• Fiona Pitt
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  • Fiona Pitt

Around Australia

Päättymätön seikkailu — Fiona Lue lisää
  • Katherine Gorge to Kununurra

    26. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Happy Jacks, Blue-winged Kookaburras and Sulphur-crested cockatoos were up early this morning. We headed for the WA border, eating all our fruit supplies on the way because of the quarantine regulations. Lunch at Timber Creek and a brief stop at a site commemorating the Durack family and cattle grazing. On to the incredibly blue Lake Argyle and finally our campsite beside Lake Kununnura where we watched a pelican fishing for dinner before we had ours. We gained an hour and a half today!Lue lisää

  • Darwin to Nitmiluk NP (Katherine Gorge)

    25. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Back tracked down the Stuart Hwy to Katherine but with different stops. We diverted to Pine Creek where we had morning tea under a mango tree then on to camp at Nitmiluk Campground (Katherine Gorge).
    David went for a hike - the humidity was very low so lots of water needed. We had dinner by the pool but we passed on the kangaroo and crocodile and had a vegetarian pizza!
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  • Darwin to Kakadu and back

    24. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today we visited a part of Kakadu National Park - a World Heritage area. We went to the Bowali Visitor Centre and learned a lot about the local flora and fauna and Aboriginal cultural practices in the area. Many displays had quotations from traditional owners and warned if the country wasn't looked after the ground would shake. Darwin CBD was partially evacuated today because of an earthquake just off the coast! We didn't feel it though. A pink flowering shrub that we noticed along the highway on Saturday is plentiful in the park - it's called Turkey Bush.Lue lisää

  • Darwin

    23. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Sunday - a rest from driving today. We explored the city and the waterfront on foot, stopping for a leisurely lunch. It got up to 30 but not too humid - no hair curl! It was 17 overnight, which is cold according to the locals. The Aboriginal people recognise 6 seasons here - we are visiting in Wurrgeng, the coldest and driest. We saw some real Jabiru and some sculptures of them. After a nap in the air conditioning David went for another walk and I did the laundry so we are ready for the next leg of the trip. State of Origin tonight so I got some reading done.Lue lisää

  • Katherine to Darwin

    22. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Winter solstice - shortest day of the year and the shortest drive of our travels so far. We stopped at Adelaide River where there is a lovely rest area opposite the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery. The big tamarind trees have been there since the Second World War after the bombing of Darwin. There were more than 100 Japanese air attacks on the NT from 1942 to 1945.
    We continued on to Darwin where we are staying in a hotel so we can be walking distance from the city. I haven't been to Darwin since our plane-load of ten-pound poms landed long enough to be fumigated and re-fuelled before we continued to Brisbane. David has been here twice when he was on the National Rapid Response team and they did practice responses to exotic diseases - Darwin was foot and mouth!
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  • Tennant Creek to Katherine

    21. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    A very windy night! Temperature this morning said 8 but the wind chill made it feel cold until the middle of the day. On our way back north we stopped into the old Telegraph Station where there is a series of preserved buildings. In 1872 it took 7 hours for morse code messages to be transferred from Adelaide to England. Faster than my emails some days! Tourists on bicycles started coming in 1897.
    At lunchtime at Daly Waters roadhouse we were surrounded by happy jack birds, also called Apostle birds as they like to stay together in a group and do everything together. I counted 50 at our table. From here the country changed with many more trees and it certainly warmed up to 28. We got out for a stretch and driver swap at Mataranka. There was a giant termite mound in case you hadn't noticed them along the way and a great shovel sculpture.
    Today was our longest drive but the next few will be short ones.
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  • Mount Isa to Tennant Creek

    20. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We're in the Northern Territory so have gained half an hour! Very minor stops for coffee and refreshment today at Camooweal and the Roadhouse. The country is much more open compared to the savannah. Hardly any dead animals on the road and few cattle. The termite mounds are deep red, compared to the grey of a couple of days ago. There are clusters of "dressed" ones on both sides of the border - a trend apparently started about 3 years ago.Lue lisää

  • Karumba to Mount Isa

    19. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    The neighbouring campsite assured us that their children would be up at 5.30 so we packed up the swag and waltzed down the Matilda Highway to the Mutton Hole Wetlands National Park (you could call it a billabong) for billy tea and breakfast with the dawn chorus. The wetlands is home to 120 species of birds either as residents or migrants having a break. The sign said canoeing was permissible but risky with canoes being referred to as 'croc bait'.
    Stopped for fuel at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse then lunch at Cloncurry, birthplace of John Flynn.
    Grocery shopping at Mount Isa and camped for the night.
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  • Croydon to Karumba

    18. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    An easy drive today with a stop in Normanton for fuel and banking. Lots of roos out grazing on the sides of the road and cattle crossing. Good to see a couple of solar farms being developed in the area. Food is very expensive - dry goods such as rice and flour are kept refrigerated. Visited the Barramundi Information Centre and the port where David used to do the veterinary inspections for live cattle exports. Of course we ran into someone David knew from Bundaberg. All the caravan parks seem to have a free book exchange or donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service :) Apparently it is much quieter than usual at this time of year. It got to 28 today but a nice breeze. Watched the sun set over the water - the war memorial is a slouch hat.Lue lisää

  • Greenvale to Croydon

    17. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    A bit of corrugated dirt road today on the alternate Savannah Way. We stopped at Copperfield Gorge for a walk, Forsayth for a wee break (green frogs in the loo) Georgetown for lunch and camped at Croydon. Totally new places for me but David did lots of work around here when we lived in AthertonLue lisää

  • Clermont to Greenvale

    16. kesäkuuta 2019, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Up early this morning with the camp draft at the neighbouring showgrounds starting before dawn. We went to Hood's Lagoon for breakfast to leave the tent to dry out after a very heavy dew. After 2 years of considering camper trailer, caravan or new car, we settled on the old 2007 Subaru and a 3-person tent! Up the Gregory Development Highway to Charters Towers with a morning tea stop at Belyando Crossing which was much quieter than when we were here 5 years ago. Lunch at Charters Towers and a chat with Information Centre staff about the road ahead. Camped at Greenvale.Lue lisää

  • Matkan aloitus
    15. kesäkuuta 2019