Not the best week. Part one.

Saturday23 rd July

We left Jabiru about 8.45am & arrived at Pine Creek to find a tiny little park with only about 9 sites. The pool area was very nice but the water freezing . Later did a walk around the town & the lily ponds were once railway lines!

It was a busy place with lots of nomads stopping for a break & taking photos of this quirky place.

We had a very nice dinner at the restaurant at our accommodation & I had my first ever cocktail based on Sue's recommendations & enjoyed my " Tequila Sunrise".The drink had nothing to do with a nasty fall I had later that night going to the loo in the dark & tripping over a 4 inch step which was impossible to see. I landed face down on a metal ramp & my glasses cut the bridge of my nose & blood poured down my face. For the last week I have been sporting a very bruised chin & was so lucky I didn't break anything but was less than impressed. Dump points are few & far between in the outback so don't always use our loo .Allan went exploring next day to find a mine which has now been filled with water & took 14 months to divert the water from Pine Creek to fill the hole!

We moved on on Monday & stopped at Katherine for a fuel stop & I ran into Woolies for a few groceries but hardly anything left! Not impressive so decided we would have to make do. We stayed

at Mataranka overnight but this time at Bitter Springs & I thought the worst park we have stayed in. A unisex tin shed with a 3 inch gap where the door doesn't shut properly is awful. We walked to the mineral pools but no way I was going in with all the vegetation & scummy sides but was very popular.

There were a few termite mounds at the entry to the park & we can't believe just how many there is & all different shapes & sizes.

The days were still very warm in the mid 30's & we were meeting an endless stream of nomads heading north each day plus a lot heading south like us. Love Allan & Bev.

Kakadu

We left Darwin around 8.30 am on Wednesday morning after having to squeeze our way out of the park. Quit a tropical drive with lots of palms along the way & had a picnic morning tea about halfway. Would you believe we got lost entering the township following Mr Garmin's directions & ended up at the golf course. John had just selected his site after driving around & changing his mind before finding the best ones. They are huge grassy drive thru sites & so nice to have lots of space after the last park.
   It was 34 so went for a swim in the very shaded chilly pool ! Yesterday we did a walk to the village & the lake but again about 34 so rather warm for walking. We packed up lunch & drove back to the lake which had great tables & bbq's & a nice spot except for the mozzie's. A very relaxing day & a really nice place to stay.
This morning John drove the 40 klm's Ubir for us to do a cruise up the river. While waiting for the boats to arrive we were entertained by crocs swimming around in the shadows across the river. A couple of boats were launched by fisherman but not sure that we would want to go fishing !

The boats arrived & we swopped one tour bus load for another but managed to get front row seats.

The " captain" was interesting & we heard all sorts about the crocs & they are much more awake at night & were sleeping as near the middle of the day. We certainly got up close lots of times & there were about 5,000 of them in this river!

The guy also told how the aboriginal's live off the land & show us things made from different trees & very interesting talk. Some of his uses for paper bark were mentioned & whether you needed 2or 3ply  for a certain use! 

We went on further up the river still seeing crocs & the very occasional bird before landing & going up on a rocky outcrop for photos.

It was an amazing two hour trip & we all enjoyed very much. We then did a short drive to a weir where the crocs were waiting for high tide to grab any fish coming over the top. The next stop was a Thai restaurant for lunch & incredible to be able to find food in the middle of no where.

We stepped off the boat is the called Arnhem Land which covers a vast area & inhabited by about 22,000 aboriginal's & a very remote area. It was a wonderful day although a tad warm at 36 ! Love Bev & Allan.

Sunset Cruise!

John & Sue booked us all on a cruise for Monday night although wasn't easy as very popular. We left around 6 pm having scored an excellent table on the upper deck.

There were two US destroyers nearby & a beautiful evening. A guy gave an interesting talk for about 30 mins on the bombing & then pointed out what the building were as we went by. We had ordered drinks but took awhile to arrive while they served a meal to the bus load on the deck below. The sunset was absolutely fantastic & took about 35 mins . There has been lots of burning off everywhere over the last two weeks & yesterday the city was shrouded in smoke.

This shot was about 6.30 pm .

This one was about ten mins later & the sun went down very quickly.

Quite a delay of about 20 mins before the next phase & meantime our anti pasto platter was delivered & very nice too. It did cool off but was still not cold.

About 7.10 the sky looked like this & just so stunning. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise & a great note to almost end our time in Darwin. Today it was Allan's turn for a haircut & I did a grocery shop as quite awhile before we will have a Woolies again. We had a meal on Saturday night at the cafe in the park here & it was very nice. Allan loved his $15 large roast pork meal & great to see the cafe was well supported by fellow campers. Also interesting to hear where they have been or going & learn a lot that way about different parks & roadhouses. The RAF have just done an incredibly noisy flight back to base & planes fly all night as no curfew. Our Maitland neighbours are flying out tonight at 1 am & arriving in Sydney around 6 am & with three boys that wouldn't be a lot of fun as then have to drive to Maitland. Certainly enjoyed our stay here, love Bev& Allan.

Sunday markets & War museum

After our coffee at the museum we decided to walk along a path & the high school appeared & what amazing views they have. It was also the Botannical gardens but not quite what we are used to. The path continued to the Mindil markets which had started early as a special day. All sorts of things happening including a beer can raft race!

Many people around & wandered thru the markets but too hot to partake in the food on offer.

We have been lucky in that the days & nights have cooled off & for the first time this year Darwin dropped below 20 overnight & the mornings were on the cool side but the afternoons superb. On Monday I decided a haircut was needed so Allan dropped me off in the city centre & took himself off to a War museum which I wasn't keen to visit. He really enjoyed it & said it was very well done.

This gun was never fired as designed to hit ships & Darwin was bombed from the air!

Allan said a film showing the bombing of Darwin was incredible & well worth watching. We are leaving here tomorrow for Kakadu & not sure what Internet will be like so bombarding everyone at present to catch up. Love Bev & Allan.

Darwin museum & art gallery

Sunday morning we decided to take ourselves to the museum & situated in a beautiful spot with wonderful ocean views. The aboriginal art work was fantastic & really interesting to look at. We then moved on to the museum part & it was so well done. There were stuffed snakes etc & the presentation of everything was amazing.

Quite a large building & easy to get lost!

We found this monster & quite an interesting tale & certainly wouldn't want to have seen home alive.

Amongst the display's were these dresses from a lady who makes paper & thought these were stunning.

We also saw an excellent display on cyclone Tracey & certainly was a devastating time for the people of Darwin. We found the coffee shop & it was very nice as was the coffee. Love Bev & Allan.

Darwin delights

Thursday 14 th July,

We decided that as the wind had dropped we would go to the Mindil Markets which are held twice a week. A very large crowd & no organisation but quite amazing how it worked. Everyone parked their cars leaving space for the next person & then we did the short walk to find a place to set up our chairs. Alcohol was accepted & everyone found a picnic spot & settled in to wait for the sunset. There were many market stalls with food from every country & hard to make a decision on what to eat.

It wasn't all tourists either & looked like many of the locals come to enjoy the night too.

As it got nearer to the sun setting the crowd started to move on to the beach to get the best spot!

It was a superb warm evening & a wonderful to experience something like this.

After Allan took this photo a line appeared down the screen on his new camera but thankfully not on any of the photos so next morning it was back to the shop where they happily gave us another one. Later we drove out to the biggest shopping mall in the N T but didn't enjoy it at all. Parts were very tired & it was very busy with school holidays & the worst Woolies I have ever shopped in . Getting out of the car park was another story & won't be a repeat visit . There seems to be many smaller shopping centres for us to shop at before we move on again

The above tree was in the city centre & certainly some different varieties around. The airport which is shared with the airforce is in the centre & everything is spread out in all directions around it. Quite different to anywhere else but a nice place. Love Bev & Allan.

Darwin!!

Wednesday 13 th

After exactly 6 weeks & about 6,000 klm's we drove the last 87 klm's from Batchelor to arrive at the Hidden Valley caravan park. We were here around 10.15 am but John & Sue had a turn at getting a tyre replaced at Beurepairs so were behind us. Really tight park but have a concrete slab a tiny grass patch & an ensuite that we don't need. Our neighbours have been a couple from Maitland NSW with three red headed boys! They are out all the time & flew here for a month & hired a motor home &  the cost must be horrendous!

Allan & I went for a walk in the very humid afternoon & spent most of our time in Harvey Normans air con drooling over all the goodies. Seems to be a semi industrial area so not a lot to look at.

The next morning John drove us into the city centre to find the camera shop so we could make a purchase as the charger for our camera has not turned up anywhere. Probably on the bench at home!

Ian from Melbourne had done some homework for Allan on what to buy so didn't take long to buy the camera. We walked around the shopping block & reminded us of Bangkok with lots of bars & eating places. We then walked on to the waterfront which has in more recent times been redeveloped into an extremely nice area. We had a yummy coffee & watched people in the wave pool.

There was a very brisk breeze which kept the heat down & the locals thought it was quite cold!

John the took us to Cullen Bay where their was a marina & some very expensive homes overlooking everything.

Very nice wandering around & not too busy either. This crocodile was friendlier than most.

Decided to celebrate our arrival in Darwin with a lunch time drink.

It was about 10 klm's from the park to the city centre & two roads to choose from although one had lots of roadworks. All good . Love Bev & Allan.

Three nights in Batchelor

Sunday10 th July

Very hot 34 degrees on arrival at Batchelor but a large park with lots of trees although didn't effect Allan's Foxtel. Every night at 5.45 pm food is put out for the birds & quite amazing how the different breeds knew which food was theirs.

Monday11 th
  We set off to the Litchfield National Park & first stop was the magnetic termite mounds. These were a much paler colour to the ones we had seen in their millions over the previous couple of weeks.

The photo is not of the magnetic ones but a larger type which seem to be prevalent to this area. There were a few people around here but from then on it became hard to find a park at the next stops. Many people took advantage of the waterfalls to swim in.

Very nice picnic tables on the way to the falls here so we had our coffee before moving The above photo was Buley Rockhole. We then drove to Florence Falls & took photos looking at the falls as a long walk down & masses of people.

Next stop was Wangi Falls & a very nice spot with lots of room to picnic. After taking photos of the falls we did a walk & ended up on a platform amongst the tree tops. Thankfully some seating to catc our breath as lots of steps but easy going down.

It was very hot returning to the car to collect our chairs & picnic lunch but found a shaded place & really enjoyed just sitting there relaxing.

The round trip was about 120 klm's & a most enjoyable day . Allan spent the next morning cleaning the car & caravan & later we walked to check out the "town" of Batchelor which was a General store pub & takeaway. We went to the pub for happy hour & decided to eat there as well. Our pizza was excellent & John & Sue enjoyed their meals too. Really enjoy being able to walk to have dinner out although a courtesy bus is great too. A very pleasant stay & once again good to be on a grass site. Love Allan& Bev.

Day 2 & 3 in Katherine.

 John suggested a trip out to Cutta Cutta Caves so we set off on the 30 klm drive. Unfortunately by the we'd queued behind a large group we got told to wait until the next tour which was over two hours away! Not impressed as no mention on any blogs that this could happen so back in the car to Katherine. We had a nice coffee & decided we were happy not to have shared the cave experience with many small children. It was a very warm day so had a quiet afternoon.
  The next morning we got up & had a swim in the hot springs around 8.15 am & were quite surprised at the number of others with the same idea. We were lucky & had a pool all to ourselves & was quite enjoyable.

                                                                   

We drove into town later for fuel & it was so busy at the Caltex station with caravans & motorhomes queued out on the road . We looked at some markets but very dusty underfoot & not much on offer. The mall was very busy & Woolies was a nightmare so it was a quick shop. A superb day & 34 degrees so very pleasant sitting outside for happy hour. A very nice looking caravan called " Hollywood" attracted our attention but the vehicle to pull it with had every man green with envy. It was a F 250 ( think) but all new & shiny with a throaty roar but the back passenger side door had a nasty ding which rather spoilt the " look" . I loved the fabulous red towels hung on the line which went so well with the flashy image of the whole rig. Everyday we see hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of motorhomes & caravans on the road & must be a multi million dollar industry. Every caravan park has been packed & is the same going over to Broome & Perth & no doubt Qld as well. 

Tomorrow we move on to Batchelor for three night. Love Bev& Allan.

Katherine

6th July

We got away early & better scenery with more trees & even saw some beef stock. We couldn't get in the park until 11 am as the sprinklers were going on the Grass!!
 A very nice park with around 36 sites & we have a concrete pad & my clothes line is on lawn! Caught up on chores & then drove to the info centre where we booked a gorge tour & did a shop at the very busy Woolies. It made a nice change to have happy hour outside on a very warm night on concrete instead of dust.
  The next morning Allan & I drove the 30 klm's out to the gorge & then walked to get on the boat. John & Sue did this tour before Xmas as part of their Ghan trip. We heard all sorts of screeching & looked up to find flying foxes or bats above us.

    We boarded the boat & set off on a wonderful 2 hour exploration of two of the gorges . There are about 13 all told & many people do walks in this area some of which are 4-5 days!

There was a guy fishing & many others in kayaks enjoying this place. We had to get off the boat at the end of the first gorge & walk about 500 m past some rock art .

It was very nice & easy to walk as well to our waiting boat. Unfortunately a little boy decided he didn't want to board & his poor parents were so embarressed as he vented his feelings. It did make trying to hear our captain rather difficult & several around us thought the child should be left behind or given a good smack! However he did settle down & we got to enjoy things again. Some people were having a swim & a huge black bird swooped into their unattended kayak & started eating their food!

The second gorge was even better & we heard many interesting facts about how it all came about. We did see a freshwater crocodile but unfortunately the phone died so we missed out. A new camera & phone are on the list for Darwin.

We arrived back & went into the excellent building which had a restaurant, gift shop & sat on a great deck to have a coffee. The entire morning was run very efficiently & lots of tours happening every hour. In the wet season the water comes up another 8 m & where we walked between the boats is well underwater. They then use a power boat for the tours which goes over the top of these areas.

We finished the day will dinner at the Country club where everyone was impressed with their meal & a very pleasant evening. Love Bev & Allan.

Mataranka

July 4 th.

Few problems with the last blog & lost the end at Dayly Waters. We were eating our dinner & listening to the music when they made an announcement that a caravan was on fire. We all stayed put but there was a lot that ran to check! The couple who had been sitting at the next table were the unfortunate ones. The lady was cooking toast & the toaster went up in flames & the microwave so they couldn't sleep in the van. Not good.

The next morning there was a mass exodus with the huge number of campers hitting the highway & we really were in a convoy that morning. We arrived at the Mataranka Homestead early & again a busy place. Nice large sites but very dusty although later in the day they put water on the roads in the park which helped. I did lots of washing as we had both power & water , intermittent phone & still no Foxtel. Allan had called Foxtel & their response was a text to say they were sending a technician to Julliby! Allan managed to cancel that as it was the box we had with us that had the problem & the one at home was fine.
We went for a walk later to the Hot Springs but quite crowded so decided not to venture in. We carried on looking for Stevie's Hole thru a large lot of palms but the lost the shade & it was really hot . We finally arrived but this was rather off putting.

It was a swimming spot but crocodiles have now taking a liking to it& didn't want to share with them.  
The temperature was in the early 30's & heaven after our cold month. The next morning we did go in the pool & it was very nice & a beautiful stating amongst the palms.

We drove into Mataranka on Tuesday morning as we needed a top up of fuel & they have tried to make the tiny township interesting but the local pub was revolting & no way would you set foot in there. A quiet afternoon in the sun & then happy hour at the Homestead which was most enjoyable. Beautiful spot to sit & listen to music & the food looked fine but we had our own much later.

It was a pleasant two night stay but certainly couldn't spend 9 weeks there like our next 

door neighbours. The water isn't great & our electric jug became very furry after two days! Love Bev& Allan.