Looking back at the entrance to one of the lava tubes at Undara
The floor of the tubes was covered n a very fine powder after millenia of erosion. It reminded me of pictures of footprints on the moon.
Bones of animals were scattered throughout the cave. Alhough the caves were once inhabited, these bones are from recent animal deaths and they had all died of natural causes.
The walls of the lava tubes had some very colorful sections.
Just to prove we were there.....!! It was a cool rainy day outside, thus the rain gear. We had been given rain capes in Brazil....Sue is wearing one....but had never worn them in the rain forest there. Only when we came to supposed drought-stricken Australia in the dry season did we need them!
There was plenty of wildlife at the wilderness campground at Undara. This Rainbow Lorakeet was feasting on some blossoms.
This was a Pretty Faced Wallaby...one of many around the camp. Her "Joey" had just climbed into her pouch...you can see the bulge.
From Undara we drove to Charters Towers a lovely little town that had restored many late 19th century buildings.
But even here, there were the omnipresent and somewhat garish hotels where you can guarantee getting a cold beer.
This more traditional Queensland hotel was in Hughenden, our next stop along the track.
We drove out of Hughenden to watch the sunset and met these two bikers who we had seen earlier in the day at another lookout along the road. Friendly guys. One of them was flying his beloved bike to Canada next year to tour North America. I wonder how much that costs??
These are two large Brolga Cranes that we saw by the side of the road. We didn't seem much "live" wildlife on the road...mostly hawks and eagles sitting over fresh roadkill.
This was one of the most bizarre things we have ever seen. This sign was posted in the washrooms at our campground in Alice Springs.
When I read it, I thought they meant that frogs were inhabiting the washroom....in the ceiling or clinging to the walls or something. I didn't think anything of it till Sue told me that she had been startled out of her wits when she flushed the loo and saw two large frog's legs kicking madly trying to regain its purchase under the rim of the toilet bowl. I immediately went into the men's and flushed one of the toilets and was amazed to see a large green frog washed down into the bowl. He quickly clamborered up the slipper side of the bowl to disappear under the rim. Amazing! I tried to get a picture but several attempts yielded only his legs...not the whole little creature. Only in Oz!!!
The sign pointing out distances to places around the world. We are a long way from home!!
The closest point on the sign to Calgary was Kamloops.
A view of the terrain around Mt Isa in the late afternoon.
This was taken at the Berkley Roadhouse west of Mt Isa where we stayed one night...a rumbling cattle carrying road train just set off from the parking lot where have a dozen of these
behemoths left one after another....a convoy of road trains.
This was the thermal pool at Mataranga where I went for a soothing dip in the late afternoon. A really magical place.
Termine mounds at the campsite in Matagranga. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors across the outback, but there are millions of them everywhere.
Some pictures of our trip down the Katherine Gorge on a beautiful day.
This was taken at the Berkley Roadhouse west of Mt Isa where we stayed one night...a rumbling cattle carrying road train just set off from the parking lot where have a dozen of these
behemoths left one after another....a convoy of road trains.
This was the thermal pool at Mataranga where I went for a soothing dip in the late afternoon. A really magical place.
Termine mounds at the campsite in Matagranga. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors across the outback, but there are millions of them everywhere.
Some pictures of our trip down the Katherine Gorge on a beautiful day.
Susan in for a swim at the swimming pools we stopped at.
The swimming pool along the river.
The swimming pool along the river.
Some ancient Aboriginal paintings along the cliffs. They are estimated to be 20,000 years old.
This was Edith Falls about 60 kms north of Katherine which we visited the day after our Katherine Gorge trip. A beautiful area and a superb pool for swiming at the base of the falls. We spent an hour floating in the cool water to get a break from the 40+ degrees that we had that day.
Walking arond Edith Falls. The trek was only 4 kms but we were exhausted from the heat when we finished.
A shady oasis at the base of the falls where the river runs out to the dry terrain beyond.
There were a lot of interesting rock formations on the road to Edith Falls....just one example.
This was Edith Falls about 60 kms north of Katherine which we visited the day after our Katherine Gorge trip. A beautiful area and a superb pool for swiming at the base of the falls. We spent an hour floating in the cool water to get a break from the 40+ degrees that we had that day.
Walking arond Edith Falls. The trek was only 4 kms but we were exhausted from the heat when we finished.
A shady oasis at the base of the falls where the river runs out to the dry terrain beyond.
There were a lot of interesting rock formations on the road to Edith Falls....just one example.
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