Having an illegal on the premises in the form of Shaka, we didn't mess about in leaving Devils Marbles. Tomoko had forgiven me for staying the night & we were on our way to Tennant Creek nice and early. We stopped for groceries & fuel at Tennant Creek & planned to stay at Kundjarra, a smaller version of the Devil's Marbles aka 'The Pebbles'. However, sometimes things don't go as planned & today was a good example. Firstly, 30km north of Tennant Creek we missed the turnoff. Tomoko was looking at Google maps telling me a secondary turnoff was coming up but as the kms clicked over on the odometer it became obvious there was no such road. After finding a safe place to do a u-turn we returned to the turnoff. We began down a dusty & corrugated dirt road. After 5 minutes of snail paced driving & with the realisation there was still a fair way to go, we did another u-turn & abandoned our stay. We were going to Daly Waters.
The next 250kms were uneventful. We refuelled at Elliott & were 10kms out of town when the Navara began sporadically losing power. The memories of the 'clutch incident' still fresh, we immediately pulled over. A call to the local mechanic pinpointed the likely diagnosis of a clogged fuel filter. Unable to inspect the vehicle on this day, we crawled back to Elliot and settled into the Midland Caravan Park With still another 150kms to reach Daly Waters we were fortunate to have car troubles so near to town. The caravan park could hardly be described as luxurious but there were plenty of peacocks roaming around to take away the spotlight from the ageing amenities. An early visit to the mechanic found the fuel filter to not be particularly dirty on inspection but we replaced it anyway and it seemed to do the job. We were on the road again & arrived in Daly Waters around lunch time.
We pulled into the servo on the highway which has a caravan park of sorts out the back. We secured a grassy non powered site under a tree & it seemed like a good spot to spend a few nights. The main attraction here is the famous 'Daly Waters Pub' & one afternoon we went in to have a squiz. Nearing the pub, we spotted the dusty paddock next door crammed with caravans & we were happy to have chosen our more attractive accommodations. Thanks again wikicamps. The walls & roof of the pub are full with all sorts of items left behind by travellers, a standard outback pub decorating technique it seems. The one distinguishing factor though, a collection of bras in all shapes & sizes. The evening meal must be ordered beforehand and we did this before returning in the evening. I went for the famous 'beef n barra' barbie (surf'n'turf outback style) & we dined while listening to some live country music.
On the morning we were due to depart for Mataranka hot springs, Shaka had a bit of a turn. He fell off the bed during the night & was very wobbly on his feet. We took off for Katherine instead, first stop the veterinary clinic. By the time we got there his condition had improved but a check up revealed he has arthritis, not uncommon for a 15 year old dog I suppose. He still has intermittent blood in his urine too & we organised for a sample to be taken via a needle through his bladder wall. We took him in early the next day for them to take the sample but they didn't get to him till mid morning. He was given a sedative only for him to relax & completely empty his bladder on the spot. We repeated the procedure the next day, this time in a more timely manner for a successful extraction.
We stayed in Katherine for a week. Conditions were very sultry. It felt like summer was suddenly upon us & we struggled to acclimatise to the stifling the heat. Luckily for us, Katherine Springs was just behind our caravan park & we visited often to cool down. I threw some lures in the adjacent Katherine River & that's where they stayed, clinging tightly to various snags & branches. I was tempted to jump in the water to retrieve them but only briefly, a nearby croc trap a reminder not too.
The main attraction here of course is Katherine Gorge, located in nearby Nitmiluk NP. Tomoko continued her aversion to famous tourist attractions leaving me to explore it by myself. This was done by hiring a canoe for the day. I rocked up to the canoe hire booth just after 8am finding a considerably long queue stretched out in front of me. Not only was the queue lengthy but also extremely slow moving & it wasn't till almost 9:30am that I was finally given my ride. The poor employee in charge of dispensing the canoes was copping plenty of abuse from irate customers. He could only reply that he's sorry & he tells his management it happens everyday. I guess you can afford to be lax in customer service when you have the market cornered.
Katherine Gorge is actually a series of 13 gorges. The full day canoe hire allows you to travel as far as the fourth one. I was paddling into a strong head wind through the first gorge. It was pretty but not particularly impressive to me. Reaching the end of first gorge you need to leave your canoe, walk over a hill & grab a new one through the 2nd gorge. Now this was really spectacular, the vertical cliffs extending deep into the water. At the end of the 2nd gorge you need to drag your canoe over a series of slippery rocks before entering no. 3. The 3rd gorge was not as impressive as the 2nd but a level up from the 1st & reaching the end of the 3rd is also the end of the line, canoe wise. There wasn't a lot of water in gorge 4 but just enough for a refreshing dip. I launched myself into one of Tomoko's delicious packed lunches before resting up & beginning the return. Fortunately, I had the benefit of a tail wind which made the return trip easier but as I neared the end of the 16.6km journey my energy levels were flagging. It was a good experience though & would recommend it despite the slow start to the day.
Shaka's urine and blood tests came through and his condition remains inconclusive. There is definitely inflammation in his bladder but the cause is a mystery as no bacteria or cancel cells made themselves known. Despite no bacteria showing up in the tests, Shaka has been prescribed a months worth of antibiotics. There's still the question of his arthritis & something well have to address in our next location. Until then...adios amigos.