DOWN THE TRACK

I don't come down here nearly often enough.

Litchfield National Park is about 100km south of the city, just past the small township of Batchelor. I've been coming here for about as long as I've had a car (and once even came close to a nasty accident during the freewheeling days of my youth when I decided my tiny tinny car and lack of driving experience could totally handle a bit of off-road adventuring). It's a prime spot for a little weekend getaway or daytrip.

SPOTLIGHT ON SPECIES - THE APOSTLEBIRD

One of the great things about camping in the Australian bush is the general tendency for local wildlife to crash join your party. Well, I think that's what often happens...maybe it's just me. While this 'hi, what you doing?' habit is less welcome if it's say, something that can kill you (and as every enlightened tourist knows, Everything in Australia Can Kill You), sometimes your nature bonding companions are nothing more than a charming mob of very precocious birds wearing prepare-to-die expressions.

CHILLED IN KATHERINE

Normally the north Australian dry season has warm sunny days you can set your watch by, years in advance. However this year was an exception to this rule and my jaunt to Mataranka and Katherine was mostly overshadowed by...well...a blanket of grey clouds. And not only clouds but ridiculously cold weather to boot (cue me and a few hundred other chilled souls ransacking the Target dept store in Katherine for some cold weather wardrobe accessories). I tried my hardest to avoid jersey fabric, but ultimately the inevitable happened.