welcome...

the plan for this blog is to share our three month journey across the top end of OZ later this year, with our family and friends, most of whom live far away from us. However, it will not only be a recording of our travels, it is also a place where I will record some words and pictures of things that make me happy...just day to day "stuff" that may or may not appeal to you but does make me smile...enjoy...

Monday, August 27, 2012

Dunmurra roadhouse

Our journey back to the Queensland coast is a fairly boring one as we have already driven most of these roads on our way to where we've been. I though we'd give you a taste of what sort of places we have to camp at for the next few days... The photos say it all. We are in the middle of nowhere, though we have all the luxuries! These roadhouse campgrounds fill up very quickly and if you're not in early enough (by 3pm) you miss getting a powered site. It is especially busy at the moment because everyone is heading south as the wet season approaches.
Enjoy the pics...you will appreciate my urgency to get to the coast I'm sure!
Xxp

Bitter Springs

110km from Katherine is a town called Mataranka. It is famous for it's thermal pools and it is also where Mrs Aeneas Gunn lived. She is the author of the famous Australian novel, We of the Never never. Lots of tourists stop here to visit and or stay.
More recently they have opened up Bitter Springs. I think it is natures version of Calypso Bay at Wet'n'Wild on the Gold Coast. No bandaids in sight at Bitter Springs and it's free and it's beautiful. The water temperature is 32deg and there is a gentle current that takes you in around the springs as you float on your own or with a noodle. We loved it and did the horseshoe loop four times, it's around 300m, plenty of time to relax. There are also turtles in the springs so Ned and Auds spent most of their time with their heads down spotting them, you can see from the pics how clear the water is.
Xx

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Darwin

FIVE whole nights! That's how long we got to be here for! So nice to stay put for more than one, two or three nights in the caravan. We even put out our fairy lights we felt so settled!
Loved being here. Darwin I would describe as a very cosmopolitan place. It is a cool city that's easy to get around. It has been very hot, feels like the sunshine coast in January.
We have friends here, they moved from Maroochydore last year. We were looking forward to seeing them. They also provided us with their address so we could pick up some mail and parcels from home! The kids loved playing with their kids, we caught up three times which was lovely. Sooooo nice to get some parcels too... Lovely bits and bobs from home and family and friends (thanks everyone).
We found an ace ice cream place called Trampoline, we went on the Jumping croc tour up the Adelaide River, we went to the Parap and Mindil markets, I got THE BEST coffee of the trip at The Ducks Nuts, Andrew went to his fave Darwin shop, The NT general store where he bought the boys matching camo singlets (I'm not such a fan!). Twice we went to a free water park where there is so much to do...N, A and S loved the watersides, not to mention AC! We had some time with an albino corn snake (visiting the caravan park) and we bought a toad in a toad race... It didn't move but Ned and Sam had a great time rounding them up.
Thanks Wesley Family for spending some time with us. X
Now week spend the week fast tracking to Townsville...will be good to be back on the Qld coast.
Xx