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Darwin 2022
  • Maureen Brown
Jun – Aug 2022

Darwin 2022

A 81-day adventure by Maureen Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 2, 2022
    Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Broken hill

    June 2, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    5 Days gone already! Saturday and Sunday we checked into Broken Hill, lots of rain and quite cold but we managed to find a few warm spots to socialise and have tea. Now we are in Whitecliffs NSW together with Polly & David, Jo and Greg, Denise and Michael. So far Brenton and I have have learnt that we must pay attention or we will take a wrong turn and get lost on a dirt road, our new smart TV is smarter than us, you quickly run out of tank water when yours truly keeps doing the washing, we are being trained on how to use the CB radio correctly and have designated nicknames of Silverfox, Joker Jo, Mad Dog, Polly Waffle, Goatey, DeNephew, Big Bear and Honey Bear ha ha. Bonfire and Roast dinner planned for tonight.
    Broken Hill to Wilcannia different to what I expected, thought it would be dry and barren but it is very green and quite lush after all the rain. So far no disagreements in our Caravan so life is good. 😂    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Whitecliffs

    June 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    We have now moved on after 2 nights in Whitecliffs opal spot with a population of not very many in summer cos apparently it gets very hot. I became unpopular there, as the others woke to find the clay sites we were all on, flooded and muddy due to 2 loads of washing and yours truly showering at pm and am. Big (grizzly🤣) Bear had not thought it would be necessary to put sullage in the drain hole.
    Apart from that, even in a caravan I am still losing socks and Big Bear has not had any phone coverage for much of our travels so far as he has (optus) ! Travelled here off the bitumen to Tilpa on roads we would never normally travel on, countless wild goats and not much else but we have found our 1st free camping spot right in front of the Pub, which apparently is very convenient. Met an interesting character by the name of Matt a "ringer" who frequents the pub he swags in his camp close by with 3 horses and 3 dogs. Jo took to the kelpie pup, Matt might have had a soft spot for our Jo too. Great tea last night at the Pub and we will be moving on today (more dirt roads) and dust to Trilby Station. Never been on a Station before so not sure what to expect but hoping we find power as I will need to do some washing and use a hair-dryer real soon. Not missing 'Aldi' very much at this stage.    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Cunnamulla

    June 15, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    BB and I packed up first for once, so we all met at our own pace at the Cunnamulla Bakery for coffee, before setting off. Nice bakery and before I could blink there was BB tucking into his 1st Vanilla Slice for the trip, his breakfast 😊We were following Mad Dog & Polly Waffle and 1 hr into 2.5hr drive to Charleville, they ducked off the Mitchell Highway for a pit stop, we all followed. It was apparently more of an emergency stop, as Polly flew out of their car sprinted at full speed across the road and almost ran through the door of the Wyandra Caravan Park-Café, she was amazing. 😊We all followed her in and out the back of the Cafe to the Pk and toilets. . Glen ‘the owner’ was most pleased that there were (4) vans parked out the front $$$. We told him we were all enroute to Charleville he quickly convinced us all to book into ‘his’ caravan park and not go straight thru. His deal could not be matched just $20 a night and there were sites available that were privately fenced for our dogs. (None of us have dogs with us but that did not seem to matter to the others) ha ha . Not only that, he tells us about the Happy Hour each night, a communal bonfire, Movie later that night for ‘free’ in his Theatre, a private bar selling wine and Beers for just $5 each. Yes, winning again!!
    ( well after all BB’s 4 cartons in the van will keep). I was a bit dubious about the ‘ Movie Theatre as the surroundings indicated it might be a small room with a big Telly playing a re run of ‘Lassie” or movies of him as a baby but, you know it was free and the others were keen. (The movie ended up being a black and white film). We were told cash was good, so out came the wallets set up he said then come back into the Cafe his ’ ladies’ had seen us pull up and had freshly made Scones and Coffee ready for us. How good is this!! . Everyone else went to the Cafe, I had to clean up all the stuff in our van that had come out of cupboards but I joined them later. BB went as he can not resist a Scone. he later said he got “s- conned” for $10 for 1 x Scone and a Coffee. Whilst our group were eating Glen brought out a Menu for dinner, next thing all had ordered a meal and paid up front in cash “to make things easy” (and maybe not change our minds as he was doing the cooking#!! . Now that was really funny as everyone had been talking about how much food and meat they still had in their vans!! I was proud of BB as he only ordered Chips @ a cost of $6 as we had planned to eat leftovers, so he was not s-conned again but so far we had spent $36.00. The others were already up for near $80. This was no ordinary Caravan Park this guy had thought up every means to fleece money from unsuspecting Caravaners ha ha :-) This was a Post Office/Cafe/Caravan Park/Private Bar/ Second hand shop/some hardware and camping items/ $15 car or van wash, it was your one stop shop and we all reckon by the end of the stay it had cost each couple about $120 maybe more depending on how much you drank! I am sure he was happy when ‘we left’. We are now in Charleville on our 2nd night. We shopped, checked out the Bowling Club, had lunch at the RSL another great day. Tomorrow we travel to Blackall for 2 nights. It is getting warmer, loving the blue skies. I ‘almost’ put shorts on today, I wore thongs (on my feet that is) and there are flies about.    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Checked out of Charleville

    June 17, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Checked out of Charleville for the 3.5hr trip to Blackall around 9. We had all planned a Pit Stop for toilet and coffee at Tambo but our ‘Pilot’ car pulled up suddenly, on the edge of the very very narrow ‘Matilda Way’ ( no shoulder to pull into) used by road trains and lots of caravans 30km’s out of Blackall. Polly jumped out at great speed, again! disappearing off into the bushes and I thought to myself she is getting a thrill out of all this as it is becoming quite a habit. We only just spotted the top of her head in the bushes as we passed. Dave did a great job of ushering us on, luckily he has experience at waving cars on, and working in danger from his years of working with Formula One team.
    For once, when we got to Blackall we did ‘not’ score the worst Site. Goaty had the problems on his Site with his water connections bursting during the night! :-) Not sure if I will upset those at home with this information but I had to sleep with my legs out of the covers in our van last night, it was warm. , I have now packed away my hot water bottle. BB is still wearing’ that’ black fur lined jacket outside at night. I might not worry about washing it when he finally takes it off permanently, I have told him I am burying it. Someone nearby to us had the aircon going in their van today and it was ‘only’ 25 degrees. We are now in shorts and t’shirts (less washing) and plan on getting a tan up for Darwin. Everyone did different things today, we hung out with David and Polly. We walked all along the Main Street and had coffee and tea at the old Masonic Lodge tea gardens. Dave had coffee and requested ‘5’ shots I am now convinced he may not normal as BB only has (1). We met a local identity by the name of ‘Gloria’ in the cafe and the boys wandered off as us girls struck up a conversation. Gloria invited Polly and myself to her home for tea and a slice of her ‘special’ fruit cake at 3 that afternoon, we accepted.
    I wrote her address down, we did not want to disappoint her and we dragged Jo along with us! The fruit cake was definitely not suitable for ‘child consumption’ you needed to be of legal age to eat it. It was a Rum liqueured fruit cake, and we were told 1 Cup of Rum was added and fruit soaked in quarter cup of Muscat overnight. To be honest I had trouble ‘drinking the cake’ as I am not that fond of Rum. Gloria herself polished off her slice easily. Such an interesting lady and she told us about her life as a Registered Nurse. To finish the visit we were given a tour of her home and garden and we learnt that she visits the local dump EVERY Sunday and brings home lots of treasures, ornaments which she cleans and restores. Gloria’s home was bursting at the seams, very organised and tidy with not not an inch spare inside. There was no room on her kitchen table, lounge chairs, kitchen benches.
    I was so pleased we made the time to call in, she pulled a heart string for me when she said she has often invited ‘visitors’ and they don’t turn up. I took a photo of a beautiful Parrot in one of her tree’s out the back that was an extra highlight for me. Tomorrow we move onto Longreach for 5 nights. I only did (2) loads of washing here in Blackall so I will have but a lot of washing to do next stop I have not washed our sheets since we left home.    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Day 21

    June 20, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Day 21 and Polly, David, Michael and Denise opted to stay at Winton the extra night as they were happy catching red claw yabbies. We chose to move on with Jo & Greg and stay a night in Cloncurry, instead of just driving through the town. The 1st stop en route was the Kyuna Roadhouse for coffee. Being swamped with flies the minute we got out the car should have been an omen, but warmer weather none of us gave it much thought, we soon realized this Cafe had never been visited by a Food & Health Inspector. I am learning you take what you get in ‘Outback Queensland’ as you don’t get much choice. The 2nd stop was Crocodile Dundee’s ‘Walkabout Creek Hotel’ at McKinley, a nice little pub with lots of tourists so we had a drink and moved onto Cloncurry.
    Jo booked the Caravan Park this time and it was really lovely, her main criteria was location as in ‘not’ near an airport, it was great, it was in Town. It ticked so many boxes I initially gave this Park (5) stars, unfortunately I was forced to deduct (4) of those stars the following day.
    I will explain why a bit later.. Not only did we have free WiFi at the Park , we also could use their washing machines and dryers at no cost with unlimited washing powder!. I managed to find (4) loads of washing although BB later had to dry himself after a shower with a flannel as I accidentally washed all three towels (we left home with four I discovered too late ‘someone’ left one behind at Winton). We all slept in, no planes overhead, check out was smack on 10 as we had to wait for my early morning washing to dry. The Camp Kitchen was the best we have come across, but Saturday night we took the easy option and went to the Central Hotel, our meals were awesome. Before we left the Park, Jo and I said goodbye to the ‘knowledgeable and nice’ brunette lady (not blonde) in the office whilst complimenting her and the Park on our enjoyable stay.
    We were told that on the way to Mt Isa was the Cockatoo Lake and the Mary Kathleen Mine Site, easily accessible as it was only 7km off the Overlanders Way on a sealed road (suitable for most caravans) so of course Jo and I put this on the itinerary. We took off for Mt Isa and the scenery along the way was so unexpected. Stuff of postcards, stunningly beautiful, big red rocky mountains, wattle, so very green 120km of wine -dee road (probably chewed up lots of fuel) with lots of ‘Kites’ flying overhead. Somehow the Pilot Car the Kotz’s missed the turn off for Cockatoo Lake but that was ok we never reminded them very much, but unfortunately they did find the Mary Kathleen turn off.
    If anyone reading this ever contemplates visiting the Mary Kathleen Mine and I believe there is a nice Lake there too DON’T DO IT whilst towing a caravan. In fact just don’t do it full stop!
    We followed the signs and crossed over a Cattle Grid on a red dirt road, to one side we saw a cleared piece of dirt where there were two Tractors covered in travel stickers each one had an off road caravan attached and a couple of blokes were leaning on them chatting away. We had been told this entry part was often used by ‘free campers’ so apart from myself remarking on the 2 Way to the Kotz’s “how unusual to see tractors towing vans and that they must be Farmers that like to travel with their tractors” ha ha ha ha maybe they were on some sort of Rally!
    BB and I and Jo and Greg thought no more of it as we had been told it was a good bitumen road, right!. So these fellas watched as our vans continued on dirt 200 metres or so towards what ‘looked like’ a bitumen road. Soon we found out the only bitumen remaining on that ‘road’ were remnants around 6 inch potholes. Holes everywhere you could not miss them and there was nowhere to turn back. We inched along so slowly, we had to it was 1km further on that the nightmare ended. I stopped cursing ‘that lady in the office at the Caravan Park’ ’ as we found a spot to turn back. The bloody so called bitumen must have been laid when they first discovered Mary Kathleen! As we made our way back very very slowly to the corrugated dirt the two old fellas with the Tractors came on the 2 Way and were very friendly then they told us “ now you know why, we tow with Tractors'' :-) ha ha I will never believe a brunette again. This is the reason the Discovery Park at Cloncurry has only been rated a *1* Star by me!
    Onto Mt Isa and a new Caravan Park where we met up with the rest of the Crew. All I am prepared to say about that Park is David himself only rated it -2 out of 5 stars and he booked it. Another flight path, and other issues end of story as .I believe we are getting a truly unique outback caravan park experience in Queensland. Today we have driven 449.9 km to Barkley Station NT we are resting for the night. The Caravan Park sites are all on the reddest of dirt. It never rains out here in the Northern Territory, but we have the luck of the Irish with us as it is raining right now in Barkley! And it has been raining steadily for quite some time BB reckons we should buy a XLotto ticket tomorrow, not sure he has got that right.. The red dirt will a probably turn into a slippery red mud very quickly so we are not going outside the van to find out. No problems at all with our Viscount Caravan and surprisingly there is an almost identical one in the Park here tonight. Our Colorado is running like a dream and she has been fueled up again for tomorrow. The cost of Diesel is getting up there, $2.76 per litre here today. At this rate we may have to get ourselves a job in Darwin to get home! We travel on 3 Ways tomorrow, just 7 more days and we should be in Darwin.We are hoping that the Coolalinga CPk is nowhere near Darwin Airport.    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Enjoyed Longreach

    June 21, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We all enjoyed our visit to Longreach, although Kotzy is still wondering why the train driver on the Spirit of Queensland has to ‘beep the horn’ so loud and so many times before leaving the station early in the mornings. Not only that, on a number of occasions helicopters were doing donuts and circle work straight above their van waking Jo and himself, not sure they appreciated our location. So handy to catch a flight, or a train out of Longreach or what if we had needed the Flying Doctor? There were sounds and sights you don’t get TO experience on a farm in Robertstown. We all did lots of touristy things, in the main street we drank lots of coffees and soon worked out if we all shopped ‘locally’ for clothes we could all look pretty much the same.
    Checks and flanellette with western style boots seem to be the big sellers. We all went along to the Cobb & Co Starlight Dinner Cruise which was awesome really, with lots and lots of laughs mostly provided by ‘Lane’ who was our Captain who told jokes whilst manoevering the boat up the river with great skill and commentary. A lot of the time he drove us around in circles as the river is not very long.Dinner was good, and we finished the night with tea and damper and then we jumped back on the Bus for the ride back to the CPark. in Winton. It was a short distance, with only one stop along the way as this time we managed to find a ‘long drop’ for Polly. Needless to say, on checking into this Park again it has fullfilled ALL our expectations! We are not on a flightpath, or anywhere near a train station, but an apology was offered on check-in at the distance we have to walk to the toilet and shower block as the park is being extended and is still a work in progress. Naturally we scored sites in the ‘work in progress bit’ the newest section, this ensures we get the ‘best overall Queensland Caravan Park experience’! Handy for BB and the Mansells that walk every morning to keep fit, they can now walk to the toilet and back together. The boys were so entertained with the Bobcats, rubble being dumped and cement trucks coming and going this morning that Polly suggested the ‘workers’ deserved morning tea, so we gave them our left over Scones with jam and cream!. Last night following an early arvo Happy Hour where we did not stick to the rule of Twisties only (cheese and biscuits making us all too fat) we made our way to the camp bonfire along with lots of other campers to watch the sun go down. It did not take long before BB and Kotzy took over the fire and made sure it was blazing hot and no one could get near it. Today we have all noticed there are way too many flies in Winton diesel is more expensive $2.49.9 but the temperature was 25 and beautiful. There are (4) hotels, (1) tiny Supermarket and (6) Opal Shops and a handful of other shops. The boys left to drop off their Yabby Nets late in the morning to Pelican Point on the Thompson River and managed to trap a few. Not sure why it is called Thompson River, as to me it looked more like a waterhole. We girls had washing to do, but once on the line we went into town to browse the Opal shops, Polly was intrigued with a resident ginger cat in one of the shops. . All very nice and relaxing then we all found our way to ‘Gregory’s’ Hotel where we joined the boys for a drink. Quick turnaround taking a few ‘budgie’ pictures in the Bush (which have not been edited so the colours are true as taken) with the girls then back to town to watch the ‘first screening’ of Lee Kernaghan’s documentary “Boy from the bush” the story of his life and music (Winton featured in the film hence first screening) we watched the film in an open air theatre in the heart of the town. . It was great, although it would have been even better had I been told it was ‘open air’ by the ‘others’ #!! as I only wore my shorts and a thin top and the temperature drops down to minus in the evenings, no amount of alcohol keeps you warm in those circumstances. Pictures are from Longreach and here in Winton..    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Left Blackall

    June 21, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We left the Blackall Caravan Park last Saturday within a few minutes of the others. Kotzy was first off, he had to fuel up. We had all agreed to meet by the Blackall EXIT SIGN northern end of town, before continuing our little convoy a km or so apart the 200 kms to Longreach.
    We were 2nd to leave, as I am finally getting the hang of packing and unpacking the van. A few minutes to spare I asked BB to drive in the ‘opposite direction’ to the Southern entrance 3 kms out of town, so I could take a picture of the Blackall Town Sign which is quite unique. Little did I know it was not going to be one of my better ideas.
    As we neared the sign I told BB to ‘keep driving’ I needed distance from the sign to take a good shot.. At that very moment, there was no other option as a Road Train had decided to overtake us!
    So we kept going, and going and going the kms ticked past, there was absolutely nowhere on that narrow road to do a U-Turn with a van on the back. It seemed like forever but it was around 5km before we could turn back. I did take a photo, BB was not as happy as when we started out so I was quick to jump back in the just in case, then my mobile rings, and it is Polly.
    “Car 54 Where are You” ??
    “We are all waiting for you at the town exit” (we are no longer Big Bear and Honey Bear on the 2 Way, we were ‘renamed car 54’ in Cunnamulla due to misread of a map or short cut that went wrong). Our 2 Way has a range of 5km and we were at least 10-15 kms in the opposite direction hence the phone call. “We are stuck behind a slow caravan and were now on our way ” I replied! I stayed quiet in our car for the next 45 minutes or so, looking out the window and I unwrapped more lollies than usual. Next message from Polly was very sympathetic Mad Dog, Silverfox and Goatee were slowing up to give us time to catch up, even then they were all still 2 or 3 kms ahead of us, okey dokey! The 2 way was charged up and on, then we overheard caravanners heading in the opposite direction talking about a big mob of cattle over the next rise. So over the hill we went and true to their word there was Cattle everywhere on both sides of the road. So what do you do if you are not a farmer? you stop the car and Maureen jumps out and starts taking pictures. The cattle now have right of way and suddenly they are ALL moving across the road in front of us. We were not going anywhere Just in case the others thought we were lost we quickly get on the 2 Way hoping they would hear (no mobile service) we are now at a complete standstill and waiting for the 600 or 700 head of cattle, 6 horses and Stockmen to cross the road (those numbers were confirmed to Kotzy later in Barcaldine).
    We were happily sitting there no other caravan in sight, watching as it was an awesome sight then Kotzy gets on the Radio and tells us “no no you shouldn’t have stopped, get the car going drive slowly, move through the Cattle they will give way to you” so though unsure, we drove through the big White Brahma’s and we were on our way again. We are now at Longreach and apparently ‘lucky’ to get 4 sites in the Tourist Park. Caravan Parks in Qld are hit and miss with a lot of miss. You may get toilet paper, but then you might end up with a cold shower, or you score a bit of grass but the water stinks, or you get uneven and muddy sites but then bonus the water is hot, but your shower head leaks. This Park looked good driving in, apart from the big pot holes at the entrance, and we had a cement slab to park up next to! Woopydoo! My broom gets a rest, no red dirt for a few days. But hey the word lucky kept coming up during our happy hour, wow 283 sites and we got such a ‘great location within the park’ and it is peak tourist season!
    At 6.00am the next morning we were all woken by a really loud jet noise, we were in the direct flight path of the Longreach Airport. Just 500m away.
    So here we are 2000km in the middle of Australia, and all the planes leaving and landing at that airport have to fly over our vans on the edge of the park closest to the Airport.
    This morning it was a 5.00am flight roaring overhead, then 6.00am, only 2 more early mornings left now. Apart from that we have been up and down their Main Street numerous times, had coffee’s, visited the RSL, tourist office, checked out the Bowling Club, went to the Longreach Races for 3 hrs on Sunday arvo. I have washed everyday BB has set up a nice line for me, and we have had a happy hour each day one happy hour was a ‘very happy one’ Yesterday we went on the Cobb & Co. StageCoach experience. When they called for volunteers to ride up top, my arm went up and I grabbed BB’s as well. I did not realise how hard we would have to hang on when the horses were put into a gallop! It was a really fun and enjoyable day. We are going down the street in the morning to take photo’s as it was near impossible to take shots while they were galloping. In the Caravan Pk the ‘boys’ seem to get a lot of enjoyment watching caravans pulling in and then backing onto their site, commenting Oooh thats a nice looking van, he shouldn’t be towing with that, that has to be overweight, they are good mirrors all that stuff that men gossip about. Yesterday theyning we were all standing about admiring a ‘neighbors’ brand new, Range Rover as it was being backed onto the tow ball. It was more about such a short man with such a big van, the boys of course got talking to the owner, who was on his way to Townsville. . Subject came up where was his wife and he replied he was on his own as his 1st wife had died and his 2nd wife would not die you get to meet such characters on the road ha ha. I hope everyone likes the pictures, especially the one of the Blackall Sign although I wish BB had agreed to wait for the car to move out the way as it did spoil my picture! It took a lot of effort to take that shot and one I won’t forget on this trip.    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Left 3 Ways

    June 30, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Left muddy Barkly behind and set off for 3 Ways NT, where we said 'Adios' and parted ways with Denise and Michael. An overnight stop for them as they will start making their way home to Robertstown. They are lucky and have a deadline to get back to work, whereas we have no set purpose in life and will continue to tag along with the other 4 Amigo's. Quick decision not to stay overnight at 3 Ways yesterday, so off we went with the Kotz's as our Pilots. They took us a lot further than planned! It was getting dark and there are not many places to stop, so we followed them off the Stuart Highway onto a Truck Stop in the middle of nowhere in-between Elliott and Daly Waters. The stop itself is on a rise and is basically the 'old' Stuart Highway, no long drops here! Took just a few minutes for Guru (no. 2 a-la-kotzy) with a bit of help from David (BB was busy having a cuppa in our van) to find enough wood to get a huge fire blazing that you could see for miles and miles, next few minutes we were joined by another nomadic caravan and four Road Trains. The young married couple in the van told us "they were travelling around Australia whilst trying for a baby " that pretty much left our 3 boys confused! So last night was the real outback free camping experience so Polly tells us. Road Trains hammering past on the Highway all night whilst trying to sleep, crack of dawn engine warm up from the Road Trains up OUR END of the track and to top it off apparently 'we' have to get our shovels to dig a hole and crap in the Bush. This is the Australian way ha ha so glad I am an Aussie with a licence to prove it! Something is not quite right as here we are retired ineligible for a pension yet we are camped on the side of the road to free camp and crapping in the bush like Hoboes! Well our shovel is in our Shed at home so I have 'discussed' this with BB and we are now both mentally prepared to hang onto we get to Daly Waters.Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Arrival Darwin

    July 23, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We are in Darwin and have been here 5 days! The time has flown we have been getting about a bit mostly getting massages, chiro treatment etc ready to play Bowls! Only some of us are fit! The weather forecasters are telling us the Top End is experiencing a very unusual cold spell that may last another week. How unlucky are we again! Temps are down to 15 overnight and we are ‘only’ getting to A sunny 29 during the day. It is not ideal but BB is coping really well, sleeping in most days until the temp gets to around a more comfortable 20.
    Just to bring our trip up to speed I will go back to what has happened since we left the ‘free truck stop’ on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere.
    It was 8.00am and everyone else ‘EXCEPT BB and yours truly’ had packed up, their motors running ready to travel the 50km to Dunmarra Roadhouse. BB and I told them “what is the rush” ?#? It was raining, the Kotz’s were our pilots and the distance was made in record time. :-) Ha ha when we got there they all jumped out the cars to get to the loo ‘busting” following our roadside camp experience with no toilet facilities! :-) ha ha so much for their ‘bravo “ of well we dig a hole” it had rained non stop all night and was still raining as we left so the ground red, soft and muddy, so getting wet must have been the problem! Unfortunately it did not go as well for me, I ended up being constipated for days and traumatised after our next camp :-) Will explain a bit more later. The Dunmarra Roadhouse not only had toilets they had coffee, egg and bacon rolls and they are ‘renown’ for their homemade Vanilla Slices. Needless to say, when we left the Vanilla Slice cabinet was totally empty!
    Daly Waters just another 60 km up the road we arrived there around lunch time. Quirky place Caravan Park, hotel, fuel pumps and a few friendly farm animals floating around. A gold mine for it’s owner as distances meant most had to stop to buy fuel it was buzzing with people, and yet it was in the middle of nowhere. Lots and lots of random junk creates a unique atmosphere so people like us visit from all over the country. We managed to get sites in one of their three ‘Caravan Park’ come paddocks, it was impossible to estimate how many caravans, motorhomes, buses and tents were there and they kept coming for the rest of the day.
    Apart from the car and motor bike display which were awesome, as for everything else if it belongs at the ‘Dump’ you will find it here at Daly Waters. Broken machinery, bits of helicoptors outside and in the bar and outdoor areas thousands of business cards, stickers and signs and every size and colour of bra’s for interest of the men waiting on a Beer. The Men’s toilet urinals were handcrafted beer kegs so I am told, picture attached. BB found the Crocodile enclosure which had a very’ low’ fence he insisted I sit on the edge for a photo near “snappy Kevin” the Croc. We all spent the afternoon drinking and listening to live music until the old bloke singing started to lose his voice it was then we decided, we had had enough! Queues were almost out the door to order meals and none of the others were keen to stay so back to the van in the paddock and I prepared a gourmet meal of egg and baked beans on toast for BB. Only one tin left now, and BB thought I had bought too many, luckily we still have a few tins of Aldi Spaghetti in the cupboard for the one nighters.
    All night it rained, and next morning the paddock we were in was now a muddy lake. Kotzy was up early and led the way anxious to get us all to Katherine for Territory Day keen to shop for a ‘few’ very essential items not available anywhere else. All Caravan Parks in Katherine itself were booked, we ended up staying at a Farm style Caravan Park 10kms out of town with way too many vans for the facilities they had available. The Toilet Shower facilities were very ordinary again! An old transportable Unisex facility with four toilets and four showers in one corridor. The walls were short and so were the doors, basically the toilets were made for short people. BB had the first experience he came back to the van horrified, as despite my advice to always carry toilet paper he reckons he did check?# mmmm I am thinking maybe? but on pulling the roll there was only 6inches of tissue left no second roll!! He had to do a crab walk out of one toilet into the next one to get more paper ha ha and they were unisex!! I laughed my head off, so I went to the loo very prepared and armed with paper however just as I was checking the loo I hear heavy footsteps the door opens to my right and I look down and see a very hairy shin with knarly feet in thongs, I sat down hoping he was only going to do a number one. Within seconds the door on my left side opens and same thing big feet and then the grunts and groans and sounds begin it came from both sides. Call me precious but I could not stay there and lost it ha ha Jo had the opposite problem whilst having a Shower being taller than me she reckons it was disconcerting seeing a ‘tall’ mans heading bobbing about in the next shower to her ha ha Apart from all that the Park did set off a few Fireworks which we watched from the road whilst having a beer. We travelled onto Adelaide River the following morning and stayed at the Showgrounds. Great little Park with an outdoor Bar and Eating area so we had tea together.Next stop Darwin!    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Trilby Station

    August 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    We got to camp alongside the Darling River (in full flood) following the Qld rains at Trilby Station NSW. What bliss, once we got settled in. Beautiful campsites well spread out, majestic trees lush country. The facilities for campers were awesome and the Station itself a credit to it's owners, immaculate and carefully thought out. We all camped in the same area with provisions for our first campfire. We were lucky enough to score power on our site, winning!! so out came the hair straightner, hairdryer, airfryer, slowcooker, and all those things you absolutely need when you are a serious camper. Our water was from our caravan tank so B decided it was best if I used the shared shower facilities half a km up the track, as he reckons I use too much water but it really was quite pleasant walk so I did not complain 'that much' I was not allowed to use my washing machine either so I used the camp one. My first time staying on an outback 'Station' (farm) it was very different to what I imagined. I thought there would be Kelpies rounding up thousands of sheep, a horse ring, and stables cows to be milked everyday, kangaroos running everywhere and there was none of that. The station itself is big 127,000 acres ( or so it said in their book) which is miles apparently, they have their own airfield aeroplane and chopper so they can go out each day, to try to findand round up the livestock. Hence the only 'livestock' I saw on my walks was a very friendly and well fed Staffy, a black and white cat and some Chooks. So it felt like I had visited a Zoo with no animals. We had a very interesting day and tour of Dunlop station which also had no 'livestock' to be seen it was once a 1 million acre station, that sounds like the size of France to me. The owner has kept the old homestead very "a la naturale" as the times in which it was built, however when I saw the bathroom and shower I thought she was a very special and brave type of woman to live with such exceptional bathroom facilites (picture attached) I had nightmares about the taps and cleaning the actual shower recess last night. We crossed the border today to Connumulla (Qld) for (2) nights and have noticed it is a couple of degrees warmer. Bear is still wearing the same black fur lined 'Aldi' work jacket from home and his shorts and I am hoping to peel the jacket off him in the next week so I can wash it. Can't wait to move further North, bring on the shorts and thongs.Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Cunnamulla

    August 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    90km of red dirt roads ahead of us we left Trilby Station Saturday morning. We crossed lots of cattle grid humps, and washed out ‘road’ due to rain damage causing corrugation. I have discovered that the front passenger seats are heated and you need them out back. Every bad bit of road you start thinking about ‘my’ packing jobs and what was happening inside the van. For some reason I seem to be the unlucky one ( all the girls report their vans always stay clean nothing out of place ) whereas, our van looks like someone has left all the drawers and cupboards open, totally ransacked it tossed potatoes and toilet paper and random bits about, then thrown in a shovel full of red dust just to finish it off. BB reckons it is because I have created a travelling supermarket, as every time he tries to get something out of a cupboard random things and packets of food fall out, was I planning to open and Aldi in Darwin! Quick stop in Louth I re sorted the van out, BB got the coffee, and we were back on the dirt again. I am not a ‘preferred’ driver apparently but I do have other jobs. Try to read the map as requested to assure BB that we are not lost and provide general navigation advice. I also clean the ‘drivers’ glasses when requested, unwrap all ‘his’ lollies, ensure 2 way radio is turned on and kept on Channel 40. I am also expected to provide all in car entertainment, and as luck would have it I found a great radio station 585 AM.’Outback Radio’ Great music with hardly any Ads. They play half a dozen well known popular songs from 60’s 80’s. Songs you can sing a long too, as I know the words to most of them I do sing a long, then you get to hear a swag of country music songs. One of the songs they played was called “She thinks my Tractor’s Sexy” the words were so funny I cracked up laughing and then BB spoilt the mood and said he liked the country music blocks the best cos I did not know the words and could not sing a long ha ha . Not sure why BB said before we left that I would get bored with the outback scenery and being in the car rip as I am really enjoying it and having lots of fun. I am thinking it is going to be a long trip to Darwin when I get to plug in my USB stick.
    We arrived in Cunnamulla in the early afternoon and checked into the Caravan Park, we were the lucky ones and scored the ‘worst and muddiest’ site in the Park.
    Sunday morning we had a ‘Café’ cooked breakfast in the Main Street. It was busy, and we found out there was a Race Meeting ‘ the battle of the bush’ at the Cunnamulla Racetrack that day. . So off course, we went with Kotzy and Jo. No TAB the 2 bookies present would have had a better day than all of us! At the end of the meet they tried to auction off a horse that had lost ‘his’ race and the his last 5 starts in a row. No one bought him, BB later said ‘we’ ended up even for the day, which is funny as I did not actually tell him how much I had lost before I gave up and had a few drinks instead. On way home we got lost looking for a particular garage where Diesel was 10cents a litre cheaper for Kotzy. We called out to the Cronulla Weir, and later went out for tea at the Pub only because we had ‘scored’ a free drink voucher which we could not let go to waste. ‘One’ drink obviously our reputation has already spread in the Bush. Hope you like the pictures attached I took 93 at the races alone but only kept half a dozen.    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Re cap Darwin

    August 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Re-cap on our month in Darwin I enjoyed it so much I did not make time to write any notes. Bowls played a big part at both Nightcliffe BC and Darwin we left lots of money at both Club’s and spent many hours meeting and chatting to some top people from all around Aus. BB and the boys played 14 days of bowls and yours truly and the girls played 5 which was more than enough for yours truly. . Prize money won between us was pooled and then divied up. Total of $1600, however there was an additional $300 won by the boys for their Triples which was ‘not’ handed into the Banker so it has not been included in my official tally. Apart from Bowls we had outings on our own, and some with company they included meals at Coolalinga Tavern, Howard Springs, Berry Springs & Humpty Doo, The Vue Restaurant at the Casino, Breakfast overlooking the Beach at the Museum, Afternoon Tea at Parliament House, Aviation Museum, Lunch with ‘young’ old friend Judy (Taylor), Crocodylus Park, Berry Springs,movie arvo with BB to see Elvis Movie, then 2 visits to the Movies with Champers and shopping with Vicky and Bev to see Falling for Figaro & Where the Crawdogs Sing, Op Shopping with Vicky was fun as we tried on all the same clothes! Rode on the Big Wheel at Stokes Hill Wharf followed by drinks, visited the Underground WW2 Caves, Fish feeding at Cullen Bay, Sunset Dinner Cruise, Mindil, Nightcliffe, Parap Markets, Shopped in Darwin itself and visits to Casuarina and Gateway Shopping Centres. We stayed at Coolalinga Caravan Park ( 26km out of town on the freeway). A nice spot, flat and shady in the oldest part of the Park. We were not there very long and were joined by Vicky, Gary, Pearl, Bev and Steve so we had quite a big group. BB and I could not have wished for better neighbours with a beaut little family Jade, Shaun, and their two little boys Oliver and Jack on one side and Tony on the other. The Coolalinga Shopping Centre was on the opposite side of the busy Freeway (no pedestraian crossing) I literally risked my life dozens of times crossing that road to shop! I am now quite a fan of food shopping at Coles. It would have been easy to stay in Darwin longer, wake up put on a pair of shorts and then decide what thongs to put on your feet and sit outside to do nothing all day, but all good things come to an end. I arrived in Darwin with a single pair of thongs and have left with 3 extra pairs due to a ‘pop up’ shop in the Coolalinga Shopping Centre.
    We are now solo travellers as the rest of the gang are not as retired as us! currently we are at Bitter Springs NT (thanks to Ros P, Maxine R & Cass) nice little Park the Hot Springs just down the road are awesome, and we are travelling home slowly. Again we have great ‘neighbours’ this time Paula and Mick from WA who are sharing their Noodles with us! Happy hour together last night, dinner date tonight at the on-site restaurant everyone is saying the Pizza’s are awesome. 3 nights spent at Katherine BB did a helicopter flight and together we did the Gorge River Cruise the day ended with BB getting a big win a Trifecta in the Darwin Cup Race, it topped off our stay! Now on our 2nd day here and our air con has not been turned off it is 33 hot and very humid. BB came back from his shower this morning wet and bothered as he reckoned that despite how much he ‘rubbed and rubbed’ he could not get dry. In a rush to get out of the small shower room (no ventilation) he was so flustered he came back to the van with his pants on back to front :-) So I handed him a roll of kitchen paper towel, to dry himself properly! Not much at Mataranka but there is a Centrelink Office located next door to the Hotel. Driving past the Hotel we hummed and arred about going in, in the end it was a “nah” too many sitting on the ground near the door and groups loitering nearby. Finishing off for now, back to the ‘Springs’ again we have had another offer to share noodles. It is not about the places you visit, it is more about all the great people you meet along the way. Watch this happy space :-)    Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Bitter and Renner Springs

    August 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Final dip at Bitter Springs with Paula and Mick (WA) prior to leaving Manor CPk, was one of those life long experiences remembered forever. Steam coming off the water, 6.15am the sound of birds no other tourists it was luxury as the four of us had it all to ourselves. It was a laugh as Paula reckoned I needed ‘Noodle driving lessons’. Did have a giggle myself, as on a ‘lap’ the idea is that you float down to the bridge get out at the steps walk back and start a new lap. Sounds easy right, but ‘my pink noodle’ had a mind of its own, so everytime I floated towards the Bridge it sped up and tried to take me under and further along. I had to fight like hell to steer it back, and everytime I did a lap the same thing happened. We said our goodbyes and took off, we ended up at Renner Springs for the night, it was the crappiest Park we have stayed at ever. I said to BB “not sure how David M missed this one on the way up!! Ha ha but there were a few laughs! When I went to pay our site fee a lady tourist travelling solo was checking into a ‘3 star motel unit’ ( stars questionable) it was 3pm in the afternoon. She was told the ”motel room was not ready and still being cleaned, perhaps go for a nice walk ( it was 35 degrees) follow the path along the Lagoon (that looked like a Swamp) until the room was ready, say 30-40 minutes it should be ready” #?!!# The Motel room was booked on-line site unseen $132 for the night. As we drove in we noticed that there was a number of mattresses outside the rooms drying out, stuff flung everywhere so I do wonder what that lady thought of the ‘Lagoon’ and her Renner Spring experience when she finally got in her room. The toilet and shower block should have been blown up and I know someone that had enough explosives to do it :-) Caravan Pks seem to be like photo’s and descriptions of Houses that are up for Sale! The reviews and piccys never quite meet your expectations :-) We stopped there as we had travelled far enough, and it was hot the van was probably 40. It was a ‘soft’ option as if nothing else there was power for the aircon. BB was having withdrawals as he had had no reception on his ‘Optus’ mobile for 3 days! We were still setting up when Paula and Mick surprised us and mentioned that they had Optus coverage, BINGO for BB! No tap Beer so we opted to drink our own and watched 2 of my favourite funny Movies ‘As Good as it Gets’ Jack Nicolson and ‘About a Boy’ Hugh Grant.The following morning I walked past 2 young Asian guys sitting on a wooden bench at the back of the Shower Blocks. Think they were learning , and practising their language skills using an App on their phones. As I was getting organised for my Shower (open windows holes no glass) I over- heard the phone say “The Monster walked to the Village Shop” and then I heard them both trying to repeat it over and over again ha ha When they ‘sort of’ mastered it I heard “The King and the Queen are very rich” and so it went on with more random phrases that will come in handy if you are a backpacker and intend to get a job in a Roadhouse or a Pub in Northern Territory. :-) So many Backpackers up here working. We stopped off at Wauchope Hotel due to thirst and who should jump out of a Colliver Road Train and come straight over to us, Matt Dall a regular customer of ours from Blyth Hotel days!. Matt stopped for a break, we had been wondering why we were seeing so many Army Tanks on the road. Matt told us that there were 49 Road Trains in total going to Darwin., Each towing 3 trailers so carrying 3 Tanks for an Army exercise. Every driver had an army escort in the passenger seat just in case one of the drivers decided to unload a tank and do donuts! they slept in one of the Army Tanks each night with a Swag. $3,500.00 to re fuel. Tonight we are at Ti Tree Roadhouse Hotel/ Caravan Park it's good, park anywhere, cement slab, clean toilets, winning! Had Tea tonight at on-site hotel met some more nice folks great day again today, Alice Springs tomorrow then I believe we will be half-way home.Read more

  • Maureen BrownDarwin 2022Traveler

    Final wrap

    August 19, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Thanks to our ‘Travel Advisors’ Cass, Lyn and Leanne as it was on their advice that we made a last minute decision to detour off and visit Uluru National Park. The photo’s I took did not do justice to this place. Finished the day off with a Sunset Dinner, it was one of the best days of our trip :-) We travelled nearly 500km the next day to get to Coober Pedy where we booked in CPark for 3 nights, it was a great Park. The ‘town’ itself was nothing like I imagined, but it was full of surprises as many places you enter at ground level and inside they have created some beautiful spaces and homes from the underground opal tunnels. We were told to “book a tour of the town” well there is only one tour company operating and they were booked out so we got ourselves a self-guide Tourist Map and BB added extra point s of interest! These extra’s included both the Hotels, the Big Winch Restaurant, the Bakery (great vanilla slices) we went there twice, Race Course, Italian Cafe for breakfast (which was very authentic our brecky was cooked by Indians), the Football Oval. The Golf Club was like no other, a good Clubhouse on top of a big opal hill but it appeared to not be in use, some of the Tee’s are only suitable for young and fit mountain goats. The course itself would be stinking hot most of the year and windy being so flat with not a blade of grass or a tree or bush in sight. Driving around we accidentally came across the now abandoned ‘Coober Pedy Bowls Club’ Not sure who they would have played apart from each other? Maybe that was the problem? The Greens are near rotted through with the sun, the Clubhouse a substantial brick building is reasonably new Opened in 2006, So sad to see the greens and clubhouse boarded up broken glass and rubbish everywhere and all going to ruin. Apart from these extra’s we did all the other touristy things on the town map, including Oldtimers Mine, lots of Churches, drove out to the Breakaways and Dog Fence and of course visited many of the Opal Shops in town. Never was a fan of Opals but they grow on you so ‘we’ bought a solid opal on a gold clasp to put on my chain. It would be hard to spend money in that town as there are relatively no shops. There are no lawns to mow or gardens to take care of so I wonder what they do on week ends? Just one small supermarket, no Garden Nursery so there is no way could I could ever live there. Leaving Coober Pedy we weren’t sure where we would end up but in the end it was easy quick stop at Glendambo decided to give that place a miss a stop at Pimba for lunch (great hamburger) it was too early so we kept going and ended up at Stirling North (Pt. Augusta) another big driving day but BB did not mind as we had ‘radio’ coverage for quite a bit of it :-) We are now at Quorn and our trip is just about done. Meeting up with friends for tea at the Pub tonight, BB is playing Bowls tomorrow and for something different we are going to a racetrack on Saturday the Quorn Cup :-) Home sometime Monday!Read more

    Trip end
    August 21, 2022
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