July 31st, Australia Day 160

This day was pretty uneventful as I recall, noting the total of 8 pictures that I took that day on the drive north from Banka Banka Cattle Station to near Nitmiluk (NYHT-myh-luhk)/Katherine Gorge. The day started off after the sun rose, which was unusual for this trip, but the distance needed to be covered that day was comparatively small. The day would bring us to within striking distance of our final destination of Darwin.

Our first stop that day was the settlement of Daly Waters, population 10. It is said that the population of the settlement varies with the number of people required to run the local pub. Daly Waters, though, holds the incredible distinction of being Australia's first international airport, and, no, the population was never much larger than 10. Before World War 2, an aerodrome was built just outside Daly Waters to accommodate the recent phenomenon of international flights. A family lived in the area and they established the pub and the inn which both still exist, though the family no longer lives there. There was even a customs house where passengers would pass through customs to enter Australia. This must not have done any favours since Australia already has a reputation of being a bit of a backwater and back then even more so, so this international airport in the middle of nowhere must have only "confirmed" the prejudices of those flying. After World War 2, the airport's importance fell since flights could make it to the major cities themselves without needing a stop in Daly Waters. The airport ceased to function in the 1970s and is now a ruin.

After Daly Waters, the next stop was the Mataranka (mah-tah-RAHN-kah) Thermal Springs. As the name suggests, this area has some very comfortable hot springs where everyone on the tour group went swimming. I took a dip and it was very warm water, probably around 30C and I recommend a swim for anyone who wants to get out of the sun but still remain relatively comfortable.

A short time later we set off for our campground close to Nitmiluk/Katherine Gorge, an interesting feature which we explored the following day. I snapped a quick photo of sunset just before dinnertime and then stayed up and managed to get the notes of Waltzing Matilda one by one on the guitar. It took several attempts but I finally managed to get the melody. Again I slept in permanent tents, in fact, after the 2nd night of my tour I never again slept in a swag, much to my dismay.

Photos now available at: http://australiaday160.blogspot.com/