V8 Super Cars ~ Vodaphone Pantech




Alan standing inside B747 Engine




Underground Hospital




Delivery Suite




Dinasaus Foot


Saturday 19th June
Three Ways to Camooweal
We left early in the morning heading to Three Ways which is where the Stuart Highway meets the Barkly Highway.We drove until we reached the Barkly Homestead where we refuelled and enjoyed a morning cuppa. We continued onto a thriving metropolis called Avon Downs ( just a police statiion ) where we had lunch.


Sunday June 20th
Camooweal - Mt Isa
Arrived in Mount Isa around 4pm. Reg, Alan and Vicki went to the Information Centre and the IGA store to replenish supplies. No other shops were open on Sunday. Claire stayed back to do laundry and try out the Net4 internet connection that the Big4 caravan parks have. She was able to use skype to talk to Benjamin for a while.

Monday June 21st
Mt Isa
We all did a variety of activities today. Vicki and Alan checked out the local shops. Reg was able to do a mine tour and Claire went to see the WWII Underground Hospital.
The Underground Hospital was dug out in 1942 after Darwin was bombed. It was never needed fortunately and fell into disrepair. The equipment was scattered around various places in Mt Isa. It was reopened seven years ago as a tourist attraction after volunteers had reconstructed the inside of it over 6 years. The museum above houses a vast collection of antique hospital equipment such as a metal catheter (Ouch!), old X-ray machines, examine chair, etc. Claire spent nearly an hour engrossed in rediscovering some equipment she’d last seen in Prince Henry Hospital in the 70’s.

The mine tour was great. After kitting us all up in overalls, gumboots, crash hat , battery & belt with a light attachet to the helmet. We headed off to the mine. Due to OH&S constraints we couldn’t go down an operating mine, but we went down a mine that was built for the tourist industry. Altough not the real thing, was still quite an experience.. they had all the blasting and excavation equipment down the mine. A mine blast was simulated with wth noise and vibrations. After walking 1km underground we had coffee in what they call the crib room. After that we were driven out in a toyota mine troop carrier. A gret 3 hour tour.

Tuesday June 22nd
Mt Isa - Winton
After a long day driving we were happy to get to a little caravan park and be packed in with a lot of other vehicles. After Alan had made a Teriyaki chicken dish we went to “The Shed” to listen to two very funny bush poets. For over an hour these two ladies entertained us with yarns jokes and poems. Getting to sleep was a bit hard as the park is right next to where the road trains pass by the town.

Wednesday June 23rd
Winton - Longreach
We opted for a shorter trip so the guys could see the Qantas Museum. Vicki and Claire instead spent a few hours in the local shops. We ( the boys) need to tell you a little bit more about the Qantas museum. It was a wonderful tour , our guide gave us all the facts and figures about the Boeing 747 which was donated to the museum after 19,000 hours of operation which is when they are decomissioned. Alan had never set foot inside a jumbo jet and was amazed at the size and seating capacity remembering that this plane was 25 years old and the the new ones are almost double the size. We also went through a Boeing 707 which was the first that Qantas bought. The thirteenth 707 is owned and flown by John Travolta. This particular plane was the one that flew theBeatles, Michael Jackson and Madonna before being sold to a Saudi Arabian ( whose name or status they would not divulge) who transformed the interior to a luxury jetliner, including gold trimmings, but we were not able to take any photographs of the inside of the plane due to some privacy deal which had been struck. Winton is also the place where dinosaur fossils have been found ,and we were lucky to find a dinosaur foot ,believe it or not in the main street ( see photo)

Thursday June 24th
Longreach - Tambo
Arrived in Tambo around 2 o’clock after a very bumpy ride. We were interested to see the Tambo Teddy shop which was a bit of a disappointment. Ended up having a cappacino at the pub and then found a nice caravan park in which to stay for the night. Teddy town may have been a bit dissapointing, but we now all have a ticket in a raffle for a teddy, to be drawn in October sometime.

Road Train ~ Tyre Change



Darwin Sunset



Darwin Sunset



B52


B52

Tuesday June 15th
Darwin
The day commenced with an early morning cuppa, 4am to be precise. Turned on the soccer for a little bit but watching paint dry would have been more interesting! After breakfast Zeny, Claire and Vicki went to Casuarina for some retail therapy. Alan and Reg had a day looking at A-Frame caravans then off to Aeroplane Heritage Museum where they have an entire B52 Bomber inside the museum. An awesome sight! On leaving the museum Alan and Reg went and did some grocery shopping for the trip south. Tuesday night we all went out for dinner to a local club, a most enjoyable night.

Wednesday June 16th
Darwin
Did nothing much during the day. At 5:30pm we went to see a Darwin sunset with out happy hour nibbles and bottle of wine. Found a nice spot overlooking the Arafura Sea. The sun sets very quickly. You could actually see the big yellow ball of the sun sinking below the horizon in layers of light pink, yellow and red cloud surrounding the sun. Another magnificent sight! Back at Zeny’s and Bill’s we sat down to a BBQ tea. Then an early-ish night for an 8am departure in the morning.

Thursday June 17th
Darwin to Mataranka
An earlier rise than usual since we have been in Darwin. Packed the motor home for travel mode, said our goodbyes to Zeny and Bill and departed at 8am. Morning tea was at Adelaide River. We heard a rattle coming from underneath the motor home. On further investigation we found a guard plate hanging on by one screw, removed guard plate from around a couple of cables and the noise stopped, and continued on our way to Pine Creek for a lunch of delicious wraps and a cuppa. After which we headed to Mataranka, arriving at 3:30pm. The dinner selection when decided was spaghetti and meat sauce , it was a team effort, Reg made the savoury meat sauce , Vicki and Claire boiled the spaghetti and Alan was charged with making the nibbles which was a fine selection of imported cheeses , salamis, pickles and nuts topped off superbly with red wine and Gin and Tonic.
Later in the evening Alan, Vicki and Reg went down for a swim in the thermal springs which was absolutely magnificent looking up through the majestic palms at diamond stars in a crystal sky. An early to bed night for a 7.30 getaway in the morning.

Crocs



Big Croc



Gun Emplacement ~ East Point



Darwin City



Claire Kissing Croc



Jumping Croc



East Aligator River



Escarpement



The Plane plus us


Thursday 10th June
Having showered with lots of little green frogs we departed Cooinda for Jabiru. It was only a short drive to Jabiru of about 50km. We had a choice of two caravan parks to stay at and we selected the smaller of the two. To our surprise it was not only one of the cheapest we stayed at, but also the best! We had our own ensuite site where we parked the Motorhome right outside the door. Closest we were to the shower and loo of all our stops! Having settled into the site, we then went for a 30 minute flight from Jabiru taking in more of the sights of the Kakadu National Park than we would have ever seen from driving through it. The flight was truly fantastic. Vicki & Claire were apprehensive about flying in a “little plane” and were not helped by the pilot trying to start the plane 4 times before it finally fired, but their fears were allayed once we got into the air. On returning to the caravan park we soon met our neighbours (Dave & Sharon) for the night and started chatting. We enjoyed our happy hour with them which went on and on! The sun went down on Jabiru which meant meal time so Alan & Reg cooked the BBQ while Claire & Vicki made the rest of the meal. Our day in jabiru was over.

Friday 11th June
Today we are heading into Darwin. After a hearty breakfast (Alan & Reg) of a delicious Omelette made by Alan we packed up the Motorhome and left for Darwin around 10.00am
We had quite a distance to travel stopping for lunch at a place called the “Bark Hut” After lunch we headed towards the Adelaide river where they have the jumping Crocodiles. We arrived there at 1.07pm and the boat tour left at 1.00pm. We missed it by just 7 minutes! The next tour wasn’t until 3.00pm so we decided to give it a miss and head straight to Darwin. We stopped briefly at the Humpty Doo Hotel for photos (which was made famous by “Crocodile Dundee”) We arrived at Claires brother in laws (Bill) place in Palmerston around 2.30pm, but as no one was home, we went to the local shopping centre for an hour or so. Reg bought new sandals, Vicki bought a couple of tops and we all had cuppas from the food outlet where Claire’s sister in law (Zeny) works.

Saturday 12th June
Still in Darwin - lazy day - rest and relaxation.

Sunday June 13th - Darwin
Vicki and I went with Zeny while Reg and Alan went in Bill’s car to look around Darwin from one end to the other. Firstly we drove to East Point to look over the gunning placement from the second world war. Then over to Nightcliff beach and along Fannie Bay and Mindil Beach. Happy hour as usual around 5 o’clock on Bill’s balcony, slop on the repellant and relax, heaven. BBQ for dinner round 7:30pm.

Monday June 14th - Darwin
We have our usual lazy wake up, cuppa time and get ready to go to out around 10:30. We decided (using Google to check options) to go to the Crocodylus Park (which is quite close) to see the crocodiles being fed. Since they had a Seniors discount of $8 our entry fee of $22 was excellent value. The feeding tour started at 12noon. They first fed the crocs in the main lake. then proceeded to feed 6 more in smaller areas. The guide made sure everyone got a good viewing position. At the end they brought out juvenile crocs and people got to have a hold. Back to Bill’s for a roast lamb and Zeny’s yummy potato bake.

Katherine Gorge



Crocodile in Gorge



Termite Mound


Monday June 7th
Mataranka to Katherine 130 k
Arrived in Katherine about 1pm. We went to the information centre which was very interesting in itself and beautifully set out. Came out with lots of pamphlets to pursue. Had large list of grocery items to purchase. We learnt a valuable lesson on the way to the caravan park. That is: Don’t rest 10 cartons of milk on the bench as you go round bends thinking that they will remain there. They don’t, they drop and break on the floor sending a stream of white liquid heading for anything that was on the floor, e.g. cameras and computers. This meant we had to stop and clean up the mess before we could go proceed to the caravan park.
Tuesday June 8th
Had a great trip up the Katherine Gorge for 2 hours. We saw a few crocodiles and a species of crow that eats Cane Toads and has learnt not to eat the poisonous part. A late lunch flowed into happy hour and then of course dinner. At night in the caravan park the amount of stars that can be seen is amazing. The Milky Way is clearly visible and we are getting better at spotting various constellations, e.g. Scorpio. Where the laundry is there is a wildlife show to be seen if you take a torch. Lizards and frogs gather to feast on the insects that abound there at dusk.

Wednesday June 9th
Left Katherine Caravan park around 10.a.m for Kakadu National Park , stopped for lunch at Mary River Roadhouse and continued our journey on the Kakadu Highway where we saw hundreds of termite mounds which were as high as 10 feet and incredibly solid like concrete. We arrived in Cooinda at approx 3.00 p.m.and have another lovely site in a very nice caravan park. The current temperature is around 30 degrees and a lot of people are heading for the pool.

The Spring



Sign at Spring



Pathway to Spring



Spring Source



Spring Source pandanas



Kangaroo



Mataranka 5th – 7th June

We booked into Mataranka for 2 nights. The Caravan Park wasn’t great, but the Thermal springs made up for it. Alan & Reg went into the spring around dusk on the Saturday and stayed there for around 30 minutes or so. It was so therapeutic, warm and relaxing! The thermal springs are a constant temperature of around 30C. Sunday saw us doing more or the same, such a routine we have now! We all headed down to the spring and spent a good hour or so in the water. A constant stream of people coming and going to the spring for a dip, with Alan always having someone new to talk to! All good things must come to an end with us packing up and moving onto Katherine on the Monday Morning.

Standley Chasm



Glen Helen Gorge



Claire & Vicki at Glen Helen Gorge



The Devils Marbles


Friday 4th June
Having stayed an extra day at Alice Springs we packed up and had an early start for one of the longest days driving on the trip. Our destination was Tennant Creek some 510km up the Stuart Highway. We had several stops along the way. First break was Renner Springs for a cuppa, then onto Elliot for Lunch. We arrived at the Caravan Park around 5.00pm and booked in for the night. The Manager couldn’t be any more layed back than he was. “You can pick your own site, drive around til you see something you like” We did just that and had a site with Bougainvillea plants around us. We set up the Motorhome just in time for our happy hour at 5,30pm we had an executive meeting that night on discussion of our destination the next day. The Choices were Daly Waters or Mataranka. The unanimous decision was Mataranka which was a further 100km north.

Saturday 5th June
Another early start. We departed Tennant Creek around 8.15am. Today is a travel day, with some scheduled stops along the way! Reg drove the 1st leg to Dunmarra Roadhouse, while Alan stacked a few zzzZZZZZ in the back. At Dunmarra Alan took the wheel and took us to the Pink Panther non descript menagerie at Larrimah, including an 8' Salt water Crocodile, saw us arrive in Mataranka around 4.30pm.

Huge Grasshopper (Could this be a Locust?)


Baby Tawny Frogmouth Owl

Monday June 1st
Alice Springs - Lazy morning, cleaning, washing and rearranging items in the van. The McDonnell Ranges Big 4 caravan park here is just fantastic. The surrounds are beautiful, situated just before you go through Heavitree Gap into Alice. The park has organised events on each day. We missed the free pancake breakfast on Sunday morning (Rats). I’m going to the Star Gazing tomorrow night and on Wednesday there is a chap reciting bush ballads.Vicki and I did some retail therapy while Alan and Reg did the supermarket shopping in the afternoon.
Tuesday June 2nd
Alice Springs - Having hired a car we drove out along the West McDonnell Ranges. Our first stop was to walk in to see Standley Chasm. The walk,classed as easy, was along a dry river bed complete with large and small rocks. The chasm is amazing especially as we were there at midday and saw the sun shining right through the middle of it. We then drove another hour to Glen Helen Gorge which is where the Finke river forms a deep pool as it goes through the gorge. Alan saw the most wildlife for the day and night, i.e. Striped Grunter (fish), Tawny frog-mouthed owl (baby one), a huge grasshopper and later that night a kangaroo hopping through the caravan park.
The Star Gazing evening was terrific. Andrew, the astronomer, had his telescope set up so we could view Saturn. He pointed out the planets of Venus, Mars and Saturn, as well as the stars in the Zodiac signs.
Wednesday June 3rd
Alice Springs - after a little deliberation we decided that we will stay another day here because our spot in the park is just so beautiful and peaceful. Today we visited The Royal Flying Doctor’s Service and The School of the Air. For people living in the outback these two services are a vital part of everyday life and survival. They both offered a short film followed by a talk from a tour guide. We felt they were both worth the visit with us seeing a School of the Air lesson in progress. Our last tourist spot was to go to the highest point (Anzac Hill) in Alice Springs for a view over the city. From there you can really see how the city is nestled in the middle of the range.

Alice Springs

Sunday 30th May
We left Yulara resort around 8.30 a.m. on another beautiful Northern Territory morning en route for Alice Springs. We stopped for fuel and lunch at Erldunda and also a rest break and an ice cream at Stuart’s Well, then continued on to Alice and arrived at 4.00 p.m. then did a quick tour of the town when I spotted the Ghan moving through the station, so we zoomed down there and were were able to get great pictures of the Ghan and we watched it pull out heading for Adelaide. Monday morning saw Claire making pancakes for breakfast, and then we got up and sat outside in the sun and did nothing, which we had started doing yesterday but hadn’t finished. After an early lunch we took the bus into town which was the equivalent of the scenic railway at Luna Park ,the way the driver went round the corners and kept doubling back ( a real cook’s tour ).Vicki and Claire went off for some retail therapy while Reg and I were left to do the supermarket shopping. We were unfortunate enough to have the same bus and driver on our return so the experience began again.Reg and I had just got back to the park and sat down to enjoy a cup of coffee and continue our doing nothing task ,when we received a message from the girls to come and pick them up. They had finished their shopping and the bus was not due for another hour and a half so we had to pack up the van and drive into town to get them, which was why we had taken the bus in the first place. So after a beautiful barbeque tea we are heading to bed at 10.p.m on a beautifully clear night in Alice Springs.