Well 3839.5kms after turning right in Port Augusta the trip North has finally culminated in Darwin. Arrived here yesterday and staying for a week then the trip South starts.
I left you all in Alice Springs and from there I continued North to Ti Tree roadhouse which had a lovely little caravan park attached where I stopped for two nights for only $10 a night. Good clean amenities and what is very unusual in the outback lots of grass. Not much else to say about this place.
Next Stop was Bonny Well rest area. Again I was shocked at the amount of broken glass lying around, especially where there are 8 rubbish bins available to use. Again stayed for a couple of nights in an area behind the main rest area which was free of the glass. From there it was on to Tower free camp which as it sounds was at the base of a communications tower. Said on the sign that Telstra (Australian phone company) used this facility, but still only got two bars on my phone. Good views over the surrounding plains, but as it was on the top of a hill it got pretty windy at times. Only here for one night before rolling into Tenant Creek. Found a good caravan park here plenty of room to spread out and good facilities. At least it had an IGA (supermarket) even if it was a bit basic due to the previous IGA burnt down last year. So this one was set up in a barn at the back of the petrol station. Still, it allowed me to stock up on a few basics to keep me ticking along. The local police patrol all the caravan parks in Tennant Creek throughout the night due to a lot of reported thefts and damage. I didnt have any problems while I was there, but then again as previously mentioned having two vicious guard dogs probably helped. Once again not a huge amount to write home about its just a typical outback township, friendly people local shops and not a lot else.
My next stop was Renner Springs roadhouse, well about 10kms outside in a lovely free camp area, well off the road and lots of room. I stopped here because in my book it said that Renner Springs had its own bakery, well that and fuel. No sign of any fresh bread or the baker when I popped in. So after two nights it was back on the road again.
On travelling North to my next stop of Daly Waters, I was called up on the radio to let me know that cattle were crossing the road about 2kms ahead and could I pull over until they have passed. I did so, and got out to chat to the lady who was waving the people down just to be neighbourly. Asked her how many head were crossing she said its was only a small mob of about 2500. She asked me where I was heading to, and said well eventually Darwin but my next stop was Daly Waters. Oh she said you will like it there that’s our local. Local I thought I was still about 100kms South of the location. What also amazed me was that normally driving on this road you ver rarely see other travellers but after being parked up to let the animals cross there were a good dozen vehicles pulled over including a large bus, and yet with all this going on there were still two drivers who didnt want to stop and only did so when they couldn’t get past the number of large Bramah cattle in the road.
So after this it was in to Daly Waters. a lovely little spot, originally booked in for two nights but ended up staying four. The Daly Waters pub must be one of the busiest pubs in the Northern Territory. Good atmosphere very friendly staff and good pub grub which Im pleased to say were of a more manageable servings. The pub is also the shop, post office, cafe, and souvenir seller. I was informed when I parked up that there was a 2.5mtr saltie that liked to visit now and again. No sign of it during my stay but looking how little water there was in the local creek I feel that it may have moved on. Daly Waters is basically the pub and a small servo and a small shed full of old motor vehicles and motorcycles, well worth a browse. The caravan park was also very busy good to see so many people stopping to help the local economies recover after all the recent troubles and lockdowns.
Leaving Daly Waters and stopped just North of Mataranka and an old WWII mill site. While parked up here an elderly (or should I say older) couple pulled up and tried to follow the track further into the bush to park up. The came back a few minutes later and asked if I would assist them as they had managed to dislodge the spare wheel from under their motorhome on one of the deep ruts in the track. First I had to go down the track and find said spare wheel and roll it back to where I had parked. The bracket that held the wheel was a bit buckled but with a bit of BFI (Brute Force and Ignorance) managed to get the wheel back where it belonged. Good deed done for the day. With the weather constantly in the mid 30’s I thought it was time to go back onto power to get the zircon on again for the dogs, so after two nights here it was off to Katherine.
I had four nights in Katherine on power with the aircon earning its keep, Whisper does better than Cody in the heat, he is far more ready to come in and reap the benefits of the cool air while she will stay out longer in the heat. Katherine is a larger than average township for the outback and had a good range of facilities, one of which was a decent Woolworths so I could stock up on fresh supplies, which included the main one of dog food. I went to the hot springs with the intention of having a bit of dip as I had been told of for not doing so (Jane) but they looked a bit grubby to say the least after all the recent rains they had. Also just as an aside the hot springs temperature was cooler than the outside air temperature. So I gave them a miss even though there were some locals using them. Unfortunately all the touristy type things were in the National Park which surrounds Katherine and so having dogs they were all out of bounds to me. Incidentally Katherine is 320kms or so South of Darwin and is where I have to go back to to start heading West into Western Australia.
After Katherine it was a short drive up to Edith Creek where I found a lovely spot to free camp for 4 nights. On the Monday lunchtime the sky got very dark with some heavy looking clouds, and sure enough come about 3pm we had a some stuff which Im sure goes by the name of rain. As it was still above 30c I stood out in it for about 20mins getting a good soaking but couldn’t entice the dogs to do likewise. They were looking at me as if I had finally flipped. But it was just so refreshing and thoroughly enjoyed it. It only rained for probably no more than 40-45mins and the temperature dropped from 34c to 26c in that time slot. We paid for the rain that night though as it was very humid and it brought out a few insects I hadn’t seen before and in no great rush to see again anytime soon. I was parked up within about 50mtrs of a billabong but couldn’t get down to the edge of it to have a decent look due to a lot of erosion of the banks from the rain they had received earlier in the year. But while out strolling around with the dogs on the Tuesday afternoon I saw The Ghan go passed heading up to Darwin. One other wee incident which occurred while I was parked here, on the Tuesday morning someone knocked on the caravan and said if I wanted to go up to Edith Falls (in the National Park) he would stay and keep an eye on the dogs for me. I asked if he was parking up here and he said yep just for the night I often stay here. Now I dont know what it was but something didnt seem quite right, couldn’t put my finger on it but I declined his offer saying I had already been. He then got in his motorhome and drove off back to the main road. I think I had a lucky escape there.
From here it was up to Pine Creek and stayed at the Pussycat Flats racecourse on power for 5nights. Pine Creek is an old gold mining town slowly declining. The racecourse is no longer used but the camping part of it was very well tended lots of lush grass and good facilities. The only drawback was that they only had bore water but I still had plenty onboard so wasnt too bothered by that. The one thing that did stick out or should I say up was the size of the termite mounds. Some of them were over 5mtrs high quite astonishing what these little bugs can build. There was a small shop attached to a caravan park in town and a not too bad cafe and a couple of servos, and not much else. However enjoyed my stay there and now only 200kms South of Darwin.
I had a caravan park booked in Darwin from the 4th May so I left Pine Creek the morning of the 3rd with a stop planned in Adelaide River for one night before going on to Darwin on the Tuesday morning with just over 100kms to go. Adelaide River is another one house town on the main highway but boy it was busy, probably helped by the Monday being a public holiday. Booked myself into the caravan park attached to the roadhouse and very nice it was too. after seeing a couple of the local sites, mainly the WWII cemetery I managed to spend a good hour relaxing in the camps pool. I was going to the pub for my supper but it was heaving so thought I would give it a miss and make do with what I had. So after just the one night it was onto the road for the final leg to where I am now in the suburb of Winnellie which is about 10kms from the main CBD of Darwin.
Just a little something to end on. I had to go and have my six monthly blood test this morning at The Australian Clinic Laboratory. I didnt get there until about 9am and was expecting a bit of wait. When I get these done in Penrith I normally get there by 6am where there are normally five or six already waiting. Here I walked in sat down and was called through within 5mins. All done and back in the truck by 0920. Excellent service.
Not much on the picture front but here are a few for you
Geoff1511 Travels 