Douglas Daly Nature Park - 22 & 23 September 2009

We left Kakadu reluctantly and drove down the Kakadu Highway to Pine Creek an old gold Mining town, lunching at a roadside stop and then on to the Douglas Daly Nature Park.

 
This is another exceptionally beautiful camping park, on the banks of the Daly River, and almost empty of travellers.

We had dinner at the bar and met another visitor, a great grandson of Stanley Kidman, who established the Kidman Pastoral empire. He talked in detail of the provisions Kidman had made to keep the empire family owned, which it still is.

This park has many great swimming venues.

  

We drifted down Butterfly Gorge on the good ship rubber tyre which saved us scrambling a kilometre straight up and down. Unfortunately we only have this glimpse of the gorge as our camera is not waterproof and the good ship rubber tyre is not all that stable. We had fun though tipping each other off. The gorge was stunning. Tricia is happy in water anywhere ( almost).

Douglas Hot springs, part of which is a sacred site flows at between 50C and 60C, even hotter than Dalhousie Springs, and again the rubber tyre is put to use.

Above the camp ground on the Daly Esplanade were the Twin Pools, the Thermal Pool and The Arches. Near the Arches is a sandy beach and people swim up giving them a natural water slide down. As the sandstone erodes the country is returning to ocean floor.

Amazingly, given their location all these areas are free of salt water crocodiles, so swimming is encouraged.

This was also the home of the Fenton Airbase extensively used by both Americans and Australians during WW2.

 

The road in to Butterfly gorge had a great patch of "bulldust" - a part of the road where the soil turns into a fine dust like talcum powder and as a consequence the road develops huge ruts and holes, some which can be hidden by the dust.  These can be a real hazard on outback roads, and are another reason for the snorkel on the Landcruiser, as normally air for the engine is taken in from under the front mud guards.  As can be seen from this photo the dust is all pervasive.