DAYS 46-47 FROM SOUTH TO NORTH - TOP END (NORTHERN TERRITORY) TRIP

9-10 June 2010

DARWIN

Another day and a half of exploration of Darwin.

On our travels we saw an interesting way of stopping traffic. A four trailer road train stopped traffic on busy Stuart Highway in the afternoon.

Each trailer had 24 wheels. So with the prime mover there were a 100 wheels in total for this monster on the road.

We spent the morning having a look at Charles Darwin National Park. This sign was just so unexpected and we did not have any insect repellant with us as it is in the Oka.

The national park is a very interesting place. It is a little out of Darwin City. During WW2 it would have been considered to be a significant distance from Darwin. It is the site of wartime bunkers. Hard to imagine that there were bunkers in Australia during the war. The park was part of a network of military sites where bomb dumps were established. They are very well camouflaged into the hillsides.

At one of the bunkers there was an information board with an inert bomb on display. I am sure the kids love seeing this.

The bunker was open for viewing and provided a great insight into what occurred here and added to the information about Darwin during the war.

I just loved this copy from the newspaper.

A loop road takes you to a lovely picnic area overlooking Darwin and also takes you past several bunkers.

On our way to East Arm we saw beautiful public art on one storage tank.

We got a call to say gear box was in but they couldn’t finish the service on the vehicle or packing the bearings today. We had anticipated that it would take two days. We also had a great sense of relief that it has gone well. So we another night here was required. How lucky that it had been booked. So we had a lovely roast dinner at the Hidden Café at the park whilst listening to Kimberley Jim sing. He had turned 80 several days before.

In the morning we checked on road conditions. Gregory National Park is still closed. The Goyder River is still impassable so going to Nhulunbuy is also still in doubt. Most of Kakadu is still closed. So when we get the car back we will head for Cobourg Peninsula as we have a permit for 12-16 June for this area.

Cant’ wait to be on the raod again. So now we wait for the call to come and get the OKa.

DAY 45 FROM SOUTH TO NORTH - TOP END (NORTHERN TERRITORY) TRIP

8 June 2010

DARWIN

As there was no phone call today before 9.30am we decided to rebook for the night at the caravan park and went in our hire car – a Mitsubishi Lancer to Casuarina Shopping Centre to get the mobile phone attended to. After the phone problem was sorted hubby rang TNT. They told him to ring back in 30 minutes. So 30 minutes later he rang back and they told him they had no idea what was happening with the consignment. They didn’t know where it was.

What I should tell you is that there is a national TNT number that you have to ring. They would not give us the location of the NT depot or the phone number for the depot. The Darwin telephone directory also only had the national number listed and no location. However, one of the girls that worked at the caravan park told us that they were located up the road on Stuart Highway.

So very frustrated we found the depot on Stuart highway – or should I say what used to be the depot. Luckily they had a notice on the building to say where they had relocated to. So off we went to their new location. The young girl at reception instigated a search. She also told us that they never have any trucks – or loads come in on Tuesday. The next delivery would only be arriving tomorrow. We felt like the botom had fallen out. So whoever we spoke to on the phone yesterday was lying to us about it coming in today.

Then lo and behold they found it in the depot. And on top of that it had arrived yesterday after all. Yet there was no record of it arriving on the tracking system. I was fuming. Hubby organised for it to be collected by the guys who are putting it in the car whilst I asked to speak to the supervisor. All sorts of excuses were offered but what it boiled down to was that someone had not scanned it when it had come off the truck and so it was ‚lost‘. Had we not come in to the depot we could have been waiting for days. Without the hire car it would have been impossible to do the running around we did.

So finally a sense of relief. We were to take the Oka straight to the workshop. I rang to organise accommodation through our Premium Care cover as we were not able to stay in the Oka whilst it was being worked on. At the caravan park we quickly packed up. The Caravan Park was great as they reimbursed us today’s fee. By the time we got to the workshop NRMA had provided information on the accommodation they had organised. For once things came together. We got together a few belongings and headed for Hidden Valley Tourist Park where we have a holiday unit. It is an absolutely beautiful place to stay. It has a lovely mix of holiday units - more upmarket than the usual caravan cabins, powered sites on the grass, premium powered sites, powered sites with their own ensuite and unpowered sites for tents.

Finally we felt like a huge burden was lifted of our shoulders and that we could relax. So we drove to town and went to see Crocosaurus Cove. It was very informative and well set up. In the reptile section one exhibition had 3 pythons. One male python had been introduced into the exhibit just an hour ago. Well the two males were at - they were going at each other. I missed photographing the bit where they were like a single python all twisted together. We did enjoy Crocosaurus Cove.

Then we drove to Lee Point to have a look and to watch the sunset. We had originally planned on staying at Lee Point on recommendation of someone we met in Alice Springs. Due to its location and the need to be near a bus stop saw us go to another caravan park and we did not stay here but were curious about this part of Darwin.

The beach was so different from those on the east coast. As it was low tide the water was far out.

There was lots of dead coral high up on the beach.

I saw the patterns in the sand similar to those I had seen in the Kimberley.

The sand was very hard and the undulations were hard and very raised – uncomfortable for walking barefoot.

It was also strange to see sections that were carved out by the action of the water with a section in front where the sand is smooth.

We also had some good news today from our daughter. Our grandson may not have to have a graft for the burn he received last week. It is still borderline but it is healing well. The only thing is that he has to have the dressing changed by a doctor twice a week. They are living at Smiggins for the winter so that makes it hard for the parents to manage as they are both working. Our other grandson is also healing well from the cut through lip. Hopefully our stars in alignment now.

DAY 44 FROM SOUTH TO NORTH - TOP END (NORTHERN TERRITORY) TRIP

7 June 2010

DARWIN

The gear box was scheduled to arrive in Darwin last night with TNT.

We waited
           and waited
                       and waited
                                  and waited for the phone call from the TNT depot

                                  BUT . . .
                                                  it didn’t come.

So we rang them. We were tracking it on the computer and it was showing that it was in Melbourne. We were worried. They are telling us that it is in transit. They told us they would ring us around 11.00am or maybe a little later as the truck was being unloaded.

Guess what. They called after lunch. No good news - it was not on the truck. Should arrive tomorrow. No apology,nothing!

It is just so frustrating.

We are feeling absolutely flat!

We are also stuck a bit. We don’t want to drive the Oka anywhere as it is getting worse and it is not safe to drive so slow on fast roads . We have just about exhausted where we can go on the bus. On top of everything else hubby's phone is going straight to message bank but it is not set up for it. As well there is no indication that there is anything on message bank. We need to find a Telstra dealer as when he wanted to fix it by phone the automated system does not recognise what he is saying.

So whilst waiting for the phone call hubby spent the time reading whilst I finally got going on some quilting. I have taken a printed paper but it is more like fabric, (I can’t remember what it is called) and have cut it up and spread it on the fabric and am exploring the effect of extending lines from the printed sections onto the rest of the fabric. I may also extend the shapes – don’t know yet. It will be an interesting exercise.

We activated our NRMA premium cover. To do so they had to send their equivalent mechanic out to check the car out and determine whether it really is unable to be driven in town. We are in a funny position where the car still goes but it is not safe to drive it at the speed it goes in the Darwin traffic. NRMA agreed to activate the cover so at least we will have a car again for the next couple of days as we continue to
                    wait
                               and wait for the gear box to come.

DAYS 41-43 FROM SOUTH TO NORTH - TOP END (NORTHERN TERRITORY) TRIP

4-6 June 2010

DARWIN

We are enjoying Darwin. I really like the town. It is surprising how close to Asia you feel being here. I did not have that feeling when visiting the Kimberley. Adelaide and the eastern states feel so far away. The issues that matter are also very different.

We have really explored the town. We have wandered around the streets of central Darwin. This is the city for markets. There are so many different types of markets here. Besides Mindil markets we visited Parap markets. Both are very different.

We spent considerable amount of time at the Museum and Gallery of the NT. It has a lovely mix of arts and history. The Cyclone Tracey Exhibit was very good. The skeleton of a fresh water crocodile grabbed my attention because of the texture on the bones. The Year 12 final student works exhibition was fabulous. I dropped into the Craft Council Gallery for a look. Hubby visited the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre that was just up the road from the caravan park.

Saturday night we decided to have dinner on the wharf. We were lucky to get a table right on the edge of the wharf so could see the fish milling around the wharf as the seagulls kept swooping in competition for the food that we being dropped over the side by people.

We watched the boats sail by including this amphibian vehicle.

Barra, chips and salad was just delicious. Palmerston City Band was playing in the early part of the evening. When we returned to the caravan park we were just in time for a concert of country music and bush poetry by JBS.  It was very entertaining watching the young ones respond to the music.

Sunday we spent a good portion of the day in the Botanical Gardens. We caught the bus into town as we didn’t want to take the Oka. So after going to the Cathedral we walked to the botanical gardens. There was a Garden Spectacular on in the botanical gardens and large crowds milled around the entrance area. We wandered on to the quieter parts of the gardens. We walked through the lovely rainforest and small Tiwi section of the gardens.

I just loved the Banyan tree roots.

As we wandered through the gardens hubby remembered that when he lived in Darwin there were lots of Fan Palms on the streets of Darwin and that they were no longer there. We saw some Fan Palms in the gardens but they were not the ones he remembered. So I am intrigued what this ‚fan palm‘ that he remembers looks like.

Eventually we made our way back to Stuart Highway to catch a bus back. We ended up coming out onto the highway right at the gallery that I have been trying to get to for days – Framed Gallery. Even hubby enjoyed it. It was just great with a mixture of art from all Australia. It was a large gallery and the display was of a very high standard and just brilliantly hung.

DAY 37 FROM SOUTH TO NORTH - TOP END (NORTHERN TERRITORY) TRIP

31 May 2010


DARWIN

If things were not already bad the day kept bringing sad news or bad news as it progressed.
- a friend had died last night,
- there are delays in getting the gear box,
- someone backed into us whilst we were parked,
- our house in Canberra was broken into,
- within 24 hours both 2 year old grandsons in hospital – one in Canberra one in Comma, one bit through his lip whilst the other burnt himself with deep tissue damage to his arm.
You wouldn’t believe it if anyone told you that all this could happen to someone in one day.

In the morning I checked our emails and found out that a member of my friendship group had passed away on Sunday. Before I left Canberra I knew she was ill but it still came as a jolt. The passing of a life always has a sobering affect on one especially as they were still in the prime of their life.    Prue will be missed greatly by many especially her family. My thoughts go out to her husband and daughters.

In the morning we went out to Palmerston to lodge our application for permits to Cobourg Peninsula. After returning to the car we were checking out where we were heading next. As our car can only travel up to 40 km per hour we try to keep off the busy roads at peak times and try to find alternate routes at other times. As we sat in the car we felt an almighty big jolt. Something had hit it. I jumped out and there was a car driving away from us. A passerby indicated that the car had hit our car. So I flagged it down. She tried to tell me that she had not hit us. Her brand new peugot had a mighty dent in the top of her boot.  The passerby gave us her name as a witness and strongly recommended we go to to the police station at the end of the car park and notify them of the accident which we did.   Our Oka does not even have a scratch. So we were very lucky.

We decided to hire a car for three days so we could get out more and see some of the places. So we caught a bus into town and had a good look around before going to pick the car up when I get a call from our housesitter. Our house had been burgled – every thing had been turned upside down in the bedrooms. What do we do – we are here – the house is a mess and who can work out what has been taken. What a shock! I rang the insurance company organised for notification of what was stolen to be lodged when we came back.

I then rang our son to see if he could go over and see what could be done. He tells me that last night they had taken their 2 year old son to hospital as he had fallen and cut right through his lip. It should be stitched but they couldn’t do it as the local anaesthetic wouldn’t take. So they had to take him back again today.  Because of where he cut the lip they have to try and get both sides of the lip to align themselves or he could look disfigured in the future as he grows and his face changes.

Then a little later in the evening my daughter rings to tell me that her 2 year old son has just burnt hmself and has been taken to the hospital and has 3rd degree burns on his arm.

It was not our day today.

DAYS 34-36 FROM SOUTH TO NORTH - TOP END (NORTHERN TERRITORY) TRIP

28-30 May 2010

DARWIN

We’ve accepted the inevitable and have settled down to enjoy our stay and make the best of the situation. I just wish the weather was different. I don’t mind the temperature being in the 30s – lovely. It is the humidity that is unbearable. It must be in the high 90s. Our clothes are constantly drenched with sweat and clinging to our skin.

We’ve relaxed at the caravan park. Doing the washing is quite a feat here. You need to cue to get a washing machine and then there is the challenge of drying your clothes. There is no breeze and there is so much moisture in the air that nothing dries. As the day progresses the humidity increases and then there is a down pour. So you need to get the washing off the line before the rain hits. Well I got the washing off the line one day in time before the rain and hung some in the car and draped the rest over chairs and table in our eating/relaxation tent. We left the caravan park to go on a tour and when we came back everything in the tent was dripping wet. So we had to get the water out and try to dry it again.

I am told there are cane toads around but I have not seen them. But these quite little ones hang around each night.

We went on an interesting tour - The Spectacular Jumping Crocodile cruise. We were picked up from the caravan park and were driven in a mini bus out to Adelaide River. On the way the bus broke down so they organised a taxi mini bus to take us the rest of the way. Due to the delays we had a very short time at the Window on the Wetlands Visitor Centre. It did give us a good overview of the the wetlands.

Then we went onto the cruise on the Adelaide River. We had seen salt water crocodiles on the Lower Ord River. There they had been basically sitting on the bank of the river. Here though they were everywhere in the water.

You think that there is nothing in the water and then a croc appears swimming towards the boat.

Close up some had very distinct individual features. Some were throught to be about 100 years old.

One had lost part of it jaw and you could see its front teeth – very menacing look.

And did they jump!

This one jumped way above the open window that I was at.

I would not feel safe in a tinnie in these waters.

As we cruised on the river birds soared above.

Cruising along this beautiful river who would think that such dangerous creatures to man are in abundance swimming around here.

Another day we spent just catching up on chores, going to Bunnings to get a sheet of sunshade to be used as a large mat outside and a replacement fly screen for one of the windows. You use the shade cloth doubled over and all the muck falls between the openings and you have a lovely comfortable surface to walk on under the annex.

Sunday saw us going to the beautiful St Mary’s Star of the Sea Cathedral. It was nice and cool inside with lovely stained glass windows.

We dropped in on the information centre to get information on public bus services. The service again was appalling as we waited for 85 minutes to be served. They only had two people on. Being a weekend and tourist season this was appalling. Many people gave up waiting and just left. The only compensation is that Darwin is so lovely. There is lots of public art works throughout the city.

The walkway from the Waterfront towards the city is interesting.

Along the way there was the ruin of the Town Hall. Whilst it survived the bombing of Darwin, Cyclone Tracey wiped it out.

We went to Survivors Lookout.

The Watefront from here I think is imposing rather than impressive . To the left in front of the Convention Centre above is the wave pool. You look down on the waterfront and can then make your way down by lift.

We visited the World War 2 Oil Storage Tunnels nearby.  There was interesting story boards along the length of one tunnel.

We drove to Stokes Hill Wharf to join every other tourist it seems to feast on local barramundi and chips on. The setting was lovely and relaxing and the barra was delicious. The servings were huge.

After lunch we drove along the shoreline at low tide

on our way to East Point. Here we stopped to have a lok at the Military Museum. It is a very interesting museum covering the bombing of Darwin during World War 2.

I found that I knew so little before coming here about the events that unfolded up here in the north. There were 243 people killed and over 400 wounded during the bombing of this city. A long string of buoys was laid across the harbour to protect it from submarines.

We read stories of survival. In one case a pilot got back on ‚a wing and a prayer‘. He only had one wing left when he landed. Interesting artifacts from the period were on display. This mobile workshop captured by imagination.

In the evening we met up with the new owners of Oka 397 Phil and Lee. They very genereously invited us to spend the evening with them and even picked us up from our campsite. We had a most fabulous time, a delicious meal and I believe new friendsips have been forged.