Day 16 Tuesday 28th June

Day 16  Tuesday 28th June.

Today we continued to enjoy the beautiful places in Litchfield National Park.  We packed a picnic lunch and headed out. Our first stop was Wangi Falls. We all managed to swim out to the falls and enjoy the cool water  tumbling over us. The boys also did a bit of rock climbing and managed to make it up to a special rock pool next to one of the falls. After all this swimming we were hungry and so we stopped for lunch. From here we thought we would head on down  a four wheel drive track to another swimming spot but unfortunately the track was closed. Heather and a Paul decided to head back to the caravan park for a cool down in the pool and Rob and I went along another four wheel drive track to see the &Lost City&. The track was pretty rough but we didn't need 4 wheel drive. It was worth it as the lost city was a very unusual area of sandstone rocks that appeared to  be the remnants of a lost city. It was a bit spooky. We returned to the caravan park for a swim and then headed out with Heather and Paul, first to the tavern for a drink and then to the Batchelor Pub....which had a lot more atmosphere.

Day 15 Monday 27th June

Day 15 Monday 27th June

We left Lyn and Steve in Darwin as they were staying for a couple more days catching up with family. Heather, Paul, Rob and I were heading for Litchfield National Park as we all had great memories of this place. We booked into the Batchelor Tourist Park for 2 nights. After an early lunch we headed off to Litchfield and our first stop was Buley Rockholes. We had a fabulous time in the water and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for an hour or so. From here we went to Florence Falls and had another beautiful dip in the pool below the twin falls. After this it was time to go back to our accommodation at Batchelor and get ready for dinner. Weather wise.......it's a beautiful 34 degrees.....for our friends freezing in Adelaide. Rob, Heather and I are covered in midgie bites which are very prolific up here. Apparently the locals become immune to them but not us.....it's a case of join the dots......Paul, however is very hairy and the midgies seem to give him a miss.

Day 14 26th June

Day 14 26th June We decided to go to the Caravan and Camping show as there were a few things the boys wanted to look at. The show was being held at the showgrounds which just happened to be next to our caravan park.  We all walked over except for Lyn as she was expecting her son and grand-daughter. It certainly wasn't anywhere near as big as the Adelaide show and was a little disappointing. It was also very hot and everything was out in the open so there was no escaping. We returned to the caravan, had a quick cool down and then went and did some more essential shopping, mainly things for the car and van and a restock of drinks. The afternoon was spent in the pool with Lyn, entertaining her grand-daughter with cooking and swimming too. Heather and Paul went and visited Heather's nephew. We all met up later in the afternoon at the famous Mindil beach markets. We watched the sun set and enjoyed some beautiful food for dinner.

Day 13 Saturday 25th June

Day 13 Saturday 25th June  We decided to drive to an area of Darwin that we had not scene on our last trip, mainly because it was a new development. We drove down to Fanny Bay and then followed the road around the the beautiful mariner area of Cullen Bay. This is obviously the &ritzy& part of Darwin with beautiful boats and high-rise apartments. We wandered around the area checking out the eateries and the boats. From here we went to the large Casuarina Shopping centre to do some much needed shopping and have a bite to eat. After lunch, Heather and Paul had arrived from Berry Springs and we all met up in the swimming pool. Lyn’s son had said that there was to be a special concert in the Botanical gardens in the evening and we all decided we should go. What a great decision. The Darwin Symphony Orchestra was playing Pink Floyd with a brilliant group. It was well attended but we all managed to get great viewing points and watch the concert. Admission was a gold coin donation and by the end we all thougt we had well and truly got our money's worth. We all agreed it was a highlight! How lucky for us to be in Darwin at the right time for this great concert. 

Day 12 Friday 24th June

Day 12 Friday 24th June We left our busy camp site around 8.30am, leaving Heather and Paul behind. Originally, Heather and Paul thought they would go elsewhere rather than come into Darwin. Lyn and Steve were going to spend 5 nights in Darwin so they could catch up with Lyn's son and partner and their daughter (Lyn's grand daughter). We had wanted to go in to see Lyn's son too so Rob and I decided to stay for 3 nights. Lyn booked us in  when we were in Alice Springs. Paul found out that there was a caravanning and camping show on in Darwin and decided that they would come for 3 nights too. Unfortunately by this time the park we were staying in was booked out. It didn't matter because they now at the beautiful Berry Springs not far from Darwin, tonight and we are very comfortable here in a lovely park in Darwin. It is officially warm to hot. We have packed away our beanies, ugg boots and jackets and after arriving at lunchtime, spent an hour in the swimming pool. Lyn and Steve went and met up with Stephen and Ursula (Lyn's son and grand daughter ) at a park where Ursula was attending a party. We joined them for a while and Ursula is staying the night with Lyn and Steve in the van. They've put their annex up so it should be fun for little Ursula to spend time with her &Nanny&. 

Day 11 Thursday 23rd June

Day 11 Thursday 23rd June. We left Daly Waters and headed north (as usual ). Steve was keen to visit Gorrie  Airstrip, one of quite a few built during the 2nd World War. We were all  interested  so quite happily followed Steve. Did I mention that Lyn and Steve got lost trying to find this spot last year? Well after only a little bit of confusion we found it and had a bit of fun playing planes on it. We continued on to Mataranka where we stopped. Heather, Paul , Rob and I went in the very crowded thermal pool but Lyn and Steve gave it a miss. It was filled with  a school  group and unfortunately one end was blocked off due to upgrading of the area. Still it was most refreshing. Back at the vans we had some lunch and made decisions about where we would spend the night. We chose a spot about 50kms from Mataranka. This spot was called Kings River free camp. It had toilets, water tank and even a dump point (for the toilet). We thought we'd have the pick of spots as we were arriving around 3pm but it was packed. Luckily we all managed to find spots and the other caravanners were very nice people. A group of people from NSW who were all travelling together invited us down to &their shaded area& for happy hour and we headed down there and made some lovely new friends. A couple were retired teachers too. After dinner Rob went over to watch the Crows v's Nth Melbourne footy game at Steve and Lyn's van as Steve had very kindly set up the satellite so they could get the match. I had a much needed, beautiful shower in the van and read my novel in peace. Also we are at last starting to feel the heat. It was up to 33 today and is still warm tonight unlike our previous stops where even if it had been warm in the day it got very cool at night and first thing in the morning .

Day10 Wednesday 22nd June

Day 10 Wednesday 22nd June We left Bonney Well around 8 am, stopping at a rest area for morning tea and Elliott for lunch. We arrived at Daly Waters around 3.30PM. There were so many people here that we needed to be put in the&overflow& area. We were quite happy with this as we had the use of the showers and toilets but no power. We had a coucouple of drinks and then headed over to the famous pub for Happy hour. What a great place. Live music, odd collections of hats, bras, jocks, number plates, thongs, licenses, etc. strung up all over the place. There were many other SKI members (Spending the Kids Inheritance) as well as backpackers and families. The boys were very impressed with a young Irish male backpacker who pulled up in a camper trailer next to our vans. He got out with 3 young female backpackers.....we saw them all enjoying a few glasses of wine in the pub. After a wonderful dinner cooked on the BBQ, Paul and Rob wandered  back to the Pub to watch the first 1/2 half of the Rugby state of origin. They had put a big TV screen outside and people were bringing chairs and just setting up on the road. The boys weren't that interested but soaked up the atmosphere. Many people from Qld and NSW were enjoying it though. 

Day 9 Tuesday 21st June

Today we drove to Salt Creek, large free camping spot. Collected fire wood and the boys had a game of golf in thered sand hills much to the amusement of the other campers.

Day 8 Monday 20th June

Day 8 Monday 20th June Today we headed into Alice Springs because we had found a place where we could &vote early& for the federal election. We don't really know where we will be on July 2nd! The voting venue was very busy, full mainly of people from interstate who needed to vote early like us. After a bit of a wait we all managed to complete our compulsory votes. We then walked down to the famous Todd Mall, had a coffee and a wander up and down, with the girls, checking out a few of the galleries and shops. After this we all went off doing a final fuel and grocery shop ready for our departure tomorrow. Heather and Paul also visited the old telegraph station and the site of the original &Alice Springs& Back at the caravan park, we were busy cleaning and fixing things and generally relaxing. There were about 4 different high school groups camping close by and we had fun watching the teachers managing the kids and thinking. ....glad it's them and not us. We also had some lovely conversations with the cooks and coach drivers. Have to say that the behaviour of all the groups was really good. We went to the Gap view Hotel for dinner and had a great feed. As we drove in, we noticed a police officer just monitoring people as they came in. Rob and Paul had a conversation with a police officer at the petrol station and he had said that by having officers stationed at places like pubs, petrol stations and alcohol shops, stops numerous fights from breaking out and saves on medical, hospital bills. It is cheaper to do this for the government than to have the medical, hospital and of course court cases and incarceration expenses. 

Day 7 Sunday 19th June

Day 7 Sunday 19th of June We decided to head out to Stanley Chasm and then to Simpsons Gap. Unfortunately Steve and Lyn were having so power issues with their van so we left them back at the caravan park working on the problem. It was reasonably early so there weren't too many people around and we did the 20 minute walk into the chasm easily. Due to fact that it is a special place for the Aboriginal women of the area we had to pay a $12 a head fee to visit. When we returned from the walk, Lyn and Steve had arrived. While they did the walk, we had a coffee and then did a challenging walk to a lookout. It was worth the effort and we were rewarded with beautiful views all around. Heather and I managed to get to the top but Heather came down very carefully using her backside and I crawled backwards to get down.....but we did it. Lyn and Steve were back from their walk and we all headed to Simpsons Gap for lunch. We sat in the creek  bed on a fallen log eating our lunch and enjoying the view. There certainly was quite a bit of water around. From here Heather, Paul, Lyn and Steve went back to Alice Springs for shopping and fuel and Rob and I headed out to see Emily and Jessie Gaps. Here the gaps may not have been as spectacular but we were able to see some ancient Aboriginal rock paintings as well as enjoying the beautiful scenery.