Author: geoff

It’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day. But I mean that in a good way.

Wake, ablutions, eat, be a tourist, sleep, repeat. With an afternoon nap thrown in there somewhere.

It has been really nice being in Darwin for several days. I feel like we should have moved on before this, but as I said by staying here for the extra nights, we will be able to go to the Darwin Baptist Church tomorrow.

We did some more sightseeing today, then back to Percy for a late lunch and a nap, and had dinner.

That’s the short version. If that’s all that you need, feel free to stop reading now.

But the longer version …

We started the day in the same delightful way that we start most Saturdays … by having a video call with 2 of our very favourite little people in the world (Teddy and Lili). They are growing up so fast and we miss them so much 🙁

MBW was keen to go to the Parap Village Markets this morning. We also had an idea about either going to the WWII Military Museum that we have been told is very good, or the Darwin Museum and Art Gallery.

The Parap Village Markets are a Saturday morning market at a place called Parap Village. No real surprises there.

They are known for their fresh local produce and crafts, and MBW was pretty enthusiastic about going. I’m not really sure why … she has never been that motivated to look at fresh produce before, but what do I know?

We knew that we were getting close when Jolene hadn’t even told us yet that we would be arriving at our destination in 500m, and it was already chaos on the roads. Cars parked everywhere, people everywhere.

Way too peopley for my liking.

We drove down a side street beside the actual markets, and I was getting ready to put on my best disappointed voice and suggest that we would never be able to park, and that MBW’s sore foot would never make the trek to the markets in this heat … when we found a nice, big, shady parking space.

It was meant to be.

So off we went exploring the markets.

I suspect that many of the food trucks (and craft stalls for that matter) were the same ones that we saw the other night at the Nightcliffe Markets, because the sights and smells were all very familiar.

Plenty of people eating stuff that I wouldn’t consider “breakfast food” (eg noodles, and Chinese food), but then I’m the guy that has a favourite shower stall at the Robbie Robbins Reserve ablution block.

Remember?

But then I’m also as dull as dishwater.

We wandered around and checked out all of the stalls, and when we were done doing that, we found a street vendor selling bakery goods.

And we do like bakery goods.

So we purchased a cronut/croissant/donut baked thingumy-gig that was mind-blowingly delicious, but probably moved me a few steps further towards hardened arteries and an untimely death.

My GP has warned me over and over about this 🙁

I’m fairly certain that “delicious” = “greater chance of early death”.

We had a bit of a debate about the WWII Military Museum, but even though it rated very highly on Google, we just kinda felt that we are not military buffs that would want to see it or appreciate it.

And, if I am completely honest, I’m a little perplexed about the relationship that Darwin has with WWII. I mean, many of the souvenirs at the RFDS/WWII exhibition from the other day seemed to celebrate the attack on Darwin in 1942. Well, that’s the way that it felt to me.

They had T-shirts that had “1942 bombing of Darwin” printed on them, like it was something that they wanted to celebrate. Like it was a good thing.

So we ended up going to the Darwin Museum and Art Gallery which was in the same general area as the Parap Village Markets, and also has a display about Cyclone Tracy that devastated Darwin on 25 December 1974. And we were keen to see that.

So we asked Jolene to show us the way.

The Darwin Museum and Art Gallery (DM&AG) is an unusual – perhaps eclectic – combination of stuff that doesn’t really go together.

In my opinion. But then I’m the guy with a favourite shower.

They had some stuff that people have made/painted/photographed … and some of it was … weird.

I mean, that is seriously creepy. Even after I read the description provided by the artist, I still didn’t get it.

And I’m pretty sure that it is going to give me nightmares tonight.

There were displays of butterflies and ants, and displays of Australian history, and a giant crocodile.

Called Sweetheart. 5.1 metres of Sweetheart.

There was a maritime section that showed boats and sailing ships through the ages, and a section on dinosaurs that showed a timeline from the Big Bang through to the present day.

And then there was the section on Cyclone Tracy that was horrifying, astonishing, and emotional all at the same time.

They even had a sound booth where you could stand in total darkness and be bombarded by an actual surround sound recording of the cyclone, at its very peak.

It was absolutely terrifying.

They also had before and after satellite imagery of various areas of Darwin showing the devastation that occurred that night.

After the museum, we did a quick run to Lee Point for a quick look and a walk on the beach.

It seems funny, but on a hot, steamy day the beach was almost deserted … but then I guess that if the crocodiles don’t get you, the box jellyfish will.

Probably best to stay at home and swim in the pool.

Back home to Percy for a late lunch and a nap, and then we got to have a video call with our other two very favourite little people in the world (Elias and Isabel).

I had the OK to give Percy and Elsie both a bit of a bath here at RRR, so I took the opportunity.

Dinner, and another stunning sunset.

Does it get any better than this?

Sunday tomorrow. Church and maybe a quick spin down to Berry Springs again.

Diesel is <$1.80/litre here in Darwin ATM, so Elsie will be getting a big drink before we hook up and head off to Kakadu on Monday morning.

We are there for three nights, and then – I expect – we will do a big run over several days so that we can get back into Queensland, and up into the Karumba and Normanton area, near the gulf.

My expectation is that we will probably do some long drives after Kakadu and news will be brief … not the least because experience tells us that once we leave Darwin we will be in a wilderness of little to no mobile coverage for several days. And because there is not much to see between here and the Queensland border.

So nothing much to see, and no way to tell you about it because we will probably have no internet.

And also because we have likely done some damage to our credit cards over the last week or so, and we will be staying off the grid for a few days … just to stop after a long drive, eat, sleep, and keep driving again.

That’s about it for another day.

Thanks for tagging along!

Ciao

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

Another day in Paradise.

We woke to another cloudless sky day. Friday.

We had a half-baked idea that we would make a trip to Berry Springs Nature Reserve, about 40km south of Darwin.

I need to clarify that it is a nature reserve, not a naturist reserve. Just in case there is any confusion. Absolutely no nudity allowed.

I’m pleased to report that there was no rush hour in the men’s showers this morning. The place was deserted – just the way I like it – and of course I got my favourite shower. And because I had the place to myself, I also got all of the hot water, and all of the water pressure.

Selfish, I know, but I’m a bit precious about my morning shower.

Breakfast, pack some cold press and snacks, and we were off to Berry Springs.

Every time we come and go from the Robbie Robbins Reserve (RRR), we need to stop, open the gate, drive through, and close it again before heading on our way.

It’s not entirely clear to me why the gate needs to be kept closed, but rules is rules. And we would never break the rules.

So it’s handy having 2 of us in the car. One to drive, and the other to open and close the gate.

Every-so-often we manage to time our arrival at the gate to find that someone else is also at the point of entering or exiting, and their designated gate-opener/closer is already opening or closing the gate. So we just drive through and wave.

And of course, every-so-often we are in the process of gate duty, and we do it for someone else while they drive through and wave.

The roads around Darwin are great. They have some great infrastructure that all meshes together nicely, so you exit off one road at 90km/h and enter the next one and just keep going.

I still find the roads baffling though. Each time that I am completely convinced we are headed in the wrong direction and about to drop off the edge of the world, we suddenly – and miraculously – arrive at our destination.

I don’t know if there is a trick to easily getting your bearings in a new city, but I can’t figure it out.

Dumb as a box of rocks, I know 🙁

So we followed a series of lefts and rights, overtook a couple of slow cars, and amazingly arrived at the Berry Springs Naturist Nature Reserve, as planned.

Jolene got it right once again.

Apparently there is some relationship between the reserve, and troops in WWII using the site for recreation and convalescence.

Friday morning, 10.00am and the temperature was already north of 30 degrees.

We parked, got changed into our swimsuits, and headed towards the sound of a waterfall.

And I simply cannot explain how serene, peaceful and stunning the place is. The water was crystal clear, fresh and clean and the most delightful temperature that was cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough that you could just walk straight in.

And there was hardly anyone else there. Maybe a dozen people tops.

We must have floated around in the top waterhole near the waterfall for an hour or so, and then we wandered down towards the main pool and the lower pool.

The bottom pool seemed to be a completely different colour – much bluer – and I suspect that it had everything to do with different plant life, and being much deeper and slower flowing than the top pool.

And we floated around in the bottom pool for probably another hour.

Needless to say that by the time we got out we were both pretty wrinkly. A coffee and some morning tea, and we got changed and headed back to civilisation.

For reasons that I can’t exactly explain, all that floating around in that glorious water gave me a craving for cheese Twisties. As they say, “life’s pretty straight …”

Perhaps I’m pregnant, although … anatomically I suspect that is probably not the reason. Maybe all that floating around just reminded me of hot, lazy Sunday afternoons as a teenager when we used to go to the local swimming pool to cool off.

Who knows?

We drove back to Darwin and went to the local shopping centre.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … we both seriously underestimated how hot it was going to be here in the deep north. I honestly expected to be wearing jeans for most of the time, yet we are constantly in shorts and short sleeves.

And the shorts and short sleeves that we brought with us – along with the constant sweating due to the temperature and humidity – are simply not keeping up.

So I got another pair of shorts, and we found that Coles had potato chips on special for half price this week … and we do like potato chips, and we especially like them when they are half price.

Back home to Percy for a very late lunch and a rest, and then I went out to visit Karl – a bloke who used to be in our local amateur radio club but relocated to Darwin in September 2023 … and seeing as how I was in Darwin I thought it would be good to catch-up.

It was another seriously hot afternoon, and I’m not just saying that to justify the purchase of another pair of shorts.

At 4.30pm this afternoon in Darwin, it was still 33 degrees that felt like 37 degrees, so Percy’s air-conditioning was the place to be.

Once it cooled off a bit later this afternoon, I tried some radio work (unsuccessfully, as it turns out), and we were blessed with yet another stunning sunset.

We are keen to go and see the war museum tomorrow, because WWII was a pretty significant event here in Darwin and we have been told that the WWII museum is worth seeing. There is also another place called Lee Point that we wanted to go and see, so maybe we will make that a joint trip tomorrow.

It seems that much of Kakadu is closed at the moment. Something to do with Reconciliation Week, and something to do with Native Title, but explained as “crocodile surveys still in progress”.

Which is all a bit disappointing because we have come such a long way to see Kakadu and it would be a shame to miss out. If it turns out that it is not open to the travelling public, then we might just have to change our plans and not stay as long.

A really big shame.

But then, I expect that getting taken by a crocodile would be a shame too, so all things being equal …

Ciao

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

I’m pretty sure that I have mentioned – at least once – that it is hot here in Darwin. As I type this, it is 8.00pm and my watch tells me that it is 28 degrees that feels like 32 degrees.

So I’m sure it won’t surprise you that Percy’s air-conditioner is running most of the time, and certainly all night.

Interestingly, they don’t talk about “summer” or “winter” here. They talk about the “wet season” and the “dry season”.

If you have been following along, you will recall that we went and had fish and chips at the beach last night and watched the sunset.

When we got back to Percy it was hot and sticky, so the air-conditioner went on. It was turned to “arctic” and “gale force” to try and get some coolness into the van.

Anyhow, while I had the presence of mind to change the fan speed to low before bed, I did forget to change the temperature, so I woke in the middle of the night feeling cold. I had to poke around in the dark to find the remote control and set the temperature to a much more appropriate 22 degrees.

I would have been concerned if Kylie (the lady who runs Robbie Robbins Reserve) had found our lifeless, frost-bitten bodies in the van, all because I forgot to change the temperature. Particularly when it is so hot and sticky outside.

Partly because I was still feeling a little cold from the air-conditioner, and partly because it was very overcast and blowy this morning, it just felt like we were in for a miserable day.

I went over to the facilities for my ablutions and found that I had arrived at rush hour. I’ve never yet experienced rush hour in a caravan park amenities block, but it had to happen eventually.

And when I say “rush hour”, it’s not like there was a queue out the door; it was just that 2 of the 6 showers were already in use. So far, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another living soul in there.

Fortunately my favourite shower stall was still free (… yes, I do have a favourite shower stall …) and so I set about making myself beautiful.

Thursday is washing and cleaning day for us, so after breakfast (MBW made waffles!) and ablutions we did a bit of a divide and conquer and got the sheets and towels in the wash, and gave Percy a bit of clean inside.

We had a phone meeting with our financial advisor this morning to discuss finances and stuff, so that was the only real thing in the calendar today. That took until about 11.00am, and then we were free to go exploring Darwin again.

I’m pleased to report that by the time we had finished the phone call, the clouds had gone and we had another stunning, blue sky, Territory day.

MBW was keen to look at a place called Songlines that (we discovered) sells a lot of outrageously overpriced souvenirs. We were the only people in the shop, and within 2 minutes figured out that even the cheapest thing in the shop was way more than we were willing to pay for a souvenir of Darwin.

We then found the city and had a quick wander around, before deciding to go and get some groceries and head home for lunch and an afternoon rest.

I mean, we’d had such a busy and stressful morning …

We have been told that we must go to the Mindil Beach Night Markets that are held every Thursday night. They have food stalls and craft stalls and it is very well attended by both locals and visitors.

We bought some dinner to share, and some gifts for the grandkids, and saw yet another stunning sunset.

Way more people there than I’m comfortable with, I have to say. But we had fun looking around.

Back to Percy for coffee and to plan what our Friday looks like.

We are thinking that we might go for a drive to Berry Springs NP to get the most out of our “all parks pass” that we bought. It’s only a few kilometres down the road.

There is swimming there and because it is Friday, hopefully all of the locals will be at work so it will be quiet. Or at least, quieter than it would be on a weekend.

I also have a colleague from the radio club who recently relocated to Darwin, so I’ve called him and made a loose arrangement to go and visit him tomorrow afternoon. As luck would have it, he only lives about 10 minutes away from here. I’m sure that Jolene and I can find our way there without getting too lost.

I must confess that – now that I have re-read today’s blog – I am feeling a little embarrassed at the lack of depth, quality content, and/or exciting news that I have to report on our day today. If you looked up the word “boring” in the dictionary you would probably find a photo of MBW and I hanging out the washing in Darwin.

Yawn!

One fun fact that I can share, is that when we arrived here at RRR, Kylie – you remember Kylie? – gave us list of do’s and don’t’s. You can wash your car and van. You can walk on the polo field (it’s an equestrian park, remember, and they have a polo field here). You can’t drive on the polo field.

You can’t dump your toilet canister in the septic system (or face a $2000 fine).

Don’t drive more than 10km/h. Don’t call me before 9.00am.

And so on.

Buy we have also noticed that our neighbours – no, not Ma and Pa Kettle, but the neighbouring property – is shown on Google Maps as “Mission Australia”. Google describes it as a “residential rehabilitation treatment centre”, yet the razor wire and warning signs around the perimeter suggest to me that “correctional facility” might be a better description of the place.

Maybe Kylie should have included “don’t pick up hitchhikers” in her list of rules …?

BTW, we are camped at the red X at the top left-hand corner of the photo above.

A bit close for comfort, me thinks …

Ciao

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

We made an executive decision this morning. Probably more accurately, we made an executive decision to test a couple of hypotheticals to figure out if we actually can make an executive decision.

The longest we have ever stayed anywhere on this trip is 3 nights. 3 nights in Winton, 3 nights in Katherine (although we moved from one campsite to another campsite after night 2), and 3 nights at Litchfield NP.

And we have booked 3 nights here in Darwin. And then 3 nights in Kakadu.

But we are loving Darwin. It’s is very casual and laid back and has a certain Territory feeling to it.

It’s nothing like what we were expecting. And we think we’d like to stay longer, before moving on to Kakadu. Maybe 6 nights in total, because 3 nights means that we only really have 2 full days here, and that just doesn’t seem like enough.

And if we stay 6 nights, that means that we will be leaving on Monday, which means that we will be here for Sunday.

And if we are here for Sunday, that means that we can go to church and unburden ourselves from the guilt of not having been to church for the last 3 weeks. Why haven’t we been to church for the last 3 weeks? Because each Sunday that has rolled around, we have found ourselves in a tiny, churchless township, surrounded by heathens.

And we fitted right in 🙁

But Kakadu have a strict cancellation policy – not that we want to cancel, we just want to slip it to the right. Which oddly is a phrase that I regularly used at work when discussing my projects … that the schedule has “slipped to the right”.

We don’t want to pay a cancellation penalty, we just want to move it to the right.

And we have no idea whether we can stay extra nights here at Robbie Robbins in Darwin. Or if Kakadu can accommodate us later than planned.

So many problems.

So we texted Kylie (she is the lady that manages the place here in Darwin) and asked her a hypothetical … “if we said we wanted to stay an extra 3 nights …?”

And she said “no problem”. Or maybe she said “no bloody problem …” I can’t really recall, but I’m pretty sure that there was a “bloody” in there somewhere.

I’m also pretty sure that “bloody” is kind of like a term of endearment here in the Territory, so I’m feeling pretty bloo … um, pretty good about it.

So with that hypothetical sorted, we needed to do another hypothetical with the people at Kakadu.

And they too said that we could slip it to the right by 3 days with no problem and no penalty.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! We are here in Darwin for 6 fabulous nights.

We decided to do some more sightseeing today. Kylie – the lady from Robbie Robbins Equestrian Reserve (RRER) – told us that the RFDS Darwin Tourist Facility (RFDSDTF) was worth seeing. So we decided to go off to see it.

Had a bit of a lazy morning – sleep in, ablutions and breakfast out under the awning – and we got away about 10.00am.

Yep, I know that most of you will have done half a day’s work by then, but it is what it is. Nothing to do, and all day to do it.

Remember?

I’m finding Darwin a bit confusing. While Jolene seems to have an unwavering confidence in where we she is taking us, it often feels to me like we are going around in circles. I have to say that it really frustrates me when I’m feeling completely lost, and convinced that we are going in the wrong direction, and then MBW pipes up and says “there’s home, just over there”.

Grrrr. Women – they stick together.

Or to quote Maxwell Smart, “I don’t need Jolene and MBW to prove to the world that I’m stupid. I can do that myself.”

So off we went to the RFDSDTF.

We followed a baffling series of left and right turns, to finally find ourselves at the Stokes Hill Wharf, parked in a parking space that – frankly – scared the cr*p out of me.

We got our concession tickets (hey, there has to be some benefits to getting old …) and in we went.

The RFDSDTF is indeed an amazing facility that tells the story of the RFDS from an historical perspective, and show a “day in the life” from the point of view of both a pilot and a patient.

The centre is also home to an incredible WWII tourist facility.

They have some amazing Virtual Reality (VR) headsets that show you what it would have been like to be in Darwin – right at the spot where we were sitting, as it happens – when Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in 1942. And you get to see it in 360 degree, virtual reality horror.

It is very interesting, but also very confronting.

They tell the stories of various people who were directly involved in the conflict. Both US service people, and a Japanese pilot.

I mentioned yesterday that MBW has had a sore back, so she booked in for a remedial massage at a place that gets very good reviews. Somewhere. I have no idea where, but Jolene will get us there.

We had a bit of time to kill after the RFDS/WWII exhibits and before the massage, so we went for a wander down the wharf and bought a bit of lunch to share from a Thai place and had a peaceful time eating and watching the world go by …

… and wondering what it must have been like 82 years ago in the same place, under the same sunny blue skies, watching as bombs exploded and ships sank in this beautiful harbour.

Off for MBW to get her massage.

Did you know that in Darwin, their 40km/h school zones are in force all day from 7.00am to 5.00pm?

The massage lady got MBW’s sore back all sorted out. From the noises coming out of that little room, it sounds like that massage lady found all of the sore spots, and showed no mercy.

It was still about 36 degrees, so we decided to head back for a coffee (both of us), medication (me), and just poke around home for a little while. MBW still has some MasterChef episodes to catch-up on, it seems, and I was sinking into my post-lunch, caffeine-deprived, not really feeling 100%, and ready for an afternoon nap, sense of lethargy.

We got home from our day of sightseeing and massage/torture to find that we have had neighbours move onto site #3, next door. They are an old(er than us) couple who both … um … who both likely use a lot of soap. Not as much as Tim-Tim from Daly Waters, but a lot anyway. Certainly, easily twice as much as us. Maybe 3 times as much soap.

They are in a motorhome with a little Suzuki 4WD on a trailer on the back.

Unfortunately, rather than back it in so that everyone is facing the same way – like normal people do – they drove it in so that their awning is hard up against our awning and we sit outside our respective mobile homes looking at each other.

Grrrr.

And we get to enjoy the passive smoke that wafts over our way each time they exhale. And we get to enjoy the second-hand noise of their TV … something that I haven’t missed in the last 3 weeks.

And the little pink chair in that photo? For their dog.

Sigh 🙁

I wonder … if I was to slip into my mankini for breakfast tomorrow, would that be the encouragement that they need to turn that sucker around and point it the other way?

Tonight we decided to get some fish and chips for dinner and sit on Nightcliffe Beach and watch the sun set over the ocean.

We got fish and chips from a food truck that gets excellent reviews, and it was obvious why. Food was amazing!

And the sunset was even more amazing!

It’s been a great day.

For those of you have been counting, we’ve eaten out twice today. The boys’ inheritance is slowly slipping away. In fact, if you are speaking with any of them, ask them to transfer me a few dollars so that we can continue with this lifestyle.

We haven’t decided what to do tomorrow, but I can feel it in my water that I’m going to be back at BTC to do some browsing around.

Maybe we will go for a drive to look at a National Park nearby, or maybe not.

Maybe we will just stay at home and do domestic duties. It is Thursday after all – washing day. Kylie said that it is OK to give the car and caravan a wash here (many places discourage it), so I might do just that. Give them both a bath just so I can remember what colour they both are, under all of that dirt and mud.

Nothing to do, and all day to do it.

Remember?

Ciao

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

Not really that much to report today. I’m pretty sure that I was all caught up last night when I posted, so no news from last night. You know as much as I know.

Probably more, if I’m honest.

Another stunning sunset – they all start to become a bit mundane after a while 🙂 – and a reasonable night sleep.

I think I mentioned the other day that I felt like I was coming down with something. Not too serious – I mean it’s not going to kill me – but just feeling like I’ve got a bit of a head cold, with a touch of the flu aches thrown in.

Sore back seems to have resolved itself, but MBW is complaining of a sore back now. Does that mean that she has been on her own back about something?

Hmmmm.

Today is probably the shortest drive that we will do for the whole trip, or at least close to it. Litchfield Banyan Tree Caravan Park to Robbie Robbins Reserve Darwin is only a mere 96km. I mean, we didn’t even crack the ton.

We pulled out of Banyan Tree CP (BTW, Google Maps calls it Litchfield Banyan Tree Resort, but I think that is taking a fairly extreme translation of the word “resort”) somewhere before 10.00am and headed towards Darwin.

We did need to make a short detour via Batchelor to make a … er, deposit at the local dump point. We are big believers in leaving some of our DNA in some of the places that we visit.

And when I say that we made a “detour via Batchelor”, it was hardly a detour when you consider that Batchelor is barely more that a one-street, unavoidable township on the road between where we were, and where we were going, but …

… actually, I’m sorry I mentioned it.

We stopped in Batchelor to empty the toilet canister.

Batchelor is a pretty little Territory township, no doubt only made richer by our generous donation.

Onwards to Darwin.

And what an unremarkable, and uneventful trip it was. The closer you get to a capital city, the more turkeys come out of their lairs and the more irrational driving you see. While I concede that we barely exceeded 100km/h on a road with a 130km/h limit, those galahs must have been doing far more that 130km/h to have disappeared so quickly into the distance as they did.

No doubt you’ve heard of the Darwin Awards? People who contribute to the gene pool by killing themselves in spectacularly stupid and dangerous ways? I’m sure that the awards were named after some of the people from Darwin who think it’s OK to overtake a caravan on a blind corner at close to the speed of sound.

Anyhow, it was an uneventful trip.

We arrived at the Robbie Robbins Reserve – it’s actually an equestrian reserve, I’ve learned – before lunch. We set up, had a quick, early bite of lunch, and went out to paint the town red.

A few interesting things that we have noticed in Darwin.

Firstly, we are no longer in a post-apocalyptic world with no internet. Our phones have come to life, emails have come in, missed calls have been reported, and the FaceBook is working again. Does it get any better than this?

Secondly, we discovered that Darwin has these things that hang from poles at intersections, and they have 3 coloured lights in them – a red one, an amber one, and a green one. The expectation is that you stop on the red, go on the green, and hope for the best at 90km/h with a caravan on the back when the light changes from green to amber and you haven’t got a hope of stopping before the middle of the intersection.

I can’t remember seeing a set of traffic lights since … since … um … Roma? Mt Isa maybe.

Anyway, on setting up Percy at Robbie Robbins, we discovered that the drain in our kitchen sink has completely broken, meaning that the stainless steel bit at the top is no longer connected effectively to the plastic bit at the bottom.

Which is a tiny bit of a problem, because water no longer goes down the drain, but cascades into the cupboard under the sink.

But Darwin has a Bunnings! Hooray for us. First stop Bunnings … who didn’t have what we needed, so we went to Reece Plumbing … who also didn’t have what we wanted, so we were directed to a place called BTC (Boats, Trailers, Caravans), and is my next-favourite place in the whole world, close behind Officeworks and Bunnings.

They have everything that you could possibly want … except for the bit I needed. But the dude there was very helpful anyway, and sent me back to Bunnings to buy one bit, so he (Mr BTC) could sell me another bit, that solved my problem.

And all I wanted at that point was to have my problem solved. And $37 to solve that problem felt like a bargain.

A quick stop at Chemist Warehouse to buy some industrial-strength drugs to relieve my worsening cold symptoms, and MBW had a browse through the local Target to see if they sell anything different to our Target.

They don’t, BTW, but MBW did find a pair of shorts.

Hallelujah!

Another quick stop at Anaconda for the same reason, and with the same outcome. MBW does like those three little words … ”fifty percent off”.

Another stop at Woolies to stock up on food, and we were back at Percy to unload.

Sink fixed (hooray!). We were at risk of having to eat out for the rest of the road trip due to our inability to wash dishes, but that crisis has now been averted.

Back into Elsie for a quick trip around Darwin to get our bearings and we found ourselves at a pretty little park called Cullen Beach to gaze out to sea and wonder what the poor people are doing today?

The highlight of the day – other than seeing traffic lights and getting mobile coverage – was having a nice video chat to 2 of our favourite little people (Elias and Isabel), which was really good because we also spoke to the other 2 favourite little people (Teddy and Lili) briefly the other day.

So our tanks are full again 🙂

Home to Percy for dinner, and we are planning what to do and see for the rest of our time here.

MBW caught up on Masterchef and I had a radio club committee meeting.

And that’s about it. Pretty mundane really. I’m just not sure why it took me so many words to explain it all …

Ciao

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

They are a casual bunch, here in the Territory. Really casual.

As you know, we are staying at the Banyan Tree Caravan Park, just outside Litchfield NP. I have no idea who owns the place, but the young guy who runs it – I never caught his name – buzzes around on his electric scooter wearing shorts, T-shirt, thongs and carrying a cold beverage. He’s probably in his early 30s.

But what’s really funny is the number of young ladies that always seem to be around the place. I have a working theory that they are all backpackers who do random, odd jobs around the place in exchange for pay, accommodation, or food, but …

… but they are all young women. And it seems that there are quite a lot of them.

I’m not sure that I have seen any other men here, other than the guy picking up leaves the day we arrived, and he acknowledged that he only does that job on weekends. His normal job is the slaughter-man at the local abattoir.

Now there is a great pick-up line for attracting women. Probably not vegetarian women though …

So there is this guy who runs the place, and a whole bunch of young ladies doing odd jobs – moving the sprinklers, cleaning the pool, washing cars, moving leaves around the place, working at the bar …

I’m not for one moment suggesting that there is any funny business going on here, but it all just seems a bit odd.

This is day 2 exploring Litchfield NP, although there is not a great deal to explore because most of the waterfalls, swimming holes, and 4WD tracks are closed, and we are not hikers or bushwalkers.

We did the usual ablutions and breakfast, packed our stuff into Elsie, and headed off. Only two things that we really wanted to see today: the Cathedral and Magnetic Anthills, and Florence Falls and plunge pool.

We stopped off at the anthills first, and what an impressive structure they are to behold. Some of them reach up to 5 metres tall and are up to 50 years old. And they are obviously still inhabited by Cathedral Ants because you could see them zipping around the place.

The Magnetic Anthills are a bit different, in that they are quite long and narrow, and are all facing north-south, to minimise the heat from the sun.

Pretty smart, those ants.

I’m not sure how (if) I am going to survive the apocalypse, but I reckon those ants stand a good chance, along with crocodiles, cane toads and cockroaches.

So why would you want to survive the apocalypse at all, is probably the bigger question.

Onwards from there, we took the turnoff a few kilometres further along the road into the NP towards Buley waterhole and Florence waterfall and plunge pool.

You will recall that we had a swim in Buley yesterday, and it was amazing. I was hoping that with today being a Monday, we would only have other retirees and tourists to contend with. Everyone else should be back at work.

There are 2 ways to get into the plunge pool – one track takes you approximately 450m but you have to climb down 135 steep stairs. Going down 135 stairs isn’t too bad, but – by definition – coming back will require climbing UP 135 stairs, and that didn’t sound like much fun at all.

I mean, you don’t get a body like this (see pictures below) by eating well and exercising regularly. And climbing 135 steep stairs sounds a bit to exercise-y to me.

The other way to get in or out from the plunge pool is to walk an “easy to moderate difficulty” path for 1.1km back to the carpark

So we had a plan – in by climbing down the stairs, and out via the longer, but easier track. Where “easier” means not having to climb up 135 stairs.

I have to tell you that the Florence waterfall and plunge pool was absolutely delightful. We were there by 10.30am and it was already pushing 30 degrees. The water was cool, but delightfully refreshing, and there is something special about swimming and splashing around in crystal clear, fresh water.

And not too many people around either, or maybe we just beat the crowds.

If I had my time over again – and we may still get the chance to visit other National Parks – I would have brought 2 things.

Firstly I would have brought a old pair of sandshoes or Volleys, because it is hard to look graceful hobbling over those sharp, ragged rocks to get into the natural plunge pool.

And secondly, I would have brought a waterproof camera. We actually have a waterproof camera at home, and I never even thought to bring it with us.

You know how penguins look really awkward on land but are graceful in the water? Well, I look awkward trying to get to the water in bare feet over the rocks, and then look awkward once I’m in the water trying to hold my phone above my head so I can take some photos.

C’est la vie.

The walk back out was through the Enchanting Forest with an amazing array of palms, trees and savannah plants.

We got back to Banyan Tree CP around lunch time to be greeted by a young lady on a ride-on mower, giving the grass a trim.

And she was wearing a bikini. Quite a small bikini.

In fact, it was hard to tell whether she was outside the bikini trying to get in, or inside the bikini trying to get out.

OK, I get it. If you’ve got the body, and the bikini, and the job to mow the lawn, and it’s a beautiful sunny day in the tropics, I can see how all of that comes together to what we observed, but I can personally think of a few reasons – actually more than just a few reasons – why wearing a skimpy bikini to mow the lawn is a bad idea.

I mean, if you did a risk assessment, it’s a REALLY bad idea.

As I said, they are a casual bunch here in the Territory.

Heck, I might even slip into my mankini and go sit by the pool to watch the sun set.

Tomorrow we hook up Percy, and head off to Darwin for a few nights.

Ciao.

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

It was hot last night. Really sticky and uncomfortable.

We ended up running Percy’s air-conditioner all night because it was hot. Well, partly because it was hot, and partly because our neighbours in the Jayco were burning incense (or mossie coils) and the smell was awful. In fact, the smell was so bad that we didn’t feel like we could leave the windows open all night and deal with that smell.

So we opted for air-conditioning.

It’s funny how silly little things can invoke a really strong memory/emotional reaction.

There is a lot of back-burning going on here, plus they are burning piles of leaves that fall from the tree canopy. There was a groundsman here yesterday dragging barrow-load after barrow-load of leaves to the fire.

The heat plus the smell of fires is reminding me of a previous trip to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Driving through Litchfield is giving me a similar feeling too, except that I am yet to see a herd of elephants (or zebra, or giraffes) crossing the road.

But this morning I got up and gathered my stuff to head over to the bathroom for a shower, and I had this overwhelming feeling like I was in Bali or Thailand, with the tall trees and palms, plus the sprinklers spinning lazily, plus the humidity. All very tropical.

Quite bizarre, really.

Because everything is so green and lush and tropical, there is also lots of critters around. Last night MBW was having a shower in the van and called out (with a sense of urgency in her voice), “can you come here please? There’s a large grasshopper in here …”. And I have to say it was HUGE!

This morning I went over to the amenities block for my ablutions, and I shared the space with a large, green frog. Which was nice, but a bit creepy at the same time.

Which reminds me of a story that Tom Curtain told at the concert the other night about a guy he met once named Billy who was terrified of frogs, and that resulted in a song that he sang called “Billy don’t like no hip hop”.

We are here in Litchfield NP for 3 nights. Today we purchased our “all parks pass” that – despite its name – only covers selected parks in the NT. There is really only one other NP that we are planning to see – Kakadu – and as you would expect, that requires a different pass because it is managed by the Australian Government, not the NT government.

Thanks Albo!

So we purchased our pass, which was quite an accomplishment given the appalling Telstra coverage here in the NT. It’s like the land that time forgot.

We had a choice of a one day pass ($10 each), or a 2 week pass ($30 each), or an annual pass ($60 each).

There is so much to see in Litchfield NP – refer back to the map I provided yesterday – that we elected to go for the 2 week pass. Even though it doesn’t cover Kakadu, there are lots of other national parks around Darwin that we can visit, if the urge takes us in the next 2 weeks.

So $60 poorer (that’s 2 x $30/each for those bad at maths), Percy was pointed in the right direction, and off we went.

The furtherest things to see are about 75km away by sealed road from where we are staying, so we figured that the smart thing to do was to going all the way to the end, and head back towards home, looking at the various waterfalls and swimming holes on the way.

That way, tomorrow we only have to go a shorter distance and start from the middle.

Well, that was the theory.

We drove to the Bamboo Tin Mine only to find that the road in was closed. And the big steel gate across the road did a great deal to discourage us from trying to go in and have a look anyway.

So – following our plan anyway – we started heading back towards home and stopped in at the various waterfalls and sites on the way.

Maybe with some better planning (and better internet), we may have been a little better prepared, but unfortunately most of the swimming holes are closed at the moment. It’s not entirely clear to me why that is, but two reasons seem to be emerging:

1. National Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May 2024 (tomorrow) through to 03 June 2024, and (it appears) that many of the national parks are closed so that First Nations people can go “on country” (whatever that means). Why there is not enough space in the NPs for all of us I’m not sure, but that seems to be a popular opinion as to why things are closed;
2. The other, and likely more important (to me) reason, possibly relates to comments that I have made previously in the blog about local flooding. We have seen it on the roads and (it appears) that local flooding = increased flow of water through the waterfalls = increased risk of crocodiles.

And none of us wants to be taken by a crocodile, especially me. I can’t imagine that it would be a pleasant way to die.

So with many of the waterfalls and swimming holes closed, we were limited to bushwalks. And many of the bushwalks are described (… or should be described) as “for the clinically insane” or “for the fanatics only”.

Let me pull a few quick thoughts together for you:

• It’s hot. As I write this, it is 33 degrees that feels like 35 degrees. (It’s also winter, if you believe the genius’ who decide what stock to put on the shelves at KMart);
• It’s fairly humid;
• Most of the bushwalks are described as “long” and “difficult” (where “long” = “allow 2-3 hours” and “difficult” = “steep, rocky, slippery, and not for the faint of heart”)
• MBW broke her foot 12 months ago, and walking anywhere can be a challenge; and
• Neither of us are in peak physical condition.

So with most of the waterholes closed and most of the bushwalks not really something that we are keen to do, we chose option #3 instead which was to drive around the National Park, in and out of all of the carparks for the various things to see, and enjoy the air-conditioning blasting cool air at a pleasant 22 degrees.

We did stop at a few of the attractions along the way, took some photos and enjoyed the spectacular views, and amazing waterfalls.

We did a short walk into one waterfall – Tolmer Falls – (the swimming-hole was closed as it is a sacred site). While the walk was only about 500m each way, I think that we both lost half our body-weight in sweat. This one was described as “easy”, but it certainly isn’t something that you would want to try in the dark, and if you are half-tanked.

As it was, it felt like we were clambering over rocks and slippery, rocky trails, and mostly forging our own way through the national park. I’m not unwilling to admit the possibility that we somehow missed the track and went the wrong way, although the track was well enough defined to find our way back out again.

I will say however that I did see lots and lots of crocs.

No, not the type that make great handbags and belts, but the footwear kind. The number of people wearing crocs to go for a bushwalk on rough and uneven tracks was quite astonishing. The heat must have affected their brains because crocs are footware that is only suitable for … um, only suitable for … um, I’ll have to think about that and come back to you.

We went into the Buley Rockpools carpark, found a shady parking spot for Elsie, climbed into our swimmers, and went for a splash in the rock pools.

And it was absolutely fabulous! The water was so clean and clear and fresh, and it was just delightful. It would have been absolutely spectacular if it wasn’t for all of the other people there with the same idea.

We have a 2 week pass so we can go back into the park again tomorrow, and have a look at some of the waterholes, waterfalls and other attractions that are closer to where we are staying.

It’s also Monday tomorrow, so with any luck it will be a bit quieter as everyone will be back at work. That’s my theory, anyway.

Back to Percy, and MBW did a couple of loads of washing and I had a nap. We’ve pulled a curry out of the freezer for dinner and we are now having a relaxing Sunday afternoon on “Territory Time”.

Everything happens slowly, we have nothing to do, and all afternoon to do it.

Territory Time. Ahhhh …

Another stunning sunset tonight. Breathtaking. We really are spoiled.

PS: OK, confession time. Both MBW and I own and wear crocs, and they are really suitable for slipping on when you need to wander over to the amenities block for a shower. I just wouldn’t wear them on a bushwalk.

Admitting it is the first step to healing.

Absolutely LOVING the Territory!!

Ciao

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

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

Another rest day today. That doesn’t mean that we sat around doing nothing all day, it just means that we took it easy. And didn’t drive any long distances.

Last night we stayed at the Katherine Farmstay again, and it was very pleasant. Even though we didn’t book ahead, we got a nice shady spot under the trees, and surrounded by people who all have Starlink devices for internet.

I’m feeling a little left behind technologically, but then the $175/month for unlimited, high-speed internet seems a bit rich when I’m just as happy being uncontactable and off the grid.

Plus the $300-$500 to buy the device initially.

We packed up Percy this morning, hooked up Elsie, and briefly became 2 Aussie Nomands by moving camp from the Katherine Farmstay to the Katherine Outback Experience (KOE). A whole 10km or so.

That’s what I call a relaxing day’s driving!

Last night we booked tickets for the KOE show at 9.30am today, but we have also have tickets tonight for a concert here featuring Tom Curtain, Luke O’Shea, Laura Frank, and Chris Matthews.

Tom Curtain is the guy who owns and operates the KOE. Second from the left.

So we packed up Percy and arrived over at the KOE just after 9.00 for the 9.30 show.

We’ve noticed a bit of an unpleasant smell in Percy’s bathroom area over the last few days. It’s not entirely unusual, but it has been hot here.

Remember the other day I mentioned that MBW needed some retail therapy, well we found a K-Hub in Katherine and browsed around, and she found a nice pair of slacks on special?

What she really wanted was some shorts, but they don’t stock shorts at the moment – they only keep winter stock. Which absolutely makes sense, right? I mean, sitting here doing the blog at 4.00pm on Friday afternoon, my watch tells me that it is currently 33 degrees but feels like 34, because it is about 95% humidity after all.

So you can understand the logic of not selling shorts in KMart, but focussing instead on warm, thick, bulky jackets because we are moving into winter.

Apparently.

So back to the unpleasant smell. It has been hot here and the toilet light has come on, so we need to empty it. There is only one dump point in town (right across the road from the K-Hub as it happens …) but we didn’t have time to swing by before heading to the KOE, so we did it after the show.

I know that you are probably beside yourselves wanting to know about the unpleasant smell, but you are going to have to hang on a bit longer.

I think that they call that “delayed gratification”.

The KOE show was fabulous. Poor old Tom had a bit of an issue this morning before the show. Nothing as bad as the “unpleasant smell” problem that we were having, but a problem anyway.

It seems that the Ghan (that’s a fancy train that goes between Darwin and Adelaide) was running late, and the KOE is like a cruise ship’s “shore excursion”, with the option (I assume) to disembark the Ghan, get on a bus and be transported to the KOE, and then back again.

Except that the Ghan was running about 30 minutes late.

So Tom started the show anyway, and the Ghan people just missed out on the first bit of the show. And what a great show it was too – horses, dogs, goats, donkeys, a Brahman bull, and a mule.

Here is a fun fact: a mule is an equine hybrid created by crossbreeding a make donkey with a female horse. You can tell that it is a mule because it has a horse’s tail, which is quite different to a donkey’s tail.

This blog might be a lot of things, but I like to think that it has some educational value.

So anyway, Tom demonstrated horse training, dog training, goat herding, horse riding, whip cracking, and he even sang a few songs.

Did I mention that – in addition to running an award-winning tourist attraction – he is also an accomplished singer and musician, having won 2 “Golden Guitars”? That’s pretty impressive.

The show was actually really good, well worth the money and a great opportunity to get the outback experience here in Katherine. Well worth it, and I would highly recommend that you consider it if you happen to find yourself in Katherine.

Tom is also a really down to earth guy and – I assume – he puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like us mere mortals. After the show he happily stood around and answered all of our banal questions that simply demonstrate how ignorant us city-slickers really are.

They also have a whole litter of puppies that they brought out after the show … awww, so cute.

MBW even mentioned that she wants a puppy for her 60th birthday, so maybe I’ll have to rethink that double-barrelled shotgun.

By the time that the show was finished and we all had a cuddle of the puppies, they had mown the area where the caravans can stay the night, and so we put Percy into place, unhooked Elsie, and had an early lunch.

And then we set about addressing the toilet issue.

Do you want the good news, or the bad news?

I’ll give you the bad news first. The toilet issue wasn’t an issue. It was an unmitigated disaster. It was a crisis. It was horrible.

Truly disgusting.

I’m reminded of the story of the guy who fell into a septic tank and couldn’t get out, so he swam on undeterred. (If you don’t get that joke, let me know and I’ll explain it).

Which has absolutely no relevance for the crisis that we were having, except to give you an idea of the scale of the disaster.

I actually wondered if calling 000 might be the correct thing to do in this emergency, but MBW didn’t think so. She thought that the Police were probably thinking of other types of emergency, and she was sure that they wouldn’t want to deal with this one.

The good news? The good news is that I am going to spare you all of the disgusting details of the disaster because … well, because as much as I believe that a problem shared is a problem halved, it really isn’t halved in this particular case.

So I’m not going to tell you any more, but I’ll leave it to your fertile imaginations to consider the possibilities.

So anyway, the crisis was addressed, the canister was loaded into the back of Elsie – VERY CAREFULLY – and we made a trip into town and make a deposit at the Katherine dump point.

And you know what they say – “when you are up to your elbows in cr*p, take the opportunity to also do your grocery shopping …”

And so we did. Into Woolworths to buy a few essentials, then back home to Percy for a bit of a rest. MBW to her book, and me to have my afternoon nap.

It was only a short nap because it was just too hot inside Percy to sleep. We are off the grid, remember? So no power for running the air-conditioner. I just got up and decided to do the blog instead.

I mean I’m hot, and grumpy, and I have all manner of things under my fingernails, but I have to say that I feel better for getting all of that off my chest 🙂

They are starting a warm-up for tonight’s concert which starts in the next hour or so, so I might go and make myself beautiful and get dolled up in my boots and spurs so that I can blend in tonight.

They are selling pizzas tonight, so we are going to indulge. Don’t let MBW ever tell you that I never take her out anywhere! Today I took her to the dump point, AND a concert.

That’s about all for today. I’m pleased to report that they have two types of music here in Katherine – Country AND Western. With any luck we will hear some of each tonight..

But first, I might just go and wash my hands one more time …

Hooroo (that’s Aussie for Ciao)

#Retirement2024

#VanLife

I’ve hurt my back. I have absolutely no idea what I’ve done, but I have a half-formulated theory that it is MBW’s fault.

I mean, she is always on my back about something.

But seriously, I don’t know what I’ve done to it. We store a lot of stuff under the bed, so we are always lifting the bed up to get something out. Like the coffee machine.

While the bed isn’t heavy – it is hinged – if you lift it badly you could risk hurting yourself.

Or maybe it’s just symptomatic of having too many days sitting in Elsie driving long distances, and I’ve stiffened up.

Or maybe I’m getting old.

Or maybe I just have a design defect, which I suspect is well and truly out of warranty by now.

In any case, I’m in a bit of discomfort. Discomfort that is bordering on pain. I might need some Asprin 🙁

We rolled into Katherine yesterday. I think I’ve already told you about the hot springs and dinner. And the groceries.

And the retail therapy for MBW, such as it was. I probably didn’t tell you about the number of locals (if you know what I mean) walking around with a slab of VB under their arm. I thought that alcohol was tightly regulated in the NT?

Another beautiful sunset over the park last night.

One of the good things about staying in a caravan park (or somewhere that loosely resembles a caravan park) is that they have facilities. Remember a few nights ago we stayed in Julia Creek and we needed to be fully self-contained – no facilities.

But the Katherine Farmstay has power and water hookup, and it also has facilities.

It is great that we have shower and toilet in Percy, but there are some things that are not allowed in our toilet – except for the gravest of emergencies, of course – and with a small hot water system, you are limited to quick showers.

And a quick shower means turn it on, get wet, turn it off, lather up, turn it back on, rinse, turn it off, wash your hair … I’m sure you understand the process.

But it is a necessary process.

Yes, a first world problem I agree, but a problem nevertheless.

But the Katherine Farmstay has facilities. So last night was the opportunity to head over the men’s shower block and luxuriate in a long, hot, steaming shower.

A full service experience, if you will.

Except it wasn’t.

Firstly, the change area and clothes hanging space is the same space as the bit where you stand and have your shower. No separation, no door, no shower screen.

Nothing.

Which means – potentially – that standing in the shower gives your clothes an unexpected wash at the same time.

Potentially.

In practice though, the water only trickled out of the shower head. The water “presure” was so poor, that I have spelled the word with only one “s”. That’s all that it deserves because it didn’t come out with a satisfying “ssssssss” sound like you would expect.

It was more of a “s”.

But it was a shower, and my clothes weren’t getting wet, except …

It only had two possible temperatures: scalding hot, and not hot at all.

So the luxuriating shower experience turned out to be a total fizzer. A bust. Tonight I’m going to luxuriate in Percy.

Last night we booked tickets for a cruise through the Katherine Gorge. I won’t say how much it was, but let’s just say that the boys will be getting less inheritance one day than they were possibly expecting. About $400 less.

Oops!

Last night we did something horrible. Worse than spending money on a gorge tour.

We had to set the alarm. Yikes!

I was hoping never to set an alarm again in my life, but alas, we needed to be at the boat jetty around 15 minutes before the 9.00am departure, which meant that we needed to be up and starting ablutions around 7.00am.

We got to the appointed departure location around 8.45am – right on time, and dutifully lined up with about 50-60 other people. The nice lady from the tour company was walking up the line, asking for everybody’s names so she could cross them off the list.

The bloke in front of us was asked his name, and he looked at the list of names and announced that he was ”Geoff Taylor”.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

There is only ONE Geoff Taylor on this cruise today buddy, so don’t try to steal my seat!

Well … it appears that there are, in fact, two Geoff Taylors on the 9.00am cruise today. What are the chances?

We did the 3 gorge/4 hour tour which was a little more expensive that the 2 gorge/2 hour tour, but included snacks, drinks, and a swim.

It was a fabulous day. The gorge is the traditional land of the Jawoyn people and our tour guide (and stand-up comedian) Russell said that he is a proud Jawoyn man.

He said that the Jawoyn people like to share the good things that they have with people of other cultures, beliefs and races.

We saw 3 gorges, and needed to swap boats each time we changed gorges because they cannot navigate the rocks between each gorge. So they take several boats up to each individual gorge in the wet season (when the water is much higher), and then in dry season (like it is now), we need to walk between gorges and change boats each time.

Now, just to warn you, I took about 2,000 photos of the gorge … and not a single one of them does any justice for the beauty, serenity, and splendour of the gorge.

I can see why it is a special and sacred place for the Jawoyn people.

We had as swim in the waterhole and it was very … refreshing (aka cold). After our swim, most people were keen to get out of their wet things and get back into dry clothes.

I had the (mis)fortune of seeing TOGT (The Other Geoff Taylor) in his budgie smugglers, and it wasn’t quite the enlightening experience that I’d hoped it could be. I’m sure that if he’d seen me in mine, he would have been impressed.

Or jealous.

It’s hard to tell how smart people really are. There was a couple on our cruise who had matching shirts and binoculars, and carried a book of birds, and they spent their time birdspotting.

Another guy with an American accent was telling the bird people that he’d written a book on orchids.

But the most interesting comment that I heard was as we boarded the boat to travel back down gorge #3 on our way home after our swim. A bloke and his wife were getting on ahead of us and he said to his wife, “we sat on the left side of the boat each time coming up the gorges. Let’s sit on the right side of the boats heading back for a different perspective …”.

Now I might be as dumb as a box of rocks, but I’m pretty sure that whatever he saw on the left going up, will be the same as he sees on the right side of the boat going back. Am I right? Or is he a genius who is clearly far smarter than me?

We also saw some fresh-water crocodiles and some goannas that were flat out like a lizard drinking.

Here’s a fun fact. Fresh-water crocodiles have small, narrow snouts and small teeth, while salties have a wider snout and stronger teeth. Freshies will not attack unless provoked, but salties will attack for food.

That means that if you fall out of the boat and a crocodile is swimming towards you, it is a salty.

Handy to know. And you don’t need to be a fast swimmer to outswim a crocodile, you just need to be faster than at least one other person.

By the time we got back to Elsie, it was close to 2.30pm and Elsie’s temperature gauge said it was 34 degrees outside … and it certainly felt like it.

We had a lovely, unexpected call from one of our 4 very favourite little people this afternoon – Elias will be 3 years old in August and we wanted to FaceTime with Grammy and Grandpa … so we had a lovely chat and caught up on all the news.

It turns out that his parents (our son and daughter-in-law) are thinking about cutting out his daytime sleep, which is funny really … because I have started to re-introduce my afternoon nap.

I mentioned the other day that MBW being sick before we left meant that we left some stuff behind, like a mat that we put down outside the van to keep dust down.

We stopped at a little camping shop on the way home from the gorge to see if they had anything suitable. While they did have some options, they were hideously overpriced, and we weren’t that desperate.

There is another camping shop in Katherine called “Rod and Rifle”, so maybe I’ll stop in there tomorrow. I might even be able to pick up a nice double-barrelled shotgun for MBW for her birthday in July.

Back to Percy and it was Cheese O’Clock (we’d missed lunch by this time), and a few loads of washing, so we went over to the animal feeding at 3.30.

MBW bravely held a snake and we looked at all the other animals on the farm. I even fed a cow a piece of bread by holding the bread between my teeth, and the cow took it from me.

All I can say is that there was far too much tongue and drool for my liking, and I will be having a long, luxuriating shower tonight to get myself clean again.

I’m feeling a bit violated!

Tomorrow we are still in Katherine, but heading over to a different free campsite for the night. We will be seeing the Katherine Outback Experience in the morning, then a concert of local artists in the evening.

But – as usual – you will hear all about that tomorrow.

Ciao

#Retirement2024

#VanLife