Reflective pool at Pine Creek
Water lilies at Pine Creek water gardens
Bird and Bat friendly flowers - please, what are they?
Our little batty mate - just hanging around!Hi again, I’m sure you will be relieved to know that this is the last of this little ‘flurry’ of entries. Oh well, at least you have something to read over the next few days!
I am writing this from Katherine. We left Jabiru last Thursday the 5th and headed off to Yellow Waters, Cooinda. We arrived there at around 10am. This was, we were advised, 1 hour too early. If we would like to wait for an hour, the young lady behind the desk, felt she could find us a position. “What” she asked in very condescending tones, “were we in?” Hmm, well we thought that perhaps she was just having a bad day, so we went for a wander around. Cooinda is, we discovered, very much THE RESORT! Caravanners seem to come a rather sad second. The pool area was splendid, once again lagoon style, but this time very new and up-market. The caravan park however, was dusty and not particularly attractive. We spotted ‘the boss’ going around marking the available sites. We mentioned we were waiting to get in, and once again, received all the warmth and friendliness of a Grey Nurse Shark. Now, we were feeling decidedly unwelcome. We decided to keep going. We had really seen all that we felt we needed to see in the area, so onwards and upwards. Interestingly, we have since bumped into other mates, who had exactly the same experience, with exactly the same result, they too, ‘kept going’. We all felt that Cooinda has the opinion that they will fill the sites regardless, so why make anyone feel welcome. In addition to that, the place was very ‘yuppie’ and designed with the Young Upwardly Mobile Traveller in mind. (I suppose that would be a Yuttie!) Sorry! Not our cup of tea at all.
So we hit the road towards the Stuart Highway again, intending to find a spot to stop along the way. We did look at a couple of camping spots, but were uninspired. We had noticed a place called, of all things, Pussy Cat Flats (say it very carefully now), and thought we would check it out. By the time we reached this unusually named spot, we were almost at the Highway and so, thought we would keep going to Pine Creek. On arriving at Pine Creek, we stopped at the first Caravan Park we found, a nice little spot called The Lazy Lizard. Pine Creek and the Lizard both turned out to be little gems. It’s funny how obscure little places can sometimes turn out to be just delightful. The lady behind the counter was ‘just started’, or least I hope she was, as otherwise there was really no excuse for her appalling lack of knowledge. The camp boasts around 12 sites and when we asked if they were ‘drive-thru’, she assured us they were, and then proceeded to show us a map, which definitely sported no drive thru’ sites at all. Oh well, at least she was pleasant! The site she gave us was tiny and we had no room to put up the awning, but fortunately we were under some stunningly beautiful trees, so really had no need. Right next to my bedroom window was an exquisite bush covered in pale pink and white blossoms. The birds were abundant and just loved this bush. It was lovely to look out at them frolicking in the greenery. The Bower Birds in particular seemed to love the bush, actually eating the flowers. It was just lovely to sit on the bed watching their antics. I will inlude a photo of this bush and would love someone to tell me what it is.
As the sun set, we went for a little wander around. The pub at the front of the caravan park seemed pretty lively, with one particularly inebriated fellow serenading anyone who happened to be around at the time. We could hear him quite clearly from the rear at the Caravan Park. We decided not to visit the bar! As we were returning to our van, I noticed a small visitor in the pretty bush next to the van – a tiny flying fox had made himself at home there and was having a feast on those little pink and white flowers. As he was alone and very quiet, we were delighted to have him for company. Our pleasant evening was spoilt by the water hose under the basin in the bathroom coming adrift. As I was cleaning my teeth at the time, and as is my usual bad habit, had the water running for the whole time, before we realised what was happening, we had water literally from one end of the van to the other. The worst of it was the cupboard under the basin where all the towels are stored. They along with some spuds and other spare supplies were all soaked. This meant that any dry material had to be applied to the task of drying out the van. The water had gone right down alongside the bed. Just Lovely! We had trouble with this hose once before, so the lesson is to check it frequently, and of course, not to run the tap the whole time I am cleaning my teeth!
TBBITW went to sleep very quickly that evening (how very unusual!) while I lay awake for ages, listening to the ever increasing racket coming from the pub. Raised voices were happening and it seemed that someone was not happy. After a period of time, the voices moved to the Caravan Park and thru’ the park. It seemed that one rather unhappy man wanted one very reluctant woman to go with him. Where he wanted her to go, I shan’t divulge, for fear of hurling nasturtiums all over the parties involved. The lady in question was not going with him, even tho’ she declared that she would ‘feel safe’ with him. He became very desperate sounding indeed. It appeared that some other male had aggravated both him and the lady in question. I suspect that he was trying to convince her to leave the aggravating party and go with him. The more she declined, the more upset he became and the language deteriorated predictably with his sad dilemma. Eventually we were all graced with the private parts of women being shouted all over the park. It always amazes me that men, who find this body part so fascinating most of the time, can take such a dislike to it when in their cups and upset!! By this time, my beloved was also awake – also amazing! We were then both enthralled and not a little concerned when the ‘shouter’ with several more body parts being hurled into the dark night air, jumped into a vehicle of some kind, with trailor attached and shot off into the night with a great commotion. Speaking of shooting he did at one time suggest that he just might go and see this other bloke in the hopes that this character might shoot him! This seemed an odd requirement, until he added, "cause he wouldn't hit me anyway 'cause he's a shit shot"! He had only just left the Caravan Park proper, when we heard a loud bang. We were quite sure he had met his end, but the morning light showed where his wheelbarrow very sensibly had ‘jumped ship’ and was laying forlornly in the front car park. We did hear the next morning that he had been picked up by the local constabulary and been held overnight. The bloke he had been hurling abuse about, apparently had a very bruised and battered visage and was considerably the worse for wear. As is the way of Caravan Parks, we found out most of the story and learnt some of the nature of the blue and found out who some of the participants in the evening’s entertainment were.
Due to our overnight flood, we were compelled to do several loads of washing the next morning. Generally I would have used my own machine, but as they had thoughtfully installed a new machine in the park the previous day, I took advantage of the situation and used their machine. As a result of all of this, we decided to stay an extra night (not without some trepidation after the previous night’s activities). To pass the time, we went for a walk thru’ the ‘town’. Pine Creek is an old gold mining town and boasts much history and a railway museum. The town is pretty and very picturesque. They have created a little water-park in the middle of the town and in the early morning light, the lilies and the reflective pools were beautiful. We enjoyed a very pleasant and relaxing day there and the next evening passed without any recurrence of the previous trouble. Our little fruit bat came back again that evening to visit and all was good with the world.
The next morning we drove down to Katherine, stopping on the way to have a look at Edith Falls. This was a real treat – a very pretty spot, but a National Park, so TBBITW was rather peeved to find that one is not able to fish there. Surprisingly, and we really cannot work out why, but nor can you put a canoe to the water there. You can take your van into Edith and stay overnight – even tho’ the camping book says no big vans, we were confident we could have fitted in had we wished to stay. While looking at the ‘falls’ we were surprised (literally) by Peter and Judy, friends we had previously met in Darwin, creeping up behind us and nearly frightening Doug into the cold water there. After a chat and a look around, we continued on our way down to Katherine.
We had booked into the Big 4 Low Level in Katherine (and you do need to book) where we met up with old mates Peter and Fleur. We spent two idyllic days and nights discussing life, politics, caravan sites and travelling routes with these two fellow travellers before they moved on to Hayes Creek. We were able to exchange a great deal of useful information as we are actually travelling in opposite directions. They were able to give us lots of info about the West Coast and Kimberly regions – just wonderful. I don’t need to tell you, that one of the great benefits of being on the road, is catching up with old friends and making lots of new ones. It is without a doubt a very social lifestyle. Needless to say tho’ after two very long and liquid evenings I was looking forward to a nice quiet night. No such luck, we once again bumped into Peter and Judy (as at Edith Falls) and arranged to have them over for ‘sundowners’ that evening. Oh well, best laid plans – needless to say, we had a lovely evening with them and another couple who had pulled up next to us that day. TONIGHT I am having a very quiet night!!
While here we have to have our front windscreen replaced thanks to a chip that has now expanded across most of the windscreen. That task should be taken care of tomorrow and then we leave here on Thursday 12th and head towards Victoria River.
I will give you a nice long rest now, as there is no reception at Victoria River and I possibly won’t have the opportunity to ‘blog’ again until we reach Kununurra in a week or so. Until then, wishing you love and laughter – Stephanie.
CARAVAN PARKS
PINE CREEK – Lazy Lizard, good and interesting amenities (made from Termite Mud), pub, swimming pool and grassed sites. Generally a very pleasant stay (just watch out for leaping wheelbarrows).
KATHERINE – Big 4 Low Level – large caravan park with spacious grassed sites. Excellent amenities, swimming pool, bistro and entertainment 6 nights a week. (very good singer too). Not dog friendly. Strongly recommended.
I am writing this from Katherine. We left Jabiru last Thursday the 5th and headed off to Yellow Waters, Cooinda. We arrived there at around 10am. This was, we were advised, 1 hour too early. If we would like to wait for an hour, the young lady behind the desk, felt she could find us a position. “What” she asked in very condescending tones, “were we in?” Hmm, well we thought that perhaps she was just having a bad day, so we went for a wander around. Cooinda is, we discovered, very much THE RESORT! Caravanners seem to come a rather sad second. The pool area was splendid, once again lagoon style, but this time very new and up-market. The caravan park however, was dusty and not particularly attractive. We spotted ‘the boss’ going around marking the available sites. We mentioned we were waiting to get in, and once again, received all the warmth and friendliness of a Grey Nurse Shark. Now, we were feeling decidedly unwelcome. We decided to keep going. We had really seen all that we felt we needed to see in the area, so onwards and upwards. Interestingly, we have since bumped into other mates, who had exactly the same experience, with exactly the same result, they too, ‘kept going’. We all felt that Cooinda has the opinion that they will fill the sites regardless, so why make anyone feel welcome. In addition to that, the place was very ‘yuppie’ and designed with the Young Upwardly Mobile Traveller in mind. (I suppose that would be a Yuttie!) Sorry! Not our cup of tea at all.
So we hit the road towards the Stuart Highway again, intending to find a spot to stop along the way. We did look at a couple of camping spots, but were uninspired. We had noticed a place called, of all things, Pussy Cat Flats (say it very carefully now), and thought we would check it out. By the time we reached this unusually named spot, we were almost at the Highway and so, thought we would keep going to Pine Creek. On arriving at Pine Creek, we stopped at the first Caravan Park we found, a nice little spot called The Lazy Lizard. Pine Creek and the Lizard both turned out to be little gems. It’s funny how obscure little places can sometimes turn out to be just delightful. The lady behind the counter was ‘just started’, or least I hope she was, as otherwise there was really no excuse for her appalling lack of knowledge. The camp boasts around 12 sites and when we asked if they were ‘drive-thru’, she assured us they were, and then proceeded to show us a map, which definitely sported no drive thru’ sites at all. Oh well, at least she was pleasant! The site she gave us was tiny and we had no room to put up the awning, but fortunately we were under some stunningly beautiful trees, so really had no need. Right next to my bedroom window was an exquisite bush covered in pale pink and white blossoms. The birds were abundant and just loved this bush. It was lovely to look out at them frolicking in the greenery. The Bower Birds in particular seemed to love the bush, actually eating the flowers. It was just lovely to sit on the bed watching their antics. I will inlude a photo of this bush and would love someone to tell me what it is.
As the sun set, we went for a little wander around. The pub at the front of the caravan park seemed pretty lively, with one particularly inebriated fellow serenading anyone who happened to be around at the time. We could hear him quite clearly from the rear at the Caravan Park. We decided not to visit the bar! As we were returning to our van, I noticed a small visitor in the pretty bush next to the van – a tiny flying fox had made himself at home there and was having a feast on those little pink and white flowers. As he was alone and very quiet, we were delighted to have him for company. Our pleasant evening was spoilt by the water hose under the basin in the bathroom coming adrift. As I was cleaning my teeth at the time, and as is my usual bad habit, had the water running for the whole time, before we realised what was happening, we had water literally from one end of the van to the other. The worst of it was the cupboard under the basin where all the towels are stored. They along with some spuds and other spare supplies were all soaked. This meant that any dry material had to be applied to the task of drying out the van. The water had gone right down alongside the bed. Just Lovely! We had trouble with this hose once before, so the lesson is to check it frequently, and of course, not to run the tap the whole time I am cleaning my teeth!
TBBITW went to sleep very quickly that evening (how very unusual!) while I lay awake for ages, listening to the ever increasing racket coming from the pub. Raised voices were happening and it seemed that someone was not happy. After a period of time, the voices moved to the Caravan Park and thru’ the park. It seemed that one rather unhappy man wanted one very reluctant woman to go with him. Where he wanted her to go, I shan’t divulge, for fear of hurling nasturtiums all over the parties involved. The lady in question was not going with him, even tho’ she declared that she would ‘feel safe’ with him. He became very desperate sounding indeed. It appeared that some other male had aggravated both him and the lady in question. I suspect that he was trying to convince her to leave the aggravating party and go with him. The more she declined, the more upset he became and the language deteriorated predictably with his sad dilemma. Eventually we were all graced with the private parts of women being shouted all over the park. It always amazes me that men, who find this body part so fascinating most of the time, can take such a dislike to it when in their cups and upset!! By this time, my beloved was also awake – also amazing! We were then both enthralled and not a little concerned when the ‘shouter’ with several more body parts being hurled into the dark night air, jumped into a vehicle of some kind, with trailor attached and shot off into the night with a great commotion. Speaking of shooting he did at one time suggest that he just might go and see this other bloke in the hopes that this character might shoot him! This seemed an odd requirement, until he added, "cause he wouldn't hit me anyway 'cause he's a shit shot"! He had only just left the Caravan Park proper, when we heard a loud bang. We were quite sure he had met his end, but the morning light showed where his wheelbarrow very sensibly had ‘jumped ship’ and was laying forlornly in the front car park. We did hear the next morning that he had been picked up by the local constabulary and been held overnight. The bloke he had been hurling abuse about, apparently had a very bruised and battered visage and was considerably the worse for wear. As is the way of Caravan Parks, we found out most of the story and learnt some of the nature of the blue and found out who some of the participants in the evening’s entertainment were.
Due to our overnight flood, we were compelled to do several loads of washing the next morning. Generally I would have used my own machine, but as they had thoughtfully installed a new machine in the park the previous day, I took advantage of the situation and used their machine. As a result of all of this, we decided to stay an extra night (not without some trepidation after the previous night’s activities). To pass the time, we went for a walk thru’ the ‘town’. Pine Creek is an old gold mining town and boasts much history and a railway museum. The town is pretty and very picturesque. They have created a little water-park in the middle of the town and in the early morning light, the lilies and the reflective pools were beautiful. We enjoyed a very pleasant and relaxing day there and the next evening passed without any recurrence of the previous trouble. Our little fruit bat came back again that evening to visit and all was good with the world.
The next morning we drove down to Katherine, stopping on the way to have a look at Edith Falls. This was a real treat – a very pretty spot, but a National Park, so TBBITW was rather peeved to find that one is not able to fish there. Surprisingly, and we really cannot work out why, but nor can you put a canoe to the water there. You can take your van into Edith and stay overnight – even tho’ the camping book says no big vans, we were confident we could have fitted in had we wished to stay. While looking at the ‘falls’ we were surprised (literally) by Peter and Judy, friends we had previously met in Darwin, creeping up behind us and nearly frightening Doug into the cold water there. After a chat and a look around, we continued on our way down to Katherine.
We had booked into the Big 4 Low Level in Katherine (and you do need to book) where we met up with old mates Peter and Fleur. We spent two idyllic days and nights discussing life, politics, caravan sites and travelling routes with these two fellow travellers before they moved on to Hayes Creek. We were able to exchange a great deal of useful information as we are actually travelling in opposite directions. They were able to give us lots of info about the West Coast and Kimberly regions – just wonderful. I don’t need to tell you, that one of the great benefits of being on the road, is catching up with old friends and making lots of new ones. It is without a doubt a very social lifestyle. Needless to say tho’ after two very long and liquid evenings I was looking forward to a nice quiet night. No such luck, we once again bumped into Peter and Judy (as at Edith Falls) and arranged to have them over for ‘sundowners’ that evening. Oh well, best laid plans – needless to say, we had a lovely evening with them and another couple who had pulled up next to us that day. TONIGHT I am having a very quiet night!!
While here we have to have our front windscreen replaced thanks to a chip that has now expanded across most of the windscreen. That task should be taken care of tomorrow and then we leave here on Thursday 12th and head towards Victoria River.
I will give you a nice long rest now, as there is no reception at Victoria River and I possibly won’t have the opportunity to ‘blog’ again until we reach Kununurra in a week or so. Until then, wishing you love and laughter – Stephanie.
CARAVAN PARKS
PINE CREEK – Lazy Lizard, good and interesting amenities (made from Termite Mud), pub, swimming pool and grassed sites. Generally a very pleasant stay (just watch out for leaping wheelbarrows).
KATHERINE – Big 4 Low Level – large caravan park with spacious grassed sites. Excellent amenities, swimming pool, bistro and entertainment 6 nights a week. (very good singer too). Not dog friendly. Strongly recommended.
1 comment:
Hi Darling
Thanks so much for all your marvellous 'words' - I was really hanging out for them! Quite poignant about the dingo and pillow as Lindy and family were on tv last night back at the scene -very sad and no closure.
All well here though haven't seen your Mum due to life.
Love - Sue XX
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