We packed up on Monday & left Katherine but not before we took a picture of the Boab tree in front of the Caravan park, it is huge & must be very old.
We also found in the garden behind us a Bower Bird bower, also found the culprit.
We travelled up the road to Douglas Daly. On the way in there were huge plantations of Sandelwood & Mahogany trees. They get lots of transient workers & what do you do with your boots when you finish up? You throw them in the tree.
Also found a bugger termite mound. The search is on for the biggest.
In our quest to see every hot spring in the country Douglas Hot Springs had to be visited. Not much water in them but a lot hotter, especially were the water was bubbling to the surface. Also lots more fish life. Just standing in the water up to my navel I saw swimming around me, Burramundi (50cm), Bony Brim, Long Toms, Catfish & Archerfish. The water wasn’t clear enough to get a good photo.
Also went for a drive to Butterfly Gorge, not a lot of water & no butterflies.
Last couple of nights we have been at the Mango Farm on Daly River. Great spot. Mangos will not be ripe until end of Sept so Ulrika has bought their whole stock of Mango Ice Cream. Not much room left in the freezer.
The property has a interesting history which goes way back to the first settlers of Daly River. A ex soldier called James Parry took up a govt offer in 1914 for land & for a number of years they grew crops of maize, etc. In the 1920’s he started growing peanuts & this was succesful for the next 20 years. He married an Abo girl & had a couple of boys. They continued in on for a while & then the property changed hands a couple of times. The first Mango trees were planted in 1915 & are now huge.
In the late 1800’s Austrian Jesuits set up camp at Daly River to try & convert the Abo’s. This lasted about 10 years before they worked out that it was an impossible task. The regular flooding & disease didn’t help either. A walk around the property was educatonal.
The NT Govt is building the first solar plant in the state to supply power to the local community. Cost ~$5mill, not up & running yet.
Always on the lookout for a good looking bird.
We tried to find another Hot Spring but had to make do with this.
Off to Adelaide River tomorrow.