Douglas Daly and The Daly River - Hot springs and fishing for Barra'

After Edith Falls we made our way north into the Douglas Daly area where I spent the morning of my birthday relaxing in the hot springs. The thermal springs bubble out of the ground at 60 degrees Celsius, so you have to be careful where you sit!

As the water mixes with the water in the river it cools down but can be quite an uneven temperature in places.  In the photo above of Hannah lying on her back, one half of her body is in very warm water and the other cold.
                                          Scott and Ben mucking around while we girls relaxed

At the Douglas Daly Campsite we spotted a few snakes.  This one caught Hannah by surprise on the way back from her shower!

My Birthday present and Tim Tam stack cake....Hannah's idea

 The Butterfly Gorge is another attraction in the Douglas Daly region but the road in was flood damaged so we didn't get to do this one.

We were surprised when we got to the Daly River to see a substantial amount of water flowing over the crossing.  After waiting a while and watching another work truck make it across with no problems we went for it!  Actually in our time spent there we ended up crossing it about 4 times!  The owner of the Daly river Mango Farm Tourist Park said that this was the first year that he'd seen water (in his lifetime) over the crossing in June let alone August, and he expected there would still be water on it in September!

When we arrived at the campsite and went into their little office to book in, the owner apologised for the smell.  He said he thought a snake might have taken up residence in there but he couldn't find it.  Typical Ben.....5 minutes later he yells out found it!

We fished on the banks of the Daly River for the elusive Barra', keeping a close eye on a Big Saltwater Croc that cruised by.  Unfortunately no luck although I had fun hooking one, and getting it as far as the bank only to see it get away!

The Daly River Mango Farm Tourist Park http://www.mangofarm.com.au/ was a nice place to stay.  The owners were really friendly and Rhonda had a great talk to the kids, which they really enjoyed. She is an ex school teacher and gave them a little lesson about life in Daly River, and about the Aboriginal communities in the area.  Ben also loved it when she explained the story told on one of her beautiful Aboriginal paintings hung in her restaurant. 

Dinner overlooking the Daly River....the banks are about 15m high, its hard to imagine that we would be underwater sitting at that table in this years wet season.