Year off around Australia

Get back to Ronnie's from our visit to Litchfield National Park around 5.30pm. Ronnie not at home, so we continue to make ourselves at home as per usual and get stuck into unpacking. Pretty much finished this when Ronnie gets back from being at his brother Gary's place doing work on his projects. We all meet at Ronnie's pool for drinks, cool off and catch up chat. Then Ronnie and Roger organise tea, pork steaks and vegetables, while I have a shower. After a lovely tea we tidy up, relax for a while chatting in Ronnie's kitchen/lounge open area, before we all retire to our beds.
Wednesday sees Rog and I up just after 7am. Roger having breakfast in the house, while I have my porridge and cuppa in the caravan. This morning I have 2 appointments in Palmerston Oasis Plaza. 1st one at 9am in Specsavers and 2nd one 10.30am at Jenni Brows, Nails and Lashes. This keeps me moving as I strip the bed and gather our towels etc to be ready to do laundry later today. I make up our bed with fresh sheets and get ready to leave to walk to the shopping centre at 8.45am. I make it nicely in time for my Specsavers appointment, and get myself an order of 2 pairs of transition glasses to be posted for collection in Broome when they're ready (approximately 3 weeks time). I have time before my next appointment to try my luck at getting my mobile fixed - success at Mobile Repairs NT in this plaza. The man there quotes me $145 to replace the back of my phone which will fix the camera section. I leave my mobile with him to get repaired while I go to my next appointment to get my eye-liner tattooing done (top and bottom - no wings). This is a self inflicted painful experience, thankfully done by a kind, skilled professional young lady. I think I am pleased with the results! Will have proper verdict in a few days time when healing is done. Got a shock to find out I should have a 'touch up' done in 4 weeks time, to even the work out and establish it well. Then should just require 'fill ins' as I feel the need! This will be interesting what I work out for the 'touch up'! I optimistically make another appointment for 2nd October as I will get cheaper rate coming back to original tattooist. Not confident it will happen though.....
Now go and collect my mobile which is already done (just after 12 noon), to find that the screen saver on my mobile now has airbubbles under it from the repair. The repair fellow says he'll change the screensaver for $20, I'm happy to agree to this. With my phone back I call Roger to see if he's right to come and pick me up. He is, he's just going to go to BCF first, then he'll meet me in Coles in the plaza. This is what happens. and Rog and I do a grocery shop for tonight's tea. We've got Neil McIntosh and his girlfriend Amanda Morris coming to visit us at Ronnie's and having a BBQ and salads with us at around 5pm today. We get back to Ronnie's and I have some lunch (Rog and Ronnie already eaten) - do some open toasties in our caravan. Next it's time to get washing happening, 2 loads to do. While 1st one on, I sit in the caravan and catch up my budget books and our travel spend app. While I've been away this morning, Roger has been busy washing the caravan on the outside, then washing the floors inside, as well as defrosting and cleaning the fridge. So all is in good order with our caravan. Later in the afternoon I go and join the fellas on Ronnie's veranda for drinks and relax to wait for our visitors to arrive. Neil, Amanda and Amanda's corgi Ruby arrive very shortly after this. We have a beaut evening together enjoying sharing travelling stories and recommendations etc. Neil and Amanda have brought BBQ stuff and drinks (Neil gives Rog a box of XXXX cans - a thank you re: reference provided). Meal very nice - steak. garden salad (us), kebabs, corn on cobs, pasta salad, potato salad (N&A), lovely safe venue for Ruby and use of BBQ - Ronnie :). Our visitors leave around 10.30pm, then the tidy up. Roger has a shower, while I do the dishes and Ronnie sets up his spare room - ready for his sister and his niece to arrive early in the morning (1am mentioned). Norma and Alison coming from Coleraine and Warrnambool so they've arriving on a late flight. Roger and I head to our caravan for bed. Ronnie planning to stay up to welcome Norma and Alison....we'll find out in the morning if he did.
Woken Thursday morning 7.15am by voices chatting from Ronnie's balcony veranda, so we get up to go and greet Norma and Alison who did arrive around 1am in the morning - yes Ronnie waited up to welcome them. I remember to wish Roger a happy 54th birthday. He's happy to have a stay put day until we go out this evening.
We all have breakfast, I go back to the caravan to make my porridge. Then it's a leisurely day just staying at Ronnie's, Roger enjoying going in and out of the pool throughout the day to keep cool, while the rest of us hang out on the balcony veranda making the most of the pleasant breeze and chatting. My main achievement for the day is to get 2 tickets to see Bryan Adams in Adelaide 7 February 2025 - I'm a happy woman!
At around 5pm we all start getting ready to go for the drive to Mindil Market - going in Ronnie's vehicle.
When we return from the market we sit out on the balcony veranda again, having a chat and a cuppa before bed. Stacy and Robert ring to chat about plans for their Canada trip. Then it's time for our showers and off to bed we go.
Friday morning, leisurely breakfast, I make my porridge and cuppa and sit up on the balcony with Rog, Ronnie, Norma and Alison. Have a lovely time chatting and making our plans for the next few days. Ronnie and Roger go in our ute out to Gary's to pick up Gary's gun that Rog is borrowing to use at the Darwin Field & Game Club later today. While the fellas away, Norma, Alison and I take Ronnie's car (Alison driver) to get to the nearby Gateway Plaza shopping centre. I want to go to Big W to look for cheap snorkels for Rog and I to use while we're away. We go looking there but no luck, so wander in the plaza and find Intersport shop - that has snorkels at a great price $30 each for set of mask and snorkel - I happily get 2 sets. We now look about the plaza shops, Alison making a purchase, before we decide to stop and have some lunch in the plaza eatery area. After this I decide to go back to Big W and see if they have some reef shoes (Intersport didn't have my size) - success, I get myself some. All 'shopped out' so we return to Ronnie's. Get back and enjoy a treat of very good vanilla slices that Ronnie and I made purchases of from Mindil Market (deal 3 for $18). When Ronnie and Roger return, not long after we've got back, we discover they'd already been back earlier but we'd left them locked out - so they got hungry and went off and bought some lunch. We all now relax for the afternoon, all using the pool for cool down except me as I'm still having to avoid water because of my eye-liner tattoos.
Roger heads off to go for a shot at the Darwin Field and Game Club 4pm - feels he'll be gone until around 8pm. Ronnie has decided to stay home this evening and watch the footy with his neighbour over at his place - it's the start of AFL finals - Hawks playing Bulldogs. Ronnie barracks for Hawks, Ned the neighbour barracks for Bulldogs! This leaves Norma, Alison and I deciding to check out the Palmerston Friday night market to have our tea and a nice walk.
Once we get back from the market, we find Rog is already back and over at Ned's watching the footy too - they're having a BBQ tea. We stay over at Ronnie's and have drinks and some fresh pineapple (from the market) out on the balcony, before tidying up - doing dishes. Then we sit inside and watch the last qtr of the footy match to see Hawks win. Ronnie and Roger return - we're all ready to call it a night.
Roger's alarm wakes us up just after 6am for us to get up this Saturday morning - we're planning to do some tours in Darwin today. We get organised and head off before 7am - first destination Aquascene Fish Feeding Sanctuary. We return after a full day in the city, happy to relax with Ronnie, Norma and Alison on the balcony, planning our outing to Kakadu for the next couple of days. We all get to bed for an early start next morning.
Sunday sees us up at 5.30am to have a quick breakfast, muesli, banana and yoghurt for me, and being packed and ready for a night away in Jabiru. We leave in Gary and Learne's Landcruiser they've lent to Ronnie so we can travel in comfort while towing Ronnie's boat. So 6.30am sees Ronnie (driver), Norma, Alison, Roger and I heading off to go to Kakadu National Park.Read more