Leaving the Northern Territory via the Gulf

On our last night in Darwin we did our favourite Darwin thing, we went to Mindle Market (yep that makes 7 times). It was our last night with Tash and Adam and we met up with a couple of other friends Kurt and Tom. As luck would have it we also ran into some travelling buddies, James and Sophie. So it was a real party.

After enjoying our last spicy laksa  on a balmy night on MIndle Beach we set off for Queensland. Our destination was Cape York which is about 2,000 km's away so we did the trip over several days mostly via dirt roads, often very rough and with numerous river crossings. Our first stop was Mataranka which is a tiny settlement south of Katherine. It is most well known for its warm thermal springs set in lush pockets of palms and tropical vegetation. We met up with the Wright family and we enjoyed a couple of nights with them soaking up the springs, lunching at the Mataranka Homestead and lounging around the campfire. We also bumped into some friends of ours from Margaret River, Betty and David who also joined us for a swim and lunch.

We set off from Mataranka for a long day of driving. We hit the Carpentaria Highway and just kept driving until dusk. Just as the Kangaroos started to appear we pulled off the road about 50km east of Borroloola. We set up camp beside a lovely river and enjoyed the solitude after the hustle and bustle of Darwin.

We got off to a super early start and for several hours drove through gorgeous landscapes, which compared to the Gibb River Road scenery (but without the other cars). After crossing the QLD border and then Hells Gate the landscape became less spectacular but beautiful in its own way. We passed through Burketown and Normanton before finally arriving in Karumba just on dark. Karumba is the furthest eastern town on the Gulf of Carpentaria. After travelling 2000km's in 4 days, we welcomed a cold beer at the Sunset Tavern as we watched.. yep you guessed it, the sunset.

It was a mad dash from Northern Territory to Queensland. And although the days on the road were long and tiring the drive was pretty special, both due to the scenery and the solitude. We are now very excited to head north up to Cape York, our last exploration of Australia's Top End before beginning our journey back down the east coast, home.