Welcome to Cindy and David's 2022 Adventures
12 Darwin to Tennant Creek
Our stay in Darwin was not all crocodiles and beach visits; work took place in various guises as you can see with this photo of Sybil busy sewing in her extension.
On the left Syb and David are fitting her "new" tool box, given to her by a friend, after they had spent hours worked on it with sander and paintbrush. She is very pleased with the result!
On the left Syb and David are fitting her "new" tool box, given to her by a friend, after they had spent hours worked on it with sander and paintbrush. She is very pleased with the result!
Rapid Creek water gardens is a beautiful park with a number of water features. The parents of these children brought their own slide and hose pipe!
Mindil Beach, again, this time back for a Laksa and fire-stick show. The markets are very impressive but our favourite band was nowhere in sight and in fact no didgeridoo bands were there at all. A gap in the atmosphere indeed!
Aboriginal Dancers on Mindil Beach. (They played a didge!)
The swimming pool at KOA caravan park
Nightcliff waterfront
Selfie at the cafe where we had tea and ice-creams
Sunset fare-well dinner at the Sailing club on the eve of Sybil returning to Tennant Creek
On our last day in Darwin we visited the Art Gallery and Museum which had obviously been very recently updated. It was quite magnificent and included the film of the dreadful cyclone of 1974 when Darwin was totally destroyed (with the original commentary by Mike Willesee)
Set off for Tennant Creek first stopping at the Darwin Public Weighbridge to confirm the long-held belief that the caravan was 80Kg overweight (horrors).
Then stopped at Adelaide River to visit the war grave cemetery
Then stopped at Adelaide River to visit the war grave cemetery
I like the sentiment on one grave-stone. "May we who are left prove worthy of the sacrifice". Something all living in a free world should bear in mind.
Standing on the old bridge over the Adelaide River and the new bridge and railway bridge looking upstream
Hard to believe that this is the same massive tidal river that we did the Crocodile river cruise on just a few days ago, mind you this bridge is a long way inland.
Hard to believe that this is the same massive tidal river that we did the Crocodile river cruise on just a few days ago, mind you this bridge is a long way inland.
We planned to stop at Katherine on the way back to Tennant Creek but the caravan parks were only offering unpowered sites so we decided to find a free camp further along the way. We found King River (dry at this time of the year) and made camp there for the night
Next day we stopped at The Manor Station In Mataranka to find a Jam session in progress. The owners son was jamming with the muso's that provide the entertainment in the evening that we so enjoyed when we were in the caravan park down the road on the way to Darwin.
We had a soak and float in the hot spring before we continued on to Daly Waters.
We had a soak and float in the hot spring before we continued on to Daly Waters.
Daly Waters was packed so full of caravans and tourists that we decided to go another 6km to spend the night in the caravan park at the back of the Hi-Way pub. The pub had a constant stream of road trains; their size seem to get bigger and bigger. Fuel at these infrequent stops is at a premium. ($2.76/l) Quite frightening.
Only six of the 12 Apostle birds came to visit us the next morning.
Only six of the 12 Apostle birds came to visit us the next morning.
The sunset lit up the beach right at the front.
Just had to take a photo of this sign which is on most of outback roads in the Northern Territory and, no, we did not travel at that speed! We are "off to see Australia at 80K an hour"
More to come on this project... We bought steel tube in Darwin to make a frame for the tray of the ute. We will return to Tennant Creek to borrow a welder to weld it together.
I neglected to read the inscription on this statue in Mataranka.
Interesting that the shirt is red
Interesting that the shirt is red