Day 36 - Mataranka
A slow morning in the sunshine this morning, with morning cuppas (surrounded by wallabies and peacocks/peahens) under the awning and no place to be by any specific time. This is what holidays are all about.
After our leisurely breakfast, we headed into town as we had seen the sign for a market this morning and were keen to support the local economy. The market left a little to be desired with only six market stalls. Ironically, they advertised gourmet coffee but it was package latte and cappucino - I don't think so. We got talking to one of the stall holders, who turned out to be from Echuca and is travelling around Australia!
After that disappointment, we walked across the road to the Stockyard Gallery to check out the art and to partake of the scones we had heard advertised. The Gallery was quite good - the mango smoothie and scones not so much.
We then headed to the museum, but of course that is closed on a Saturday. As was the Bottle O' from which we attempted to get beer later. Seriously, what is it with this state/territory?
So, we came back to the van for lunch and then contemplated our afternoon. Greg and I checked out the Elsey Homestead replica - from the filming of "We of the Never Never".
Paul and Lisa headed to Bitter Springs, which I had wanted to go to (Greg had enough of springs after yesterday) but by the time I did some housekeeping, washing, relaxing.....the afternoon had wiled away and it was time for hairdressing.
Nadine, my beautiful hairdresser, had supplied me with a touch up kit to banish the greys and replenish my colour so with an old T shirt (donated by Greg) on and seated on a tree stump out the front of our caravan, Lisa kindly followed Nadine's instructions.
With Greg timing us, and much to the amusement of our neighbour caravanners, I washed the dye off in the caravan park showers (no way I was putting that down our shower's drains!) and all looks good - so far!
Dinner tonight was leftovers and we have lit a fire to keep Harrison amused - and maybe to keep us warm as the night cools off - so a relaxing night is in order around the campfire.
Day 35 - Edith Falls to Mataranka
We woke in the night to the sounds of dingoes howling. Although we have seen a few dingoes on the side of the road (both dead and alive), it was the first time we knew they were near us (although I'm sure there have been plenty of other occasions).
Another cool morning greeted us (but let's not complain after reading about Melbourne's weather today) but after the obligatory coffee and tea, the day warmed up nicely to over 30C. Yes, I did mean to rub that in to our family and friends in southern Australia!
We were on the road before 9am today and arrived in Katherine just after 9:30am, ready for a grocery shop to get us through to Alice Springs. Nothing exciting to write about that.
On the road again, we arrived in Mataranka at lunchtime and set up in the very popular Homestead Caravan Park, right on top of the thermal springs. Again, we were fortunate to have two sites next to each other so we set up and sat outside enjoying the warmth. A bit of research on things to see and do in Mataranka and then we headed down to the thermal pools for a warm swim. The water was warm (warmer than Katherine springs, and about the same temperature as Lorella Springs) so we enjoyed the water for a while before beer o'clock.
Lisa cooked and prepared enchiladas for dinner which was most enjoyable. We are now sitting outside enjoying the sounds of the live entertainment at the bar (Greg reckons they're not bad!). We missed the daily screening of "We of the Never Never" at 12pm in the bar but Greg and I are listening to the book so we're getting the lowdown on the local area (albeit 100 years ago).
Day 34 - Cooinda (Kakadu National Park) to Edith Falls (Nitmiluk National Park)
Pack up morning is our least favourite part of travel. It means we can't
enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and let's face it, I'm certainly not a morning
person. But the flip side is that by packing up and getting on the road, we
arrive at our destination early enough to enjoy the environment.
We left Cooinda at 9am this morning and travelled in Kakadu National Park
for at least another hour. When we passed the Mary River Roadhouse, we knew we
were out of the national park.
Another hour or so later we arrived at Pine Creek. Paul needed fuel so we
headed into the town centre, which was quite interesting. Pine Creek is a
historical town which has been well restored. Lots of old buildings, an old
train station (even though the train doesn't run anymore), memoribilia all over
town and in the parks - and a fantastically quaint pub. It was called the Lazy
Lizard and the handbasins in the ladies toilets were carved and hollowed out of
timber to form a lizard shape!
Less than an hour further down the road, we were back in the Nitmiluk
National Park. We say "back in" as we were here a couple of weeks ago
when we visited Katherine Gorge, at the other end of the park. This time, we
are visiting Edith Falls. We reached the campground and managed to again
acquire two sites kind of next to each other, with a lovely grassy area off to
the side.
After lunch, we headed down to the plunge pool at the base of the falls.
While not as spectacular as some of the falls we have seen recently, it was
very pleasant.
Lisa, Paul and Harrison swam all the way across to the waterfall
- in pretty chilly water. However, we were all determined to swim as we are
very conscious that we are heading south and this lovely warm weather we have
been enjoying for more than a month will soon be coming to an end. Kobi and I
swam out to meet them - while Greg relaxed on the grassy lawn!
We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on our own patch of grass, followed by
chicken and cashew curry and the last of our ice creams. A lovely day.
Day 33 - Kakadu National Park
We had lots of options for things to do today, because there is so much to see and do here. The Thomas' were off to another remote waterfall (Gunlom) which despite being at the end of a pretty ordinary track, had an access area right at the bottom of the falls and then a steep walk to the infinity pool at the top. Greg and I contemplated doing this as Greg could have enjoyed the plunge pool while I tackled the climb, but in the end, we tried other things today.
So, we had a slow morning, taking our time with a lovely breakfast and enjoying the weather. There is a billabong at the back of this caravan park, which we had a quick look at, especially after talking to the groundkeeper who told us that in the wet, the waters from the billabong come up to near our caravan and a croc has been spotted on our site! We then headed back into Jabiru to buy a few things, and stopped to check out a lookout on the way back. We had lunch back in the caravan and then headed out again.
Jim Jim Billabong was our first port of call, accessed via a lovely made road to the ranger station and then a very ordinary gravel road to the billabong! It was quite pretty and there were a few caravans camping there, which would have been very peaceful, with all the birdlife around.
Warradjan Cultural Centre was our next stop and the local aboriginal community had put together an excellent display. There were stories about their history, their land, their customs and their seasons. Unlike white australians who define two seasons for this part of the world (the wet season and the dry season), the Aboriginals define six.
Next we were doing the Yellow River Cruise through the wetlands, which everyone had recommended to us and which is a "must-do" in this part of Kakadu. We chose the two hour sunset version so we boarded at 4:30pm and straight away saw crocodiles, whistling ducks, egrets, brumbies and more. It was a great time of the day to be on the water as there was so much wildlife in action.
(estuarine crocodile eating a fish)
(beautiful brolga among the reeds)
Having seen so many crocs on the cruise on the East Alligator River the other day, we weren't quite as excited at every viewing on this cruise, when people would move from one side of the boat to the other with camera in hand. Seeing two crocs fighting was a bit more interesting - had only seen the outcome of that on the croc on the East Alligator River cruise. The other wildlife, especially the birds, were more interesting to us. And the plant life, as I am very fond of waterlilies!
Towards the end of our cruise, as the sun started to set over the wetlands, the colours came out and it was a truly magnificent view.
Back to the caravan for another yummy dinner cooked by Lisa as we reflect on what has been an awesome time at Kakadu, even though we have probably barely scratched the surface.
Day 32 - Kakadu National Park
Tonight we ate dinner in the park bistro and saw the news about the storms in Melbourne. Apart from due concern for our respective mothers and appropriate properties, our biggest weather concern is that it actually cooled down enough last night to put on jumpers during our movie night.
During Greg's and my reading of "Outback Heart", we have obviously heard a lot about Crocodile Dundee. Then during our visit here in Kakadu, we are aware that much of the movie was filmed here. Harrison has never seen the movie so Paul downloaded it and last night we had a movie night in front of our caravan. We brought the TV outside, made tea and coffee (or red wine!) and settled in for our movie! Even in the outback, we can have all the mod cons!
Today we decided to try Jim Jim Falls - one of the most famous attractions here in Kakadu. It's a 60km drive from where we're staying, all gravel and you must have a 4WD to attempt it (the last 10km is pretty ordinary to say the least). Then it's a 1km walk in, most of it rock climbing. So we thought we'd give it a go. We set Greg up in the caravan park with lunch, (audio) books, iPads, snacks and drinks and we headed off, trying to beat the heat of the day. The first 50km of the gravel road was OK, although a bit corrugated. I enjoyed not having to drive as with five of us, I just piled in the back of their car with the kids. Then the last ten kilometres was on a goat track, but we made it. Then started the walk. It started out Ok as a path, but then more and more rocks came along and soon we were rock climbing. Along the way, the view was to entice us of what was to come, as we got deeper and deeper into a very steep gorge.
After about a kilometre, with rocks that had gotten bigger than we were, we came out at this beach. We had the beach to ourselves at this stage, so we all went in for a swim, as we had gotten warm on the walk. The water was refreshing to say the least.
We then did some more rock climbing to get around the other side of the pool, and down to the plunge pool. It was amazing - and amazingly cold. It barely gets sun as at this pointy end of the gorge, with walls that must be several hundred metres high. Paul and Harrison swam across to the waterfall (which would have been over a hundred metres, and so cold!).
It was a truly awesome place to visit, but we were all pretty tired by the time we walked out, and drove home. So we went out to dinner at the bistro and move night has started again with Crocodile Dundee II showing tonight!
Day 31 - Jabiru to Cooinda (Kakadu National Park)
An early start for Greg and I this morning as we were booked on a 9am cruise on the East Alligator River, and given we had arranged to leave our van on site past checkout time, we had to pack it up and be ready to just hitch when we came back.
All went well, and by 8:45am we were at the Upstream Boat Ramp. There was another couple there and as it turns out, it was only the four of us on the tour, which made it lovely and personalised. The cruise was led by Aboriginals from Arnhem Land and the guide was excellent, telling us wonderful stories of the flora and fanua, and some of their customs. Naturally, we also saw heaps of crocodiles.
(look closely at his back left foot - he lost it in a fight)
The scenery was magnificent as we cruised upstream. We passed sandy embankments and vertical rocky cliffs dropping into the river. On the way upstream, the country to the left of the river was Arnhem Land (dedicated to the Aboriginals, white Australians need a permit to visit it) and to the right was Kakadu National Park.
On this tour, we were lucky enough to stop off at Arnhem Land. We were allowed to walk around for a bit, and visit this freshwater waterhole (below) where some female crocodiles lay their eggs in October.
Robert, our guide, showed us how he makes his spears and weapons and woomera (throwing device) and then showed us how he uses them. Below, he threw this spear 70 metres clear across the river!
On our way back to the boat ramp, we passed this croc who had been in a recent fight with another croc and had these recent injuries to his back right leg.
We also saw some rock art on the Arnhem Land side.
The cruise was fantastic and we really enjoyed it. We then headed back to Jabiru, filled up with fuel and collected our van for the very short drive down to Cooinda, for us to explore this southern end of the National Park. We arrived before lunch and set up, before settling in for a a quiet afternoon of washing, some short walks, relaxing, updating the blog and the Thomas' enjoyed the pools. Dinner of chicken parmagianas and a very red sunset due to the smoke from all the burning off and we are about to watch Crocodile Dundee, after seeing some of the sites where it was filmed yesterday.
Day 30 - Shady Camp to Kakadu National Park
After a warm night on the banks of the Mary River - including a nighttime
visit to the river to see how many crocs we could see - we woke early to yet
more mozzies! Our night time adventures also included running out of gas and
having to change gas bottles in the middle of the night so the fridge would
keep cold!
After breakfast, we were on the road again - back out to the Arnhem Highway
and heading towards Kakadu. We stopped at one of the visitor centres to buy our
Park Pass but apparently they had run out! So we kept going to Jabiru and
arrived before lunch. We bought our passes, got some information, and checked
into our caravan park. After lunch, we were deciding what to do but were
running short of time so we did a few tasks (including refilling the gas bottle
- don't worry - we do have two!) and then headed up towards Ubirr.
Ubirr is in one of the northern most points of the park, and has a number
of rock art sites. It is also one of the most popular places for sunset viewing
over the wetlands, after climbing up the rock lookout. We headed up that way in
the late afternoon, as the Thomas' had left earlier to do a guided walk there.
We went to the famous Cahill Crossing - a causeway across the East Alligator
River into Arnhem Land.
We then went to check out the boat ramp where our
cruise leaves from tomorrow and had a feral pig walk across the road in front
of us. A few more stops and then we arrived at Ubirr too. The walk around the
rock art was fine for Greg but the climb up the rock for the viewing was difficult
for many seeing people so that wasn't something for him to attempt. I met the
Thomas' up the top and we enjoyed the view for a while, before coming down
before the sunset to beat the crowds.
Back at the caravan park - and given I was on dinner duty, and it was late
- we took the easy way out and ate at the bistro! And a pretty good feed it was
too. The plan was then to catch up on several days of blog entries given we have
had no service, but given we have an early morning tomorrow, you'll have to wait another day!
Day 29 - Litchfield to Shady Camp
Another warm night at Litchfield but sometime during the night it cooled
off enough to sleep. We were up early enough to start packing up (after a
coffee, of course) and were on the road by just after 9am. We travelled the 64
kilometres into Batchelor (to make some phone calls to book Kakadu accommodation),
passing a dingo on the way and then another 50 or so kilometres to Humpty Doo.
We all stopped at the bakery, the service station and then the pub, to fulfill
memorabilia requests. On the road again for another 94km before we turned off
on the Point Stuart Road. We had a quick stop at the intersection for lunch and
then headed down the road, expecting gravel sooner than we got it, but for the
most part the gravel was so good we didn't even let tyre pressures down. Before
3pm, we arrived at our destination of Shady Camp.
It was our wish to visit here, after we read "Outback Heart" by
Joanne Van Os. Joanne and her husband, Rod Ansell (the original crocodile
dundee, the person who Mick Dundee was based on for the movie) owned a station
here in the 1980's, called Melaleuca (it's still here, about 20km east of our
camp) and established Shady Camp to make some extra money when the station
wasn't doing so well. Joanne put lots of effort into establishing the tourist
side of it and when she and Rod divorced, she asked for 100 acres of land
including Shady Camp to be separated from Melaleuca as her settlement. She sold
it sometime later and now it forms part of the new Mary River National Park.
There is a barrage across the Mary River here, to separate the saltwater
and freshwater so the saltwater can stop destroying the vegetation. As we stood
at the barrage, the freshwater is to our left and the saltwater to our right.
On my first visit down to the barrage, there was a saltwater crocodile not far
off the barrage to the right, but that didn't stop the fishermen from standing
in the overflowing water (from the fresh to the salt) to throw their lines in.
The mullet fish were jumping out of the water on the freshwater side, so we
could see why this is such a popular fishing destination.
(upstream - freshwater side of the Mary River)
Later, we headed back down to the barrage as the sun set over the other
side of the Mary River. This was a spectacular sight, although the tide had gone
out on the saltwater side so the crocs were less evident.
This is a very unique piece of Australia, that I'm sure most Australians
will never see.
Weekly Wrap Up - Week 4
Kilometres travelled: 789
Spent most of the week in Darwin
Crocodile count – Freshwater – several; Estuarine (saltwater) – several
Shark count – one
Feral pig count – several
Waterfalls visited – four
Day 28 - Litchfield National Park
What a glorious day! Litchfield is an amazing national park, with so much
to see and do. We could easily have stayed here longer. Today was lots of water
fun, enjoying the beautiful nature of this place.
After a very warm night, we awoke to a cooked brekky provided by the shared
resources of Paul, Lisa and Tracey. Eggs, bacon and hash browns were on the
menu and went down a treat. Then it was off to explore the park. First stop was
Tolmer Falls. There was a 400m walk down to the viewing platform, which
provided magnificent views of this waterfall set amongst a deep gorge. The
plunge pool at the bottom of the falls is no longer accessible to pedestrians
as they are trying to protect two species of bat which live in caves behind the
falls - the orange nosed bat and the ghost bat. Apparently population numbers
of both species are quite low so it's great to try and protect them.
We then moved on to Buley Rockpools, which was easily accessible and an
awesome set of pools cascading down over rocks over several hundred metres.
Starting at the top rockpool, we splashed our way through the pools. The
deep ones provided great entertainment as we could jump into them from the
sheer rock walls. As Paul commented, no amount of money could build something
like this.
After several hours of entertainment there, it was lunchtime so we followed
a sign we saw for hot food two kilometres down the road. This took us to the
Florence Falls carpark, where an enterprising couple had set up a mobile kiosk
in the carpark. We all enjoyed excellent steak burgers and then agreed we
should see the falls while we were here. The lookout was only 130 metres away
and the falls were amazing, so we then decided we needed to walk down to the
plunge pool below them. That was also amazing, although the force from the
waterfalls was pretty hard when we swam over and sat underneath them.
It was pretty hard work to walk out and we all got hot again. The Thomas'
went back to the rockpools for another swim, but I was on dinner duty so we
headed back to get started on that. It was still hot, so beer o'clock was
welcome. Dinner was enjoyed and then the lights were turned out to keep the
bugs away as we sat and enjoyed another warm night in nature.
Day 27 - Darwin to Litchfield National Park
Our last morning in Darwin was quite warm, which is never fun to pack up
in. But we were on the road by just after 9am, heading down to Litchfield
National Park. For those geographically aware, you may wonder why we are
backtracking down to Litchfield when we practically drove past the front gate
last week coming from Katherine to Darwin. That was our original plan, until we
tried to book the caravan park in Darwin for this weekend and discovered that
the V8s (car racing) were on. So instead
we went straight to Darwin to be out before the V8s. Which meant today that we
had to head south. But it was a lovely drive, only about 150km.
We were aiming for Wangi Falls campground but we knew that you couldn't
book a site, and that it got quite busy. So we were hoping to be here
reasonably early to try and nab a site, although preferably two and side by
side. As we drove down the road to Wangi Falls, I was describing to Greg the
waterfalls which were clearly visible from the road. We were cruising around
the campground, as there are only 20 sites suitable for caravans. Lisa and Paul
did one loop while we did another, keeping in touch via the UHF radio. Lo and
behold, we found two free sites side by side. Backing in required some
instruction but we were all set up before lunch.
By this stage, we were all pretty hot so we headed down to the waterfalls.
And what a magnificent place the plunge pool below the falls is. The water
cascades down from nearly 150m above into this pool, which was quite deep in
places. But the bottom was sandy and where you could stand, it was crystal
clear.
Although Parks and Wildlife have tried to preserve as much of the natural
beauty as possible, they have also made it a bit easier for visitors with some
steps built in. It is very well done in such a stunning location. We spent
quite some time in the water, chatting to other people and Paul and the kids
swam over to underneath the smaller waterfall where there was a little pool
about 2 metres up, which they said was quite warm. Lisa and I were about to do
it until we heard that a freshwater crocodile had been spotted. Now, they won't
do anything to humans but that was enough to scare Lisa off.
We settled back into our campsite with afternoon tea followed by some
relaxing time and then beer o'clock. After a yummy dinner of hamburgers, we are
sitting back to listen to the native wildlife (a wild pig just walked past our
campsite!) and the sound of the cascading waterfalls. Oh, and all the bugs -
but that's nature!
Day 26 - Darwin
Another very relaxing day in this lovely city - it is an easy lifestyle here (at this time of year anyway).
We didn't have to rush anywhere this morning so we enjoyed a very easy morning. No getting out of bed early, although when we did, there was pancakes on the cook courtesy of Paul! That obviously warranted making him a coffee and then we all enjoyed a fabulous breakfast. Lisa and I headed out to do some grocery shopping to ensure we are stocked up for at least the next week as we won't be seeing supermarkets. Back in time for lunch, which we had brought the ingredients for so hot chicken rolls were enjoyed by all.
After lunch, the Thomas' headed off to one of the free water parks and we visited a couple of shops. En route, we noticed an odd clunking sound in the back of the car and given it had just been serviced yesterday, this was of concern. As it seemed to get worse, Greg suggested we head back to Toyota for them to check out. The service supervisor was very good and came for a test drive to replicate the noise. Then through a process of elimination, he started removing things from the rear drawers, Greg checked the wheel nuts, the guy crawled under the car and he was about to put it up on the hoist when Greg remembered the steel pipe I carry. No, not for road rage, but for extra leverage on wheel nuts if I need to change a tyre. It is stored behind the rear seat and the rear drawers and sure enough it had moved, and once restrained, the clunking stopped. Thanks to the Toyota man for his patience but Greg won that one!
I then headed off for a pedicure (after all those weeks of roughing it!) and we had planned to have dinner at the Stoke Hill Wharf so we wanted to leave early. Lisa had heard that you could miss out on a table otherwise. We invited Natalie along as we wanted to see her before we left and Hayden was working, so she came to pick us up and we all headed down to the wharf. It is a beautiful setting down there, with boats going past, renovated wharf buildings, plenty of tables and chairs right on the wharf edge, many eateries and restaurants etc.
We all chose our dinners and were enjoying the various tastes when someone at the table behind us pointed at something in the water further along the wharf. What appeared to be be somthing bobbing in the water soon materialised into a decent sized saltwater crocodile.
He seemed quite happy swimming among some amazingly sized angel fish and eating the odd chip that people threw down to him (probably not an ideal diet for a croc). Natalie said the ports people would come and capture him tomorrow and relocate him - apparently they get 300 in the port every year. So we finished our dinner and were contemplating dessert when along swam something else! A shark! They must all be well fed because the shark was swimming happily amongst the angel fish also although the crocodile did move off at about this time!
So after all this excitement at the wharf, we concluded this was a pretty amazing place! We were so pleased to share the evening with Natalie and the Thomas' and what a fitting final night on our stay in the city of Darwin.
Day 25 - Darwin
The night cooled right off last night so not only did we turn the air conditioner off, but it was almost too cool to have the windows open! Even worse, because we had to get up so early this morning, I had to wear a jumper when we left the caravan at 7:30am.
Today we were getting the car serviced, and had to drop it off before 8am. Now every other car service centre I have been to could learn some lessons in customer service from Bridge Toyota here in Darwin. As I drive into the service centre this morning, I am directed to the appropriate lane out the front of the office. A lady opens my door and is standing there with a tray of freshly made coffees (and no Nescafe either - proper cappucino and latte) which she offers Greg and I, as well as biscuits. A guy then comes out to go through the paperwork and check if we have any special requests. He then takes us through to our service co-ordinator who will keep us informed during the day. Well, if first impressions were anything to go by, we were impressed.
From there, we walked into the CBD and had breakfast at a cafe recommended to us by Hayden called the Duck's Nuts. That was yummy so we lingered over that while we planned how to fill in our day while our car was away. We decided on the hop on-hop off bus tour so wandered down to the information centre and bought our tickets. We thought we'd do the full circuit of the tour first, and then keep going through to the museum, where we had arranged to meet the Thomas'. The bus tour was quite good, with interesting stories which kept both Greg and I interested.
(spot us on the bus!)
An hour and a half later we got off at the museum. I was keen to see the Cyclone Tracy exhibition - even though I was very little in December 1974 when the cyclone came through, I remember it very vividly, presumably because she shared my name. The exhibition was quite good, with some great early video footage, some sound grabs and a sound room which you can go into and it's dark like it would have been on the night, with the sounds of the wind and the roof lifting etc. We checked out a few other exhibits and then settled into a yummy lunch at the museum cafe. The Thomas' headed back to the caravan park for a swim etc and we continued on the bus tour before walking back to get our car.
Some of the palatial waterfront suburbs in Darwin
Entrance to the World War II oil tunnels which were commissioned for storage of oil after Darwi was bombed by the war finished before they were ever used.
Tonight I went to talk to the owners of the first other Journey I have seen on the road - and they are staying in this caravan park! It was interesting to swap stories and to hear that they have had some issues as well. We then sat down to my favourite part of the evening - the quiet, sunset time when it starts to cool, when the beers are going down nicely, when we're sharing stories with friends - topped off with a lovely lassagne dinner cooked by Lisa.
Day 24 - Darwin
Up early this morning as we had the caravan repair man coming at 8am. We were outside having coffee when he arrived (very punctual!) so we stayed out of his way while he made some running repairs to the shower to get us out of trouble until we get home (and so we don't have to tuck the shower door up into bed every day). He also fixed a few other things for us (why not, he was billing Jayco for it too) so it was very profitable morning.
After he left, we finished our breakfast and did a load of washing before Natalie and Hayden came to pick us up. We headed into town under the expert local tour guidance of these two recent natives.......which meant we saw the main street of Darwin! We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Hotel Darwin and then continued the tour. This included the World War II oil tunnels (which were constructed for war use but the war ended before they were actually used), the Port, Fanny Bay including the old Fanny Bay Gaol and then a great ice creamery for our afternoon tea/dessert. The tour continued and the tour guides improved their spiel! They then took us out to their place to check it out. They have a great set up so it was nice to see where they live.
Late afternoon they dropped us back to the caravan park as I was on dinner duty tonight and had a roast planned. We fired up the Weber Baby Q and later in the evening, enjoyed a yummy roast lamb with all the trimmings.
Day 23 - Darwin
It was nice to spend a day in civilisation, and to finish the day Darwin style!
We had a bit of a sleep in, and enjoyed TV in bed for a while (ahh, civilisation!). Up for breakfast and making plans for the day. Lisa and Paul decided to head off into town so we planned to meet up at the sunset markets. We spent some time cleaning the inside of the caravan, before we headed off to the shopping centre Natalie recommended. Casurina Shopping Centre was very civilised so we spent some time there looking for the things we needed, then finished up at Woolworths for a grocery shop. I was puzzled to see the BWS attached to Woolworths was closed so I asked the check out guy who said it is closed on Sundays. I almost laughed - it was just like Borroloola last weekend! Anyway, we found a drive through and restocked the beer supplies.
After unpacking at the caravan, we then headed into town for the Mindil Beach Sunset markets. The markets are mostly about food (and oh what great food smells there were!) but we saw a baby croc that Kobi got to hold (she enjoyed it more than the expression on her face shows!):
We then indulged in some shopping before dinner, as more and more people rolled in. Some of them were very prepared - with fold up chairs, tables, wine glasses all ready for a nice dinner out. We started with entree and I was the only one of our party who was up for the oysters (recommended to me by our car salesman at Ballarat Toyota! That might seem strange, but he did live here for a couple of years!)
Thousands of people descended to the beach in time for the sunset - it must be the thing to do. I suspect these were the tourists only, as the natives who had set themselves up for dinner, continued to eat and drink!
The sunset was pretty though, even with a band of cloud sitting just above the horizon.
Our dinner was an ecclectic collection of all sorts of food from seafood laksa to crocodile burgers, from roast beef rolls to vegeterian spring rolls. We washed it down with lime juice then smoothies and can understand why locals meet here for a casual Sunday night meal - it was yummy.
On the way out, we stopped to check out the whip man. Kobi had a go at trying to crack the whip but we think she's a little bit little for that. A few minutes later, Mick the whip man put on a show. He did a lot better than the young girl we saw at the Longreach Hall of Fame!
