Sunday 17 September
We arrived home in Upwey at about 5.30, after an uneventful drive from Robe. Everything looks green and Spring has certainly sprung. It's nice to be home after a wonderful holiday.
Signing off now. No more blogging till the next trip, but below is a little geography challenge.
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| Where in Australia is the big lobster? |
Saturday 16 September
We are taking the long way home from Adelaide, so today saw us having morning coffee at Coriole Winery in McLaren Vale, before continuing on to Wellington. This is where we lunched at the Courthouse Cafe and crossed the Murray River on a car ferry. The scenery couldn't be more different from the Northern Territory ... and nor could the temperature!
We drove along the Coorong and have stopped for the night in Robe. I've never been here before and am loving the beautiful old stone buildings and rugged coastline. Out on the point we met a man doing some filming with a drone. He is an ABC cameraman working on an episode of "Back Roads" and was getting some aerial shots of Robe. I'm looking forward to seeing that episode.
Friday 15 September
Today we said goodbye to hot, sunny Darwin and flew south to Adelaide. Judy's sister, Marion, kindly picked us up at the airport and brought us home for a welcome cuppa. The four of us went out for an Italian meal in Norwood. It was strange to come out of the restaurant and feel cold air instead of gasping at the heat. Lovely to be staying with Marion and Doug again.
There are no interesting photos of the flight back, though we did get a great view of Fogg Dam from above. I'm putting in a couple more Yellow River pictures as it was so hard to limit them the other day.
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| Lotuses |
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| Little Kingfisher |
Thursday 14 September
After our morning cuppa at the Bowali Information Centre we said goodbye to Kakadu and headed back along the road to Darwin, with Rob feeling very proud of the mileage he was achieving in our hired Nissan X-trail.
What was supposed to be a brief stop at Fogg Dam turned into a couple of hours as we did the Woodlands to Water Lily walk. Lots of birds and some beautiful purple water lilies and pink lotuses. There were little lizards along the way and I spotted a wallaby as we were returning. But boy, was it hot!
On arrival in Darwin we checked in to our airport hotel, had an hour or so of rest and recuperation and then set off for a drink on our last night in Darwin. We went back to Cullen Bay, caught another stunning sunset and crossed the road to Lola's Pergola for a very welcome G&T, followed by a Japanese Slipper as that seemed like a good idea. Ended up having dinner there. It's a great atmosphere down by the water.
Tomorrow we fly to Adelaide and stay the night with Marion and Doug again before starting the homeward journey.
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| Fogg Dam |
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| Magpie geese guarding their nest |
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| One of many elegant egrets |
Wednesday 13 September
What a fantastic day! We were up at 5 to drive about 50 km down the road for the Yellow Water cruise at dawn. It's the Yellow Water Billabong on the South Adelaide River. I do not have enough superlatives for this experience, an absolute must if you come to Kakadu. We very quickly lost count of the crocodiles and became quite blasé about them. The birds were many and varied, and a challenge to photograph. Early morning views across the misty billabong were memorable. We also saw buffalo, pigs, horses, cattle, and wallabies. But those crocs ... wow!
Part of the cruise deal was breakfast at Cooinda Lodge. Then we drove back towards Jabiru, stopping at Nourlangie to see some rock art. By now it was very hot so quite an effort to climb over rocks and up to the lookout, but well worth it.
Had a sandwich at the Bowali Visitor Centre, then back to our lodgings for a very welcome dip in the pool, before heading out again to Ubirr for more rock art and sunset over the escarpment.
Back for dinner at the Crocodile Hotel. His eyes glow red at night!
And now to bed, absolutely exhausted.
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| Check out the feet on this little jacana. |
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| Azure kingfisher |
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| Rock art at Nourlangie |
Tuesday 12 September
This morning we packed our bags, said goodbye to our lovely house in Fannie Bay, crossed the road for a last drink at the Cool Spot and headed down the highway to Jabiru.
Not a lot to report about the journey as the countryside was much the same the whole way. We saw two big impressive rivers, the Mary River and the South Alligator River. Some of the flood plains and flood markers made me very glad that we are travelling in the dry season. Just before the South Alligator River we stopped and bought our Kakadu passes, which give us entry to the park and access to ranger guided activities and information. We are to carry them at all times.
On arrival in Jabiru we went looking for a cafe in the town centre but there wasn't one and we ended up at the big Crocodile Hotel. We then checked in to our cabin at Kakadu Lodge. There is a great swimming pool and it was not long before Judy and I were in it, and very grateful to be cool, while the hot, old, stick-in-the-mud sat and watched.
We shared a pizza by the pool before wandering back to our nice cool cabin. This is a hot place!
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| Mary River |
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| South Alligator River |
Monday 11 September
Today was our last day in the Fannie Bay house. It has been a real home with everything we need, including good sharp knives. Once again we had morning coffee at Cornucopia, which has become Rob's Darwin favourite. It really is lovely sitting on the shady verandah and looking out at the water.
We had planned to go on the ferry to Mandorah for lunch but the reviews were not great and the ferry timetable didn't suit so we changed our minds, had lunch at home and headed to Berry Springs for an afternoon dip. The GPS took us a strange way and tried to leave us at the end of a dirt road but we persevered and found the park. The water was lovely and, fortunately, crocodile free. We swam under the waterfall and had our tootsies nibbled by little fish. You can pay money for that in spas but it's free, and a bit unnerving, at Berry Springs.
If you ever go to Berry Springs make sure you stop at the kiosk and buy an ice cream. I can recommend the passionfruit flavour - absolutely delicious and locally made.
Sunday 10 September
Another leisurely start to the day with our morning coffee stop back at Cornucopia. The verandah is a very pleasant place to sit. Today seems hotter than previous days but there is less breeze and that makes a difference. There was lots of yacht activity on the water.
After a sandwich at home we went for a drive to the northern suburbs, past Casuarina Shopping Centre to the foreshore at Brinkin. The tide was way out and it was not very inviting so we continued on our exploration, having a drive through CDU, then across to Berrimah and on to where we came in on the Ghan. We saw a couple of petrol tanker road trains as well as Darwin's answer to the painted silos. We checked out the marinas round Stuart Park and finally found ourselves in the city centre. It was a big circuit of Darwin and our reward was an ice cream at the Cold Rock place.
Back home for a rest before going out to dinner at Yots, a Greek restaurant at Cullen Bay. A delicious meal and a much better option than another place we saw. Would you dine at a restaurant called "Gastro"?
Saturday 9 September
What a lovely day. We started at the Parap market where we saw some fruits we didn't know, and bought a couple to try. There were also some amazing tropical flowers such as the heliconias below. Coffee or juice under the vines at the same cafe as yesterday.
Then we went to the museum and art gallery. There was a fantastic exhibition of photographs taken in Central Australia by Otto Tschirn between 1915 and 1918 - camel trains, Hermannsburg Mission and outback life. We had lunch on the verandah at the Cornucopia Cafe, bringing back memories of some very hot bike riders last time. Then back in to see the last of the indigenous exhibitions. The last image is a Vietnamese refugee boat from the maritime section of the museum.
From there it was Cullen Bay to check it out in daylight and to have an iced coffee. We plan to eat there tomorrow night. And as Judy had persuaded us to put our bathers in the back of the car, we plucked up courage to try the wave pool down at the harbour. It was great fun, it really knocked us around and trying to sit in one of those rubber tyre things ain't easy!
This evening we watched a DVD called "Inception", so gripping that I stayed awake right through it. But I hope I don't dream tonight!
Friday 8 September
This morning's coffee was at a different cafe, this time in Parap. After coffee we decided to check out Lorraine's old house in Leanyer. Shock, horror! They have pulled out "our" letterbox to put in a new fence and it is now leaning drunkenly in the corner of the block, with mail on the ground. Looks like they need to burn some of those palm fronds too. It is certainly not as well cared for as it was.
We visited the Military Museum and learned a lot that we didn't know about the bombing of Darwin and how long it continued. The museum is worth a visit, really well presented and the outside parts are extensive, with plenty of shade as you wander around.
Lunch was at "The Foreshore" in Nightcliffe overlooking the water. We had a lazy afternoon at home and Rob cooked an excellent steak on the barbecue for dinner. We spent quite some time watching a possum with a baby on her back and shared some banana with her.
Thursday 7 September
A big day today, which started with a yummy iced coffee at "our" cafe, the Cool Spot, while we waited for the bus. Caught the bus to the city and it was free for seniors!!! What a stroke of luck. Only 19 minutes to the city and no worries about parking.
We had a wander along the mall, then through Bicentennial Park and down Herbert St to the Hotel Darwin. This is where the old Hotel Darwin was that we went to in 1972. Lorraine tells me that the CLP pulled it down secretly at night. There are lots of the old dark wood pillars but they are just a shadow of its former glory. No cane furniture or potted palms. The beer garden was a hot concrete box that you would never sit in and the atmosphere was just pub, instead of colonial splendour a la Agatha Christie.
We lunched at a Moorish restaurant and then walked to Stokes Hill Wharf. There is a fantastic new footbridge and lifts which take you right to the pool area from the end of Smith St. We are keen to go back for a swim if we have time. After an ice cream it was back over the foot bridge to the bus interchange and straight onto our number 4 bus home.
Collapsed with a cold glass of water for an hour or so, then back on a bus to Mindil Beach for sunset and the market. Once again no worries about parking amongst the millions of cars, just off the bus and across the road. The sunset, with terrific didgeridoo band accompaniment, was pretty impressive and so were the crowds. We saw quite a few familiar faces from the Ghan. A tasty meal of pad Thai balanced on our knees while we sat on a car park barrier, a wander round the stalls and then home on the bus with a crowd of very happy and excited kids.
A great day again.
Wednesday 6 September
I have no idea why we should need a rest day after our luxurious journey on the Ghan but we all felt happy to have a pretty relaxed day today. After picking up the rented car in town we returned, walked across to the Cool Spot cafe for a morning cuppa or cool drink, then crossed the road to look at the view across Fannie Bay. We bought some food at the little supermarket and went home to recover from all that activity (?).
Nobody brought us food today, we had to make it ourselves!
This afternoon we eventually got moving again and headed to East Point but we were a bit late for the War Museum so we looked at the view across the bay to the city and then checked out a lake we had passed where people were swimming. Judy had a paddle.
Rob cooked a barbecue for dinner and we ate outside as the temperature was quite pleasant by then. It has been a hot day but the humidity has been bearable.
Tuesday 5 September
An early breakfast and off the train around 9 for our excursion to Katherine Gorge. We had chosen the two gorges trip. It was a half hour drive from Katherine to the Gorge, which is now known as Nitmiluk Gorge, and when we arrived the trees were full of red flying foxes. As we walked to the boat quite a few people were showered with their yellow droppings.
The water looked really inviting as we cruised along the first gorge, then disembarked and walked across a very civilised path to the second gorge and another boat. Here we saw people canoeing and swimming and there was a Johnson River crocodile sunning himself on a rock.
Then it was back the way we had come, stopping briefly to admire some rock art at the end of the first gorge, and onto the bus and then the train. We were some of the last to return and by the time we walked the half kilometre to our carriage the train was nearly ready to pull out.
The scenery was looking familiar with lots of large termite mounds, small trees and pandanus. Another delicious meal, a bit of packing and the last kilometres into Darwin, where we arrived a little after 5. What a wonderful journey we had on this fabulous train.
One of The Ghan buses dropped us at the casino where we caught a taxi to our Air BNB townhouse in Fannie Bay. It is very well set up, opposite a park and shopping centre so we were able to walk across the road and find a nice Italian restaurant for dinner.
Monday 4 September
What a great day! We got up before dawn at Marla, our first stop. As the sun rose we had a cuppa and a Vegemite scroll, and stretched our legs walking almost the length of the train.
Later on we enjoyed the passing scenery and a substantial brunch.
Around 2 o'clock we pulled in to the Alice and disembarked for our chosen tour - the Desert Park. It was beautifully laid out with a number of regional landscapes, flora and fauna. The highlight was the flight bird show throughout which a willy wagtail tried to steal the show from the birds of prey. We are lucky to be here when the wildflowers are at their best.
Back to the train half an hour ago and thinking about a gin and tonic before dinner.
Sunday 3 September
Marion kindly drove us to the station where the train, split into two halves because it's too long for the platform, was waiting. They joined it up just before we left. A lovely welcome from the young train staff and much excitement as we boarded and checked our cabins. We are in Carriage A the last passenger carriage of the train. The only thing behind us is the luggage and possibly the staff quarters. We walk, or rather weave, through 4 more carriages to get to the lounge and then dining cars. The train is about a kilometre long.
Rob, Judy and I all squeezed into Rob's cabin until Paige, our carriage attendant, had gone through the housekeeping information. From the moment she saw her cabin Judy was excited about going to bed and she looked forward to it all day.
We had a late lunch in the Queen Adelaide dining car and spent the rest of the afternoon in the lounge car - much more spacious than our cabins, which are tiny!
Scenic highlights were kilometres of beautiful wind turbines along a ridge near Snowtown and the Flinders Ranges. We stopped for a while in Port Augusta and then it was on into the night as we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink followed by a delicious meal.
At last it was time for bed and Judy popped on her PJs and climbed in with a big grin on her face.
Saturday 2 September
After leaving Hamilton we stopped to say hello to the Wannon Falls. Last time I saw them there was hardly a drop of water going over. Today they were impressive.
We had morning coffee in Casterton, where Rob once taught. Then it was on to The South Australian border and lunch in Keith.
As we stopped to change drivers in Coonalpyn we saw the painted silo, with its images of local school children. This tiny town now has everyone stopping to admire the huge artwork. The cafe opposite was doing a roaring trade.
We were welcomed with champagne, a cuppa and cake when we arrived at Marion and Doug's beautiful home. Then out for dinner, and quite a few laughs, to "the best pizza place in the world", famous for its lobster tail pizza. We finished the night with a glass of Baileys at a local wine bar.
A very pleasant day.
