Yesterday I told you all about the Katherine Outback Experience (KOE) and what a great time we had. I also told you that we were going to a concert at the KOE that we’d booked a week or so ago.
I also recall that I told you about the crisis that occurred yesterday, although I spared you the details. It was the stuff of a horror movie.
We made ourselves beautiful and headed over to the concert a bit after 6.00pm. One of the benefits of staying at the venue is that you see all of the cars arriving, so we timed our departure from Percy to walk the 100m or so just perfectly. We got there in plenty of time to get a great seat.
I didn’t wear my spurs to the concert after all. Actually, I don’t own any spurs so I actually had none to wear anyway … but it turns out that Tom Curtain wasn’t wearing his either. So that was lucky, because I wouldn’t have wanted to be overdressed for the occasion.
The concert appears to be something that Tom Curtain puts on every month or so, and we just happened to jag it being there on the right night.
It was held at the KOE – virtually in Tom and Annabelle’s backyard. Annabelle is Tom’s wife, and they are both salt of the earth types. Very friendly and genuine.
I had met Annabelle at the morning KOE show and she remembered me (and my name) when we went over to the evening concert.
No airs or graces about that couple. We actually felt like we were special guests at their home, despite there probably being probably 150 people there.
Anyhow the concert was a lot of fun. Just a good old country hoe-down where they all joined together and sang songs, as well as doing a few of their own individually.
And they had lots of fun, with lots of audience participation.
We didn’t know any of their music, but we will certainly be adding some of it to our playlist.
We bought pizza and coffee, and it was just a great night. The concert finished about 10.00pm and it was just a short stagger back to the van to fall into bed.
Another warm night that turned cool early this morning. We woke to another startlingly beautiful day in the Terrirory.
I can see why people live here, although I imagine that the heat and humidity gets a bit nasty during the wet season.
Today we were headed for Litchfield National Park (NP). It was about 3 hours from Katherine that should have been 2.5 hours, but we did stop along the way, and we won’t do 130km/h on the highway.
Nothing really to talk about with the drive itself, that I haven’t commented on already. The roads were same same, and there appeared to be less road trains on the road. I also felt that the drivers are becoming less friendly and accommodating, but that is usually symptomatic of being closer to civilisation (Darwin). On much of the drive throughout western Queensland, with passing caravaners giving you a cheery wave. The further west we have gone, we find everyone coming towards you gives a wave.
It’s exhausting being this social 🙁 But not so much today.
Darwin is only about another hour or so north of Litchfield, so that probably explains both the driver attitudes and the lack of road trains.
We are still travelling on roads that – I assume – dissect large rural properties, because we constantly see warning signs about wandering cattle. Other than the brief experience with a cow the other day, we haven’t seen any cattle on/near the road.
We have also seen relatively little evidence of road kill. I know that there has been a lot of rain and flooding up here, so I have a working assumption that there is water inland, so the animals are not so inclined to wander out near the road for food or water, because there is plenty elsewhere.
We have certainly seen some small, furry animals that are … that are having a little nap beside the road, but not as many as I’d expected.
We had a brief stop at a place called Pine Creek – a pretty little township that (apparently) has a significant railway museum. I have a passing interest, but it wasn’t strong enough that we felt the need to stop for any longer that it took to dump some rubbish and … stretch our legs.
We like to stop in and have a bit of a poke around in these tiny towns, but this one was super tiny and everything seemed to be closed, so I assume that means it is a weekend. I’ve lost track of days.
Probably the most significant thing about Pine Creek is that there is a secret defence facility at Pine Creek in the NT, and I was hoping that it might be something like “Area 51” in the USA where they have all sorts of exciting aliens and stuff.
I was expecting to see lots of army peeps wandering around town, but didn’t, and realised that it’s probably because this place is so secret that they are all in camouflage and you simply can’t see them.
But I wasn’t even close. It’s not Pine Creek that I was thinking of – it is Pine Gap. And it’s nowhere near here. It’s closer to Alice Springs.
Percy clicked over all of the 8s on the speedo on the way to Litchfield NP today. 88888km.
That’s pretty exciting (I think), and hopefully good for Feng Shui. Or it could be monumentally bad for Feng Shui too, but then – considering the “unpleasant odour” issue from yesterday, bad Feng Shui is going to be seriously bad 🙁
Jolene – you remember Jolene, right? Our satellite navigation system – took us on a series of backroads that meant that we found ourselves ahead of a whole bunch of other cars that didn’t have the benefit of Jolene assistance.
Or their Jolene isn’t as smart as our Jolene.
For those of you that don’t know Jolene, she is called that after the Dolly Parton song of the same name. The song where she asks Jolene “.. please don’t take my man ..” Our Jolene takes us all kinds of places …
There are lots of road signs around this area that boldly proclaim that it is an alcohol-free zone. Now I suspect that is in relation to a comment that I made the other day about problems with alcohol and First Nations people in the Territory, however it was a little perplexing that we are reading these signs while we are travelling along Rum Jungle Road.
Even more puzzling was the drive-through bottle shop that we passed on Rum Jungle Road.
Most puzzling of all was the female police officer that waved us down in the township of Batchelor, and wanted to perform an RBT on me.
BTW I passed.
So I know that Jolene saved us some time by taking us through a series of backroads, because while I was doing my RBT, they all drove past me again and I was stuck at the back again. Sigh.
We are staying at the Banyan Tree Caravan Park for the next 3 nights. It is just on the border of Litchfield NP. I have circled it in red on the map below.
Tomorrow we will pack a picnic lunch and go for a drive through the park to see some points of interest, maybe do a bush-walk (although probably not, as I’m not sure that MBW’s foot is up to that kind of punishment), and hopefully have a swim at one of the waterholes without getting eaten by a crocodile.
Banyan Tree Caravan Park (BTCP) is a really pretty park with spaces under a beautiful canopy of trees. It keeps everything nice and cool, even though indications are that the current temperature feels like 36 degrees.
And it’s not likely to get any cooler anytime soon. Certainly not tonight.
We had considered going down to the happy hour that started at 5.00pm, but decided against it.
Steak tonight with mushroom sauce, chips and vegetables.
The people at the next site to us have mozzie coils (or incense) burning and it is giving me a headache. I suspect that it is a mozzie coil because the midgies here are starting to become quite frightful. Hopefully our little bug zapper will stop them annoying us.
The midgies, not the neighbours.
I think I might be coming down with something. I’ve had a headache and a sore throat all day, although MBW tells me I was snoring badly last night.
Hopefully I was snoring in tune with some of the Tom Curtain hits from last night.
That’s about it for today.
Ciao
#Retirement2024
#VanLife