Chapter 43: The Top End

Thursday Week 18

Gail was first up and as soon as Dave and Jill were awake asked "good morning you two. Have you got any blood left, Jill, or did Dave suck it all from you last night?" smiling at them both.

Dave and Jill laughed as both got out of bed. Jill assured Gail that she still had most of her blood.

"If anything I got extra from Dave, though I don't know if it was blood or something else" she added, mischievously.

By 9 am Dave was driving back north along the Stuart Highway on the 411 kilometre drive to Daley Waters. The first 24 kilometres took them past the turn off to Mount Isa so from then on they were back on 'virgin' territory for them. Dave had estimated that it would take about five and a half hours driving for today's trip.

After driving for just under an hour, Jill spotted the monument marking the place where on 25 June 1860, John McDouall Stuart, on his first attempt to cross Australia, was repulsed by hostile Aborigines. It became appropriately known as Attack Creek.

Eleven kilometres later, they saw the 'Churchill's Head Rock' on the old Stuart Highway, which Dave had been told to look out for. A rock on the east of the old highway looks vaguely like a profile of Winston Churchill. In order to make the image more persuasive someone has stuck a piece of piping where the mouth should be so that the profile appears to be smoking a rather large cigar. Amusing, but hardly a natural phenomenon, Dave thought.

Their first stop was at the tiny settlement of Renner Springs, 161 kilometres of the journey having been completed. It was just after 11 am and time for morning tea.

There was just as solitary hotel-motel here, one of the many stopping points on the Stuart Highway. As with most places, Dave was able to get information about the place on a brochure.

Like so many other places along the Stuart Highway it owes its origins to the Overland Telegraph Line. It was named after Dr Renner who was dispensing medical advice to the team working on the Telegraph Line when they passed through the springs in 1872.

The area achieved its importance because of the large number of freshwater springs which bubbled up from the underground springs thus providing water to the area.

Dave drove past the small town of Elliott, which his brochure told him had a population of 600, with 500 of them being of Aboriginal origin. It was the main administrative centre for the region and they saw a superb garden outside the council building, clearly one of the few delights of the town. It was an interesting display of native flora standing in sharp contrast to the surrounding desert.

The township was established during World War II as an interim camp for troops heading north and named after the camp commander, Captain Elliott. The town had a primary school, police station and health centre.

Their lunch stop was at Newcastle Waters 15 minutes later. Here, Dave told them over lunch reading from his brochure, there was a large and historic cattle station but also a river running north from Lake Woods which passes through the station with the same name. Just opposite the station was the nice rest stop that Dave had decided to take advantage of for their lunch.

Apparently John McDouall Stuart reached this area on 23 May 1861 and recorded in his diary: 'we came across a splendid reach of water about 150 yards wide. This I have named Newcastle Waters after His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, The Secretary for the Colonies'. Stuart set up a base camp near the present site of the station.

The development of the Overland Telegraph saw the establishment of a relay station here at Newcastle Waters in 1870-71.

All Northern Territory pastoralists were confronted with the problem of transportation. Inadequate stock routes meant that while cattle could be raised in the Territory, it was almost impossible, particularly during periods of drought, to get them to the markets. Stock routes had been established but they were only as reliable as the rainfall and unfortunately that wasn't reliable at all.

Nat Buchanan had pioneered the Barkly Stock route from the Overland Telegraph Line to western Queensland and in 1886 G. R. Hedley successfully traversed the Murranji track from Victoria River to Newcastle Waters. A few months later Nat Buchanan and Sam Croker took the first stock across the route. They were guided by Mudbarra Aborigines firstly to Murranji waterhole 80 kilometres west of Newcastle Waters and then to Yellow Waterhole a further 80 kilometres along.

The Murranji track, which takes its name from a desert frog capable of living underground for long periods without water, reduced the long east-west route via Katherine by over 600 kilometres. But the 250 kilometre trek from the Victoria River to Newcastle Waters was without permanent water and consequently very unreliable.

Even pastoralists who were desperate for markets could not risk the losses which such a journey involved. In 1917 the government let a contract for the sinking of bores along the track. This did much to help the growth of Newcastle Waters. The town became a depot for the construction teams.

The number of cattle on the route increased steadily. By 1942 some 62,000 cattle were using the east-west stock route. This rose to 140,000 in 1944. The route became so overcrowded that new mobs of cattle would arrive at bores before the storage tanks had filled after the departure of the previous mob.

The Murranji track acquired a reputation as one of the most hazardous and treacherous stock routes in Australia. At least 11 drovers died attempting to make the crossing.

In 1930 the Government resumed one square mile from Newcastle Waters Station for a town site. It was the obvious location because, apart from the cattle station, the chosen area already contained a Police Station and a Works Department depot.

The township was economically dependent on droving and the arrival of road trains meant that by the early 1960s it had been reduced to a virtual ghost town.

Newcastle Waters played an interesting role in the history of Australian aviation. Ross and Keith Smith's flight from England to Australia in 1919 required the construction of a number of strips for refuelling. The Smith brothers' aeroplane needed to refuel at Darwin, Katherine and Newcastle Waters before flying on to Queensland.

A ground crew under the leadership of Hudson Fysh was employed to organise the logistics. Fysh later wrote 'at Newcastle Waters we made history by getting work started on North Australia's first cleared aerodrome'. By 1935 Qantas Empire Air Services was using the Newcastle Waters landing strip as a link in its mail and passenger run but the runway proved unsatisfactory and the service was halted in November 1937.

Lunch was eaten by the time Dave had finished telling them about Newcastle Waters, so he drove them past remnants of Newcastle Waters that were open for inspection. They had a quick look at Jones's Store, known as George Man Fong's house, which has been preserved as a museum and then the most interesting building in the town, The Junction Hotel, built in the early 1930s by Jack Sergeant. It has been closed since 1960 but still it had an air of desperation about it.

The author Keith Willey wrote that 'the raucous history of this drover's pub had begun in the early 1930s when Jack Sargent gathered a bunch of his debtors and put them to work building a hotel out of scraps of old windmills abandoned at stock route bores. It was a fair exchange for in the finish Sargent had his hotel and his helpers names were wiped off the slate at the store.'

They saw the monument to the Overland Telegraph Line beside the Stuart Highway, 27 kilometres before they got to Dunmarra. It had three poles in the style of the original line. Dave stopped so that they could read the plaque which said:

'The Overland Telegraph Line. This plaque was erected in memory of Sir Charles Todd, Postmaster-General of the Province of South Australia, his gallant construction teams, operators and linesmen. The northern and southern parts of this epic overland telegraph line were finally joined about one mile west of this spot by R. C. Paterson, engineer, at 3.15 pm on Thursday August 22, 1872, thus making possible for the first time instantaneous telegraph communication between Australia and Great Britain.'

Dave couldn't help but think how different international communications were today, as he continued on the journey, driving past Dunmarra on the junction of the Buchanan and Stuart Highways, just 36 kilometres short of their destination.

Finally, just before 4 pm, Dave was parking the RV at the caravan park at the Daley Waters pub, one of the Territory's most famous watering holes. The Pub was one of the oldest buildings in the Northern Territory, a quaint place armoured with corrugated iron, draped with bougainvillea and decorated with decades of memorabilia

Now little more than a stopover for people travelling along the Stuart Highway, the tiny settlement was named by John McDouall Stuart during his epic attempt to cross Australia from south to north in 1861-2.

Dave and the girls decided that a cool beer would be nice as it was very hot and it had been a long day's drive. So they propped themselves at the bar and enjoy a draught beer.

"What about we eat here for a change?" Dave suggested, thinking a pub meal would go down well. Both girls were happy with his suggestion, especially Jill who welcomed a break from cooking at the end of a long drive. Besides, she thought, the beer tastes good, cold and refreshing, even though it was something she rarely drank.

By the time the three of them got back to the RV, they had all enjoyed more than a couple of beers as well as a surprisingly good meal, so were soon tucked up in their beds, Dave cuddling Jill until both were sound asleep, the alcohol acting as a sleeping draught.

Gail too had, for once, fallen straight to sleep, having drunk more than she normally did, without thinking about Dave and what might have been.

Friday Week 18

There were a couple of sore heads in the morning, the girls suffering a bit from last night. Dave cooked them breakfast, which, although both girls initially said they didn't want, soon ate what was set before them and started to feel a bit better.

Today Dave only had to drive 171 kilometres to Mataranka, which he estimated should take them less than two and a half hours driving, but he knew there was a lot to see on the way. Still, he thought, he'd make it a leisurely departure.

By 9:30, though, Dave was driving further north. He had given Jill some information that he had downloaded from the internet on what to look for on the drive and tasked her with keeping them informed.

After Dave had been driving for an hour and a quarter, Jill told them to keep an eye out for a sign marking the Alexander Forrest Memorial Cairn.

"Like so many others scattered throughout our vast continent," she read to them from the brochure, "this modest memorial commemorates a truly epic journey."

Alexander Forrest was born in 1849, the younger brother of John Forrest. Both were accomplished explorers with John going on to become Lord Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia in 1890 while Alexander became Mayor of Perth about the same time.

"What a co-incidence" Jill added facetiously.

In 1879 Forrest and his party put ashore at Collier Bay, in Western Australia. Setting off initially for the Fitzroy River, they continued further east ending up on the infamous Murranji Stock Route, which was nearly their undoing. They had a hard time of it before finally reaching the very welcome sight of the Overland Telegraph Line, which was just to the west of this simple memorial.

"What a relief it must have been to simply follow the telephone wires north to Darwin and set sail for Perth" Jill added.

"There it is" Gail yelled out, so Dave pulled over and while Dave and Gail looked at the cairn, Jill made them a cup of tea.

Less than an hour later, Dave pulled into Larrimah. They went into the pub because Jill had read that it was the old officer's mess and worth a look. She had also read to them that when the railhead was moved from Birdum to Larrimah in the early 1950's, the extra trade was handled by the simple and rather obvious method of taking the Birdum hotel down and adding it on to the Larrimah one. The last scheduled train arrived in Darwin from Larrimah on 30 June 1976, ending a chapter in Australian Narrow Gauge Railway History which was unique. From its early beginnings in 1889, when the Northern Territory was a part of South Australia, this rail service was called the 'Never-Never'.

Ten kilometres after leaving Larrimah, Dave took the turnoff, which was well signposted, to drive the 3 kilometres west into the huge World War 2 airbase at Gorrie. Although the road was gravel, the brochure had stated that it was quite suitable for caravans, so Dave figured it should be alright for him in the RV. The road opened straight out onto the airstrip and they were astounded at the sight of this bitumen runway nearly two kilometres long. All the associated taxiways and dispersal bays were still very evident. It was difficult to believe that this place was once home to over 6,500 personnel but all the evidence was still there. At one stage it had been, apparently, Australia's frontline defence.

Turning the RV and its trailer around was easy on this wide bitumen runway.

Once Dave had them back on the highway heading north again, Jill told them that the next turnoff would be to the right in just over half an hour. When Dave got them to the Never Never Graves, they were reminded of some of the truly memorable outback characters who were buried here. Jeannie Gunn's book 'We of the Never Never' was written in 1908 by a woman who spent about a year here. Amazingly, the book has never been out of print in almost 100 years.

Just past the cemetery they could see the old bridge over Warloch Ponds, the shady trees on the banks of this beautiful wetland was once the site of the original Old Elsey Station homestead. They were able to see the small stone cairn that marked the location.

The three of them had a quick stroll out onto the old bridge and were rewarded with a panoramic view of the areas abundant bird life. Dave was happy that he was able to get some good photos.

Dave thought this was a good time to have lunch as it was now 1:15 pm. He was surprised by how much time they were taking looking at different things, but was happy to do this, doubting he'd ever be back this way again.

It was 2:30 pm when Dave drove into Mataranka, nestled in the headwaters of the mighty Roper River. The hot springs, located at the 'Homestead', flowed at the rate of 22.5 million litres a day and a constant 34 to 35 Centigrade. While this was the best known attraction of the town, natural thermal pools in nearby Elsey National Park had also made the town a favoured rest stop.

Jill suggested that they should enjoy the warm turquoise waters of these natural lagoons, which she read, were said to have therapeutic value. The crystalline waters of the natural pools have the power to soothe aches and pains after a long day on the road, the brochure had said, Jill adding "and I've got some aches and pain from all this driving that I would love to have soothed away."

Dave parked the RV in the camping grounds, unloaded the 4WD and went to Bitter Springs, about two kilometres out of town. It was recommended because the main springs in town often got tourist buses there and could be quite crowded. On the other hand, the brochure suggested that Bitter Springs was often deserted.

They found the river banks lined with grasses and trees, spider webs and bird-life, while the natural spring was crystal clear, lovely and warm. Both girls quickly stripped their clothes off, enjoying skinny dipping in the warm waters, as there was no one else there. Dave had grabbed his camera to take shots of the area, but quickly made the two beautiful naked girls the main target of his shots, with the absolutely stunning background.

Dave joined them after checking that there was no sign of any other vehicles coming. They swam about 120 metres up stream past long rushes and then floated back down with the current at their backs, watching rainbow bee-eaters fly, feed and perch in the tree-tops. Dave was pleased that he had taken his goggles, because he was also able to spot some small turtles and fish below the surface.

After Dave had driven them back into Mataranka, they enjoyed looking at the thermal pools and the way that the surrounding paperbark and palm forest filtered the sun, leaving soft, dappled light playing on the water's surface. The area around the pools was a natural breeding ground for the little red flying fox and they were able to spot some of them nesting. But they were pleased that they had gone out to Bitter Springs, because, sure enough, there was a tourist bus parked there and the place was fairly crowded. They certainly would not have been able to enjoy skinny dipping.

Jill read to them that the ancient dreamtime stories of the Mangarayi and Yungman tribes described a wind sweeping in from the east that created the area.

By 4:30 pm, Dave had them back in the RV, taking turns to shower, Jill first, before she set about preparing them a nice dinner from the pieces of veal she had taken out of the freezer at lunch time. She made a fricassee of veal with noodles.

Jill and Gail sat round, naked as usual, bubbling with excitement at what they had seen and done today. Both felt very relaxed after their swim in the thermal pool. Dave was wondering what was on Jill's agenda for the night, as he realised that it had been three nights ago when he last made love to Gail, but on the other hand, Jill has missed out last night too, as everyone went straight to sleep.

He soon found out, as Jill, sitting on the lounge with Gail, started to cuddle and kiss her. Both girls spent ages sitting there enjoying the feel of their hands and mouths on each other, but only from the waist up. Eventually, Gail got down on her knees between Jill's legs and commenced worshipping her sex. After a few minutes of this, Jill had her head back with her eyes closed, breathing deeply, with her hands on the back of Gail's head, pulling her hard into her groin.

"Come on love, we'll be more comfortable on the bed" Jill said, standing up and pulling Gail to her feet.

Both girls were soon lying on the bed, facing each other's feet in that classic position, popularly described by a number remarkably close to 70, kissing and fingering each other's sex.

Jill was first to cry out with ecstasy as she felt her orgasm crash over her, but it wasn't too much longer before Gail's cries could be heard as she joined Jill in reaching a crescendo.

Dave sat waiting instructions from his darling Jill, not wanting to interrupt before she was ready, but soon after both girls had their first orgasm for the night, Jill asked him to join her, the three of them kissing, fondling, caressing, touching, licking, biting, fingering and generally enjoying any part of any body they could reach.

To Dave's amazement, he suddenly felt both girls holding his erection and cupping his testicles, as one mouth enclosed the head of his penis while another mouth licked and kissed up and down the shaft. He couldn't take much of this he knew, as he was fairly aroused before they even started this action. Fortunately the mouth sucking the end of his penis, which he now saw was Gail's, took more of his penis into her mouth, while Jill licked and sucked his testicles, stroking his bottom and fingering the entrance to his anus.

With an almighty groan, Dave ejaculated deep into Gail's mouth, both girls holding still until his spasms ended. Then Gail and Jill kissed each other passionately, before each took turns to kiss him deeply on the mouth.

"Dave, you look exhausted, darling, why don't you go and get some sleep in the bunk bed and I'll entertain Gail here for the night?" Jill purred.

"That's fine by me, but try and get some sleep girls" Dave said with an exhausted laugh, as he got up from the bed.

"Oh Dave, where's that lovely little toy you bought in Mt Isa?" Jill asked, so Dave went to the drawer and got the vibrator out, spread a little lubricant on it, before giving it to her and then climbing up into the bunk bed.

Although she would have rather slept with Dave than Jill, Gail was nevertheless very happy as she lay there in Jill's arms, resuming their gentle exchange of kisses and caresses, before she felt Jill drive the vibrator deep into her vagina while she licked and nibbled on her clitoris.

Several orgasms later, Gail removed the vibrator from Jill's hands and changed positions, so that she could use it on her. Dave had witnessed Jill giving pleasure to Gail and now saw Gail reciprocating, as he spied from his bed, enjoying the spectacle until finally the girls fell asleep in each other's arms.

Dave fell asleep a contented and sated man.

Saturday Week 18

Dave woke early, after a good night's sleep. As he got out of the bunk bed, he gazed for several minutes at the two beautiful, naked girls laying uncovered on the bed, legs askew, arms intertwined, looking the picture of loveliness and love. He grabbed his camera and recorded for his posterity this delightful scene.

He then went to use the ensuite and both girls stirred as he came out.

"Hello handsome. Got time to make love to a young girl? Gail, it must be time for you to use the ensuite" she added, undiplomatically.

While Gail reluctantly left the bed for the ensuite, wishing it was her still in bed with Dave, he was climbing between Jill's legs. Jill simply guided his penis straight into her.

When Gail came out, she sat down at the table, watching the two of them enjoying a gentle, satisfying love making session. She could tell when it finished, as both bodies, stiffened and groans of passion and pleasure came from both of them.

Soon after, Jill had prepared their breakfast and as they ate, Dave told them what was on the agenda for the day; a short drive of 105 kilometres to Katherine, roughly an hour and a half, but with a detour to Maranboy and tours of the Cutta Cutta Caves and the RAAF Base at Tindal on the way.

Dave managed to get them on the road by 9:30 am,

Three quarters of an hour later, Dave turned east and drove for 21 kilometres to Maranboy. As they looked at the old buildings and abandoned machinery, it was hard to believe that Maranboy was once a flourishing town, with a population that peaked, as did the price of tin, at about 100 in the late 1920's.

Tin was first discovered in 1913 by Jim Sharber and Tom Richardson and for 36 years Maranboy was the Territory's principle producer before finally closing in 1962. There was a resident mine manager, a large mill, a hospital and their own train, all to support a major tin mining industry.

The police station, first opened in the late 1800's, was still in operation, albeit in a new building since 1980. The mine was a focal point for the whole region for many years, and for many aboriginal people this was their first contact with white people. Several prominent aboriginal painters from the area used to work at the mine.

All three agreed it had been well worth the extra drive, to see this area.

Twenty minutes after Dave had them back on the Stuart Highway, he turned west into the Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park driving to the Information Centre. He had managed to arrive in time to have lunch and then do the 1 pm guided tour.

The staff at the information centre told them that the Caves were thought to have evolved over 500 million years, and they continue to do so. A stockman was the first European to sight the caves when he stumbled upon the main cave entrance around 1900.

Today visitors are able to explore this series of tropical limestone caverns via a network of winding passages. All tours are guided and a running commentary imparts some fascinating facts.

Around the cave entrance were clusters of tropical rainforest and vine thicket that were the remains of rainforest that once covered the northern parts of Australia. The most striking feature of this habitat was the native fig, and they saw a beautiful specimen right at the cave opening. Here, the fig's long roots disappeared through the earth and later, as they climbed into the cave, they were able to follow them all the way down to where they plugged into a water table far below. It was an awesome sight.

Dave and the girls were told that the tour did not require a high level of fitness with the only stairs being in the descent to the cave. Thereafter they were on an excellent boardwalk system that continued for the hour-long walk which included the time for the return. It was lit by rows of 12-volt lighting.

Descending from the bright, Northern Territory sunlight to a cavern 15 metres below the ground transported them into a whole new world. Dave and the girls were fascinated by the stalactites of all shapes and sizes sprouting down from the cave's ceilings and the fat stalagmites growing up from the floor. Crystals that looked like they were made of spun sugar adorned the walls above, and glinted even in the reflection of the dim lighting. It provided them with a breathtaking spectacle.

Cutta Cutta was a tropical cave and differing from temperate caves in southern Australia because animals inhabit it whereas in temperate cave systems there are no animals. They were told that there were some rare animal species in the deeper two-thirds of the cave that were not showcased on this walk, mainly to protect them. This included a colony of endangered ghost bats and orange horseshoe bats and two strange species of completely blind shrimp with no body pigment that inhabit small pools. The only other closely related species of shrimp was found in Madagascar, off the coast of Africa.

The animals weren't the only ones who've left evidence of their presence here. The guide pointed out a bunch of about 30 particularly pointy stalactites, and on closer inspection you see that a good few didn't have sharp ends like the rest of the cluster. Apparently the culprit was not water or erosion, but World War II soldiers who amused themselves in the caves by using the formations for target practice.

When the guide turned off the lights, Dave and the girls were mesmerised by the total darkness, unable to see their fingers wiggling in front of their face because it was so dark.

Apparently the Aboriginal people didn't inhabit the cave for that very reason. Although the Jawoyn Aboriginal people have a long association with the area, there was no evidence of Aboriginal use of the caves, but they certainly explored here. According to one story, not being able to see the stars in the sky, just the unfamiliar winking of crystals, made the Aboriginal people rather uncomfortable. Thus the Caves were named; 'Cutta' means stars, 'Cutta Cutta' means 'many stars'.

It was almost 3:30 pm by the time Dave was at the Tindal Air Base. It was hard to believe that just to the west of the highway there was an airstrip long enough for civilian aircraft to be based at one end and one of Australia's frontline air bases at the other end. Originally known as Carsons Airfield, Tindal was built during the Second World War to support the bomber operations. It was named after Wing Commander Tindal who was killed in action during the first Japanese air raid on Darwin in February 1942.

Dave had a surprise for them. He had arranged a thirty minute scenic flight in a light aircraft over Katherine and the Gorge at 4 pm. This flight took them over the 13 gorges of Nitmiluk or Katherine Gorge as it was better known, as well as over Jedda and Smit Rocks and the RAAF base.

Both girls were bubbling with excitement when the flight was over. Dave had taken a photo of the two girls with their arms around a very lucky pilot, as they posed with both kissing him on either cheek. The pilot didn't seem at all upset.

As Dave drove the last 25 minutes to the caravan park at Katherine, the girls continued to enthuse with excitement, profuse in their thanks to Dave.

"I think we'll probably both show you how much we appreciated today, especially your lovely surprise flight at the end, when we are firmly ensconced in the RV" Jill softly and sexily said to him, Gail nodding her head, excited at the prospect.

Dave said nothing, he just hoped he would be up to the task, but was nevertheless looking forward to tonight.

But before long he found out that he didn't even have to wait that long, because as soon as everything was set up, both girls undressed, got onto the bed and started making love to each other.

Shortly after Jill told him "why don't you join us and bring that lovely little toy with you."

Dave quickly undressed, grabbed the vibrator and the lubricant and then joined them on the bed.

For a while the three of them kissed and fondled each other, but then Jill took the vibrator and guided it into Gail's aroused vagina, getting Dave to move it in and out of her. She then took hold of Dave's rather erect penis, kissed and licked it, applied some lubricant before guiding it into Gail's bottom.