Then a drive to Anbangbang Billabong where we had lunch and then did the 2.5km walk around the lake. The area is full of birdlife: Spoonbills, ducks, geese, egrets and pelicans...and of course we saw one croc on the waters edge.
It was a hot day and we went back to camp for a cool off and rest before our drive to Ubirr. It was about 4pm in the afternoon and the high tide so we drove back to Cahills Crossing, as the water rises and flows backward up the river the crocs come down to the causeway and catch the fish that flow up river. There were about 6 crocs hanging around and they snap hard and fast when they catch a fish, we had one croc swim over to the bank where we were standing with his prize catch and do the death roll...as if the poor fish would be alive for that!
On to Ubirr to look at more Rock Art and it was even more impressive than the last and we climbed the rocks to get the view of the wetlands and into Arnhem Land and the sun set.
There were a few clouds around and the sunset would have been very beautiful but we left before it got too dark as we had all the rocks to climb down. Back to camp for dinner, our last bream we caught wasn't thawed so we went to the bistro in the caravan park for dinner and had a bit of barra with chips and salad.
Wednesday 31st July...another month gone! Steve rang Mitsubishi Darwin about looking at the turbo and they had time tomorrow. So today we are on our way to Darwin (what a waste of $50 for the Kakadu pass). We stopped at The Bark Inn/caravan park to have a cuppa and a snack and the place looked ok to stay.
We found a spot at the top tourist park at Winnellie close to Darwin CBD, it is a huge park and only a couple of spots to choose from for the 4 nights and we are near the long term stayers...not good. Before we parked we drove to a car wash and gave the car and the tvan a good going over (the coin machine chewed up $40 quicker than a poker machine) and we were almost dust free again...hahaha only joking, you,re never dust free up here.
Thursday we took the car to get looked at and we caught the bus into the CBD and we walked around and did the tourist thing. We looked at WW11 Oil Storage Tunnels, Visitor Centre, Government House (only the outside), Old Town Hall Ruins, the Courthouse/Gaol Cells, the Chinese Temple and Museum and the Waterfront/wave pool. Darwin is relatively new thanks to Cyclone Tracey 40 years ago but there is plenty of history about WW11 and the Japanese bombing and the Cyclones...in fact that's all the history is about here and we had our fill for the day.
One thing I always love is a good market and Thurs and Sun nights is the famous Mindil Beach Markets. We parked in the street a little walk away and OMG the place looked like Victoria Park on show day at the Brisbane Ekka! Cars everywhere and the dirt and dust in the carpark was thick. Out on the beach everyone sits to watch the sunset and the markets are full of things to look at and the food is wonderful.
The temp had dropped a bit and we had ice creams, tubs of fruit salad and chickens and prawns on sticks...in that order!!! Who says you can't have dessert first. There are entertainers to sit and watch and it was a lot of fun, worth it for the food if nothing else. Steve bought a new hat - it is made out of recycled truck canvas, very stylish (but it still smells like dirty old truck canvas to me).
Friday was a normal day at the Casuarina Shopping Centre and the library to print out stuff from the computer, bought a new engel cord and I had a hair cut...I paid for this one, gave Steve a break.
Saturday 3rd August
I have been putting up with a little pain in my knee and I am hoping it is a simple problem, so I went to a chinese acupuncturist and had 70mins of getting pummelled and poked with needles...feeling better.
We packed up a few things and in the afternoon drove down to the esplanade to have a look around. In the late afternoon went to Stoke Hill Wharf which has been rebuilt into an eatery area by the water. Nice place to sit by the water (but hard to park), we shared a meal for dinner and had ice cream for afters and walked along the wharf.
We left the caravan park on Sunday and I am always glad to leave the CP...this time we had a young bloke next door who played his music till 3am and after a couple of complaints we had two nights of the sounds of silence. This is the joys of caravan parks and the long term tenants. We had to hang around the area to wait for a call to let us know the turbo would be replaced under warranty so Sunday we went to Litchfield NP.
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