Our last post had us at Trephina Gorge, so from there we travelled back into Alice for another top up on fuel for the car and fuel for our bodies and we set out on the Stuart Highway north towards Darwin.
We had exactly one week to get to Darwin for our booked accommodation. We were lucky enough to travel most of the way with our new friends the Chapmans, so we had great company for most nights. Our kids are missing the Chapman children, Ellie and Dane greatly and are continually mentioning their names and singing new songs they have been taught.
Our first night travelling north was spent at Taylor’s Creek Rest Area where more marshmallows were cooked on another campfire. Thankfully the Chapmans have been carrying some firewood around as we haven’t worked out were we can store some yet and therefore we haven’t had many campfires. We also spent a night at Banka Banka Station, which had beautiful green grass underfoot, rather then red dirt and saw the next day being our earliest departure time so far (8.15am). We were pretty pleased with ourselves considering Ella usually sleeps till after 8am but not this morning. Having some friends that were leaving camp early was motivation enough for the children to get dressed and eat breakfast quickly. Our next night was at the famous Daly Waters Pub where Tig and I enjoyed the popular Beef and Barra meal from the BBQ and we were all entertained by the evening show. Our final night with the Chapmans was at Bitter Springs where we finally got out our camp oven and I made a lovely crusty damper which was only a touch burnt on the bottom. I have to confess I did quickly read a few tips from the Viv Moon Camp Cooking Cookbook I borrowed from my mum before attempting my first camp oven damper.
We didn’t travel huge distances on any of these days and often had lunch at our destination. We did enjoy a few lunch stops at places like The Pebbles just north of Tennant Creek and Bitter Springs (near Mataranka) before an afternoon dip and float down the crystal clear creek.
At Bitter Springs we camped only about 500m up from the springs in a relaxed unstructured camping ground. It was simply find a power pole and camp near it, once you paid your camp fees. Finding the power poles was a little challenging however. Being so close to the springs did provide us with the opportunity to walk down first thing in the morning and have another dip. It was lovely seeing all the mist rising off the warm (34 degrees) water on our arrival. After our morning dip and breakfast we said farewell to the Chapmans as they were stopping at Katherine next and we were continuing on to Edith Falls.
Edith Falls was beautiful but the campground was a little hot therefore a dip below the falls in the late afternoon was in order. We all braved the open if not slightly chilly water with the knowledge that fresh water crocodiles would most likely be present and even swam far enough out to reach some sunshine on the water. This was a fair way out from the bank and only achieved as the kids and I all swam out together to meet Tig who had swam the whole way over to the bottom of the falls.
The next day we continued onto Adelaide River where we spotted a familiar looking train. Kai was most excited as the train looked distinctly like Wilson from Chugginton. For those of you who don’t know, Kai is a huge train fan and Chugginton is like the modern day Thomas the Tank Engine. At Adelaide River we enjoyed a lovely pub lunch before stopping for the night at nearby Mt Bundy Station. Tig found us a fabulous green grassy site under the trees with the best view. It was however the tightest reversing job he could have found for me but with him being my eyes at the rear and on the sides we managed with ease. Let’s just say it involved big trees, a power pole and a permanent tent structure just to make it a little bit interesting.
Our final day into Darwin was quite short with us therefore arriving early at the caravan park. Thankfully our site was available for check in on our arrival and after a long reversing job we finally got our van into the site with only a foot to spare to the road. Thankfully the site had great facilities and the caravan park was well laid out with a refreshing pool. Our afternoon jobs included emptying out almost everything stored below beds and a mass reorganisation of bedding and clothes. We had finally reached the warm weather we had been so looking forward to and winter blankets were no longer required.
Till next time…
Thea
No comments:
Post a Comment