Darwin

We will be in Darwin until the 1st July. We have been here a few times before and so are not doing lots of the touristy things. The V8 Supercars are in town so there are so many people around. The public transport system is great you can buy a $2 ticket for three hours travelling or a $5 ticket for 24 hours travelling ~ a great way to get around Darwin. We did go to the sunset markets at Mindl Beach on Thursday night ~ lots of good things to eat (see photo). The Didgeridoo player was fantastic and a little bit quirky.
We are off to Bali tomorrow!!!!

Berry Springs

Today we moved on to Howard Springs coming through Berry Springs on the way through. We visited Berry Springs around 30 years ago and it seems nothing much has changed ~ it is still very beautiful. The caravan park in Howard Springs is HUGE!!!We need a cut lunch and a compass to walk to the amenities block. We have reached the tropics 23 degrees overnight and 34 degrees during the day.

Adelaide River

Today we are in Adelaide River around 100 Kilometres south from Darwin. It is famous for its jumping crocodiles on the Adelaide River. We went for a walk to the War cemetery today it is a very peaceful and well kept cemetery. The caravan park we are in is another grassed site. The pub and bistro do a very nice grilled barramundi and salad. We are still discussing where we will go tomorrow.

PussyCat Flats

On Saturday we moved a further 120 kilometres North to a place called PussyCat Flats. It is in Pine Creek and is their racecourse, rodeo track and a 9 hole golf course. We were parked on the racetrack itself at the finish line. It was a fun little place and we caught up with some friends that seem to be travelling to Darwin at the same pace we are. It was good walking around the track but it had some enormous ant hills on it. We certainly have hit the tropical weather ~ it is around 31 degrees during the day.

Katherine

We arrived at Katherine Low Level Caravan Park on Wednesday and stayed for 3 nights. It was quite an oasis with lovely green grassy sites. A little further out of town than we normally stay but it was extremely comfortable. The Information centre was on the edge of town with lots of parking and opposite was a mall with a big Woolworths in it. It was time to stock up on provisions and that was made very easy. We wish that other big towns would take their lead. Mr B had his first wash in a public car wash and came out very squeaky clean. We have been here before and the town certainly had scrubbed up its image and seemed well run. Because we have been to the Gorge and the sightseeing before we decided not to go. The bistro was located under an enormous Fig tree and was called the Big Fig Bistro.

Mataranka Homestead Thermal Pools

We are presently in Mataranka about 1 hours drive south of Katherine. We booked for two days originally and we loved it so much we booked another 2 days. On the way here we stopped off at South Warloch an independent camping site. We meet up with other people that we have stayed with before. It was great, we had a campfire and lots of big night time sky. The thermal pool is lovely and we have spent lots of time in the water. Some people had a problem with the food at the bistro so we didn't try eating here. You can just sit and watch the kangaroos, wallabies and peacocks stroll around the campsites - very relaxing. It is a bit far out of town to walk but we have everything we need.

Daly Waters

Today we arrived at Daly Waters. Its claim to fame is the pub. The pub does a wicked Barramunidi and Beef BBQ. They have live entertainment every night (including the chook man). Along one side of the bar are bras, another side footy jumpers, another side peoples old ID cards and the usual money from all over the world. We plan to stay here for 2 nights before moving on.

Tennant Creek

Finally we arrived in Tennant Creek alive and well!! Tennant creek was a quiet town but would go "off" at night. The caravan park we stayed in was well looked after and very clean. The town itself promotes the gold mining heritage..