27) Sydney to Darwin. January to July, 2015.

Peter, Nephew Mathew and Denise.

It felt like January to April just breezed by and they did. We lived in other people’s houses the whole time as ours was rented out. Yes, we housesat and looked after pets, while friends and unknown homeowners had a much needed break. We can say it was a great experience and would totally recommend it.

Gwen (Mum), Denise, Mellisa, Kylie, Lisa (cousins) and Des.

First up, a rented house of a young couple in Lindfield. Second, my Mum’s house while they went up the coast. Then a unit in West Ryde and lastly a lovely house in Ermington, both for very good friends. Between our house-sitting engagements we stayed with my parents in their house.

A party of 20 - The West Ryde gang.

Anna, Mojgan and Denise.

Margaret, Mary and Denise.

Ron, Denise & Peter.

We spent our time helping my parents sort out some 55 years of accumulated items that were threatening to take over the garage and the whole area under the house and fixing things around the house. This work was heavily punctuated by social engagements in Sydney and up to Maitland/Shoal Bay. It was a joy to see all our family and friends again albeit very draining on the wallet. 

Alan, Michelle, Denise and Peter.

Peter, Mark, Sue and Denise.

Richard's Retirement Party - CRGH.

Denise, Lynn and Trish.

Before we knew it April had arrived and it was time to head north again. We stopped a few days and stayed with good friends in the Gold Coast then it was a few days with Peter’s Mum in Brisbane. 

Terri, Peter and Don (Dad).

I caught up with two female friends from school, whom I had not seen since the early ‘80’s and might I add we all looked fabulous. Then back up to see Peter’s Dad in Caboolture and my Uncle in the Sunshine Coast.

Finally we had stayed and seen almost every person we knew and it was time to head back to Darwin. Mostly for me to return to work and replenish the bank account, which had taken a beating and for Peter to get the boat ready for our next big adventure – Indonesia.

In contrast to our December 2014 trip from Darwin across the desert, this time the return trip was so much easier. What a difference four months can make. The weather was not so scorching hot and was lovely. It was just warm enough in the mornings to be comfortable and hot through the day. However, the nights were very cold and not having much with us, everything went on the bed to keep us warm - our clothing, towels and even seat covers. The clear sky over the desert sucks out all of the heat from the day and it can get very cold during the night.

We decided to stop off on a few places we had missed on the way over. First stop was the Qantas museum in Longreach. Now not being that plane friendly I didn't think I would get as much fun out of this place as Peter, a plane nut. But I was pleasantly surprised. It was interesting and informative and they had set it out well and had some great displays. Well recommended if you ever find yourself in Longreach.  



We viewed the Leichhardt tree which he blazed in 1844 on his was north to Port Essington, NT. Then it was on to Winton and we checked out the musical wall and the wall sculpture - both free short stops. The dinosaur stampede at Lark Quarry was closed in December and was supposed to reopen the 1st April. When we arrived it was still closed and possibly to the end of June. So obviously that was now back on the bucket list. Then finally the last town in Queensland - Camooweal.

The dolomite caves, Camooweal.

We stayed overnight at the campground and the next morning we went off-road for 30 kms in our 2 wheel drive car to check out the caves. Very interesting and the road was not too arduous. 







Finally we left the border town for the longest most isolated road journey, without any communication, to Tennant Creek. We managed to do 200 km when all of a sudden there was a squeak and then we were swerving widely over the road. Well we were doing 130 km/hr at the time. Then we landed on the ground with metal on tarmac, grinding away and came to a stop on the side of the road. We thought we had a big puncture - down to the rim but no on investigation we had lost the entire wheel up to the axle. This happened about 1100 hours, and after flagging down several motorists, eating all our food, drinking all our water and setting up our tent to wait out the night, the tow driver finally came to our rescue at 2030 hours at night and we returned to Cammoweal. Four days and much money later we again left Camooweal caravan park for the 550 km drive to Tennant Creek.

The Devil's Marbles.

This time we were successful and made Tennant Creek before night time. The next day we travelled south about 110 km to check out the Devil's Marbles. Amazingly odd shaped eroded sandstone sitting out by themselves in the middle of nowhere. A well recommended visit if you ever find yourselves out this way. 







 
We then went back to Tennant Creek to get the key for the Old Telegraph Station just a couple of kms north of Tennant. The key is free and lets you into the many buildings that were built in the 1800's. How these people built the buildings, sustained themselves, then built the telegraph lines from southern Australia to Darwin, and lived in isolation for years is beyond me. 





But apparently later they used to get 'tourists' stopping by and staying before the travellers moved north, by horseback. Now there is a trip???? 

Daly Waters pub, back garden.

We moved ever northward. Checking out the Stuart tree and the iconic Daly Waters Pub with it unique collection of thongs, license plates and other crap.

Bitter Springs, Mataranka.

Again we had a nice swim at Bitter Springs, Mataranka. This time there were a fair few tourists around compared to December last year. Many could not believe we actually had this place to ourselves only a few months before they arrived.

Katherine Gorge - stunning.

The highlight of our return trip to Darwin was visiting Katherine Gorge, Nitmulik National Park. The river cruise was not running in December 2014 as the river was in full flood because of the annual wet season rains. However, April proved to be a great time to visit. Not too much water, nor too little. We did the three gorge tour. This included three gorges as expected but also a short climb up some rocks to a spring fed lake. 

Lake complete with waterfall.

You go through each gorge on a boat and see spectacular scenery. Then you get out of the boat at the end of the gorge, walk along the shore line, past the shallow rapids to the next gorge and boat. Repeat another two times. At the end you are rewarded with a hot climb followed by a swim in some severly cold water. The tough toughed it out.







Ever northwards we just had one last thing to do. So we dropped into Douglas hot springs for a quick afternoon swim and then arrived back in Darwin in the late evening.

Our last few months in Darwin went very quickly. We house and unit sat for our friends - Gayle, Brian, Greg and Amanda while they finished off their Kimberley cruise 2015. I worked and Peter fixed the boat. 

Brian, Gayle and Peter.

Then our friends arrived home just in time to see us off. So glad they did as we could not leave Darwin without saying goodbye. These people two years ago had welcomed us to Darwin with open arms and we all had become very close. So you can imagine it was hard to say farewell.

26) Northern Territory: Darwin to Sydney and return. October to July 2015.

It was great to be back in our temporary home, being temporary Territorians that is and seeing our friends again. It was also nice to be able to drive anywhere and get whatever you needed or desired. Being able to get fresh produce from the vegetable and fish markets at a whim was much better than eating canned food, as our fresh vegetable supplies had run out near then end of our Kimberley trip. Not so nice was returning to work two to three days a week but it really helped the bank account improve a lot.

One we didn't need to go to the markets for.

Not long after our return we were sitting at anchor in Darwin harbour when a large fish came in through our hatch and landed on the kitchen bench. How bizarre? We went up on deck and a large pod of dolphins were swimming around the boat. We assumed they had been chasing the fish below. The fish jumped to avoid being caught but unluckily hit its head on one of the stays and then came in dead through the hatch. 

Darwin Harbour - low tide.

Peter went to the doctors upon our return and was told he would need to see a surgeon about his knee. So we put in the referral at Royal Darwin Hospital early October and did some house-sitting for Mat and Seija in their lovely unit for two weeks. ’Reverie’ spent October and November sitting at anchor off Stokes Hill Wharf, as Darwin Harbour can really dry out during Spring tides.  

Late November - a wet season storm approaching.

Then because of the cyclone season commencing on the 1^st December we moved back into our old haunt – Tipperary Waters Marina. We decided that staying in Darwin for another wet season may prove difficult for us and not to mention that we would save $1000/month on berth rental fees if we didn’t live on board the boat. 

So it was a no brainer to travel south for the summer and see family and friends before heading overseas in July 2015. We could then return to Darwin by mid to late April when the south was cooling down, and we could once again leave the marina and anchor at Stokes Hill Wharf.Decision made. We decided to drive down to Sydney as I was still yet to see parts of Northern Territory and western Queensland. We filled the backseat with the necessities of life and headed south out of Darwin. 

Within the hour the car air-conditioning system died so it was open all windows and suffer the heat. And we mean heat. The desert was endless and so was the heat. It was almost intolerable, with 40 to 50 degree days and the hot air pouring in through the open window. It would be close to how it would feel to be a chicken in an oven. Your skin constantly felt that it was being charred. The nights were no respite either. Yes thankfully the sun went down, but the heat then just radiated out of the earth and back into the atmosphere. Sleeping in a tent on 50 degree earth was like being lying on a frypan. Finally exhaustion would overtake us and we would pass out at about midnight and awake to blaring sunshine by 5am, when we would start the same process all over again. With all our travelling by boat or by car around Australia and other various countries around the globe this proved to be the hardest most arduous journey we had ever undertaken. 

The upper pool at Edith Falls. All to ourselves.

On the plus side – a plus side you ask? Yes, there was a definite plus side, even though you did have to look hard to find it at times. It was the fact that there were not many tourists around (I wonder why???) and the tourist sites that were open, we had all to ourselves.

Our first stop was Edith Falls, part of the Nitmuluk National Park, which starts just north of Katherine. The lower plunge pool was closed due to the threat of crocodiles and water contamination, but the upper pool was open. We each downed a litre of water and set off in togs and thongs for a 45 minute leisurely paved walk. By the time we arrived at the upper pool we were so thirsty that we were almost delirious. We stayed in the water for several hours recuperating before we had to do it all again. My thongs broke at the pool but I rigged them up with some Pandanus leaf which got me three quarters of the trip back. Then we took it in turns to share three thongs. It took four days for our blistered burnt feet to heal. Lesson learned – never go anywhere in the Outback without being fully clothed, with proper walking shoes and most importantly plenty of water.

We drove to Katherine for the night and I was finally able to get my deposit back for a room cancelled in 2013 that was never sent to me. Amazing what happens when you front in person. However, my lost luggage I was unable to recover. The next morning we had a nice cool down in the hot spring that feeds the Katherine River. 

About 100 km further south we stopped at the little town of Mataranka but it has some big and very nice attractions. A couple of kilometres south of the town is the Mataranka Thermal Pools. Just left off the car park is a reproduction of the house that starred in the book “We of the Never Never”. This book is the fantastic story of the trials and tribulations of a family living in this region – the outback in the 1800’s.

Mataranka Thermal Pools.

After our exploration it was a mad dash to get into the water at the hot springs. Many people have queried whether a dip in the hot springs would be cooling. Yes, the hot spring water is warm but definitely cooler than the outside temperature, so it is refreshing to some degree. 

We learnt very quickly to hop in the water in full clothes then by the time you got back to the car you were not dripping wet and the wind coming through the car window provided some cooling effect. 

Mataranka Thermal Pools.

 

Bitter Springs.

Later the same day we drove north of Mataranka to Bitter Springs. There was only one person there and she left early so we had the whole place to ourselves. In the tourist season you cannot get a park at the car park and there numerous people at Bitter Springs. So we were very fortunate.

In contrast to the thermal pools, which are paved and privately owned, Bitter Springs is part of the National Park and is in a completely natural setting. Both are good but Bitter Springs being natural is just that little better, in our view anyway. Also at Bitter Springs you can get in at one end and float with the current to the other end. Then get out and repeat the process as many times as you like.

Bitter Springs.

The next day we went to Tennant Creek. Unable to tolerate another night in the heat we managed to get a quiet small cabin with air conditioning. What a luxury - TV, cooking facilities and a cool night's sleep. Heaven. 

Edge of the Eromanga Sea basin.

Onward we crossed over the border into western Queensland and drove to the small town of Winton. Both of us had always wanted to see the fossilised remains of dinosours that roamed around Winton when it was the edge of the Eromanga Sea. Australia did not 'officially' have dinosaurs until they were discovered here in a paddock some years ago.  




Luckily for Winton and this area of western Queensland as they are now attracting tourists to see the Age of Dinosaurs and Lark Quarry. Small towns are dying at a rate of knots. The land here hardly viable to earn a living as this area has been in drought for so many years and more to come, no doubt. It was heartbreaking to drive through this region, to see the livestock with no shade, no feed and barely any hope. The wildlife faired much worse though, evidenced by the carnage on the side of the road, particularly between Winton and Longreach. There was a dead kangaroo every metre at least and sometimes up to four every metre along the 180 km stretch of road. We came to call it the 'avenue of bones' or the 'carnage highway'. The stench, heat and carnage made this area the worst part of the trip for us. We decided to see Lark Quarry and the Longreach Qantas museum on the way back.

The Torenius clan.

So it was onward to the much cooler Brisbane or Brisvegas as it is now known. We stayed a few days and celebrated Christmas Eve with our favourite Tasmanians - David, Karen and Frannie, who were enjoying the sunshine in Queensland. 






Day three and we took a short drive over to catch up with Peter's Mum just before Christmas. It was nice to finally rest in Brisbane and we felt almost normal four days later. 

Peter, Don and great grandson.

Then we travelled up to Caboolture where we finally celebrated Christmas with Peter's father, which we had not done for 30 years or more. It was a very busy day with four generations of the Moore and Doolan clans, all togehter for Christmas lunch. Hectic but fun.








Then finally we drove south to Sydney just in time to celebrate New Year's Eve with our favourite friends - Nico and Michelle. Here we would stay for four months with my mum and Des, housesit for friends and basically catch up with everyone. 

Reunion: Wendy, Maureen, Denise, Michelle and Jane.