10/2016 – 19/10/2016

Far North Queensland

The Finale Of The Infamous OTT…

October 12, 2016 rmadventures Leave a comment

The next morning at Loyalty beach, Stu discovered that he left his swag over on T.I. He came to the conclusion that he still wanted a bed in reserve. Moving to Seisia Caravan Park for some change in scenery, we lazed in the sun until the mechanic was open Monday. Still being able to roll start Woody, we visited the mechanic who explained the simple problem of the starter. Luckily for us as we retired to Punsand Bay along the corrugations, the rumbling was enough to get things going again. Woody was back in full working order! With slight miscommunication and the beauty of a swimming pool at Punsand Bay, the swag had no owner to pick it up at the Seisia wharf and ended up going walkabout, R.I.P swag.

Leaving the luxury of a swimming pool, we explored a couple of old plane wrecks which to our suprise, were large segments of the old bombers. The next remote location on our list was Mutee Head. Back south down the Cape, we slipped off onto a narrow sandy track. Just when we thought we were heading nowhere, the vast mouth of the Jardine River was before our eyes. Lowering the tyre pressure again, we booted off onto the incredibly soft sand until stopping on the foreshore with not a soul for kilometres. During the sunset, we feasted on more namus and even spotted a cheeky croc before he dropped down into the depths of the ocean.

The time had come to make our way back across the mighty Jardine River. To our luck as the power was out when we initial went over the crossing and as such, we couldn’t pay by card for our $99 ticket. We were supposed to pay on the return trip but only after the ferry did we realise that no one had asked us and we cruised over at no charge!!
School holidays were now in full force and the roads had trails of red dust everywhere from all the cars – thankfully we were heading south! We decided to bypass the north and head back down on the southern section of the OTT. Resting a little way in, we camped at the insane crossing of Gunshot (infamous for its entries and exits at an 80 degree incline!) We were able to have a swim here and watch people on the track but unfortunately missed watching someone do the incredible drop in. When it was our turn to tackle the obstacle, we took the ‘chicken’ track which was still a feat in its own. Stu needing MaxTrax to gain traction on the exit, Mark punched it a little harder and made it out! We did leave a little souvenir on the novelty tree, a thong marking our ‘She’ll Be Right Tour 2016’.

We found the southern section to be a lot tamer than the northern. Less obstacles in between the shallow river crossings meant for an easier yet fun adventure. Staying another night on the OTT at Birdie Creek we made most of the deep infinity pool next to the shallow crossing. We went to town on a couple of dead trees with Stu’s axe and cranked a fire. Big Red happily sat by and watched us party away. Waking up in the quiet bush surrounds, we were coming close to our final challenge, Palm Creek.

Birdie Creek Boat Race Competition
After some funny attempts of Mark making bark and leaf boats, we all jumped on the bandwagon. Stu (left), Nay (middle) and Mark (right) made for a heated competition. Nay came out victorious and the boys boats had a sad death as they collided and sunk.

The last time we had seen Palm Creek was when we camped there on the journey north. Back then it was a steep climb out which could of almost been impossible for us to make it through. Slightly concerned we may of had to drive all the way back through the OTT and onto the bypass road, we still ventured to see what was in store for us. Luckily with all the holiday goers the once steep section had been scraped out to an achievable exit.
Gathering an audience, Buzz crawled down the steep hill into the dry riverbed. As there was a large ditch at the bottom of the exit, just as he was about to crawl out there was a loud bang! This time the rear left box decided to sheer off! As the crowd cringed, Nay explained to them that it was only a matter of screwing it back on. Woody up next also took the entry with ease. With roughly the same rear clearance, Woody punched it out of Palm Creek and smashed his rear bumper to a 90 degree angle. Some manipulating as we jumped on the back bent it to its original position!

The infamous OTT, both northern and southern sections, were conquered! As we drove away back down to Coen we were excited by such an accomplishment with only minor setbacks.

Once back on the Developmental Road to Coen, Woody decided to pack it in as he struggle to go faster than 60km/hr. With an unknown diagnosis we limped back to our oasis by the Archer River. Stu was cursing at Woody and Mark took the time to screw the box back on Buzz. Back on the red dusty corrugations we continued the crawl to Coen only 66km from where we camped. 2 hours later we arrived to watch the Bulldogs defeat GWS at the local pub. Retiring to the Coen river we lounged around patiently waiting for the mechanic to help us with Woody…
19/09/2016 – 25/09/2016

Coastal Queensland

A Deep Exploration On The Great Barrier Reef!

September 13, 2016 rmadventures Leave a comment

Waking up that Monday felt like we were back at school again. Waiting out the front of Cairns Holiday Park, our bus arrived to take us to Cairns Dive Centre. Upon arrivial we met our wacky diving instructor Ethan, who was up for a good yarn. With only 3 other students in the class, we smashed through the morning theory/videos, with Ethan’s out-there stories about past dives helping our labourious paperwork. Before we knew it we were in the pool completing some basic swimming and treading excerises before the next stage.

The time had come when we were introduced to our diving equipment which was incredibly exciting. All geared up for our first test, we were to go against all we have been taught, breathing underwater. It was simply inhaling and exhaling through our regulators but without goggles on. As Nay soared through flying colours with no hesitation, Mark on the other hand shot up after 5 seconds as his mind was playing tricks on him. After another couple of tries, we were all under and having a blast.

The second day we completed a few more basic exercises underwater in the pool. This included removing our regulators and replacing them, removing our goggles and clearing them, removing our BCD (lifejacket) and some emergency procedures. Once these were ticked off by Ethan, he then taught us how to became neutrally boyant (practically zero gravity). From here he made sure we all swam at an even level and once confident we were doing laps 4m below waterlevel! After having a blast underwater we had a little more theory to tick off and before we knew it our final exam was complete!

The next day was what we were here for, diving in the ocean at the Great Barrier Reef! We had set ourselves up for 3 days on the Kangaroo Explorer (KE) with CDC having 9 dives which included a night dive! After Ethan ran through the basic induction with his usual fan fair humour, we sat patiently like excited kids for two hours until it was time for our first ocean dive!

Gearing up and running through the necessary buddy check before diving, we performed a ‘giants stride’ from the diving platform into the ocean. We were beside ourselves as we slowly descended from the back of the boat as a mixed emotion of fear and exhilliration took over. The first sight we saw as we dropped below sea level was a great big barracoota! Upon calming down, we continued to descend and put everything we’d learnt in the pool into practice.

As part of the course, we had to accomplish the skills learnt from the past two days in the ocean. Once a few were done in each dive we spent the rest of our time underwater looking for cool sea creatures! During the first dives we were lucky to see a little manta shrimp in his home (a deep hole about 50mm wide), a feather star (starfish with feather like points) and even a frog fish! These were all pointed out by Ethan as most of the time we were distracted by the vast sea life and the pure amazement of diving in the ocean!!

Having Ethan knock on our door at an ungodly hour the following day, he was suprisingly already up and about in his bouncy mood! Learning a second way of entering the water, we dropped in backwards off the boat (this definitely woke us up!) Having a camera man on the Kangaroo Explorer, he joined us for a couple of dives while we continued our skills. The previous night we were given some slate to draw on and take under water with us. While being 14m underwater, we took turns in showing our slates as they were filmed. It was a nifty idea and fun showing our creations!

While completing the skills of removing our goggles and regulator, we had an opportunity to wear sunnies and drink from an empty beer can. As you can see Nay was looking super fly and Mark was getting jolly deep down at the Great Barrier Reef. Having each dive last between 30-35mins it was always exciting once the course components were done and we cruised around. At one stage Ethan showed us a brittle starfish. Being ever so gentle, it floated onto our arms, crawled around on us and then made its way to the next diver.

It wasn’t long before our first 4 dives zoomed by and we had our open water certificate! This allowed us to dive up to 18m without an instructor. In our first free dive, as we buddied up with another classmate Mathieu, we were thrown literally, in the deep end. Achieving a 44min dive, 16m deep, we were incredibly lost by the end and had no idea where to find the boat. It wasn’t until we resurfaced that we found we were 150m away and we had to snorkel our way back as we’d run out of air in our tanks. During the dive though, we had the best experience, seeing a stingray, copious amounts of fish (including nemo) and even two white tipped sharks – Mark unfortunately missed them.

Next up was the night dive! Absolutely packing ourselves as we were briefed, there was still a rush of excitement among us. With only a small handheld torch, we descended into the dark with only 5m visibility. Close beside our buddies we went searching! An amazing activity during the night was to shine our torches on little bait fish. This points them out to the larger fish and there was neverending enjoyment watching these big boys chase their dinner.

Feeling like we were ‘lost in space’ with darkness surrounding us, we luckily found an epilept shark. This small ground dwelling shark nests on the coral beds and has a secondary set of fins which enables him to crawl. During our eerie night time exploration we spotted a green sea turtle swimming around us too. With these two great sightings and the thrill of floating in ‘space’, the night dive was definitely one we were going to remember.

As all good things must come to an end, the final day we were looking like zombies. Deciding to complete our advanced open water dive coarse (allowing up to 30m dives) which involved late night briefs, had our eyes glazing over. Once we dived back in the water, we were alive again!

On our deep dive that took us to 26m we had a couple of fun activities. Ethan brought an egg down with him and cracked it open. Due to the density of the water at this depth, the egg yolk was intact and we took turns passing it around the circle. It wasn’t long until the cheeky fish caught wind and snapped the egg out of Nays’ hand! Also taking a tomato and apple to this depth turned them green (as the colour red doesn’t carry this deep through water). We also had a small game of down ball with the apple and bounced it around on the sand! After blowing up a decompressed 1.25l bottle of coke and banging it around, Ethan made a loud thumping noise with the bottle. This apparently attracts sharks as 4 white tips came in to check us out! The thrill of attracting these beasts outweighed being scared.

Two final dives remaining lead us to navigation skills and one final free dive. The dive site we were on was unbelievably fun as there were tunnel systems throughout the bombies. We swam through and navigated the wildlife and coral formations. Being neutrally bouyant we took full opportunity to do flips at a depth of 18m. It was mad fun! Going through so many tunnel systems we definitely didn’t put our navigation skills to use as we lost the boat for a second time having another 100m swim back. All part of the adventure!

There was a sad realisation on the Friday that our time was up. Having to catch the charter boat back to Cairns we departed and left our newly found diving friends and hilarious instructor Ethan. As holidays were ending for these new friends, ours was still continuing with a new companion. Stu had arrived to join us on the road just as we left to go on the Kangaroo Explorer. The next great achievement for us on the horizon was the tip of Australia…

Coastal Queensland

The Rounding Up Of The Loop

July 15, 2016 rmadventures 4 Comments

Slightly disheartened as there was no surf, we continued north and found ourselves at the great entrance of The Capricorn Caves. Just above Rockhampton, these dry caves were renown for their beauty and hospitality to a variety of bat species. From back in the 1980’s to the present day, they are also host weddings in a magnificant cathedral ‘room’ in the heart of the cave system. With a creative light show, it was easy to feel how special and unique it would be to wed here. Whilst in this room our tour guide turned off all of the lights so we could experience true pitch black! The song “Music of the Night” was played and it was easy to slip away into another world as the acoustics of the cave engulfed us.

Other points of interest along the way were creative shapes in the rock formation that were lit up. Some of these were obviously seen (the rhino rock) and others you really had to stretch your imagination! Trees above the Capricorn Caves had also sent root systems down to find water and over the years some had grown to a solid 2 inches thick and over 20m long! In fact, they tracked down one of the longer sets of roots to a tree above that ended up only being a couple of meters high. On a bouncy escape over a series of suspension bridges, Nay whispered to Mark that she had heard the old bloke in front of her step on some “frogs” as we squeezed through the zig zag tunnel (a tight ‘zig zag’ passage used as the exit).

The next day lead to an early rise as we had learnt about the opportunity to take an iconic Australian photo. Upon sunrise, at a tucked away spot in Cape Hillborough, Kangaroos congregate on the beach for a morning feed. The sight was picturesque but had a toll as the early morning rise lead us to sleeping on the beach until lunch. As the afternoon arrived, we went for a 2.4km journey through the rainforest which was home to a bright blue winged butterfly (it felt like we were in the butterfly enclosure at the zoo!). We even stumbled across a harmless tree snake slithering along the path! The return track of this journey was the way we came or a swim around the rocks as high tide had absorbed our sandy track that completed the loop. With shoes off and valuables safe, we jumped in waste deep water and took the short cut!

As the high tide dropped later in the arvo, a causeway had opened up and we took the opportunity for a walk out to Wedge Island. Said to have good snorkling we tried our luck but it clearly wasn’t our day as we just ended up cutting our feet open on the rocks! By the time we were back at the car, our hunger pains were cranking up, so we took off to find a spot to cook some grub. In our search we discovered a perfect spot behind a golf course with beach front views.

Our next and final spot that completed the loop was the Eungella National Park. With a steep 10km windy climb into the mountain range, we pulled up at the Broken River campground. With a small 50m walk leading us to a fantastic viewing platform, we watched for the first time in the wild, the shyest native animal, the platypus! After observing one splash around for a while, we decided to pulled out our mat with some more delicious goon and spend the evening by the river. Here we continued to watch a few platypuses swim a mere 10m away from us. It was such a spectacular experience.

Waking to a frosty 2 degrees (which was a total shock to our system!), we climbed back down the mountain to a walking trail that lead to The Wheel of Fire Waterfalls at Finch Hatton Gorge. This was an overall 4.4km return walk, involving a steep climb with a section requiring us to hop scotch across stones as the path seemed to have washed away in the river. At the end, we came face to face with our own private swimming hole and fresh water flowing in from the falls. It was just unlucky that it was so bloody cold, we didn’t swim!

After visiting these calming waterfalls in the morning, we had a solid 5 hour drive that same day to make it to Townsville. This section took us back past Airlie, where memories of great times with the Johnsies (only 2 weeks prior) flashed back and were discussed about in the car. Making it to the Townsville Marina by 6:05, we were right on time to catch the barge to take us out onto Magnetic Island…

R M Adventures