THURSDAY 25TH AUGUST 2011. HOWARD SPRINGS DARWIN

Well, we have made it to Darwin, sorry everyone down South but it is very hot here, its been between 31-34 deg since arrivng here last Thursday, yes... I know what it been like down there...cold cold cold, Carol told me everytime I spoke to her. She & Sandra made it back here safely last Sat morning early.at 1.40am, I was wearing a singlet top & they were in track suits!!  So this is what has been happening since last time....... We finished up our time in Dundee, worse luck, we all had the best time of our lives, we didn't stop doing and seeing things that we usually just dream about. Our two hosts/tour guides are the best, so to Paul & Sharon Smedley, many many thanks. TUESDAY....  We just hung around the camp, watched another beautiful sunset.

 The Smedleys came over for a baked dinner, it was blooody beautiful, well done Di & John. It turned out to be a big nite especially for Rans who woke up a bit seedy!! (must of had a few quiet drinks while Carol was away !!)  WEDNESDAY.....  Rans went for a early morning walk along the beach, with the sand north of Dundee being very soft and it was hard walking, the water looked so inviting but you just can't risk it!!! I got back in time to see the Smedley's off as they were heading into Darwin to do some shopping and picking up a friend from the airport, early next morning. We just slowly packed up, cleaning a little, today was a bit easier and we hit the sack early. THURSDAY... We packed up, John & I doing a pretty good job by ourselves and were ready before 9am. The drive back to the Hwy was no where near as rough with them grading the road during the week, but there were some roos/wallabies, one of whom I just missed, thank god he didn't turn back on me, We arrived at our Darwin desitination which is for 2 weeks, a caravan park 20 min from centre of town called the Oasis at Howard Springs, it is a nice park with nice hosts, Rose & Gary. They do cramp them in but all the parks are like it up here, mostly elderly people from Sth of the boarder who stay 2-3mths. At least we do have some shade. After setting up, again the boys did a good job !!, I washed the van down. Later that arvo we drove into Darwin to do some shopping at our favourite store....Woolies, we went down to the waterfront, which is a nice area, we had a drive & bit of a  look around but we will be coming back again at a later date. We drove over to the Mindil markets, we got there earlier today and was not so many people as before, we had a walk around & met a couple we had met in Dundee, we then had dinner, so many places to pick from, then went to watch the sunset, had another walk around before heading home. I just relaxed watching some Tv, for the first time in 2weeks. FRIDAY.... I woke up early and started my day of cleaning (Carol back early 2moz) by doing 4 loads of washing, then went down and booked the car in for a service & washed the car, off to woolies again, return and start cleaning the inside of the van !!! I should be called Sadie, but its all done for when Caz returns later tonite. I watched 2 games of footy. John & I headed in to the airport around 1am and we see a couple of dingos wandering near the airport. The girls are ahead of time which is good, they were the first ones out, they looked very tired. We got back to the park and hit the sack. SATURDAY... Carol slept till 8am, had some breakie, then caught up with  Di & Tezza. The Butlers had already been to the local markets, then the Bewells & them went grocery shoppping (again!) In the meantime I put up our shade cloth awning to prevent the sun beaming down on the side of the van. The cloth had been stored in the roof car carrier, which I had locked back down...... so I thought!!! anyway Carol & I decide to go for a drive to the Howard Springs Nature Reserve and we drove out onto the Hwy with heaps of Saturday morning traffic...... and at the 1st set of lights, we turn right and we continue for 300m when Carol sees something out of the corner of her eye in the revision mirror... she turns her head to see our pop up shower land & roll on the road, with 2 cars behind us swerving to miss it. The carrier pod had opened & stuff was flying out... with us losing a flipper, the shower & pop up water bucket....HOW EMBARRASSING!! Well... I pull into a side street, Caz jumps out runs back along the road to grab the stuff,  a family had pulled over and as Carol gets closer, a young aboriginal girl has picked up the stuff and handed it to Carol (along with a dirty old sloppy joe that was not ours.. god love her !) the parents in the car also offered to drive Carol back to me, but she said she was alright (what a lovely family) anyway it could have been much worse... could have happened back on the Hwy!!!! We continued on with Carol trying to to keep her head out the window to see if it was staying shut, but it did thank god or I would have been in trouble.. again !!. We stopped at the reserve and had a walk around, it's not much,  you couldn't swim and the grounds were very ordinary. We then drove over to Palmerston which is the new Satellite city for Darwin & is only 3min drive from the van park. We then came back had some lunch, Carol had a 15min nap, we had a swim in the pool and we all had barra, prawns & salad for dinner, again it was bloody beautiful. Let me say the midges up here are having a feast on me (Rans) (he is looking at getting a pair of cheesecloth hippiepants to wear!! OH MY.)..... SUNDAY. We head off into the Rapid Creek Markets which are the oldest markets in Darwin, and they mostly sell, fruit & veg and most of this is Asian, some of the products none of us have heard of or even seen before, but it was OK, we got some nice salad veges. We then drove into town & down to Fishermans Wharf , boy there was a huge jetcat, set out as a trawler, it was so big, we couldn't believe the size of it.

We then went to Stokes Hill Wharf and both cars got a park close by, how lucky, it's a wharf where you sit by the waters edge & have your lunch and throw your scraps into the water and see some big fish take those scraps. Food was OK, nothing to rave over. We then drove up to the Bicentanial Park where we got a free park and we walked down past the Gov't House/Supreme Crt to the water recreational park.

Well this is a great spot, grassed area, trees for shade, swimming area nettted off & a wave pool. It was so clean and a great spot for families plus teenagers & us.  We bought an ice cream had a bit of a look around at the scenery (especially the ones in bikinis!!)  and then slowly made our way back along the waters edge passing the Deckchair cinema. We then made our way back home for some arvo happy hour. We had a nice tea...mustard chicken  yummie.  MONDAY.... Carol & I left early going to Casurina Shop Centre,a bit of retail therapy, we needed a new phone ( rans's died!), clothes (not enough cool clothing !!).We then went for a drive along the water and found a nudist beach, Carol wanted to go see, but I of course said NO (ha ha). We then headed into the local court for some paperwork to be signed then had a nice lunch in the SMITH st Mall, We then went to the Botanic Gardens for a nice walk through.

The rainforest area was about 10 deg cooler. Of course Carol loved all the tropical plants & flowers. We then went for a drive around Fannie Bay, Cullen Bay stopped here for a beer, its a beautiful area with a Marina & huge homes on the canal. We then made our way home to where John & Sand had been out for the day whilst the Butlers had paperwork to follow up on and organise tyres. TUESDAY.... We head off to the NT Museum & Art Gallery, It is well set out especially with the section on Cyclone Tracey, admission is free and it is well worth the visit. We then had to return to Casuarina Shops as the new phone we got wasn't working, (dont you just love Telstra !) we then made our way back for lunch and a resting arvo.WEDNESDAY....... We all headed off back to Cullen Bay (the mariner, canal & the huge homes are on  a lock water system, so  to get their boats/cruisers etc into & out of the harbour) From Cullen Bay we caught the ferry across to Mandorah.

It only takes 15min but you are looking out into the Timor Sea or back to Darwin Harbour & skyline with light blue water it was AMAZING. On arriving at the wharf at Mandorah, where the locals fish, we had a 5min walk along the shoreline to the Pub, the only building in sight. It has a good size swimming pool, which we used immediately, we then sat at the pub for lunch, with 270deg views of the water. The meals are reasonable in price but its a NO CHIP PUB (so no fries today Rans !!) it also took 1hr20min for lunch to arrive but with a couple of drinks, the views and company it went quickly.

 We then had another swim in the pool and Rans then went for a walk to one of the points/headland via a dirt track, it was an awesome outlook directly out to sea but the rubbish left by the locals was incredible. We then made our way back to the wharf where a local was half, maybe fully pissed !!... started to sing to Carol ( "I wont forget you , babe!!") and even worse he put his arm around John....yuk !!( he absolutely stunk !) Sandy had to disinfect John. We then made our way back on the ferry & home to the park. Di stopped off and bought a case of mangos...yes they are starting up here. THURSDAY......Rans put his car in for a service at the K Mart Auto at Palmerston, not far from the van park. At lunchtime we get a phone call from them to tell us that a truck has ran into our car....Bugger!!  Rans & John go down there, the driver who had delivered tyres to the store has tried to fit through a car space between our car and another car and he has taken out the rear offside of the car, he, according to the staff has then tried to take off but they have chased him. Anyway he is gone by the time rans gets there but they had his details, and after a couple of phone calls, rans got to speak with him & his boss, It just the inconvenience, as it will need repairing which means days off the road. Anyway later that day after they have finished the service etc, Carol & Rans go into town to the Mindil Markets & Sunset.

We first go to the Star City casino to have a look around with magnificent views over the water. We put $10 in a machine and after a few turns this feature lights up, we had no idea what to do, so a girl tells us to hit these buttons on the screen and after so many minutes, with a couple of people gathering around, as no one had seen it happen before, we won $175.00!! We then went and saw a beautiful sunset, Carol had a delicious lamb shank for tea, so the day ended better than it started. FRIDAY..... Upearly &  started making inquiries re-repairing the car, we then met the others in at Crocosaurus Cove in the city. We attended a reptile show where we had the chance to handle a Blue Tongue, a lizard & a snake, .......Carol was the "brave one "she held a Olive Python !!

 take a look at her face in the photos!! think she enjoyed it !! we then saw fish feeding, including barra, whip rays, sword fish  & angle fish, we then saw one of the crocs being fed, but he was not real hungry. Rans & Tezza also feed the small crocs with a fish line, these croc jump out 2-3ft into the air. There was also a cage of death, where a you can go down in the cage under water to be near the crocs, we saw a girl do it, then a couple of blokes have turns, it wasn't worth the money, it costs $140, and the crocs didn't moove or even go near and some even stayed on land, not taking any notice ( but the girl did have big boobs so the boys were ok with that !). The crocs are huge, with one that has no front feet ( he lost them thru fights !)

We then headed off down to the waterfront precient, where we set up under the shade which had tables/chairs. We had lunch there and contemplated going for a swim but it was so nice with a light breeze, we just sat/layed around. We all then headed off to the Territories Government House, which had an open day. It is on the point overlooking the harbour with beautiful gardens, and we toured thru the magnificent rooms in the house.

The "Administrator" (not Governor in the Territory) said hello, and we decided it must be the best job in the territory. We then left there to get more quotes. We then returned to the van park & had spanish mackerel for tea which was blooody beautiful..( Carol reckons she has eaten so much fish she is starting to grow gills!!)

SATURDAY..... We first drove out along Arnhem Hwy to the Window on the Wetlands, which was very informative and has great views over the wetlands, which would be just great to see during the Wet Season. We then made our way back into town to the Parap Markets, then went into town and had some lunch in the Smith St Mall, then we drove out to fishermans wharf then followed the shoreline around past the expensive area of Bayview, with nice huge homes on the canals with Marinas. We then went to the Charles Darwin Nat Park, where you have views back over the city.

It was also where they stored ammunition during the 2nd WW and there are 10 bunkers around the park. One of them was open and had some great info on the war along with photos & items of interest. We then drove out to the East Arm Industrial area, where there is great size boat ramps, along with shipping wharfs and the train terminal for the Ghan. We then made our way back home having an early nite. SUNDAY.... We all headed into town to a recreational reserve near the ocean, called Lake Alexander, which is a man made salt water lake &  with picnic areas surrounding it. You can swim in this lake but not the ocean due to the box jelly fish and the large lizards!! ( crocs) We had a nice lunch of prawns & salad and with a cool breeze, it made a nice relaxing arvo. Rans then went to the casino to see the Sea Eagles v dogs, whilst we had a walk around the lake, a few of the locals started to become vocal, so we decided it was time to leave. We then headed back to the van park as we had to start tea..roast pork...it was bloody beautiful (again) MONDAY..... Rans went and made some more inquiries re the car & then we went to the movies & saw Harry Potter, we then had a drive out to Lee Point, which was devestated by Cyclone Tracey.We then went to Palmerston & had some lunch returning back to the van and doing paperwork. It is another warm day @ 33deg, usually at this time of the year the humidity is up @ 70 % but its been only @ 17% so its been so comfortable.We have been so blessed with all the weather we've had on this trip. We received a USB stick from our great friends Marg & Jeff and all the crew from Batemans, as we usually go there every June, we had such a laugh with the photos and the picutres of us & comments made, great stuff.

Yes its me in the photo not Sharon!!!!!!
An easy tea tonight ,some happy hour drinks & bikkies.TUESDAY.... Well you've got to have one of those days..first the car wouldn't open with the remote (it would with the key but the alarm would go off for a while) & even when we finally got it open, it wouldn't start, so contacted AAMI, as we thought it might be related to the accident, that took forever, then I tried 4 auto electricians & one locksmith as well as Hyundai,( most of them could"nt see us for a month !!) we ended getting the road side service out and he got it working within 10sec, after both of us doing the exact same thing for 3hrs!! Anyway he said it was the battery in the remote, so after going to 7 outlets we get the batteries, put them in but it still doesn't work. Also had to replace the reversing light and I bought a LED, which broke in my hand as I was trying to put it in, so back to the store again. We both had a laugh when laying in bed later that evening.( Rans the handy man !!) It looks like we mighten get the smash repairs done till at least Geraldton/Perth, as we can't get in around here till next week and AAMI has no assessors here in Darwin & we have heard it is mostly dodgy bros bet Darwin & Geraldton, as the mines have all the skilled workers. WEDNESDAY.... Well we thought today had to be better, it couldn't get any worse......or could it !! We went to Hyundai and they said they were booked out till next week, but after talking to the bloke and with him coming from Bateau Bay, we got the car in for tomorrow morning.We then rang (mobile) AAMI again & this took 45min just to speak to someone from Adelaide, who finally gave me authority to wait till Perth for repairs, we then went for a drive along the waterfront of Nightcliff,

which has a wharf and the views of the coastline was  amazing, the water was so blue, we could see Mandorah, Darwin city & Mindil beach. We then drove to East Point, which also has a very pretty coastline, it's also where they have the rocksitters club (to watch the sunset) & you can see why.... its also where the Military Museum is, which is well worth the visit, with so much info on the bombing of Darwin, including on site bunkers, photos, videos, armoury etc. 

When we went to pay our entry fee our credit card was declined so after leaving the museum we pulled over on the waterse edge, under a shady tree and as we had our laptop I checked our accounts...well it was a bit of a shock when our credit card account wasn't on our banking details, so we went straight to the bank at Casurina, it turns out they had blocked the account, as our card had been skimmed, reproduced and tried to be used yesterday in America.( can the day get worse !!) Luckily they knocked it back, we are not sure if they had got any money etc out before, but its all been handed over to the cops. We have had these cards only since leaving home, so its somewhere between home & Darwin. We ordered 2 new cards but they won't be ready for a while and we will have to collect them on our travels. After sorting out that mess we went and had a late lunch in the Casurina Centre and we ran into Smeds & Shaz ( from Dundee Bch) it was good to see them, they had some visitors with them and where picking up others at the airport later on..I think they should have set up a hostel or B&B at their place.( they would make a fortune !) We then headed back to Palmerston & did our shopping hoping, we can travel tomorrow with the others. We didn't get back till approx 6pm, unpacked groceries & re packed into van/freezer etc had a late tea. THURSDAY.....We are up early as Rans needs to go down to TRY & get the car fixed and if all goes well we will head off today with the others to Mary River near Kakadu. Darwin has been such a great place to see, would recommend to all to visit, its a lovely clean, tidy city, the traffic is easy, with lots to see & do, only problem is there is no swimming in the ocean..too many bities !! Rans got back ...we will have to stay another nite cause of the car, the others have mooved on, we will catch up with them tomorrow, so we took a drive down to Adelaide River to see the War Memorial,

 a beautiful tribute to all those who lost their lives(242 known) during the bombing of Darwin. We then headed to the Manton Dam and also to the dam wall and pumps/turbines which was completed in 1942 and supplied Darwin its water until the completion of Darwin Dam in the 70's. The diesel turbines which pump the water hadn't been used for some years and immediately after Cyclone Tracey hit, these turbines started first time so as to supply the hospitals etc with water.

We then made our way back for a late lunch.... a nice day.... We got a call that the tail light was in so Rans headed back in again for the last time.On his return we washed the car/van and had happy hour by ourselves.    So will close here, hope to find you all well & the weather is warming up for you all, Miss you all heaps , take care, love Rans & Carol xxxx