Day 18....Darwin

Had brecky with Carol and Barry, then headed out on our own. Drove down to the marina....the water is an incredibly pretty shade of blue.
We drove a bit further and found the Deckchair movies....found a film we want to see tonight.
Continued on, and got lost of course!!! Ended up at the Botanical gardens....worth getting lost, as it was beautiful!
Got some new directions and found the Art Gallery and Museum....the aboriginal art was superb.
Carol and Barry joined us and we went for lunch at restaurant called 'Cool Spot' at Fanny Bay.
After lunch we all went to the Darwin Military Museum.....learnt what we weren't taught at school about the bombing of Darwin!
We then went down to the markets at Mindil Beach....the variety of foods was amazing....yummmm...tried lots of different things...did a bit of shopping, then went and sat on the beach....with hundreds of other tourists... to watch the sunset over the ocean.

Once the sun had set, we headed on down to Deckchair theatre. It was 30mins before the movie was due to start, so we thought we were early! When we arrived there were cars everywhere....Dave went and parked while I queued for tickets...we got some of the last ones, luckily! It was an exceptionally good movie...The Lady...the incredible story of Augn San Suu Kyi...set in Burma (but filmed in Thailand and London)...it was a fund-raiser for the Melaleuca Refugee Centre.

Day 17...Katherine to Darwin

Left Katherine and headed to Darwin. Called at Pine Creek for morning tea, then on to Adelaide River and had a picnic lunch.

Arrived in Darwin about 3pm, and caught up with Carol and Barry....set up Rosie next to them and had a delicious BBQ for tea. The gadget being held above the wine glass, is a a vino2, to add oxygen to the wine as you pour it.

Day 16 ...Katherine

Had another great day in Katherine. The main attraction today was our trip to Katherine Gorge. It was a beautiful sunny day. We had the 4 hour trip to 3 gorges. It left at 11am and we were back at 3pm. The scenery was magnificent. After going down the first gorge, you got off the boat and walked across the rock path to the next gorge where we boarded another boat and continued the trip. After the 3rd gorge, the boat turned around and we did the return trip, walking between each gorge. Just before the final leg, we spent about 3/4 hour having snacks (supplied) and anyone who wanted to swim could. I didn't, but Dave went in.

When we got back to the caravan park we went for a swim in the pool...the water was warm...beautiful...just right.

Day 15- Katherine

This morning we did a bit of grocery shopping, and booked in for a trip up Katherine Gorge tomorrow.
We called at a liquor shop to get some wine, but were told the shop would not be open until 2pm for sales. We'd noticed signs on the highway coming up about alcohol regulations, but who reads a sign with lots of writing on it while doing 120kph? Anyway, we came back to Rosie for lunch, then went into town again to go and visit the museum...which was really interesting....we didn't know that Katherine airport had been bombed by the Japanese! Anyway, back to the wine....we called at the liquor shop on the way back, picked up a cask of red and one of white, took them to the counter, and the girl said, "you can't buy those together, you'll have to buy one each....and I'll need to see photo ID." So, we each bought a cask....not only do you show your licence, but they scan it into the computer to make sure you don't have a record of having bought more than one cask a day!!!

This railway line is not far from the caravan park. When the first train went through last night we nearly jumped out of our skins...it sounded like a jet was about to land on us!
Before tea we went for a walk to the far end of the caravan park...ther were several outback tents that tourist operators use. The people are brought in on buses, their food is all set out in a big outdoor area...trips to the gorge, etc are arranged for them. We saw several cute little kangaroos.
We also went for a walk down to the edge of the river, and saw a croc sunning itself on the opposite bank. I took a photo, but it is really hard to make out.

Day 14- Dunmarra to Katherine

Left Dunmarra about 9.30am and drove up to Daly Waters, only about half an hour up the road. The area consists of a pub....a very quirky one!.....camp grounds, caravan park, holiday units and souvenir shop. There's just a steady flow of caravans going into the place.

On our way we came across the couple on the tandem, cycling towards Darwin.
The next stop was Larrimar...The Pink Panther Hotel....another quirky pub with a free zoo out the back. It had mainly birds....lots of different finches...emus and a freshwater and saltwater crocodile.

There were various changes to the landscape again...lots of areas were burnt out...looked like it was for bushfire control. You can see the anthills more clearly in the burnt out areas.

After looking at the birds, we went and had a picnic lunch under a tree in the campground.

We continued on to Katherine and booked into Springvale Homestead caravan park. It's a beautiful spot...very peaceful...very friendly....lots of birds ( ducks and guinea fowl)....little honey-coloured kangaroos. We've decided to have 3 nights here and rest up for a while. The old homestead above is only a couple of minutes from where Rosie is.

Day 13...Barkly Homestead to Dunmarra

After a pretty noisy night (the place had a huge generator for the power, which was running all the time!), we left Barkly Homestead and headed for the Stuart Highway. It was a pretty windy day. We saw several flocks of budgies....hundreds of them, and all green!

The painting of the bird was on the amenities block at the dam. You see a lot of these birds every day.

There were many landscape changes along the way, from low scrub to taller trees to anthills,

 to burnt out areas....passed lots of caravans and several road trains.

When we reached the Stuart Highway, we went south to have a look at Tennant Creek. After getting some meat for tea, and filled up the diesel, we found a lovely spot to have lunch..Lake Mary Anne  Dam, just on the northern side of Tennant Creek....it was extremely windy, so after taking a few photos, we ate lunch in the car!

We eventually arrived at Dunmarra, and booked in for the night. A nice caravan park behind a pub....happy hour at 5pm...all drinks $3 (except spirits). In the pub, there were some glass enclosures with snakes in them...yuk!
In the middle of the park was a big aviary with some parrots inside....out the back were some buffalo in a paddock.

Out the front of the pub, we met a lovely young couple from Belgium, Tom and Jemina, who are cycling on their tandem to Darwin. They have already cycled from the top to the bottom of NZ, then from Sydney to Adelaide, then Adelaide to Darwin....then they're going up to Indonesia and across to Belgium....amazing!

Day 12...Mt Isa to Barkly Homestead Roadhouse

Left Mt Isa about 9.30am and headed for Comooweal and had sandwiches and coffee in a rest area. This was our last stop in Queensland, as the Northern Territory border was just a few kms west of here. During lunch, rang Hamish to wish him happy birthday....5 today!!

We passed quite a few road trains today. Once in the NT, the speed limit becomes 130kph!

Again, there were many landscape changes. ....also lots of roadworks as we came into NT.

We saw a fairly big mob of cattle being droved....the photo isn't great, but the drovers were on horseback, and there were lots of cattle.

We are now at Barkly Homestead Roadhouse, out in the middle of nowhere, where diesel is 189.9cpl!!! It's pretty windy, but fine and sunny...nice camp spot....heaps of other caravanners on the road!

Day 11...Mt Isa

Went into town and visited the underground hospial. It was built in 1942 during WW2, in case the Japanese bombed the hospital as they had in Darwin. It was never used. The blokes from the mines built it, and it was forgotten about for many years. Kids got in and set fire to part of it. It was decided to restore it, so old equipment from the main hospital was put there, plus a small medical museum at ground level.

The photo below was taken at the underground hospital museum. Apparently the Japanese  had money printed ready for when they took over the country.

After lunch we went out to Mendorra Dam. It was beautiful....like an oasis. The last photo is looking back behind the dam...beautiful!

Day 10...Kynuna to Mt Isa

Left Kynuna and drove on to Cloncurry where we had lunch. On the way into town, we saw this fellow walking his bullock along the road. We saw him a bit later walking past Woolworths...he also had a puppy in a bag over his shoulder. We did a bit of grocery shopping, then went looking for a nice spot for a picnic. We found a beautiful spot just outside Concurry....Chinamans Creek Dam Recreation Area.

Coming in to Mt  the landscape changed dramatically. It became hilly with a lot more vegetation. The truck pictured was about 51 metres long.Arrived at Mt Isa about 3pm....no powered sites left, so had a camp site, which was ok, but not able to do blog or charge things up.

Day 9...Longreach to Kynuna

Packed up at Longreach and drove to Winton where we had a picnic lunch in the park opposite the Matilda Centre. Winton's claim to fame is that it was in the Gregory Hotel that Banjo Patterson first sang Waltzing Matilda.

QANTAS also began in Winton, then after a year moved to Longreach.

There have been many changes of scenery on the trip. You'll go for ages with just straw-like grass, then low scrub, then trees.
We drove on to Kynuna for our next overnight stop....Kynuna Roadhouse. It was very quiet and peaceful...felt very remote!

On the way into Kynuna, we stopped and had a beer at the Blue Heeler pub...very much appreciated as it was pretty hot when we arrived.
Once we had Rosie set up, Dave went for a walk down to a creek, a couple of hundred metres through the scrub. He threw in a line, but no fish!

Day 8....Longreach

Today was spent in Longreach, starting with The Stockman's Hall of Fame. It's an excellent centre, world class. The show was very professional as well. A fellow named Paul did a show with his trained horses, dogs, camel and bullocks. He told lots of yarns and recited some poetry.

After lunch we went and had a look at the Qantas museum...from the outside. There was a Jumbo jet, a 707 and a couple of other old planes. You could see plenty from outside the fence without paying enormous amounts to see up close. There was an art display in the foyer of the museum which was pretty good. Dave had to try on an aviator's hat in the souvenir shop!

Day 7....Blackall to Longreach

This morning we woke up to a cold sunny morning with blue skies. Had brecky and packed up, however, when we started to wind the top down, the front corner got stuck. This was possibly becouse we'd been on uneven ground last night. We had to unpack part of the inside of Rosie to get access to the cables...thankfully Dave was able to fix it, so we drove on to Barcaldine.

We went and had a look at the Tree of Knowledge. The tree has died, but a sculpture has been created around the dead remains of the trunk and branches...it's quite clever really. It was under this tree in the 1800s that a group of men, during the shearers strike, had talks leading to the formation of the Australian Labor party.

I had to photograph this dog...her name is Cherry. In her backpack is her lead, a drink of water and her jacket in case it gets cold!

We arrived at Longreach this afternoon. After a late lunch we had a bit of a look around town At an art gallery, situated in the old ambulance station, was this beautiful quilt, made by a group of ladies, I think to cellebrate the opening of the Stockman's Hall of Fame.

Day 6...Charleville to Blackall

We thought we'd finished with the rain in Bourke, but it rained most of today...mainly light rain, but constant. We stopped off at Augathella for a look around....bought meat at an old-fashioned butcher's....he slaughters his own meat! The Smiley poster was painted on the wall of the old cinema at Augathella. Augathella is also known for its meat ants!
Drove on to Blackall. The only spot left in the caravan park was on a big patch of wet, red, slippery mud, outside the office!!!! Went and had a look at the showgrounds....it was muddy as well with huge mud puddles everywhere. The good part was that there was a bird and chook show on at the showground, so Dave quite enjoyed that.

We eventually found a spot to park...at the side of the road opposite the town's amenities block, under a gum tree. There were heaps of other vans parked on a big paddock right near us, because of the proximity of the loos. It drizzled rain for some of the night, but it was pretty quiet.