Undara lies on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range where the weather has transitioned from the coastal rains of Cairns, through cool and cloudy on the top, to clear blue skies and heat to the west. Heading west from Undarra, a road sign might have said: “No Clouds Until Darwin”.

After Undara there is little to report other than to say it was a 6 day blast through a vast amount of not very much. For Kiwis reading this, think of the MacKenzie Basin as a 5 cent coin being tossed into the middle of a footie pitch – that might give a clue to the terrain and the scale.

Friends Dagy and Odette both suggested our tent was too big. Our little tent below left

is supposed to be wide enough for three people but we are left wondering what sort of relationship three people sharing it might have. My head touches one end while my feet are up against the door. There is a covered ‘vestibule’ front and back for storing stuff out of  sight. By contrast, at a camp site at Camooweal, we met Nick and Yvette who were also doing a lap of Aussie but for whom nothing smaller than the whopper of a tent (on the right above) would do!

After Mount Garnet, our overnight camps were at: Mount Surprise, Normanton, Cloncurry, Camooweal (we entered Northern Territory immediately west of this unremarkable place – look closely at the sign) ………….

………………. Three Ways, then 556 kms up to Mataranka (wonderful dawn dip in a natural hot spring) finally arriving in Kathryn on 16 August, some 317 Kms south of Darwin.

Notts Crossing Tourist Park was our Kathryn base, staying 3 nights. On 18^th we made a day trip to Beswick, an aboriginal community about an hour SE of Kathryn. Here we were treated to a gallery of local Aboriginal art works and had lengthy chats with Tom Lewis who manages the place and organises the annual “Walking with Spirits” festival. Sorry – no photos to share.