Sea Darwin & Mindil Beach

We took a cruise around Darwin Harbour and into the mangrove estuaries. Featured was a shipreck of a Singapore ferry washed up in the mangroves and several fish jumping. The boats moored in the harbour on the buoys pay only $10.00 a week rent and some of these are million dollar yachts. This tour took us right into the middle of the city.
Mindil Beach Markets are a mecca for those wanting to try the variety of foods cooked there and eat as the sun sets on the beach which is very idyllic. Thousands of people flock here. The stalls here feature lots of aboriginal artifacts, jewellery, clothing, paintings, crocodile trinkets and whip cracking for anyone wishing to have a go.

A boat trip up the Adelaide River to witness crocodiles being fed is an eye opener, 4.5 metres long, one with part of it's snout missing from a brawl as they are canniblas and will eat each other so the bigger always wins. They do not eat when hungry but when food is available as they do not how long it is until their next meal. Females lay several dozen eggs in a nest on the riverbanks and then stay close by until they are ready to hatch. If any of the eggs are dead the female eats them. The ones that survive the journey to the water may not survive long as they are eaten by bigger fish so very few survive to adulthood.

Darwin

We arrived in Darwin 27th April staying at the Howard Springs Caravan Park 25 km south of Darwin. Peacocks roamed around the park and came right up to the steps of our cabin like they were waiting to be fed.

Friday 29th I signed my contract with ntmedic for work and our accommodation for a 2 bdrm unit at 2/45 Brinkin Terrace which is 2km away from the hospital and a short ride to the beach which is not for swimming due to crocodiles.
We explored the wharf area in the city where there is a wave pool and a lagoon which is croc and stinger proof. It is a very pleasant location surrounded by eateries and the Medina Vibe hotel. The water is a very pleasant temperature.

I started work at Darwin Private a 5 theatre complex hospital which is small and friendly. Dale started work repairing household whitegoods which has 13 service vehicles.

From Katherine to Darwin

Adelaide River 203 km north of Katherine we visited the Railway Heritage Precinct. This was at the 77 mile point on the 145 mile Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway where passengers could stop for refreshments during a 10 hour journey. This features a display about railway life during the 1880's and during WW11 period. This ceased operations in 1976.
Several aspects of WW11 feature here as it was a major forward supply base  having a large military presence. An aerodrome constructed in 1941 for a fighter strip and then as an emergency landing strip. A hospital was established in 1942 following bombing by the japanese in Darwin, the hospital moved from Berrimah to this location and ambulance trains ferried patients here.
The QCE hotel was established here in 1873 and this is where Charlie the buffalo from "Crocodile Dundee" stands stuffed on the bar.

Katherine

We spent Easter in Katherine satying with friends Lyn and Bob Piper who were superb hosts. Easter Saturday we set off to Katherine Gorge which is a series of 13 gorges carved in sandstone rock by the Katherine River in Nitmiluk National Park. The water in the river is flowing rapidly due to the excellent wet season. The views as we walked to the lookout were spectacular. The walk was 3.7 km and felt like 10 in the middle of the day.

We also went on a dinner cruise up the Katherine River and into the accessible gorges which in some areas were 45 metres deep. There is a lot of aboriginal mythology about the river and the formation of the gorges and aboriginal men and women are not allowed to swim in the same areas.
We then went for a helicopter ride over the area and the differences in the views was amazing as the country looked so rugged from the air. We had a lady pilot and she had done cattle mustering so I was relieved when I heard that as I was quite hestitant about going.

Edith Falls is another spectacular area which is 42km north of Katherine and still part of Nitmiluk National Park. There are several walking trails but some remained closed due to water over the track. We walked the Leliyn Trail a 2.6km round track which climbs to the top of the escarpment and then down to the upper pools. The water from the falls was flowing very rapidly and the walls of the pools was very rocky so we only put our feet in but most people went in for a swim and got swept around but were able to get back out of the water without too much difficulty.
We also visited the museum which is the site of the original Katherine aerodrome and terminal. The displays detail early pastoral history, WW11 and communication. The main focus is the Dehavilland Gypsy Moth flown by the first flying doctor, Dr. Clive Fenton.
Our last day we were given a tour of the Rural College, it is a large farming area with cattle and horses. This complex is part of Charles Darwin University and courses available there include animal husbandry, motor vehicle maintenance, 4 wheel driver training and many other course pertinent to the area with a particular focus on indigenous education.

Larrimah, Mataranka ,Daly Waters

We left Tenant Creek heading for Katherine on Good Friday. Our first stop was the Daly Waters Pub which was licensed in 1938 to service passengers and crew from the nearby airfield and in early WW11 became very important with the Raaf setting up headquarters here. This pub has an amazing amount of memoribilia on its walls such as bras, business cards, currency from all over the world. Camping and accommodation id available here.

Our next stop was Larrimah for lunch at the Pink Panther Pub. This hotel was originally the RAAF Officers Mess during WW11.

Mataranka Thermal Springs was our next stop. This area was made famous by the movie "We of the Never Never" with the homestead being a replica of that in the movie. Mataranka has a population of about 250 people. The RAAF were stationed here during WW11.

                                                                                                                                             

                    

                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                           

Tenant Creek

Tenant Creek was a goldrush town and was 1of 15 repeater stations for the overland telegraph in 1872 and was opened by Charles Todd. A store and hotel was built in 1932 just prior to the goldrush where there were 200 mines for gold and copper.

The telegraph station is a lovely old  building made of thick rock from the surrounding area with a large verandah all the way around. It has outbuildings for meat storage, living quarters and blacksmith and stables.
Today Tenant Creek is the town centre for vast open grass palins, scatterred cattle stations, mines and aboriginal communities.
We had dinner at the memorial club which has a courtesy bus to transport patrons to and from the club every 1/2 hr, this is to prevent patrons from being harassed by aboriginals for money and alcohol. Patrons have to swipe their membershipn card to gain entry and non-members have their drivers licence scanned to check for a criminal background and if necessary you may be refused entry.
Our caraven park was in the main street and as the aboriginals made their way home to their settlement they were loud and verbally abusive to each other.

Journey from Townsville to NT

We left Townsville 18th April after working there for 13 weeks planning to travel to Mt. Isa, Tenant Creek, Katherine and on to Darwin. However 60 km west of Charters Towers we had to turn back as there was 800mm water over the road at Shovel Creek, so we spent the night in Charters Towers and set off after checking with the local council and only 20mm was over the road so we drove carefully and all was well so on stopping at Julia Creek for petrol @ $1.69 per litre and a sandwich for lunch. This is a popular stop but all there was was the fuel stop cafe. The drive was very scenic due to the excellent wet season. There was water lying on the side of the road in several locations and the magnificent ochre rocky Mt Selwyn were covered in green trees and grasses.
We had 2 nights in Mt. Isa - staying in a cabin in a caravan park. dale visited his parents and grandmother's graves as he had been wishing to do for some time. We went to the Outback Museum as we were told there was an audiovisual presentation of William Purdy and his input into the commencement of the Mount Isa Mines as a prospector with Campbell and Miles but it was out of order.

The Underground Hospital was fascinating - it was built during WW11 when the Japanese were bombing Northen Australia. It was never utilised as a hospital but some nurses used to sleep there when on night duty or the babies would be taken there when temperatures were extreme. It has dirt floors, bunk beds(so much for infection control),  the old mixture bottles, bassinets, placetal disposal unit(never seen one before) and the old anaesthetic masks and machine.

The hospital was not known about until they were extending the current hospital.

The entry was quite hidden in the hill behind the hospital.

This is one of the tent houses where the miners lived, it had tin walls, calico to cover the window spaces and a framework of tin over the roof in an attempt to keep it cooler.