Cape Woolamai, 29th March 2014

Saturday found me thinking about getting out and doing a walk, as usual there was a lot of procrastinating involved, so by the time we actually got to the start of the walk it was already around 4:30 pm. It wasn't a real issue though as I'd done the walk quite a few times before and I knew there was some short cuts if the light became an issue. Sam accompanied me on this walk with the promise of fish and chips at the beach being the lure.

Woolamai surf beach.

Parking at the surf club we made our way along the beach towards the cape, it was a beautiful day and there were plenty of surfers taking full advantage of it. Passing a set of steps that would be our exit route, the dunes gave way to cliffs with the late afternoon sun light helping my photos. After rock hoping along towards the Pinnacles for awhile we eventually retraced our way back to the steps.

Looking towards the Pinnacles.

Mutton bird

Climbing up onto the headland which is a fauna reserve, we wound our way along the good track which generally stayed near the edge of the cliffs. Cape Woolamai is home to a huge number of mutton birds and I'd just finished telling Sam about the snakes that go with them when  there was a squeal and Sam came running back down the track, yep, she'd found a snake.

That'd be a Redbelly Black snake I'm guessing.

Looking back towards the Surf Club.

Along with mutton birds and snakes, there was also plenty of wallabies and echidnas, which gave me plenty of chances for some wildlife shots. The track eventually climbs to the top of Woolamai Hill, at 112 metres its hardly huge but it does give a good view of this part of Phillip Island as well as the coast on the main land stretching down past Kilcunda..

Next stop, Tasmania.

It was now becoming obvious that we would have to cut the walk short as the light was fading fast, it must be said that our slow progress was mainly due to me mucking about with the camera. The light on the east side of the cape was all but gone so there wasn't really any point in us heading down to the beach, instead we followed a track down the centre of the cape to meet our outward route just before the steps.

Wobblies.

A quick photo of an Echidna.

Before it buries its head in the sand.

The Phillip Island bridge from Woolamai Hill.

Instead of walking the surf beach back we followed a management track in the dunes above the beach, my advice here is don't, instead of an easy walk back watching the last of the surfers, we slogged along a very soft sandy track that seemed to take the longest route possible to get back to the surf club. We eventually arrived back at the car as the last of the light faded away.

Looking to the east towards Kilcunda.


Taking off our boots we made our way down to Cowes where we had the choice of about six fish and chip shops, a great way to finish our walk.

Surfers making use of the last of the light.

Following the sandy track through the dunes, don't!

Woolamai Surf Club finally comes into view.

The Dirt
I used the notes from the Tyrone Thomas and Andrew Close book 40-Great-Walks-in-Australia and the map from the book. Its walk number 10 in the book, although we cut it short due to darkness. My GPS said that we'd walked 9.1 kilometres and climbed a total of 148 metres. The track is well marked and easy, there's plenty of views and wildlife, all in all a good walk.

The author at the finish.

Soundwave, Flemington Racecourse, 1st March 2014

Soundwave is my annual indulgence in live music, my long suffering wife tolerates these indulgences mainly because we then spend the night at a flash hotel in the city, this time we stayed at the Hilton at South Wharf, very nice. Her tolerance doesn't extend to her actually attending the show, we meet afterwards at the hotel.

No camera's are allowed so all the photo's are taken with my Iphone, that's a disclaimer because quite frankly the photo's are crap, it's debate-able whether they would have been any better with my good camera because the photographer is also pretty crap!

Testament

So just on lunch time I found myself at the racecourse, the first band for the day that I wanted to see was Testament, one of the original thrash pioneers. The lead singer Chuck Billy has one of the most powerful voices in metal, and they indeed put on a good show, playing a good selection of old stuff as well as they're newer songs. Dedicating Native Blood to they're indigenous brothers in Australia may have been lost on some of the bogans in the crowd, but I thought it was a nice touch.

The Living End

After Testament it was time to head over and catch The Living End, I've seen then a few times before but never in front of such a big crowd. The local boys put on a great high energy show, winning over the crowd on the main stage, its got to be said that they were probably playing to an audience that was a little more hardcore than they're regular crowd.

Alice In Chains

From there I checked out Alice in Chains, I've never seen them live before, and not being a big fan of the 90's grungy metal I wasn't expecting much, they were quite good however. They worked the crowd well, the music is a bit one dimensional for me, but at least they didn't spend the whole set singing to there navels. By now my thoughts turned to lunch. The crowds at Soundwave are half the attraction, some people go to extraordinary lengths to display their rock credentials, next year I might work up the courage to ask to photograph some of them, back in my ye olde days the standard dress code was old blue jeans and a sleeveless denim vest covered in sewn on patches of your favourite bands.

Korn

Korn, played into the afternoon sun.

I had unfortunately picked up a bug a couple of days earlier and by now my throat was starting to feel it, so over a couple of beers I decided to head over and catch Korn, and then hang around the same stage for Rob Zombie, then call it a night and head into the city to meet Sam. Once again I had no preconceived expectations for Korn, my metal education has big gaps in the late 90's to early 00's so I'd missed the whole Nu Metal thing. In my new roll as music critic I'd say Korn put on the best show that I saw on the day, they had a bit working against them too, they had to play with the setting sun shining straight into there eyes. The energy was awesome and the crowd appreciated the effort from stage.

Rob Zombie, the sun wasn't helping them either.

With Megadeth pulling out at the last minute, Rob Zombie became the band that I most wanted to see and they too didn't disappoint. Zombie's music has a groove to it that is infectious, and while by no means as hardcore as some of the other bands on display, they certainly get the crowd involved which is the name of the game at a metal show. Winning the crowd with a cover of Enter Sandman, they finished of the show with the almost danceable Dragula.

So, with the sound of Green Day echoing from the main stage I headed off to catch the train back to the city, not sure what the go is with the trains but they are always jammed full of punters, I thought leaving early might be better but was still squashed in, with most people desperately trying to find something to hang onto on our third world journey into the city. A short walk from Southern Cross and I was soon getting my key from the desk at the Hilton, quite a contrast from Soundwave. Sam had got us a room with city views and although we were on a lower level than last time, it was still a good view of Melbourne at night. After catching up, tucking into some room service, and popping a couple of cold and flu tablets I drifted of to sleep with the lights of the city twinkling on the Yarra.

The Dirt
Soundwave is a great festival, and while other big festivals are struggling, Soundwave seems to keep chugging along. I hope this continues as, to be honest, a lot of the bands wouldn't be able to come to Australia unless they were on a big bill. The Hardcore/Metal crowd always seem to get into the music and contrary to their appearance there is very little agro, the kids are OK! Be prepared for the usual gouging at the food stalls though, $23 for a Nando's chicken burger, chips, and a Pepsi. Getting out of the place always requires patiance, the trains are always chockers, and the ticket inspectors seemed to be itching for trouble, either that or they were born arrogant! 
The Hilton at Southwharf is a nice hotel, we stayed a couple of years ago and its starting to show its age a little bit now with some of the maintenance/cleaning issues, but I'm being really picky. Breakfasts are a stand out along with the beds.

The view of Melbourne from our room at the Hilton Southwharf.

Darwin, September 2010

September 2010 found us heading north for a few weeks in the sun, I went up early with Bel to do the Tabletop Track in Litchfield NP, and then Sam flew up to meet us and we toured around for awhile. I have to warn you that this post will mainly comprise pictures of people in water, it was the build up to the wet and so the sensible option to keep cool was to stay submerged.

Bel, acclimatising Litchfield National Park.

Bel and I had a couple of days to acclimatise to the tropical heat, so we decided that the best idea would be to get out of the air conditioned hotel and do some walking. The first day we spent walking around Darwin and then down to Stokes Hill Wharf for dinner. The second day we checked out some day walks at Litchfield and then wandered down to Mindil Markets for dinner, where we caught up with Skip and Janty who were doing the walk with us.

Dinner, Tabletop Track.

Wangi Creek

Where's that hand Janty?

Tabletop Track crossing Wangi Creek, upstream of the falls.

I've written up the Tabletop Track here  http://hiking.topicwise.com/doc/tabletop , it was my first go at writing a journal, so go easy on me! I wont go into too much detail, but the walk went off without a hitch , we found plenty of places to swim, a must on any deep north walk, the campsites were all good and the walking was generally fairly easy which left plenty of time to kick back.

Tabletop Track

Bel, looking about 17, after three days walking.

All too soon the walk was over and Bel and I headed to the airport to pick up my very understanding wife. We then had the best part of a week playing tourist around the top end. Firstly, after picking up Sam, we headed to Stokes Hill Wharf for a celebratory dinner with Skip and Janty, mmmm Barra, steak, and chips, washed down with a cold beer, it doesn't get much better.

Last day on the track.

Skip

Only a few kilometres from the end.

The three of us then headed down to Katherine for a couple days, on the way stopping at Edith Falls for a swim and a bite to eat,  a couple of years ago Sam and I had been here when we finished  the Jatbula Trail, so it was good to come back and check it out. While the girls swam in the lower pool I headed on the short walk to the upper pool, in my three or four previous visits I'd never been up there. I was rewarded by a sighting of a species that is fairly common in the top end, the bare-breasted backpacker, there was a gaggle of them preening and sunning themselves on the rocks.

Edith Falls

The upper pool at Edith Falls.

Next we headed down to Mataranka for a swim in the hot springs, after about one minute we decided that this was too hot, so we headed a bit further along until we could access the Waterhouse River, I've swum here dozens of times over the years as its a lot cooler than the hot springs but it always freaks me a bit as it looks very croccy. The girls stayed close to the bank  where the hot water from the springs was mixing with cooler river water, I swam out into the middle for the obligatory photo op, absolutely shitting myself as a palm frond brushed against me on its journey downstream.

The Waterhouse River at Mataranka.

Swimming in the Waterhouse River, always makes me slightly nervous!

Back in the car we headed for the best spot at Mataranka, Bitter Springs. Most people don't seem to realise that this little oasis even exists as they all head to Mataranka Homestead and springs. As usual Bitter Spring was far from crowded and we used the current to drift us down stream, taking in the underwater scene through our goggles, the water being so clean it felt like floating in air. Apart from a couple of entry and exit steps, Bitter Springs is also very natural, so there's no concrete to mar the scene like a lot of other hot springs I've been to.

Mataranka Hot Springs, a bit to much concrete for me.

It was after dark when we headed back up to Katherine for a late dinner, but never fear,we had a hire car, its a little known fact that hire cars are the best cars off road, the best cars to throw around corners, the fastest cars, and now I can confirm they also make great fire trucks, as we had to motor through a bushfire on our way back. Arriving back at the All Season Katherine we quickly cranked up the air con, sleep came easy. We've stayed at the All Seasons probably ten times over the years, its probably the best place to stay in Katherine, the rooms are a decent size, and most importantly it has a big pool.

Bitter Springs.

No concrete here, much better.

Next day we headed out to Nitmiluk National Park for a 4 hour cruise up the gorge, on all our trips here we'd only ever done the 2 hour cruise, it was baking hot on the boats, but the short portages provide opportunities for a quick dip in the river to cool off. We had a Jawoyn guide and he gave us a great tour, plenty of information on the indigenous relationship with the gorge. After returning from the cruise we headed to the awesome visitor centre for lunch, sitting on the deck twenty metres above the river its a sobering thought that in some wet seasons the water has been lapping at the deck.

Swimming in the Katherine River, looking slightly nervous in front of the croc trap.

Waiting for our cruise while some fool goes for a swim.

Katherine Gorge near The Lily Ponds.

In all my travels I'd never been to Tjuwaliyn (Douglas) Hot Springs, so I figured we could make a detour there on our way back to Darwin. Maybe it was the heat, but I was fairly under whelmed with Douglas Hot Springs, there was a lot of flood damage and the area generally looked a bit scrappy. Still we had go exploring and eventually found a spot that was cool enough to soak in. After that it was on to the Adelaide River to pub, for Barra and chips for lunch.

Tjuwaliyn (Douglas) Hot Springs.

The remainder of our time was spent in Darwin, we went back to the Mindil Markets, went swimming with the salties at Crocosaurus Cove in the cage of death http://www.crocosauruscove.com/cage-of-death/, the girls went shopping, I walked the Casuarina Beach Circuit, which basically is a 9.5 kilometre walk along the beach and then back inside the dunes on old management tracks. The only note worthy thing that happened was that we got marooned in Darwin, Virgin's computer system had a melt down so we were forced to spend an extra night in Darwin, it cost us a fortune the next day to get ourselves on a Qantas plane but unfortunately we had to get back to work.

Bel and I and a large lizard.

Sam and I, unfortunately it looks like they'd fed the crocs Valium.

Olive Python and the author.

Who's a tourist?

The Dirt
We flew Virgin which was slightly cheaper, but would have been stuck in Darwin for days if we hadn't been able to afford Qantas tickets home, we eventually got our money back for the Virgin flight, and a nights accommodation in Darwin, however no compensation for the extra days hire car or having to pay full wack for the Qantas ticket.
We stayed at the newer Holiday Inn on the Esplanade in Darwin (there's two), which was OK, however next door was a construction site so there was no relaxing on the balcony.
Both the walks, The Table Top Track and the Casuarina Beach Circuit a written up in Take a Walk in Northern Territory's National Parks.
Hire cars in the territory are an absolute rip off, there doesn't seem to be any with unlimited kilometres, with the attractions sometimes spaced hundreds of kilometres apart you quickly build up a big bill.
Crocosauras Cove was good, unfortunately it looks like they'd fed the crocs Valium before we got in with them as they were very docile.
If anyone ever goes to Mataranka, take your goggles and check out Bitter Springs, its great floating down the crystal clear water, and when you get to the end you climb out and walk back to the start, to easy.

Casuarina Beach Circuit near where Sandy Creek comes in.

Darwin from Charles Darwin National Park.