It seems like everywhere you want to go in the Northern Territory is a long way. Darwin to Borroloola is around 1000km, and while the distances between points of interest are relatively daunting, there's plenty to do and plenty to see on the way.
Almost every piece of advice about travelling in our northern regions warns that it’s remote and hot, so a long trip needs plenty of planning. Like a good Boy Scout, be prepared. You need a reliable vehicle, plenty of water and someone who knows your plans if things go wrong. While it might not be on everyone’s bucket list, a drive to Borroloola is a great road trip with ample sidetracks and activities to break up the journey.
Before getting out of Darwin we packed with supplies at Darwin’s twin city, Palmerston, a half-hour drive down the Stuart Highway. We soon had the fridge and storage lockers stocked with supplies as we headed to our first deviation to explore Litchfield National Park, where we camped for the night at Litchfield Tourist Park before hooking up with Rob Woods from Ethical Adventures for a guided tour of his favourite haunts in Litchfield. As well as the hot spots at Tolmer, Wangi and Florence Falls, we learned about wildlife and many special plants and the pressures from mining, fracking and bushfires. Litchfield is one of the most popular natural attractions in the NT, with more than 270,000 visitors yearly. Rob showed us out-of-the-way tracks and special views of the many valleys and falls, leaving a special highlight of one of the tastiest salads ever at the wetlands around Tabletop Swamp for lunch.
The Walker Creek track in Litchfield National Park
Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park
We stayed another night in Litchfield Tourist Park and then headed back to the Stuart Highway south towards Adelaide River, another 60km away. It was mid-week when we pulled into town, and we were happy to see that we were on the right day for the local markets. As it turned out, they are held every morning for local jams and craftwork. Most travellers seem to check out the action with a wide side street to accommodate dozens of vans.
Adelaide River has a friendly caravan park and a cheaper RV stay at the showground on Dorat Road. As part of the original railway that serviced the southern goldfields, the town has a museum with historical rolling stock and interpretive displays. The museum is one of many as we drive south, with most towns having a station and sheds, so railway buffs have plenty to anticipate along the way.
The Adelaide River Railway Museum
But the best feature of the town is a little-known war cemetery. In a quiet grove about a kilometre along the river is a WWII cemetery dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Top End, including during the bombing of Darwin in early 1942. The cemetery has 435 graves and commemorates 292 servicemen and women lost in the north of Australia. An adjacent civilian section included the graves of nine workers killed in a direct hit to the Darwin Post Office in the bombing raid. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the cemetery and memorials through local staff.
A detour here leads to Robin Falls and rejoins the highway to the south. The falls are worth a visit early in the season when flows are steady and there’s seemingly unregulated camping on the road in, plus plenty of swimming, fishing and hiking available.
Grove Hill Hotel
If you are one of those curious types like me who can’t resist a signpost to a historical site, then the Grove Hill Hotel might be for you. The bonus is an addition to your collection of ‘biggest attractions’.
Before the Stuart Highway was realigned to its current route, the main road and the old railway passed by the gold mining area at Grove Hill. The pub was a thriving watering hole and a living museum of recycled architecture. Even after the road changes, it clung to life as an iconic link to the past, but when the owner needed to retire, he couldn’t find a buyer and it closed in 2018. However, the 30-minute drive connects visitors to a part of our disappearing history and a selfie with a fanciful mock-up of the world’s biggest gold nugget.
The world’s biggest gold nugget at the Grove Hill Hotel
Pine Creek
A monster shed dedicated to everything automotive is the latest attraction at the old mining town of Pine Creek, 112km south-east of Adelaide River. Two outback pubs, mining displays, and a scattering of colonial buildings make the town a great stopover or overnight stay in the three caravan parks and the railway-themed resort. Just south of town is the gravel road to Umbrawarra Gorge Nature Park for scenery, a refreshing swim and a secluded national park campground for a quiet overnighter. Track conditions were pretty corrugated, but taking your time is okay.
A quick swim
Half an hour north of Katherine an easy, sealed 19km road leads to a welcoming campground swimming hole at Leliyn (Edith Falls). Leliyn is part of Nitmiluk National Park and a great entry point for the Gorge County of the Katherine area. We cooled in the wide pool at the base of the falls, but with temperatures in the mid-30°s, we decided the walks to more points above the falls were a step too far and lingered over a cool drink from the nearby kiosk instead.
Gorgeous Katherine
Katherine is an upbeat tourist town with hundreds of caravans, campers, and cafes full of diners. For this part of our trip, we were guests of Tourism NT, and they had arranged something special for our visit, including us vacating the van for a night at Cicada Lodge, owned by the Jawoyn people, right in Nitmiluk National Park. What a great place for a memorable stay with top-quality rooms and service. The award-winning restaurant served a three-course meal imbued with local bush flavours. While Cicada Lodge might not be top of mind for all caravanners, if there’s a special occasion needing celebration, it might be the most memorable part of your trip.
Cicada Lodge, right in Nitmiluk National Park, is a unique place to stay
Exploring Nitmiluk Gorge (previously Katherine Gorge) is one of the highlights of an NT road trip, and of all the ways to experience its beauty and vastness, getting on the water in a kayak seemed ideal.
Malapa Adventures took us by boat to the top of the first gorge — there are 13 in total — where Heather and I swapped to a twin kayak for an afternoon paddle. We made it to the fourth gorge — which took about 90 minutes — to swim in the safe, cool water for an hour or so before floating back to the boat. The scenery and silence were invigorating, but we earned our break by the pool with canapes before dinner at the Lodge.
An aerial view of Nitmiluk Gorge
The next morning, we experienced another facet of the Gorge experience: a high-flying helicopter trip with HeliSpirit over the wide vista of the 13 gorges. The flight afforded unique views that will live long in our memories.
Our couple of days in Katherine rounded out with a moving cultural experience with local elder Manuel Pamkal at Top Didj Aboriginal Art Gallery. Manuel is a gifted teacher and storyteller who took us through fire lighting, bush medicine and spear-throwing, among many other aspects of local custom. Top Didj also has a wide selection of Central Australian Indigenous art and a great selection of books on Aboriginal art and culture.
Top Didj Aboriginal Art Gallery in Katherine
Heather with teacher and storyteller Manuel
It’s dark
Turn west 27km south of Katherine to the 1500sq km Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park, only a few minutes’ drive along a sealed road. Walks take you through unusual rock formations, as well as the Tropical Woodland Walk. Cutta Cutta Caves is the only one open to the public across northern Australia of 10 caves in the Tropical Limestone system. The 270m easy access is 15m below ground and has beautifully lit examples of stalactites, stalagmites, shawls and flowstone. Because it can flood in the wet season it’s open between April and October. A one-hour guided tour and a permit for $35 will get you entry.
Spring into action
Mataranka spreads out along the highway with decent shopping and service stations. At a roadside park, a couple of curious brolgas were keen to share lunch, which was pretty funny given the number of times I have stalked these birds in the wild for a close-up photo.
The area is best known for the thermal springs at Mataranka Homestead, which is a landscaped pool and at Bitter Springs, where you float down the warm crystal-clear creek in a more natural setting.
Bitter Springs, Mataranka
Next stop, Larrimah
Years ago, we stopped at the roadside bakery in Larrimah for a crocodile pie. The meal was great, but we still talk about how long it took to be served and the unique experience of outback hospitality that was never going to put the town on a tourist bucket list. All that changed when Paddy Moriarty disappeared in 2017, and every resident became a suspect. A documentary series ripped open the private community, and to this day, the mystery remains.
Larrimah achieved notoriety following the 2017 disappearance of Paddy Moriarty
The notoriety has helped the community survive, but only the population varies around half a dozen, and most houses have signs for sale. As an indicator, Paddy’s house sold recently for $32,000 — even with the notoriety — so bargains could be had. Under new ownership, the Pink Panther Hotel’s name harks back to a bygone era. It lives next to a reclining panther statue and a 5m beer bottle. It does a steady trade, has taken on the pie outlet, and serves a hearty meal.
The Pink Panther Hotel in Larrimah
The pub serves a hearty meal and does a steady trade
The pub also supports the local museum in an old communications building over the road. It looks rather bland, but it is worth a look for the informative displays about Indigenous participation in the Top End defence, including the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit (NTSRU) patrolling the isolated Arnhem Coast in the 1940s. Oh, and stories about railways!
You will see a number of signs along the Stuart Highway pointing to WWII airfields. One of the best preserved and easily accessed is Gorrie, 10km north of Larrimah and only a short drive to the west. It’s worth a look for its huge size and quiet reflection of those awful times.
Stay overnight at a basic caravan park or behind the pub. Tourists will ponder Paddy’s demise. But from what I saw, the locals are over it.
Airstrip out of Larrimah
Daly Waters
Often eulogised as one of the Territory’s best authentic outback attractions, the Daly Waters Pub has become a ‘rite of passage’ destination for first-time caravanners, old and young. If you haven’t downed a Beef and Barra meal in the beer garden, you would be in a minority of Stuart Highway travellers.
Established as a remote watering hole in 1930, the hotel has gradually taken over the whole town to the extent it now accommodates hundreds of travellers every night in the dry season. Nearly 200 caravans cram into the sometimes-dusty sites, and there are now 70 cabin or motel rooms. So, the place jumps most nights with live music following a 45-minute talk by owner Tim Carter at 5.30pm, where we heard about the history of the Territory and some sad tales of lost kids.
Daly Waters Pub owner Tim talks to patrons
The pub is a time capsule of early and recent eras, decorated with hundreds of personal items, including many bras, left behind by patrons. Donkeys, horses, cattle and a couple of buffalos wander freely along the street outside the pub to create a bygone Wild West atmosphere and a modern selfie opportunity.
A few clicks out of town is one of several WWII airfields along the Stuart Highway. It’s still intact, and a building on the edge was a Qantas terminal many years ago.
Down at the end of Lonely Street
It’s close now to the turn-off to Borroloola at the confusingly named Daly Waters Hi-Way Inn. It’s the last fuel for the next 275km to Cape Crawford along the Carpentaria Highway, so topping up here might be a good move. The road conditions depend on how damaging the previous wet season was; it can sometimes be badly damaged. Our journey was a well-maintained single lane of bitumen through mainly open savanna grasslands with only sparse traffic.
Occasional road trains coming the other way meant we pulled off the road completely to let them stay on the tar. The grassy lawns around the Heartbreak Hotel at Cape Crawford were welcome, but things sometimes differ from what you expect. First up, Cape Crawford is nowhere near the ocean and was named by drover Lindsay Crawford in 1880 when he saw the outcrop of the Abner Ranges. Then, the hotel is more of a roadhouse, and its correct name is the Cape Crawford Hotel. It earned the Elvis-related nickname in the 60s after a particularly boozy night that left many partygoers a little worse for wear, and it has stuck. Oh, and it’s not at the end of Lonely Street. Sunshine Coast Helicopter Tours runs helicopter flights to the Lost City in Limmen National Park, which sounds like a great way to see these sandstone formations.
Refuelling in Cape Crawford
The scenery for the final 106km into Borroloola is more interesting. Jump-ups and rocky outcrops herald the lead and zinc-rich lands of the giant McArthur River Mine, visible from the road.
Borroloola is one of the largest towns in the Gulf region, with a population of more than 700, most of whom evacuated to Darwin earlier this year when the nearby McArthur River flooded. Services include service stations and general stores. The area deserves more coverage than we can include here, so there’s a feature coming up in a future issue, covering King Ash Bay, Seven Emu Station and more.
A serene spot in Borroloola
Be prepared
The Northern Territory is a vast landscape with few people and a rich, sometimes sad history. Distances and the weather might seem daunting, but if you take your time to explore, there’s a world of history and unique attractions around every turn.
Advice about travel in remote areas is a cautionary tale. You must consider distances and weather conditions and drive to the conditions. Even on relatively populated treks like this drive, take enough food and water to nourish you for a few days. Make sure you have enough fuel to get you through, and recognise that sometimes fuel stations can run out, so think about carrying spare fuel.
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