Mataranka and Bitter Springs Thermal pools

Our aim was to make Mataranka and check out the pools. I have been hearing about these pools for years and Warren did visit there many years ago.

There are three caravan parks Bitter Springs Mataranka Homestead and the Territory manor, someone had recommended the Manor to us so we went there. It was pretty good and at $30 a night far better price than we had been paying.

A nice walk to the entrance

Bitter Springs is a natural pond with very clear water (although  the bottom was very mucky), I should have taken a noodle. The water slowly takes one down to the next part and there are steps to get out a d walk back about 100 metres.

After being here we then went to the other thermal pool which has been concreted and had seats to sit on in the water, it was about 12 kms through town.

I found it a bit hot to stay in too long at a time, and preferred sitting on the seats with just waist down in the water, very shaded, we were here about 5 pm.

  

Silver Screen at Katherine

It was nice to leave Darwin yesterday and get going south. New vehicle seemed to tow well and Warren quickly got used to changing gears.

Had a quick stop at Victoria River (I think) about two hours down the road and the Army pulled up

We have been seeing them for the two days that we have been on the road.They had sniffer dogs with them for mines and drugs.

Lunch was at Katherine which we were familar with as we had had four nights there before Darwin. We knew that we had to park in the back streets with the van. Our options was Maccas on one side and the mall on the other. We decided on the mall and walking there we went past Silver Screen cafe and yes it was open and doing quite a bit of business. We had no idea that Katherine had a cinema.

The cafe is at the front on the road side and it has the use of the toilets. The cinema only screens at nights, cafe also has drinks and sweets for the movies. I thought it was a brilliant idea.

Geo caching

An interesting past time. Following GPS signals to find something that is hidden from view. I went out with Sheridan a couple of weeks ago and between us we found 28 in one day. I must admit that I only found a couple but I was looking, honest!

We had also got a few finds with Sheri back in Kununarra but this morning was the first time on our own.

I checked some out last night and made a list on my tablet but of course needed our phones for the maps and GPS.

One was just down the road called A bakers dozen, great we followed the directions to the Darwin bakery, then read the rest of the info only to discover it was one of thirteen and there were prior conditions that had to be met before hand so we didnt go on with that one.

Next one was 500 metres away and the "you are here" moment was outside a concrete wall with dirt in between the concrete. It was an nano, which is very small something like the size of a stubby pencil so pretty difficult to find. Well, we went up and down that wall in a radius of 4 metres and couldnt find anything.

There was another not tlo far away and it was on a road in an industrial area but as it was Sunday it was  deserted. I saw an electrical pole and as we had found some up in the pole, I went over to give it more attention, Warren had to move the ute and when he got there, I asked him to look up inside it. He was on the other side and said "Is this it?" It was, a green mints box with a flip top, we signed the log inside and feeling pretty chuffed, we set off for the next one.

This one was at or near the Darwin Sailing Club and following the phone GPS, we wandered through the sailing boats yard to get to the sweet spot which can be 2 or 3 metres either  way. I think we got close but had to log a "did not find". There were a few others who had not found it either, although it had been found only two weeks ago.

There had been a smattering of rain which made it steamy so we went to find a cafe that was open and we did another cache before coming back but that also was a did not find. Maybe we will have better luck further down south.

Packing up to leave tonight (leaving for down south in the morning)and its different this time as we have been here so long,  three and a half weeks and we can not just put any excess stuff into the back of the car as we dont have a back seat, will take some getting used to. Our stay here has cost $45 a night but we got our membership discount for the first week and then they did give us one night free. I heard tonight at the pool that fees are going up to $50 a night from Wed, 1 Jun as that is the start of the high season. Seems strange to me that they are expecting more people but will increase the prices.

Cranes

Its interesting what is seen when on a bus. We were taking the number eight bus which either took us straight into Darwin CBD or the other way to Palmerston, another large shopping centre and like a satellite city.

A no 5 also went into town and it meandered a bit and went mote into the industrial area.

The scene appealed to me so we had to retrace the bus route to take the photo.

New Wheels

As the tow vehicle is to be sold once we have finished travelling we opted to buy a ute. It is a work vehicle but only done 41k and is a very clean tidy unit.

It is a manual so I probably wont be driving it and only a two seater.

We took everything out of the jeep I was even able to prise our stickers off and add them to the ute. The 3D one is Warren's archery membership and the red poppy I bought at the Anzac Memorial at Albany WA.

Last night we went out for dinner and found that it needs more room to park than the jeep. parking was at a premium, obviously it was the night (Friday) to be out. The first park we found had a motor home on one side and a 4wd on the other.

I got out to help direct in and I didnt think that I would be able to open my door after it was parked anyway. Couldn't swing it in without hitting something so Warren backed out and we continued on finally finding a park and had to walk quite a way to the restaurant area.

This morning we went out and filled the fridge and freezer but there is a hassle with a two seater vehicle and that is, there is nowhere to put anything, of course there is a big tray at the back but I am not putting groceries in there in the elements so they had to go under my feet.

Funny, driving around this morning, we kept seeing these Madza BT 50's!

We bought another vehicle/ on going car saga

Oh what fun that was! (dripping with sarcasm!) After the dramas we have had with parts for the car, the complain we put into Jeep hasn't been acted on yet! Couldnt see that anything was going to happen until at least the second week in June and yes we could sit here until then paying $45 a night or we could buy something else and continue on.

So last night we searched the net for a suitable tow vehicle under the money we were prepared to pay. Found a tray top ute, low mileage, auto and diesel, $13K. salesman got back to us this morning and we said we would come and look at it.

That car yard was alongside of Kerry's where the Jeep is residing and we thought that we would call in there, just in case they had any news, they have been tardy about calling us. We were referred to a saleman in used cars and he suggested a couple but they had no towbar. Found one in yard a little higher than we had set our budget and we ended up buying that one.

The other one was cheaper but at least at Kerry's they could take the jeep as a trade in so went with the Madza, it is a tray top ute, manual diesel. Needs electric brakes which they could get fitted and 6 months rego as only reged til 28 June.

They offered a price taking those things and the jeep as trade and came uo with a tad over 12K, we had thought 10K and told him that so he offered to come half way which was shook hands on plus signed the contract.

We have another car to pick up tomorrow around lunch, paid a deposit and then organised a bank transfer for the rest. After it was paid the service manager rang us saying that we owe for the part (the part that hasn't been delivered or fitted yet, $1100).

A couple of heated phone calls and of course we have to pay but they have dropped the price to $700.

Apparently it was an over sight and they hadnt realised that the part hadnt been paid for, I think it is for them to wear but at the moment they have our Jeep, our new/second hand vehicle and our money and we have a contract. We are heading back in tomorrow and will see the customer service person as there seems to be one guy in particular who has been very slack, no ringing when he says he will and now this.

I dont think we will win but at least we will have our say. I have documented our dealing with Tom the supposed service manager.

Bus Stop painting

Yesterday we walked to the bus stop to catch a bus and it seemed that the three guys there were getting ready to paint it. There were drop sheets over and around the seats. One moved some stuff so we could sit down as they said they had to wait for something before they started.

Then i noticed that there was several spray cans and then a light bulb moment and I asked if they were going to put a mural on the stop and they said yes. We have seen many of the shelters had been painted in different things one was a brahman bull done in pink. The other thing we noticed that none of them had any graffiti on them.

We arrived back a couple of hours later and this was what we saw.

A huge green tree frog with some aboriginal art on the front wall.

I commented to the guys about how fast they were and was told that they had had to learn their skills pretty quick and also be able to run from the cops as well. It was said with a laugh but possibly some truth in that.

The final piece of art.

The bus shelters are in two parts with a roof and seats on both sides so that no matter where the sun or rain is coming, one can be sheltered.

Crocosoarus Cove

Dont think that I have the spelling right but it is a tourist place to see lots of crocs, reptiles and other things. A bonus for us and I;m sure many other people is that it is the middle of the Darwin CBD, so very easy to get there using a bus, which we are still needing to do atm.

Twenty eight dollars each for OF's (old farts) and we could stay all day even leave and come back if we wished.

Warren getting up close and personal with a smaller croc.

These were in the aquarium and just massive, there is a ray on the bottom, which is what I wanted to photograph and these two just swam through, talk about photo bombing!

This was my favourite

We did sit in on a chat about reptiles but when they were passing them around we left, there were quite a few kids there which was surprising. The lizard and python that they brought were hanging on to the handler, not the other way round. She said that they were used to people and not frightened, if they were frightened they would both puff themselves out to become bigger. 

MV Reggie

We toured Darwin streets and harbour in Reggie for a very pleasant seventy minutes.

This is Reggie.

No air con except for the windows were open or non existent but it was nice and cool travelling along.

There was a commentary as we toured the Darwin streets and quite a bit of history that we learnt. I didn't know that there had been a meat works here and after a dispute, where the workers marched on the Administrators house and in the end nothing was resolved but it did fold and the workers all lost their jobs. 

Sounded similar to Ballarat and the Eureka Stockade. I'm sure none of them saw or realized that could/would be the result. It must have been a bit nasty as the admin guy and his family were bundled out of Darwin never to return. The Darwin Senior High School is now on the site.

We drove past the Casino and Mindil markets and then down to the beach. A funny (strange) thing, as we set off from outside the visitors information centre, we were asked/told to put our seat belts on, that was fair enough but when we were on the ramp to enter the water, we were asked to take the seatbelts off. Life jackets were above our heads if there was a need. Seatbelts went on again as we came up the beach.

Hitting the water, we continued on the tyres until we were fully emerged and then we were under power from the boat engine. 

Quite a few boats, mainly catamarans were in the harbour which is five to seven times as big as Sydney harbour depending on the tides. 

We were mainly close to the East coast and could only just see the West coast and during war time a chain mesh had been put/build between the two to guard against submarines coming into the harbour. I cannot imagine the size it would have needed to be. 

What does a $1 buy these days?

Well in the caravan park if we have two one dollars and a fifty cent piece, we can get a can of soft drink from the machine. Four $1 and I can do a load of washing.

If I walk down the road a bit, one dollar gets me a ride into Darwin city and return (provided I am back on the bus not more than three hours after buying it. CBD is about eight to ten ks away, it takes 20 minutes and is a short walk from the park.

Concession, which includes seniors, pensioners and disadvantaged people, one whole dollar. 

Buses are quite new and the first time we came back, we got off one stop to early but we had a nice shady path to walk along and it was only about 500/600 metres between the stops. 

They were repainting the signs for the bus stop. All had covered shelters and seats to sit on while waiting, buses are about forty minutes apart.

And now we wait (again)

So the saga of the jeep continues. Once they had established what was wrong and ordered the part, we expected (were told) it would be right on Monday. No call from the repairer so Warren rang thinking that maybe it was a long job to replace.

Apparently it had been replaced but didnt work and they needed to ring Jeep Australia in Melbourne and linked up with a computer program to re boot it. That would be done and should be ready Tuesday. We have booked at the caravan park until Wednesday as we wanted to have at least a day running the car around to make sure it would change gears.

Oops, the part was faulty so needed to get another one to send up. Expecting that on the plane Thursday at 3 pm. They Jeep Aus didn't have another so they have sourced the next model up from ours, which is supposed to be compatible. Again Warren rang to see where things are up to, it didn't arrive but should be here at 10.30 am. Again we have extended our stay here at the caravan park until Saturday morning.

Once they have the part in their hot little hands it wont/doesnt take long to fit it so it could be as early as lunch time tomorrow. Neither of us are holding our breath but we are going to take the bus into town tomorrow just for something different.

Warren is on first name basis with the service manger and even has his direct phone number. We have been told that the amount of the cost will not change and also that this guy has not seen this fault before in his time.

We will wait and see what transpires tomorrow in Warren's daily phone call (we dont want to hassle too much but want to keep in contact so they remember that we are waiting). We may need to book here for another few days as the weekend is looming and although they do work on Saturday mornings there is no guarantee  they will be able to work on it.

We had shopped last Friday when we had the hire car and as I had been food shopping every four or five days, the fridge and cupboard are having having empty spots. The freezer still has a few packs of meat but fruit is getting low. Milk is usually what we need to replace often but as its been so hot, we are only having coffee for breakfast so milk is lasting. I have a few tins of vegetables. Meals are interesting to say the least.

Tonight we had chicken burgers, no bread roll, the last of the potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes and a serve of mixed fruit for dessert. Keeping the bread in the fridge makes it last longer so there is enough to make a sandwich for lunch tomorrow with cheese last of lettuce and tomato.

Aviation Centre

This is just across the road from our caravan park and we had been past it several times, finally we pulled in to see what was there.

This was a massive plane a B-52, there are several planes around and under it. B-52's were bombers and used in war time and this particular one was built in 1960 and used in the Vietnam conflict.

There was a lot of information re planes of course and the part that Darwin played in WW2.

An Amy Johnson plate, there is a street named after her not far from here.The medal alongside is one presented to Bert Hinkler. He was born in Bundaberg not far from home, he designed and flew planes and was the first person to fly solo from England to Australia.

Love the art work on this one.

Military Museum Darwin

I had always known about the bombing of Darwin but had not realised how much and how close it was to be taken over.

Warren had been to the museum before so we opted to go the battlement sites, one has been restored and the other has been just let go and it has broken down and has weeds growing in and around it.

This was inside the gun battery. Behind me is where the ammunition was kept ready to load and there is a track going between the lighter colour and dark colour of concrete that was used to pull the gun around. It is a massive thing with tons of concrete in it.

Warren says that it would have been mounded outside at the time to cover the structure from the air.

This was the scene from the top of it, there were two sets of steps going up and looking out to sea.

Beautiful spot with a scary history. 

Later we saw displays of Japanese money but written in English with shillings on them. The invasion was so close and the Japanese Government were so convinced that they were going to evade and take over Darwin that money had been printed. That I did not know.

Not a very good photo as the notes are behind glass. Two and a half times as many bombs were landed on Darwin as on Pearl Harbour. I cant find the actual number but Darwin was bombed 64 times.

Rental cars!

 They advertise cars from $32.60 a day, sounds good doesn't it. We hired a car for five days and were billed $635, now I am not a maths whiz but that doesn't compute to me.

Docket says, car $32.60, vehicle rego $6, road assistance premium $1.50, insurance $25, location $100 over the rental period plus a couple of other things so $32.60 per day I think not! I do think that it is false advertising.

It was nice to have the convenience of being able to get around. The car has been returned this morning and the $100 location charge was taken off, we can only assume that if the car was delivered to a different drop off point from where it was picked up then they would need to get it back to original place, so total bill was $535 which is still just over $100 a day.

Rent a car from $32.60 phhhhh! I think that is impossible.

Green ants (but nice scenery)

Yuk! Green ants love trees and anything else that they can get on to. Sheridan, Jordan and I were out yesterday looking for things and as such ended up around and under some beautiful trees, then we discovered that they green ants dont mind at all leaving the trees for some thing else namely us.

We disposed of a few but then one was in the car and then another bit me, high up on my leg about half an hour after our first initial encounter of them. Yuk yuk and yuk, I guess they werent too aggressive but we did get a few bites.

I took Warren back to some of the places that we went to yesterday because the scenery was great, we stayed away from the trees though.

This was taken at East Point reserve.

We then went to Cullen Bay

This was the marina and there were only a couple of places to eat.

We shared a plate of squid and salad (yay, no chips in sight) I am finding the meals are quite large so we shared, better for the waistline and the budget.

Warren had a headache so I played chauffeur, I also drove yesterday while Sheridan navigated although I would not have been able to retract our steps from yesterday, we covered a lot of ground I know that!

Fishing

What do you do in a seaport, go fishing of course.
The boys Chris and Warren had booked to go on a charter boat and off they went early Saturday morning.

As Warren said not much to tell, they were instructed on how to do it and some history of Darwin and fishing which he said was interesting and informative.

He was a bit peeved as Chris caught more than he did, nice size fish but it was a catch and release.

It is a golden snapper.

Darwin Wharf

We set out to go to Mindil markets to get a meal on Thursday night. The GPS led us to close where we got a ticket but it was just after hours so we were safe (from a parking ticket at least). We didnt know where to go, GPS said we were 200 metres away, it lied!

We asked someone on the street who looked like she was going home from work therefore a local. We were quite a way away. Its quite difficult for someone to give directions when the other person doesnt know any of the local landmarks, finally she said Oh the casino and we said that we could put that in the GPS and we went from there.

OMGoodness, we didn't get to the markets are there were so many people and cars, no parking in any of the parks we drove into and the areas were quite tight, awkward when driving an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar place. Finally I said to Warren lets just go to the wharf and eat.

We had been there earlier in the day but its not operating then but its a rocking little place for evening meals.

We were luckily enough to get a table right on the waterside and enjoyed a nice meal of chow mien with seafood of course.

We could see some movement in the water and on closer inspection, they were giant fish, some were the size of a dinner plate and about as thin plus others that were also huge. Fishing was not permitted just there but it was up to the entrance which was about thirty metres away. 

Good news and bad news

The part for the car was in Melbourne thank goodness and has been dispatched, however it wont arrive here until late today or tomorrow but they should be fitting it on Monday Yay. Apparently then $1900+ does include fitting and delivery so we might be able to have a cup of coffee with the change from 2k.

Now that we know how long it will take, we hired a car for the few days, four days in a caravan park, is a long time to spend with no wheels.

Picked up the car yesterday and then picked up the GPS from our car in the yard, saving about $8-10 a day and set off for the mall for a coffee.

Darwin mall was pretty quiet, there was this nice fountain but it didnt go all the time.

Many of the shops were similar to home.

Getting back to the car, there was a ticket on the windscreen, what the?

It was a parking ticket costing $40. We had parked in a spot that required a ticket to be bought and displayed. The car is quite low to the ground and we pulled into the spot and looked at the sign which we saw to read 2 hours no charge. We had made sure that we were back within the time and were surprised at the ticket. On more in depth reading of the sign, under the 2 hours no charge, was the word Sat.

Damn, it was not Saturday. The top of the sign said Pay-Display but from the car we couldnt see that.

Oh dear the perils of parking in an unfamiliar city. Silly us I guess for thinking a city would have free parking.

Our savings of using our own GPS was just swallowed up in a parking fine.

Darwin

Finally we made it into Darwin. I first came to Darwin in 1994, just for a long weekend. Warren was paying a visit to units and he was to fly back on the Friday but I arranged to get two flex days and met him here to have Friday to Monday. he had been a couple of times with work but I hadnt.

 Coming from Canberra where it was blowing a gale and freezing, it was quite a shock to get out at Darwin airport and be met, only only by Warren but heat! I couldnt believe how hot and humid it was. He took me to the mall and I kept going into shops to get cool.

We drove to Linchfield National park and wandered around the wildlife animal park and then back to have dinner with an old school friend of Warren's and his wife. Dinner was good and I tried lots of different meats, camel, deer, crocodile and emu. At the restaurant patrons choose their meats and then took them to the chefs to cook.The chefs then threw the meat altogether on a hot plate and cooked it so didn't know what meat was what.

The next morning I was sick, not from the dinner but a raging cold had got to me, I was running a temp, coughing and wheezing and slept on and off all day. Still not that good the following morning, Monday, but had to catch a plane home. So my memories of Darwin are not great and I have always wanted to come back and see it properly.

Darwin is still not being kind to me. We arrived mid day Friday and set up. Saturday Warren wanted to get a hair cut so we went to a shopping centre.  He couldnt get an appointment for two hours, it wasnt far so we got some groceries and drove back. The car didnt seem to want to change gears. Warren returned to the shopping centre and again the car got stuck in second gear. Dealership was open until one pm so booked it in, the earlier possible time which was Tuesday, yesterday.

News on the car, we need a new gear thingy, its a sensor apparently. Not one available here in Darwin. Best scenerio is one from Melbourne which will take 3 to 4 days to get here, worst scenario is they will have to order one from the states which could be a three to four week turnaround. Cost is about $1900, not sure if that is fitted on not. Should hear from them today where a new thingy can be located, then we will decided our next move.

Caravan parks

These come in difference sizes and shapes but I think we have found the best park in Katherine!

It is called the shady lane and for good reason there were lots of shade trees and some low garden beds to seperate sites from each other.

We had a very long site so we put the van back as far as it could go, no-one was behind us in the time we were there and the car could be parked in front of the van straight in, plenty of room for the annex.

Sheri and co were on the next site and theirs was more square than us as they were on a corner.

The best part was the toilets and shower, oh my goodness, white tiles on the walls and mushroom tiles on the floor with muted lighting set in the walls, plenty of room in both and top of the range toilets, the higher one with the soft self closing lids. It was always clean but I never experienced them closed.

This tree was on the way out of the park. It was about 5 kms out of town, no codes or keys to get in and out of the park or the amenities. As it is a Top Tourist park which we are a member of, the cost each night was $39. 

Katherine Museum

After a long drive seven hours in the car, we didn't do much in Katherine. The canoeing through the gorge was a no go due to low water levels.

Coming back from town, one afternoon Warren said he would like to go to the museum, it was on the way to the caravan park. My thought "Not another bl......museum! then I thought maybe I could drop him and pick him up after" Then I thought that I should go with him if that what he wants to do..

Again it was a different museum to many that we have visited and thank goodness the buildings were air coned.

First building housed WW1 and 2 things but it was more about how the war affected Katherine and what happened there. My Dad was stationed not far from Katherine and he did go to Katherine and Darwin to pick up or deliver vehicles so that was interesting to me. They had a book that was for visitors to the museum to write about their family members who may have been in the area.

The next building that we went to, held a plane that had belonged to a doctor who flew it to administer to patients in the war and after. The local primary school is named after him. Clyde Felton, I had not hard of him before, he bought three planes altogether, the second one being called IOU as apparently he had to borrow a lot of money to replace the first one which he crashed.

There were also a lot of stories about notable people from the area and stories from the stolen generation.These were in written form around the sides of the building with photos of the people. Its rare to see and hear about the kids from the stolen generation.  It was well worth a look. There were  couple of other buildings one on the telegraph coming to the Centre and we had watched a doco on the floods of Katherine in 1997. We passed the bridge on the way to Darwin and it was very high above the river, 18 metres and the waters were well over it. many people lost everything but thankfully there were only three deaths.

Molly (Ian Meldrum)

As there was no TV in Lake Argyle we bought some DVDs to watch. One was Molly. This was done as a telemovie and was shown on TV earlier in the year while we were travelling.

Molly being to Aussie Icon to Australian music industry and I guess he was a part of many people our age and younger, lives, we bought a copy to watch.

We has seen some some on the shorts when it was being advertised.

Well, what a show it was!

Molly ended up as the front person for Count Down a music show that went for thirteen years on the ABC of all places. He interviewed many famous musicians from here and overseas, everyone seemed to know Molly. Even interviewed Prince Charles when he came to Australia, I think Charlie wanted to express that it was good for the young people to have such a show.

It was a warts and all, showing the drug, drink and party scenes as well as the hard work that was required to put the show on. ABC bosses were not convinced that it was the right thing to do even though the ratings were sky high.

Molly was played by a young actor, well he seems young as we first saw him in pizza ads and then tyre ads. He really had only done bit parts before but he did a fantastic job and it did seem like he was Molly.

Molly had had a serious fall three or four years, he fell off a ladder while putting up Christmas decorations! It was set in the hospital bed and he was remembering his life.

We found out about why he ended up wearing a hat but it was not revealed while everyone called him Molly.

Durack House Museum

Bit of a history lesson here. back in 1800's the Durack family came out from Ireland got into cattle and then decided to take up land in Northern Western Australia. They drove 7,500 cattle from the south west corner of Queensland up and across the top end. They thought it would take six months, it actually took them two and a half years and they arrive with only half the cattle.

Coming back from Wolfe Creek Crater we had to stop/slow to go through a mob of cattle that were being moved along the road, there were 500 in that lot and they took up a lot of area, I couldn't imagine seeing fourteen times that many.

Anyway they finally made it and operated as a cattle station for many years. Drought flood and heat all made a difference and one of the sons Kimberley suggested and proved to the current Government that if dams were put in place then the water could used to grow crops in the Kununurra area. (this is now Lake Argyle)

The dam wall was built but it did mean that the homestead was in the valley that was dammed. The homestead was taken apart stone by stone and moved then reconstructed in its present location. The rest of the buildings are at the bottom of the lake.

The dam holds between 18 and 76 times as much water as the Sydney harbour which is a massive amount of water. Rice and vegetables are grown as there is ample water to do so rather than rushing out to sea.

I didnt expect to be going to see it and so I didnt have my camera but it was a very impressive building and not cluttered with too much stuff.

Kelly's Knob

We went shopping into Kununurra with Sheridan but first she wanted to show us some spots that they have found when they were there earlier.

She told me that I had to climb a little. I dont particularly like stairs or rock climbing!

That was where we were headed after going up a few steps (with a rail)

It was nice to get in the shade of the tree.

Stepping around further was the overview of the township which was flat and the rocks just seemed to come out of nowhere.Very pretty.

Sunset cruise

This was a four hour bus and cruise on the lake. The bus took us across the dam wall and down to the quarry where the rocks came for the wall, then we went back to the lake to board the boat. There was a commentary for some of the way and then we stopped for a quick refreshing swim for those who wanted to go in. Our skipper was Tracey and she told us that people could either jump of the roof of the boat or swim across to land and jump off Jump rock which was about 12 metres high. Tracey did suggest that if anyone was going off Jump rock that they should keep their legs together. They had one guy a few weeks earlier who stepped off and he needed to go to hospital after the cruise!

Jordan was keen to do that and Warren and I both told him he was nuts. Of course our lot, Warren, Chris and Jordan were first in the water and they all set off swimming. Then they had to climb up on a ledge, Jordan was faster than Warren and went further and they jumped off together but the sun was in our eyes so I didnt get a photo but did get Chris' splash with the other two in the back ground. There was only time for one jump.

Two crocodile were seen which apparently was unusual this early in the season and she explained that they were freshwater crocs and dont have a wide enough mouth to take a hunk out of a person. They eat 70% insects and the rest of their diet is small fish. It is estimated that there are 30,000 crocs in the lake at any one time.

Aidan being the only kid under 10, got to start and stop the boat.

We continued on with unlimited soft drinks, tea or coffee. Just before sunset we stopped for the sunset swim and were told that everyone needed to take at least one noodle into the water so that our hands were free to hold a drink and get nibbles. The nibbles, biscuits cheese and dips were floated past and drinks were passed out or taken with us into the water. The water was warm and so clear.

Our family was the last to board as we had to have a photo taken.

and the sunset, then I jumped in the water with everyone else.

Lake Argyle Resort/caravan park

We booked in for a week, one to give Jordan a chance to get over the bug that he had (they got awesome service at the hospital in Kununurra) and also to have some downtime for the rest of us as it is a long way across to Katherine in the Northern Territory. One week also gave us a discount so it was $39 a night over the seven nights rather $43 a night, got to make savings where you can hehe. Lake Argyle is 70 kms south west of Kununurra and only about 45 kms inside the Western Australia/Nt border..

No internet, TV or phone service, ahh what do we do without that for a week! Each afternoon internet was available in the beer garden or we could buy into a roaming service. Coffee and cake and phones at the ready to link into the service, hum, very slow. We bought some time, $19.95 for fourteen days which gave us 500mb. Oh to be absent from technology is hard to take these days. I mean someone may really want to tell us something!! Sad isnt it when we all became reliant on the internet. The service was fine to check emails and FB but not good enough to downloads photos into my blog.

A couple of times a day we visited the pool, an infinity pool which means the water goes right up to the edge and when swimming there, it was as though the pool went up to the mountains. It was cold as when people got in or swam around the top layer of water which had been warmed by the sun washed over the sides.

The pool was also about 500 metres from our site so it was good exercise to walk there have a swim and wander back.Where I am standing it is the deepest at 1.5 metres.

Often we did shower with a friend, a few green frogs frequently the bathrooms, I refused to use a cubicle that had a moving frog in it. I didn't mind so much if they were still and out of my way.

The park was nice and shady and there were plenty of sprinklers going during the day and evening to water the grass and keep the dust down. With the lake just below us which is at least 18 times the size of the Sydney harbour, they were not going to run out of water anytime soon.

The lake was dammed in the late seventies so that the water could be piped to Kununurra to grow crops.

Bungle Bungles

This was a tour that we were going to do, the kids were going to do the full day trip and we had opted to do the flight over the Bungle Bungles. Then we find out that this year the tours don't start until May so that was out. Saving ourselves quite a bit of money, which is a positive I guess. Kununurra has the mini Bungle Bungles and we went there today and did some rock climbing and took some awesome photos.

Warren and Sheridan deciding where they needed to go next. This a national park about 2 kms from the town of Kununurra. I was still in the car with the a/c on.

The colours of the rocks are amazing and they just seem to appear out of nowhere in many cases.

This is Jordan coming down from a rock formation.

Awesome scenery at rest stops

Along the way about every hundred kilometers or so there is a rest stop and they are advertised on the road well before so stops can be planned. There are others as well that are just a pull in off the road but these are just that, a chance to get off the road and stop.

The others that are sign posted have the symbols of toilets, shade and picnic tables some even have dumps points and can stay overnight/24 hours.

We stopped at two of these on the way to Kununuura and the scenery in each of these was stunning. The first one was called something or other cliffs, I dont remember the name but I certainly remember the scenery. It was a bit of a drive in off the road but so worth it.

There is a bus parked to the top right, that is how big the parking area was, the toilets were about a hundred metres to the bottom left of photo. As we were so high above the road, it was a little windy but that made it feel cool. I think the bus had been there more than 24 hours, although unless you were writing or painting, I could not imagine staying there for long.

The photos really dont do it justice as it was far more serene than they show.

The next stop for us was a hundred and ten ks far and it was called Mary Pool, not Mary's just Mary.

We drove in as the sign stated shade, toilets, dump point and picnic tables. At the entrancement there was only an industrial rubbish bin, so we drove further and over a rise, it was gravel and we saw the shade and then we were on a concrete road that had lots of holes where water had washed through, by that time we were committed to keep going as we couldnt turn the car and van around. Another km and we were there, at an opening with large trees, toilets and tables. We parked under the trees to allow the car to cool down and set off for the toilet block when Warren turned back to the car saying that there probably wouldn't be any toilet paper. He unearthed a roll from the van that is kept for such times. To our surprise paper was supplied!

Plenty of cattle just through the fence who were used to people coming thru as they just went about their feeding. The concrete road went across water and made rock pools on either side and is apparently a regular with the locals to go for picnics and a swim although there had been a salt water croc sighting about a month ago. The water was low when we were there with no water spilling over but there was water on each side. It was a welcome break and after a few minutes taking in the scenery we were ready for the next hundred ks which would take us into Halls Creek. Unfortunately I have no photos of Mary Pool.

Another great thing about both these stops, no or very few flies!

ANZAC day

We were in Halls Creek and had asked around about a dawn service and checked on the web sites. It seemed that they only had a service very few years and nothing was organised. As we had a long day to get to Kununurra (Lake Argyle) we would get up as if were going to an early service and get on the road. The evening before six bikes had rocked in, four Harleys, one lookalike Harley and a trike. We were awake the morning of ANZAC and heard them ride out just before sun up. We got up and went about our business of packing up when I noticed the bikes were parked out the front of the caravan park, which seemed odd.

We drove out at 6.30 am and as we did we saw the six riders, all in blue shirts walking back from the main road, as we crossed onto the main road, we could see the remains of a service, with a few people and chairs still there. Buggar, we missed it, obviously we had asked the wrong people.

Our first two hours along the way we only covered one hundred and twenty kilometres as we were behind a convoy (not sure how many vehicles are required before its classed as a convoy), there was a tail end charlie with a massive truck with a bull dozer on it and a forward scout. Every bridge we came to, as they were narrowl, had to be closed and then the truck inched its way across, often we had to stop while this happened. Finally the road did get a little wider and as we had the CB on and had been listening to their comments re road etc, Warren requested to get past and they pulled us through. Soon after that the bikes came through as well and then passed us. We seemed to leap frog them the rest of the way finally all ending up at the same fuel station in Kununurra around lunch time.

The five bikes kept together with the trike being quite a way back, often the bikes would stop for her to catch up. The trike was really like a small car and she had trouble getting past the truck as the roads was very narrow when it was time for her to pass, she had to wait until the road widen.

Having the CB on the truckie channel we could hear all the chat going back and forth re the road surface and width. Can learn a lot, sometimes learn or hear something that you dont want to also.

Actually the truckie with the bull dozer was talking about gold, coming from one of the property that we were passing, and being used in the Quilty cup. It is an endurance ride of approx 100 hundred hours for talented stockman and their horses. He said that there was more gold in the Quilty cup than the Melbourne Cup. Not sure if it is still being run, I must look it up.

Wolfe Creek Crater

Warren was keen to go and see this and has talked about it since the big plan to do the lap came into reality. It was 18 kms out of Halls Creek and then turn onto a gravel road. Although it was gravel it was a very wide road, there were a couple lots of roadworks being done (on a Sunday!). Other than the road workers, we did not see another soul. It was approx 125 five kilometres on unpaved road as the GPS told us (she doesnt like us going on "unpaved" roads), they say to allow two and a half hours to get there, it is on the way to Alice Springs, if one could imagine going that way. The GPS threw a wobbly a couple of times, telling us to turn left to go up a river bed, there was no road there at all.

Finally we saw the sign post into it and then there were three gates to open and close. I grew up on a farm and quite used to opening gates but these three were of course all different and they opened inwards.

It was surreal to get there and there is nothing! So quiet and peaceful. There was a toilet on concrete which is good to keep the critters away but Warren did open it first and had a look before I went in, thank goodness I learnt in China to always carry tissues with me and I even had a pack of hand wipes.

Near the edge of the crater was some info boards and then there was the walk to the rim. It was about a 400 metres walk on a pathway, I went about a third of the way and Warren informed me that he would go up and he was going to walk down into it as well, he was gone about 35 minutes.

There was no shade so I got our visitor's chair from the back of the car and sat in that under the "carport" that held the info boards. There was a slight breeze and was very pleasant except for the occasional thought of "What if Warren slips and falls?". He took some great pics

We left this time with me driving so he opened the gates hehe, and there were two other vehicles coming in and further back up the track we saw a guy pedaling a tricycle, goodness knows where he was coming or going to but, he had quite a bit of gear on board and a solar panel so we think he was in for a long haul.