I am still sitting in Batchelor, where I have been for a couple of months now and we seem to have had a better Wet than in Darwin, which is only 100km or so away. I have to admit not much is happening, so life seems to just potter along at a fairly leisurely pace.
Batchelor township was originally built in the 1950s to support the nearby Rum Jungle Uranium mine. When the mine closed in the early 1970s, the nearby workers residences became the town of Batchelor.
This gives Batchelor a rather pleasant atmosphere, a bit like being in a little time warp. Many of the unique houses are still lived in and a few of the original buildings have been preserved, such as the single ladies quarters, which is now the local museum.
Sadly, the old community hall, once the pride of Batchelor and the home of their picture theatre for many years, is now derelict. So, not all historical buildings in town are loved.
The closed off mine is currently the source of pollution, fortunately not radioactive in nature. During the Wet season, acid used in the extraction of the uranium ore leaks from the old mine tailings, leaching into the nearby Finniss River.
So, the locals tell me the Wet is probably over and the main indication of that seems to be the thousands of dragonflies hovering around; they are everywhere. That doesn’t mean we are not having storms, but most seem to build up, threaten with a lot of bluster, and then just fizzle out. Eventually, even that will peter out and the Dry will be here.
But sometimes, one storm will deliver and regale us with spectacular thunder and lightning displays and some heavy showers. During one particularly outrageous outburst, it actually became really wild and I was actually a bit worried. The wind suddenly increased to gale force and for about 30 seconds, it was really crazy.
The camper was rocking wildly in the wind and then the wind just stopped. But a rather large tree came crashing down not that far from where I was camped. Fortunately it missed me otherwise it may have done some damage, which is a sobering thought.
All these storms do ensure that sunsets, when they happen, are pretty spectacular!
It is still hot and humid and the mozzies are out in droves, making sitting outside in the cooler evenings a real torture to endure. For some reason, the mozzies and the horse flies, both nasty itch inducing creatures, seem to love me.
I have tried eating lots of Vegemite – they tell me the vitamin B makes you taste bad and they won’t bite. I can only say bollocks!!! I eat so much Vegemite, it should be oozing out my pores (fortunately, I do like Vegemite) but apparently I still taste good enough for those annoying bitting insects…
With the current health crisis taking hold, travel is now a dirty word, so I decided to stay put in Batchelor until it is safe to travel again. And I do think there are worse places I could be.
As I am staying here for a while, I decided to take the camper off the back of the truck and set it down on its legs. It is the first time I have done this but I felt it was worthwhile to free the car up so I can get to the shops as needed, and not be lugging the camper around all the time.
It is a bit of work to get that done – it is quite traumatic to see the camper sitting up high on the legs (I needed to lift the camper high enough to drive the car out from underneath) so I moved pretty quickly to get it down low, keeping it as level as possible the whole time; it would be very sad if it fell over!
Once it was done though, it is all fine, although it is strange sitting so close to the ground now. I have also put the awning out, so at least I can go outside if it is raining and feed the mozzies.
There is quite a bit of bushland around and that equates to plenty of birdlife. Now the Wet is receding, the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos are coming in, to feast on the fruits and nuts of the local trees. They seem to be very laid back and it their flight appears very slow and relaxed. They also have a distinctive call but are pretty shy, so you are more likely to hear them before you see them.
At night, the Barking Owls entertain. These guys are well named, as they do sound like dogs barking. Well, I actually reckon it sounds like someone calling out “woof-woof”. There is a deeper woof-woof call which I presume is the male and the response is higher pitched, which I guess is the female, so you get this almost constant woof-woofing across the trees at night, which does make me laugh! It is not as annoying as it sounds, although some people have been known to complain about those “damn dogs barking all night!”
The lorikeets and honeyeaters still come in to get their nightly feed and I took some footage of their antics a while back, which I will share here. Enjoy!
It is absolute pandemonium, and these birds are not known for their patience or good manners!
This feeding frenzy was after some heavy rain and we think maybe the rain washes the pollen and nectar from the flowers, so the birds are hungry and they know to come for a free feed. Don’t get between them and their food, though, it is certainly ‘mob-rule’ here!
It looks like they are drinking milk, but it is actually a special food designed for pollen and nectar eaters. It comes from Wombaroo, which is a company that specialises in foods for native birds and animals (as they can’t digest human foods).
I have discovered eBooks while I am holed-up here and get these delivered online and read them on my laptop. I find the cost equates to roughly what I would pay for a paperback in say, Big W or Target, but these books come straight to me in a few seconds (if the internet is working, that is) and no driving is required to get them.
I do know that there are lots of free books out there, too, but so far, my experience of most free books is that they are obviously free for a reason…
Please, everyone look after yourselves and stay safe during these difficult and trying times.
