June 27 - July 8 More Darwin (Berry Springs)

We decided to stay yet another week in Darwin. That will make 25 days that we stayed here. We thought about leaving earlier, but we heard it was raining along the east coast near Cairns. We just weren’t ready for rain yet. And we’ve been very relaxed here in our caravan park at Berry Springs.

Darwin waterfront. The only safe beach in Darwin. Lovely spot!

Neil & Kerry in Darwin

Wave pool next to the beach. Great place for kids and big kids. But no we didn't swim here.

Spike, Princess, Neil, Judith and Kerry walking along side of the Darwin Court House

Princess and Rob at the "real" beach near Darwin

Dog's eye view of the Darwin city streets

Howard Springs - another beautiful recreation reserve near Darwin.
Similar to Berry Springs, except that it was closed for swimming

The tropical forrest at Howard Springs

Because we stayed a few weeks in Berry Springs, I decided to get the car serviced. The Kia has now done over 200,000km. But I didn't realise that the 200k service is a timing belt change - $1000! Well, better getting it done now than having a nasty surprise in the middle of no where. The local mechanic was recommended. He was so good that he found a problem with the radiator and the water pump - another $900. Again, I rationalise that its better done now than causing problems later.

While the car was in for service, my new best friend Wolfgang kindly offered to drive me around the area to see some of the sites.

Bynoe Harbour - Rob with the Pom Bomb (Wolfgang's Land Rover)

Another view of Bynoe Harbour. Lovely quiet place but the beaches are unfortunately not safe for swimming.

The jetty at Mandorah Beach. From here you can catch a passenger ferry to Darwin, which is in the background.
In the foreground is Wolfgang talking to a couple of other tourists.

The pub at Mandorah Beach

The pub was so nice and such a great location that Judith and I came back for lunch a few days later.

Judith & Princess on Wagait Beach. Just beautiful, but no swimming allowed.

Another reason for staying in Darwin was the opportunity to catch up with our friends Deb and Richard (& their girls Kira, Zoe, Mia) who flew into Darwin for a couple of days on their way over to Bali. We met up with them at Berry Springs Nature Park. This is a free park with naturally heated pools - one of our favourite places. (I didn't take my camera that day, so I will steal some of Deb's photos when she puts them up on her facebook page.)

One of the swimming spots at Berry Springs

The shady, tropical walk to the spring waters

July 1 is Territory Day. Folks in the Northern Terrirtory celebrate the founding of their territory by letting off fireworks. Yes, it is still legal in NT. You can only buy fireworks on one day of the year - July 1. And you are only allowed to let them off on the same night. That's the theory anyway. There were 4 sites around Darwin that had government fireworks displays, and Berry Springs was one of them. So we went to the local recreation reserve for the big night. The government fireworks were great. The before and after fireworks let off by the locals were positively frightening. You don't have to be feral to live in NT but it sure helps!

Fireworks at the Berry Springs Recreation Reserve for Territory Day

Impressive NT government sponsored fireworks

The frightening locals letting off their own fireworks

Wolfgang and Monika invited us to go out with them for tea to a place called Livingstone. This is a local recreation club which operates a bar and dinner every Friday night. Drinks are half price before 7:30pm and even after that time they are the cheapest drinks that we have bought. The meals are great value (mosttly under $10) and the venue is very simple - an open-air shelter with bench seats and tables. We went twice and enjoyed both times.

Deinse, Martin, Wolfgang, Monika, Philip & partner at Livingstone

Sally, Ian, Graham, Robert, Judith & Robert at Livingstone

One of our neighbours was a family who were relocating from Adeliade to Northern Territory. They had 2 small children, Chelsea (3) and Seth (20 months). It took a while, but we finally won the cofidence of the kids and we had some fun organising activities for them. Jude would set up plastic buckets with water so they could help with the washing up and we bought them some chalk so they could draw on the board and concrete floor of the camp kitchen. While walking around the park with Chelea and Seth holding my hands, someone asked me if they were my grand children. "Ahh, no. Just the neighbours' kids."

We had a lot of fun times with our crazy german neighbours Wolfgang & Monika, mostly at the expense of other campers around us. We had internet access but could not get any TV. Wolfgang boasted (frequently) about having 19 stations. But he didn't have internet. Wolgang needed a new regulator for his solar panel so using our internet, he bought one via eBay. The parcvel arrived a couple of days later, when Wolfgang was out. We carefully opened his parcel and swapped the regulator for a bar of soap. We thoroughly enjoyed Wolfgang's shocked response as he excitedly opened his parcel. We knew that there would be revenge. We arrived back at the van one afternoon to see a "4 Sale" sign on our van. Not to be outdone, we waited for our neighbours to leave one night and then wrapped their annexe area with Security Tape. Wolfgang and Monika enjoyed it as much as we did. We laughed a lot that night. Fearing worse revenge, we left the caravan park the following day. Thinking we had beaten the germans, it was not unitl our first stop for the day that we noticed a cardboard "L" plate stuck to the back of our van. We will be thinking of ways to get them back for next time we meet...

Our caravan site (left) and neighbours Wolfgang & Monika (right)

Enjoying an afternoon drink and laugh with the neighbours

Judith & Wolfgang in the camp kitchen

Our caravan is apparently "4 sale". Open for inspection from midnight to 3am. And all offers accepted.

Wolfgang and Monika arrive back home to find their annexe restricted by security tape

Still taped up the next morning

The "L" plate on the back of our caravan - how embarrassing!

June 16-26: Darwin (Berry Springs)

We travelled towards Darwin in search of a place to stay. Couldn't find the place that we were aiming for. Found out later from a report on the radio that the owner had given up and closed down. In desperation, we checked the RACV caravan park guide and found this park at Berry Springs that allowed dogs - Tumbling Waters. We initially booked for 2 nights and have extended twice. Maybe we'll leave on July 2, or maybe we won't.

The caravan park is a good one. Lots of lovely palm trees to give lots of shade. They have outdoor cinema twice a week and you can take your dog along. They also have didgeridoo making, crocodile feeding (12 crocodiles on site) and karaoke once a week. Even the karaoke was OK, although it's really just one guy singing his songs to a group of people drinking around the outside bar. And all for free! We've also made some new friends with crazy german folks from Adelaide - Wolfgang and Monika.

Karaoke entertainment

Didgeridoo making

Croc feeding at the caravan park

A once-off performance by a couple of guys who happened to be staying at the park on the day we arrived. They were drummers/percussionists and performed for about an hour showing off all of their percussion instrments.
Great free entertainment!

Judith & Princess enjoying the karaoke

Our new best friends Wolfgang and Monika.
The car is called "Pom Bomb" because it's a Land Rover made in England.

The best thing about Darwin at this time of year is the weather. Every day is around 30 degrees. And it is virtually guaranteed not to rain for the next 3 months. Which explains why there are so many southerners up here. It is a very nice climate to which you can escape from the winters of the south.

On Thursday 16 June, we spent the day in Darwin with my brother Neil and sister-in-law Kerry. Good timing as this was Neil's birthday! They are holidaying in Darwin, before catching the Ghan down to Alice. We checked out a few sights around town, went to the museum and art gallery and then on to the Mindil Markets. Together with about 5000 other people we watched the sunset over the beach. Lovely beach, but the sad thing is that it is unsafe for swimming. We've been back again to Darwin and the beaches around East Point and it is weird to see these beautiful beaches on hot sunny days without anyone on them.

Neil & Kerry at the Mindil Beach markets

Waiting for sunset on Mindil Beach with 5000 other people

Kerry, Neil and Judith enjoying the sunset at Mindil beach

Worth waiting for - a lovely sunset over the water,
- helped a little by all the smoke in the air from the burning off during the day

Near where we are staying is the Berry Springs Nature Park. Natural fresh water springs supply a large warm water swimming area. We've been a few times now. Only issue is that dogs are not allowed so unfortunately Princess stays in the car while we have our swim.

Also close by is the Territory Wildlife Park. This is one of the best tourist attractions in the NT. It is really well done, with several different areas of the park set up with different native environments and animals.

Pelicans at the lagoon

Buzzards and other birds of prey performing at the Wildlife Park

Turtle on log

Pretty birds all in a row

Snake climbing a tree trunk

Duckling above and below water

Another turtle

Magnetic ternite mounds. They are built especially to survive in low lying wetlands.

The magnetic termite mound in the foreground is wide but not deep; quite different to the cathedral termite mound shown in the background.



At the "Oolloo Crossing" area of the Territory Park, they have whiprays. They are like stingrays but live in fresh water. The ranger explains how they feed and then lets a small group of vounteers feed them. I was lucky enough to be one of the chosen few.

A short drive from our caravan park is the road into Litchfield National Park - the dirt road that is. We had a pleasant day driving through the national park and checking out some of the scenic spots. Some really lovely water falls and crystal clear creeks. One of the highlioghts was Wangi Falls, but no swimming allowed there due to crocodiles. Pity, maybe next time.

Judith at Wangi Falls

Crossing the creek at the Cascades in Lichfield

The Berry Springs market happens on the last Sunday of the month. And fortuitously this month they coincided with the Feral Ladies Festival. We checked it out and bought some good local produce. The Feral Ladies Festival was a bit of fun - and no, Judith didn't win any prizes.