Travelling with The Max in WA
The Bungle Bungle FAR OUT …… no words can do this place justice Flying over in a helicopter……. exploring for 7 hours on foot…… you just have to come & see it to believe it …Cathedral Gorge, Echidna Chasm, The Domes Trail… this place is truly magnificent. We are getting a bit nervous about going much further south as we have now acclimatised to the very high 30cs (DRY HEAT luckily, no humidity yet, if the temperature drops below 28c during the evening, I have to reach for a cardi) John & Anna, Steve & Terri are inspirational couples. We like 100s of others are traveling around our big brown/red/sandy country. In just under 3 months we have traveled/explored from Cairns to Broome, via Darwin (nearly 5,000klm) & we NEVER cease to be amazed at our beautiful diverse country. We might be spending the kids’ inheritance, but we sure are helping the economy of lots & lots of small Australian towns Broome/Derby The Tides were too low for the Horizontal Waterfall, too high for Stairway to Heaven, we were 10 days to early either way. Broome is similar to Port Douglas in prices & life style, we will be heading to Port Keraudren. Where we spent 10 beautiful days, right on the 80 mile beach, only leaving because a King Tide was expected that would have washed us away, beautiful white sand, extremely peaceful except for the News stations going in the background…….. LOL Marble Bar Supposedly the hottest town in Australia but was only 39c while we were there. A lovely neat & tidy town with the most helpful info staff (originally a Novacastrian) Port Hedland We are now set up in Port Hedland, hoping to get some feed back from our job applications,(Thanks Bernadette, Lorraine, Jim & Phil), it has been 41c for the last 2 days. If we don’t get any feed back, we will be heading down to Tom Price & Karijini NP via Karratha
Exploring NT with The Max Part 2
So as we liked Darwin time, more & more every day we
headed off ourselves.
As we left the Darwin area, where speed limit of
100/110km is in
Force, we were in a derestricted area,(no speed limit)
for the first time we were without Turtle, so this was
my first opportunity to let Zeus show us what he was
made off.
While we were on the autobahn in Germany we were
overtaken by BMWs & Mercedes doing 200km/hr
As the roads were not in as good condition as the
Autobahn I only took Zeus to 150k (actually considered
deleting this for mum’s sake but only for a moment. We
went from swimming/wading in rock pools, to swimming
in water falls buying some chips to add to our seafood
lasagne, watching the tour guide pull their clients
away from the water fall, after a prescribe time
……mmmmmmmmmm all in all we just love Darwin
Max has picked up a shuttle bus driving job,(heard
about it while we were swimming at Wangi Water Falls)
while the cruise ships are in town. Between 400
Japanese students on one cruise ship to the next few
days taking millionaires & billionaire on “The World”
into the CBD from the Port of Darwin, he arranges for
me to take “The World” passengers to the airport in
Zeus ($16/hr)
When I’m not taxiing to the airport, I’m sightseeing
Darwin’s CBD. This place is full of very modern
buildings. I spent a great day wandering around
Parliament, Government House, & the ruins from Cyclone
Tracey
For all of u that contact us by phone & or text, we r
out of range for 10 days.
We have set up camp at a Resort central to all of
Kakadu’s sights. We have power & water, shower
facilities with access to pool, restaurant, fuel &
store for $5/pp/nite.
We r sightseeing Kakadu, Darwin style; relaxed, slowly
& layback. We sightsee in the morning & swim in the
afternoon (with a poppy/nana nap thrown in for good
measure LOL)
We have no CDMA, Optus or internet connection, so we
use the Jabiru library.
Food isn’t as expensive as we had been informed prior
to arriving (mushrooms $14.99/kilo but still able to
get lamb $2/kilo cheaper than in Darwin. …go figure.
I am still trying to send off photos, had feed back
from my USA friends, (thanks John & Isabell), that it
is most probably the slow speed of our modem that is
the problem. Will keep trying, hoping to have better
luck at Katherine.
I have had to buy a book on crosswords as the Woman’s
Day crossword no longer fills a week, with no work to
compete with..
Our life style just keeps getting better & better
every day
Litchfield was fine but NO SWIMMING AT ALL (except in
resort swimming pools) at Kakadu!!!!!!!!!!
We have climbed mountains, looked at & listened to
talks about Aboriginal Rock Art today ... it has been
mind blowing ....at moment resting by resort swimming
pool waiting for Wet Land, Crock river cruise to take
us out until sunset.... life sure is tough NOT
we have left Kakadu & r spending 3 days at Pine Creek
Copperfield Dam before heading off to Katherine, 2 get
a coupla new tyres (the caravan & roads have taken
their toll pretty savagely on the tyres)
We only have limited CDMA coverage, no TV & no Optus.
Great news about the TV, do u still have the DVD
recorder
we can now finally close down our Westpac account. WE
have been trying to do this since May LOL
What info do u need about XP & Dad wants to know why?
We don't have any XP info with us; Dad says it is at
the Wharf
We r both downing a few really cold ales at the
moment, it is quite nice to be away from the extreme
temps of Kakadu, 33c - 39c every day
It is a pleasant 30c at 9.00pm down here at Pine Creek
Will give u an address when we set up at the Bungle
Bungles in WA
we r not allowed to take any fresh food into WA so we
r eating up big NOW !!!!! LOL
Were u able to get onto RCI web thru that email I
forwarded onto u, if not let me know & I will give
them a ring & get them to contact u directly
We r still having probs with Telstra EVERY month the
bill has been wrong & always in their favour
We r both nearly black the sun has been getting to us
through our shirts & pants it is very strong & HOT but
heading a lit bit down south has helped a lot Just a quickie to let u know we r well safe & having an relaxingly wonderful time we have finally had CDMA coverage hopefully we will have more time to email when we get to Derby WA, to catch up with u all we have bought a satellite TV so makes being out of range a bit easier (Especially for Dad's Newes LOL) PS everyone we have met has been marvelous to us it blows our minds how many r on the road permanently xoxoxoo PLS pass this message onto Ben as do not have his email address finally missing u all very very very much XOXOXO As they say the best laid plans of mice & men etc… how great is it when u stay longer because the company is to good to leave. We expected to be leaving for Katherine by Monday heading West & here it is next week & we haven’t left Pine Creek yet. We camped with some lovely people from WA, John & Helen, Keith & Beryl. John had a mate also named John who sold Satellite TVs, so off we went to Ole Mate John’s, who was an absolute Satellite TV fanatic & genius. He spent 2 days with us, setting it all up & teaching us how to pick up 3 satellites, so that we could pull in 62 channels. Max has more than 20 NEWS stations to choose from….. HE IS IN NEWS HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had been out of TV reception range since leaving Darwin & his Newsaholicism withdrawal was starting to wear thin…. The picture is crystal clear even though we are 200klm from any major town or city. We now have a satellite TV dish inside turtle….. mmmm space thing LOL We have to up grade Turtle ASAP… we have not been able to get anything that suits our needs… the range of caravans outback is extremely limited, if at all…. We are finally on route to Katherine via Edith Water Falls; there is heaps of water even this late into the dry season. We have our first clouds since we came to NT but no rain since leaving QLD Bernadette if you are talking to Barbara, tell her that the Fly Hat Net works great & I could have sold heaps more if we had just bought more than our two. We decided to go to a caravan park to catch up with laundry so we pulled into a PAID caravan park in Katherine, hooked up to 240v (giving genie a well earned rest) We prepared to look for 2 new tyres, after 25,000 kilometers it is our first major outlay, they were $140 each back home $300 each in Katherine. Anyway so we connected to caravan park power & received a SPIKE... losing TV, DVD & Fridge…. Well to say the least my darling was not exactly happy, is an understatement, as this means no satellite to surf. I disappeared to catch up with the washing, on my return he has computer (TV) DVD etc packed into the car to go & get repaired the next day. So we locked up Turtle put the fridge on to gas & headed for a swim & shower as it is 39c. (The weather has been 35c – 39c every single day & with no breeze, but no humidity, just HOT HEAT) I suggested we try the TV………long story very short………. What had blown was the surge power board so DVD & Computer/TV were OK…….. satellite was set up & he happily surfed to his hearts content until 2.00am!!!!! Next day we rang insurance company about the fridge to be informed all we needed to do was get a quote from Cairns……..mmmmm explained that we were in middle NT & Cairns is in upper QLD…(about 2000 klm away)!!!!!!!!! So we decided to get it fixed locally ourselves…. Our next door caravan neighbour, from SA, knew the sparkie on the opposite side of his van…. This lovely young man fixed our fridge for a coupla coldies & all was well with the world again. We have yet to met a stranger,(the ranger at Kakadu told us that the aboriginal culture does not recoginise the word ‘stranger’ ….we have found that on the road no one is a stranger…. all having same mind set….. we have helped out & we have been helped out) all of our fellow travelers have been wonderful, helpful & humorous We went sightseeing Katherine Gorge, we took a four hour cruise up the gorge, (we once again met Alex, our 75 yr old friend, that we keep meeting in our travels, she was waiting to get on the same cruise as we returned) we explored the Hot Springs, Homestead. After a couple of days we decided to start heading west. The caravan park said that their ac outlet was faulty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Out Back West NT On the way to WA, (70 klm east of the WA boarder) we found this amazing free camp site right beside an escarpment, out west NT. The only problem I encountered was trying to stay awake while sitting in my hammock chair with a beautiful cloudless fly free breeze floating over me while I did my sudoku & crosswords So I am writing this under the shade of a coolabah tree looking at an ancient escarpment that reminds me of Mesa Verde in Sante Fe (only this one is much much longer) & is only 100 meters from our van. Also shaded under a tree on the other side out of view is genie, humming along, & sitting along beside me is my darling, surfing his 62 TV channels via satellite. We have just finished lunch ( we are eating up big, so that we don’t take any contraband food into WA… fruit, veggies, honey nuts etc etc as they will be confiscated from us at the boarder) we are only 70 klm away & our little haven is starting to fill with liked minded travelers) As head off with much excitement to WA. PS Christine can not agree with Barry & Joy no bits are bad, everyday is better than the day before.
Exploring NT with The Max Part 1
NT After 3 months in QLD we leave with sadness as the Sunshine state has been just that (expect for Innsfail (Cyclone Larry) & the drowning we received in New Castle) it has been a wonderful winter……… we are both tanned & Max who always been cool calm & collected is now NOT getting up before 8.30am…(most days even 10 am….) (expect when we were on our Cape York tour) & now only drives at 90Klms/hr!!!!!!!!!!!! (I kid you not)….. even in NT where anything goes speed limit. I know that this is very very hard to believe & sometimes I have to check the GPS to believe it myself, he also has his regular afternoon poppy naps As we head for NT where fuel is no longer subsided by the State Government, we went from $1.30 to $1.76 / litre within 50Klms of the boarder & they tell us it is only going to get dearer. Road Trains…coming towards you…. overtaking you……behind you……alongside you….but we keep chugging along at 90klm…… I KID U NOT!!!!!!! He even pulls over so that the Road Train can overtake him. Darwin This is my very first trip to Darwin & I’m very excited. There is a great deal of red dirt to get thru before we arrive & we have decided to go Darwin first & then Kakadu on the way back to Katherine & then onto the Kimberly Max has been to Darwin for work but said that once he landed at the airport he was whisked away to Tindal on a 2 hour car trip, so he too is looking forward to sightseeing He also wants to put out feelers for work (any thing casual for up to a month) The free camp sites are not as user friendly as in QLD, a lot do not even have a toilet let alone showers but as we have our own on board, we keep spending two nites for free & staying at Caravan Parks 3rd or 4th nites We found a really great free camp at Pine Creek Dam, it is our last stop before we get to Darwin, we intended to stay for one night but stayed until early Sunday morning heading off very very early to Humpty Doo (I kid u not) for church We had 2.5 hrs to get there but arrived just in time for mass, well so we thought, but we had forgotten about Darwin time, it starts when it starts, so we arrived well & truly early LOL …. Darwin is celebrating it’s centenary of Catholic church…. There was celebrations & movies & feasting after mass, all in all I spent about 2.5hrs being included in their celebrations We are staying at a recommended Caravan Park while we are in Darwin as there are no camping signs everywhere The weather is unbloody believable, we have hit a heat wave 32c intense dry heat all day & 22c at nite….. The most amazing thing is to watch the locals in their jumpers & cardigans complaining about how cold it is!!!!……… We are sweltering & sweating & swimming (in Park pool) while they shiver LOL….. there are such wonderful beaches: Cullen Bay, Fannie Bay, etc & NO SWIMMING anywhere other than lagoons & Pools ……. That magic word is...CROCKS… we went out to Shoal Bay to check out some camp sites CROCK warnings everywhere!!! AFL rules up here, even more so than in Tassie…. Max is wrapped he can watch it to his hearts desire We have 4 channels on TV ….but big mistake thinking that 200,000 pop means cost of living would be cheaper….. Fuel is 15c a litre dearer than in MT Isa, so reflects the cost of shipping in food etc Three things come to mind in this part of the country… beer barra & babes!!!!!!!! QLD might have their XXXX but NT has BBB, we kept getting told that if u don’t have a beer in your hand you aren’t a local ….(as it is far to warm for a red …. beer wins hands down) The most important thing about NT is it’s time difference,½ hr behind east coast but hours behind scheduled timetables there is no schedule …. Makes for a very lay back life style … There is plenty of water in fact Max is actually washing Zeus as we talk, it will be great to see Turtle & Zeus without their red skins LOL I am still working on the photos hope to be available real soon once again sorry about the length of this email Daly Waters
we had to have the compulsory beer at Daly Water’s
pub
we met a couple from Luxemburg. We traded stories
theirs of Australia & ours of Luxemburg, Belgium &
Netherlands (Lesley you featured quite a bit in our
tales )
so our few beers became a few more, by the time we
came to take photos we were told we could go behind
the bar to have our photo taken but I don't think she
actually expected Max to pour the beers as well LOL
Mataranka (capital of The Never Never)
We approached Mataranka with trepidation after Biz’s
experience, so crept into town. We had a great day at
the Thermal pool, followed the ‘We of the Never Never’
trail, the old homestead, property, cemetery & Roper
River. We met up with Claude & Pascal (our Luxemburg
couple) at the eleven yards.
Max tried to wash the red dirt of Zeus & Turtle in the
river, but he was only successful in moving the
redness around to different areas LOL
I luv Darwin
We went to a BBQ last nite 6.00-9.00pm (NT lingo for
7.30ish until last man standing) we have embraced
Darwin time, while we were enquiring about Litchfield
Nat Park it was suggested that we take a tour only
$100ea, leaving time 6.00amEST.
Or else we could sleep in have a leisurely breaky pack
our lunch & go on our own.
So as we liked Darwin time we headed off ourselves,
for the first time we were without Turtle, as we left
the Darwin area where speed limit of 100/110km is in
force we were in a derestricted area so this was my
first opportunity to let Zeus show us what he could
do. While we were on the autobahn in Germany we were
overtaken by BMWs & Mercedes doing 200km/hr
As the roads were not in as good condition as the
autobahn I only took Zeus to 150k (actually considered
deleting this for mum’s sake but only for a moment)
We went from swimming/wading in rock pools to swimming
in water falls buying some chips to add to our seafood
lasagna watching the tour guide pull their clients
away from the water fall ……mmmmmmmmmm
PS Alex we will get in contact tomorrow after Max gets
back from his job interview
Lorr the following links r to companies that run tours
to the Cape
A couple of friends suggested the following way to
send photos on to u, so while I'm waiting for another
friend to get back to me about her family web page I
have attached a word doc with photos. But just in case
u have a problem with attachments I have sent the text
separately in this email.....
Daly waters
We had to have the compulsory beer at Daly Waters’s
Pub
We met a couple from Luxemburg. We traded stories.
Theirs of Australia & ours of Luxemburg, Belgium &
Netherlands (Lesley you featured quite a bit in our
tales)
So our few beers became a few more, by the time we
came to take photos we were told we could go behind
the bar to have our photo taken, but I don't think she
actually expected Max to pour the beers as well LOL
Mataranka (capital of The Never Never)
After Biz’s experience in Mataranka. We approached
this town with trepidation, so first we went to the
Thermal pool, & then followed the ‘We of the Never
Never’ trail, the old homestead, property, cemetery &
Roper River. We had a fantastic day, we met up again
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