1st July
Northern Territory day, which means up here fireworks at Mindil Beach. It paid to get there early as big crowds descend on the place as the Markets are open as well. The benefit of getting there early is a good spot on the beach to put your rug. Also a great spot to watch the sun sink into the Sea.

 A good crowd had assembled on the beach in anticipation of a good show

The sunsets are spectacular and worth sitting and watching as it dips below the horizon.

Nearly there and not long to go for the fireworks. But that's for next time.

Cheers Dave and Helen

30th June
We got the bikes out and went for a ride around the waterfront at Fannie Bay.
A lovely easy ride with spectacular scenery.

We crossed over this bridge but it didn't go anywhere interesting so we carried on until we stopped for a bite.

A piece of the Coastline on the way.
The next day we did a trip into Darwin City and had a look at the Wave pool and Stoke hill Wharf.
The wharf area has a lot of nice eating places and nearby is a park area use by the local office workers for lunch and Sunbathing.

 A couple of the local Customs boats back at base getting ready for some more refugee hunting.

Next time,Fireworks at Mindel Beach for Territory Day.
Cheers. Dave and Helen

27th June
After a leisurely trip North we made it to Darwin and the Lee Point Caravan Park. We set up in a nice spot under the trees to get as much shade as possible as we will try and get work here and stay for awhile. We decided to look around as much as possible because if we get work that will tie us down a bit.

 

 We did a trip to the famous Mindle Markets to see what they were all about.

  Seems to be food,crowds and Trinkets. an interesting atmosphere though.

 We found the Darwin Air museum and had a few pleasant hours there. We had left the girls behind!

There is a lot of World War 2 history here as Darwin was bombed pretty comprehensively by the Japanese. More bombs fell on Darwin than were dropped on Pearl Harbour on the first raid.

There was a lot of artifacts from the war on display,old engines from crashed planes,aircraft parts etc. Very interesting if you like that sort of thing. They also had a B52 bomber in the Hanger, just!

This is the type of aircraft that killed so many trees in Vietnam, when the Americans area bombed the jungle trying to hit the elusive Veit Kong.

On the way back to camp we visited Mitre 11.

This is the Council resource centre. Used to be called a Rubbish dump in my day. Had a good look around but wasn't tempted to bring anything back to camp.

More soon.

Cheers dave and Helen

23rd June

On the way out of the Park we stopped off for a cup of Coffee and some Mango Cheesecake at the Litchfield Cafe. It was nice, but not worth the $17.00 we paid for it. Oh well we were in the wop wops I suppose. It was nice sitting out under the Trees though.

Anyhow on the way out we passed the turnoff to the Lost City. It sounded intriguing  but it was 10.5km in, on a dirt track and the day was getting on,but we decided to do it anyway.

 After 1km Helen was ready to turn back as the ruts were quite bad and we seemed to be heading into the Never Never, but being the intrepid explorer that I am, we continued. Its awhile since I did some serious 4 wheel driving. Helen Gritted her teeth (grit being the operative word here) and we carried on. It took us 45 min to do the 10.5 km but it was worth it. We saw a scruffy  Dingo on the way in but not much else.
Here are a few photos of the place.
The Sun was low on the horizon,there was no one else within miles,not a sound but the sigh of the wind and I swear I could hear a Banjo playing a familiar tune!!

                                     


                                                          A very spooky place in the bush.
As we were about to leave a young couple arrived and it looked like they were going to spend the night there. Rather them than us.
After another rough trip out we got back to camp at Adelaide River and a Ten dollar Roast.

                                         Not a bad feed and just the Vege fix Helen was after.

Just as an after thought,a bit of bush Poetry on the back of the Dunny door. Take heed!!

 And as the Sun sinks slowly in the West, we bid you  a fond farewell and will you join us as we travel North next time on our way to Darwin.
Bugger me!!
Cheers Helen and Dave

23rd June

The first of the waterfalls you come to in the Park is the Buley rock hole. A nice gentle falls with a small swimming hole half way down.

                If you look hard you can see people in swimming. It was a bit cold for us wimps.

The next lot on the trip were the Florence falls. These were what we had expected,big with a lot of water flowing over them.

 Taken from the viewing platform looking down on the falls. Three people, 2 guys and a girl jumped off the rock between the 2 falls,the light brown bit that you can see. It took them a while to get up the courage, but one by one they did it. The girl had a Bikini on and unfortunately my eyes weren't good enough to see if she still had it on after the jump; bugger!!

 Yes 135 stairs down and another 135 up again. It was a long haul up but it was worth it.

 A lovely sheltered swimming hole,quite deep. I just about fell in getting this shot. I hope you appreciate it.

                                                  This was the rock I nearly fell off.

The next Waterfall was the Tolmer falls, only viewed from a lookout on the rim of the gorge.

                                Quite spectacular and probably the highest waterfall in the Park.

 The Wanji falls are probably the prettiest with the biggest pool,but watch out in the Wet season!!

                      A precautionary sign it would pay to heed when it starts to rain!!

                             A very pretty spot with lots of Fish in the crystal clear water.

                                 There go those Geriatrics again getting in the way!!

The last Water fall we went to was called the Cascades. We weren't sure what to expect here as there was a bit of a walk in to it.

                                                         Looks a bit like Croc country!!

                 Helen not too sure about this stretch of water. Is that a Croc under that log?

  When we finally got there it really wasn't worth the long walk in, but I suppose you have to go and look.

On the way in we saw this sign and carried on,but on the way back I noticed the big pile of mud next to it and it crossed my mind that it looked suspiciously like a Croc nest where they lay their eggs.
Yes I watch the wildlife shows on TV too !!

We weren't sure so we beat a hasty retreat, though I suspect they had cleaned out all the Crocs from the park before the Tourists arrived. Though being Aussies you never know.
We did the Lost City on the way out but that's for the next installment.
Cheers Helen and Dave