Arriving in Darwin on a Wednesday night, we discovered that Wednesday was 'Roast' night with a 3 course dinner served at a reasonable price ($12 adult, $6.50 kids). By the time we got there, after parking and catching up with Karen, Charlie and the girls, the other diners were finishing. The staff were keen to finish too, so instead of us having to queue for our meals, they dished them up and served them to our table beside the pool, under the palms. The guy in charge (John) ended up talking to us for quite some time at our table and invited us to join him on Saturday night at the Portuguese/East Timorese Social Club where he was a member. Not having eaten Portuguese food before, it seemed like a good idea. We went, accompanied by Charlie and family, with John insisting on escorting us from the gate of the caravan park all the way to the club. He had booked a table for us all and sat with us for the meal that consisted of home made dishes of the Portuguese & Timorese traditional foods. There was a large selection of food available, a few dishes we recognized, but most we didn't. The deserts were a little less traditional, with one of the kids remarking that she didn't think pavalova & cream was Portuguese! I bought John the Soda Water of his choice, after which he INSISTED on buying us all drinks, and appeared insulted when I attempted to refuse. There were eight of us and he kept the alcohol and soft drinks coming in a steady stream for the remainder of the night. He seemed honored to have us all as guests there, and was very hospitable. Apparently he had won a community award from the Northern Territory government 3 weeks earlier, for service to the community - I can see why! Immediately after our second course, the dancing started, and while Marg and I had a few dances, the four girls were on the floor for the rest of the night. They even dragged some of the 'native' girls into dancing! John's English wasn't the best and with the music blaring and me being deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, I am not sure that my version of John's conversation was the same as his…. I did a lot of head nodding and grinning, I just hope it was in the right places. All of the girls agreed that if they had sat at the table they would have been bored stiff, but as it was, they all had an absolute ball! We did feel sorry for a young Portuguese lad who must have spent the whole night building up the courage to ask Zoe for a dance - he approached Charlie first for permission to dance with his daughter, then asked Zoe, but it was just as we got up to leave, so he'd left his run too late. It was after 1:30 am by then so he wasn't too quick off the mark, but he must have been watching, to ascertain that Charlie was Zoe's father. John again insisted on piloting us back to the caravan park, despite my assurances I could find my way (after all, I've got a GPS, a map and a compass…). I finally got him to agree to lead us only to the road the caravan park is on, from where he could turn off and go home… but sure enough, that turn came and went and John led us all the way to the front gate!

Left: Fire Dance…….Top: Dancing at the Portuguese club…..Bottom: 'Calum' girls
Right: 'Fairy at Mindil market - note kids

One of the 'Must Do' things in Darwin is to visit the Mindil Market on a Thursday night. I'm not too sure why…. It was quite a nice market, down near the beach and it looked good at night, but… About 10,000 other people wanted a look too. Charlie and Karen took us there and we wandered around for a couple of hours, but didn't see anything we were desperate to buy, with the exception of copious amounts of Asian food, of which we did buy some. The adults and kids all met at a pre arranged time/place and we sat and watched a 'Fire Show' while we ate. This show was put on by a couple of buskers who juggled and danced with lighted torches and costumes, extended flaming fingernails and pre-historic pointy bits. They were very good and the show looked terrific at night. Pictured in the lower center, are the 'Calum' girls, upper center was taken at the Portugese Club, the other two are both Mindil Beach acts. Have a look at the little kids having a look, up the human fairy's dress - their father and I had convinced them she worked by clockwork and gears!

Next came the Royal Darwin Show. Like everything about Darwin, it was small and 'country-ish', but in that, lay its charm. It was much more an agricultural show than the Melbourne (Commercialised) Show is these days. Again, we went with Karen & Charlie and their girls, but we hardly saw the kids - they were all off having fun. The show 'FELT' really safe. There weren't any gangs or hoodlums and it was really just full of families out having a nice time. There was alcohol available, but we didn't see any drunks.

Left: Florence Falls…..Top: Fun at the Royal Darwin Show
Bottom & Right: Buley Waterholes

Litchfield National Park has many waterholes and swimming spots with some beautiful waterfalls. An American Marine drowned at one the day before we got there and an elderly gent drowned at another the day after, but fortunately we were spared any such dramas. The kids went swimming at each one and we lunched at a pretty spot beside a series of small deep holes called Buley Water Holes. Once again, we saw 'the girls' - the owners of Calum, the Conked Out Combi. Yes, once again Calum was feeling poorely. After having a reconditioned engine fitted in Broome, it was once again very sick. The girls had been on to the supplier of the engine, the workshop who fitted it and Consumer Affairs, only to be informed that they were out of the state and the warranty no longer applied! If they wanted it fixed under warranty they had to take it back to Perth where the reco-engine came from!!! Another $2,500 down the drain. Once again they are looking at another $2,400 repair bill. Obviously the girls were somewhat naive when they purchased Calum, but the way they have been ripped off along the track is disgusting. I wonder how many other backpackers get taken in a similar way? We have met a few with similar tails, but the Calum story wins the Rip-Off prize! Darwin being such a small town, we met the girls again, twice on Thursday nights at Mindil Market, we saw them go past on an evening cruise while we were eating Barramundi & Chips at the wharf and we had a drink with them at the Casino. The Casino, barely more than a few gaming rooms and a hotel, surprised us that it was so small. As we left, accompanied by the two girls, we passed a car being raffled for charity - we bought them a ticket, due to be drawn about the same time Calum is to be ready… I really DO hope they win!

The inevitable car service was due again just before we got to Darwin, so was a priority as soon as we could get it in. I arrived totally confident that all would proceed OK with our free servicing agreement this time, having been in contact with Mitsubishi many times and being assured that it was now 'in the computer'! And it was! The experience wasn't without some consternation however. When we had arrived in Katherine, Jess had turned the rear air-conditioning on full and we thought the car was on fire! Bull dust came streaming out the rear vents, so thick that when I spun around in response to Maddie's shout, I could barely see her in the car!!! We had been suffering from copious amounts of dust in the car, but this was beyond a joke. I conveyed all this to the Darwin service center at Mitsubishi and convinced them they needed to have a look (I had had to stop Marg from cleaning the inside of the vehicle while we waited five days for a service - much to her disgust, but I knew I'd loose the argument if it was clean…). After inspecting the car, they then informed me there was a 'voluntary recall' in relation to this issue and they needed the car for three days to repair it! Seems all the interior linings had to come out and be re-sealed, along with lots of other holes and things that needed to be gummed up. There were 16 pages of work they had to complete. Anyway, we've only been on a small amount of dirt since, so it's too soon to tell if it worked or not - if it hasn't, then, like Arnold Schwartzenager… I'll be back! When we picked the car up after the three day repair, I got in, turned the air-con on and immediately saw red… red dust came pouring out the vents AGAIN! Although they assured me that they had sucked and blown the vents out throughout the car, they obviously hadn't turned the fan on… I had a few quite words with the service manager who, shortly thereafter, contacted Mitsubishi head office and got authorization to have the interior of the car detailed - yet another day without the car.

I was fortunate enough to be in Darwin for my birthday, so Karen, Charlie and their girls along with three of our caravan park neighbors (Max, Colin & Val) joined us for dinner at a sports club. The cake had 'glow-in-the-dark' candles so that even after they have been blown out, you can see where they are - Cool! We all had an enjoyable evening, and I was really pleased we had others share it with us.

I mentioned the Barra, chips and salad on the wharf. For $9.00 you get a big plate with some pieces of really tasty barramundi. With the weather so perfect all the time, it was tempting to go there more often than we should. Lights on the water below the wharf at night showed huge Moon Fish, big Barra, sea snakes and other assorted fish. Kites (big birds of prey) circled overhead, swooping down to catch chips thrown in the air. The aerial agility of these birds is astounding. We also visited the Museum/Gallery and Fannie Bay Gaol, all of which have free entry. The gaol I guess has always had free entry, just getting out was a bit tricky. No longer used, the accommodation and facilities are still there and I'm glad I was never a guest! Fish feeding at Aquascene, a private residence/tourist enterprise was worth a visit, with hundreds of fish coming in from the ocean for a feed, including various types of sting rays.

We also went to Government House and met His Honour Mr. John Anictomatis AO, Administrator of the Northern Territory and his wife, Mrs Jeanette Anictomatis! We wandered the magnificent gardens around a beautiful old house. The original building was constructed in 1871 and has had a couple of extensions and renovations since then. It is the earliest example of European style structure in the Northern Territory. The house is set on 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres) of land with sea views on three sides and is divided into 3 gardens. Beautifully furnished and fitted out, we even saw the 'throne' in the bathroom attached to the Queens Bedroom! You might be pleased to know that her 'throne' looks pretty much like any other, a replica of the ones we had in our house in Moe! John & Jeannette were very charming and not 'stuck up' at all as Jess feared they would be. Jeanette said that when their term is up in October, they'll have to carry her, kicking and screaming from the house, she loves it so much.

Rain in Darwin 12:30am - funny as hell… such are the notes written in my memory jogger. I was about to go to bed when the impossible happened… it rained in Darwin during the dry spell. We had been assured by the locals it NEVER rains in Darwin at this time of year, but it did - not for long, maybe 3 minutes, but they scurrying and scampering that was initiated by this rare event was.. well.. funny as hell! All the caravaners who heard/were awoken by the rain on their roof and dived outside to gather towels, washing or whatever else they'd left out overnight. Windows wound shut, hatches hurriedly closed and people going everywhere. It rained only long enough for these activities to be completed, then stopped again, but I noticed there wasn't as many items left out the following evening.

Top Left: Buzzard with stone and egg….Top right: Fish Feeding - Darwin.
Bottom left: Beer Can Regatta…..Bottom Center: The NT Administrator & his wife at home.
Bottom right: A croc in Victoria River.

Another 'wet' occasion was the Beer Can Regatta. It was a real 'fizzer' too. They must have had about 3,000 people turned out, paying $2 a head ($5 a family), and only had three (yes, 3!) beer can boats! I felt sorry for the organizers and especially for the poor blighter on the PA who spent the day trying to jolly people into taking part in the activities… "Come on, there must be one team out there willing to have a go in this event - anyone that completes the course WILL win a prize…" etc. etc. One boat (plane?) in particular was the result of a lot of work and apparently previous years have been better supported, but to us, it was a bit reminiscent of the Fitzroy River Rodeo.

Upon leaving Darwin, we initially had a look at Howard Springs, then headed off to Berry Springs and then Tumbling Waters for the night. Howard and Berry Springs' lived up to their names, but I didn't see too much water tumbling… It was a camp close to the next days activity however, a visit to the Northern Territory Wildlife Park. It was a full day with plenty of animals and reptiles and some really well set out aviaries. Two shos of 'Birds of Prey' are held each day with different birds each time, all doing flights and dives for our entertainment and edification! It included a buzzard who used a stone to split open an emu egg - clever bird!

After the day at the wildlife park, we didn't travel too far, but did head towards Kakadu, stopping for the night at Fogg Dam. This huge wetlands area has the highest density of living animals in the world. Mainly snakes and water rats, we saw a couple of crocs beside the road as we drove through it. Our 'Free Camps' book showed it as a freebie, but the 'No Camping' sign seemed to conflict with that line of thought. Too bad…. We weren't camping, only stopping for the night and it would have been a nice night, except for the heat. It was a stinker. I left the generator running till it ran out of fuel at about 2:00am, just to keep the fan running in the van. The next day we traveled about 14km's further from the highway to a cruise on the Victoria River. We saw a couple of Sea Eagles and plenty of Salty's, to the point where I was starting to feel a bit croc'ed out.

Jabiru in the heart of Kakadu has a really nice caravan park which included a slide night by some of the local rangers. We did our best on the treks through Kakadu to time it for other talks by the rangers at various spots, culminating in a talk at the Ubir lookout, looking over the mountains and wetlands at sunset. This is the spot Paul Hogan impressively declared "This is my backyard".

I managed to find a spare hour at Cahill's Crossing to fish… well, as usual, to ATTEMPT to fish as I am sure that the term 'fishing' implies a degree of success that was, once again, sadly lacking! About 3 metres from the bank, on numerous occasions in the muddy river, we noticed a bit of a swirl of extra muddy water - and I wondered… nah, too big for a croc… After about an hour, the swirl occurred for the fourth time and this time it surfaced, swimming lazily away from us. Ahh… least he wasn't hungry I thought… WRONG! A few seconds later he made a sideways lunge and caught a large turtle, not too many metres from us. The 'crunching of rice crackers' is as close as I can describe the end of that unfortunate creature.

Top Left: Kakdau Rock Art….Center: Wetland at sunset….Right & Bottom Left: Edith Falls
Bottom center: Katherine Gorge with a Flying Fox Family at the gorge.

Maddy had threatened me with all sorts of dire happenings if we didn't return and stay at Edith Falls. These falls have a huge pool at the bottom adjacent to the camp ground and a 2.6km walk around and to the top of the falls where there are more pools with crystal clear water to swim in. After the steep, very hot climb up one side to the top, the swim was certainly welcome. The return journey led us to a lookout where one of the local aborigines (Ryan - who now runs tours) was showing a bus load of tourists a bit of his bush. After the tour group had departed, Ryan showed us how to make soap from a wattle tree, and how they used native bees wax as a glue. He also told us he had starred in a film being shown at the Katherine Gorge visitors center which we subsequently watched.

Katherine gorge can only be seen from either a boat or a chopper and the boat was by far the less expensive option. The boat trip was OK, but didn't leave us feeling it was worth it. Maybe we are 'over gorged'? One thing we did see on the trip though was a baby croc. With a nose about 50mm long, the whole 'vicious beast' was only about 300mm. Another of Katherine's attractions is the Hot Springs. Crystal water about 28 degrees flowing through some nice pools made for a relaxing swim and was only a short walk from the back of the caravan park.

Another hot pool a little further down the track was at Mataranka. The setting for 'We, of the Never Never', there is a largish resort and caravan park adjacent to the hot springs (32 degrees this time). We didn't swim, just had a look around, stretched our legs, visited the Never Never cemetery graves, then continued down the Stuart Highway to Banka Banka station.

One of the draw cards for staying at the station is a slide show and talk on station life. Jess an I are STILL sure the manager told us 8:30pm for the show, so we all turned up with folding chairs, just in time to miss the final slide! Ahh well, I am sure the show might have been worth watching….

Next mornings show, with Marg being trapped in the van by 10 vicious and obviously hungry bread seeking emus, had both girls in fits of laughter - until the tide turned and Maddie, who was outside with Jess, soon felt a greater degree of sympathy for Marg, as it was her turn to be 'hen pecked'! She tried to hide behind the station cattle dog, while Jess ran around throwing pieces of bread as a distraction, then ran away screaming when it was her turn.…

Two days in a row, we were on the road by 8:00am!!! This enabled us to make Alice Springs in the two days because there really isn't a lot in between. Our time since arriving has been spent almost solely on schoolwork. We did manage to meet up with Nerida, Bronwyn and their kids (who we first met over on the west coast and numerous times since) so the girls cruised the shops while we sat at a café and had coffee. After lunch we all adjourned to the library for more schoolwork. I have just started a TAFE course by correspondence so I am having to put the hours in too (much to Maddies delight!).

After nearly a week in the Big4 park, we have just moved to enable us to be at the same resort (if you could call it that) as the year 9/10 school excursion from Jess' high school. Before we started on the trip, Jess asked if we could time it to meet with them so she could see her friends again. Given that we have never had any sort of fixed itinerary, it has worked out superbly and tho' there were a few tears when the bus arrived, Jess is obviously very happy to see them again.

We intend to leave for Ularu tomorrow, and meet up with the school group again, so that she can be with her friends on her birthday (3 days hence).

Till next time….

Jim, Marg, Jess & Maddie