To 3-Jul-06 (Darwin NT to Kunurra WA)

A little segment for those who like a few more details:
We have now travelled 16,700k in the Pajero and towed the caravan 9,500k. The highest petrol price we’ve paid is still 167.1 cpl at Three Ways NT.

DARWIN NT (Shady Glen Tourist Park)
We really enjoyed our 9 days in Darwin, particularly catching up with friends Phil & Sue and meeting Kimberley, one of their daughters. Dinner with Phil & Sue at the Trailer Boat Club whilst seeing the sun set over the water was beautiful!

We were surprised to learn that during the war, more bombs were dropped on Darwin on 19th February, 1942 than during the attack on Pearl Harbour – no surprise then that there is much wartime memorabilia here including memorials and huge oil storage tunnels drilled deep into the foreshore hills.

We also visited the Aviation Heritage Museum where they have crammed a huge B52 bomber into a hanger. Then on to Crocodilus Park, a crocodile farm with hundreds of young crocs plus 20 huge breeding pairs. The crocs look like they could be fake until they decide to move and then whoosh, they can cover a lot of ground and move very quickly. They can also jump almost their body length out of water – amazing creatures! Our guide was Reuben - an out-there Steve Irwin type who really “encouraged” the crocs to perform.

We also went to Cullen Bay and saw the beautiful enclosed bay with the impressive loch (to keep the water level constant) and luxurious homes on the foreshores. We also visited Buzz Café and agreed that one could have problems in their see-through loo.



This is the sunset from the beach at Mindil Markets (you can see that many others enjoyed it with us too). We sampled some of the fabulous range of international foods at Mindil Markets . . . although we couldn’t come at anything from the “Road-kill Café”.




LITCHFIELD NATION NT (Litchfield Tourist Van Park)
We had a busy first day here checking out the sights including Wangi Falls, Tolmer Falls and the Magnetic Termite Mounds (they are quite tall (3-4 metres) & thin (<20cm) href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1288/1942/1600/2006%2006%20G53%20Florence%20Falls%20%20(Litchfield%20Nat%20Park%20%20NT).0.jpg">

Then we discovered Florence Falls (this pic) and decided to spend the day there. It was beautiful – the water was cool and delightful . . . . and we could even swim behind the falls.





KATHERINE NT (Shady Lane Tourist Park)
We stopped a few days here again on our way towards the west and also replaced the blocked gas regulator – very necessary for staying off road without 240v electricity. We met some great people at the park and shared a delicious barramundi meal with Barry, Dierdra, Bernie & Maureen. We also managed to linger far too long in the relaxing Katherine Springs and so stayed an extra day to tour the Springhill Homestead.


VICTORIA RIVER NT (Victoria River Roadhouse Caravan Park)


This is the Victoria River with the photo taken from the road bridge. We stayed overnight in the caravan park behind the roadhouse. Neighbours encouraged us to unhitch the car & van and then to check out the river near the boat-ramp. We were glad we did – awesome scenery and well worth the effort.





TIMBER CREEK NT (Big Horse Campground)
The scenery was really awesome along the road to Timber Creek. Rhonda took many, many photos along the way. The campground was delightful and also very economical. We had an uninterrupted bush view, a barbeque and real peace and quiet. A high lookout nearby gave us more awesome views of the area.


This is the “Gregory Tree” where the explorer Augustus Gregory established a base camp – he carved his arrival (1856) and departure (1858) dates into a big Boab Tree and it is still standing.

KUNUNURRA WA (Hidden Valley Caravan Park)

We crossed over the WA border after a month in NT and met the quarantine inspectors (see the caravans lined up in the background for inspection). The inspector checked all cupboards, etc., looking for contraband fruit, vegetables and honey (fortunately we were clean and were allowed to proceed into WA!).

There are many other couples with caravans travelling the same direction as us. We arrived at the caravan park around 2pm and scored one of the last 2 sites.

We were stunned by the scenery around Lake Argyle, the huge Ord River Dam and size of the lake itself. The Ord River used to flood during the Wet and become a series of waterholes during the Dry. Now, there is so much water in Lake Argyle that they can release water during the Dry so that the Ord river flows well all year. This makes irrigation possible and has really changed the local area. It’s a wonder that this area isn’t better promoted.




Take care of yourselves and each other.

God bless,




Spencer & Rhonda



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *