Well this blog is a bit delayed.

Thursday the van was picked up by another tilt truck and taken to the repairers, we were given a lift to town where we did a little bit of shopping. Then we got a taxi back to the caravan park where we had booked a cabin for the night, and had a lazy day doing nothing.

Friday morning the van was ready at 10am, so I walked around to get it (about 4kms) in the morning heat. Courtesy of the park management we then watered up and did a bit of washing before officially departing the Boab Caravan Park. Back to the shops and stocked up for the next couple of weeks which we planned to spend in Kakadu and other places south of Darwin. We drove 90kms to Pine Creek, the waypoint for Kakadu, (turn right here it says) and booked in for the night at Pussy Cat Flats. This is/was the local racecourse until red tape made it too expensive to maintain as such. So it has new life as a low cost caravan park, complete with wet bar, meals if required and a bush style 9 hole golf course.

Then comes this morning and our friend Tom is back in hospital in Darwin! So we pack up and head up here to Darwin to give whatever support is needed. Having checked on Tom, who was by then discharged, we headed into town to visit the kids. Acacia & Zimmy were both very pleased to see us and the van, probably more so the van, but we were made most welcome. At this stage Zimmy is sleeping with us in the van.

Depending on Tom we May head off tomorrow.

Well we have now been in Katherine for a week! 

Our friends Laureen & Tom stayed here with us for  3 days and were good enough to take us sightseeing with them. We went out to Katherine gorge in the Nitmiluk National Park. This is quite something with an interpretive display and a great walk that Elaine managed to complete, albeit at a slow pace. The gorge is very spectacular, but the numbers of bats that were there was almost unbelievable. Trees, lots of them, were completely black with the bats. We also visited a museum and saw lots of info on the Katherine region. 

They took off last Monday for Darwin and we have spent the time since then doing bits & pieces on the van and simply relaxing by the pool. This caravan park, the Boab Caravan Park, is very nice small, well kept and friendly staff. Anyway our parts arrived yesterday and the van is, at this moment, being repaired. 

I don't know how it happened, but the last 2 blogs have been published back to front. 

Today was fairly simple, we are at the same caravan park in Katherine, the parts for our van are hopefully on order and we are trying to relax. I have just found out that we are unlikely to get parts before next Wednesday. I guess that is just part of the game!!

Our friends Tom & Laureen are here in the same park and today they took us out to the local hot springs. This is a very pretty spot, the water was very refreshing and we spent a bit of time there. Following that we we visited the 'low level nature park' beside the river, also rather nice, and had lunch overlooking the park and river.  Then to town to have a quick look around and to get a couple of things needed to repair some very minor damage from the tilt tray trip here. 

Are you ready for a big surprise! You got it this is an extra to last nights blog. Firstly for the next week if my normal phone number is unavailable try 0456 160 889. 

Just to fill you in a bit we are at the Georgina River which is one of the many rivers and creeks in this part of the world that feed into the Diamentina which eventually flows into Lake Eyre. That is how  I understand it but I will do some more research and let you know if that is correct. The camping spots are along the river bank starting almost at the road next to the bridge and continuing for some distance. We were absolutely gob smacked at the number of vans in the first section, so we drove along the dirt road for a bit and spent the first night with 2 other vans about 2 kms from the road. This river is lined with large numbers of white and pink lilies and is home to large numbers of birds. We saw black swans, pelicans and lots of other birds that we didn't recognise. However at night the noise was huge, mainly we think the white corellas. So yesterday we decamped drove further along the river and found a new spot, also with 2 other vans (one of whom we had met earlier) and it was quiet. 

Today we crossed the border into the Northern Territory, quite without fuss, you know border guards etc - ha ha! We naturally took photos and left our mark! We travelled on a bit and are now at a camp spot called Wonara Bore. Tomorrow we will drive on to Barkley Homestead and turn right heading up towards Cape Crawford where we will turn left to rejoin the Stuart Hwy at Daly Waters. 

Moving forward 3 days and the situation changes a little bit, but to take in order of it happening........

Monday we depart the river with some misgivings, partly because we haven't caught up with Tom & Laureen. At camooweal we fuel & water up and head off along the Barkley highway towards threeways. Quite an interesting journey we pass lots & lots of motorbikes, some very fancy, some with trailers attached and some 3 wheelers. At lunchtime we park in a rest area and meet some of the bikers, it appears that the Ulyssees club had an gam at Alice springs and these are part of the 3000 strong membership heading home. We park for the night at the Wonara Bore rest area with 3 other vans. During the day we have decided to take a different route up to Daly Waters and to go via Cape Crawfrord. The road looks good and it will be some new territory and we intend to do the Stuart Highway north to south next year. 

So Tuesday dawns and we eventually get up and head off. First stop will be Barkley Homestead for fuel. On the way we pass lots more motorbikes and when we get to the homestead there are maybe 100 of them queued up for fuel. As none of them took diesel we were able to jump the queue and get our fuel. Yippee! Then we turned right onto the new road and headed north stopping for lunch at a rest point 150km up the road. Then Murphy stepped in to keep us on our toes, the clutch pedal wasn't resetting properly. This continued to be an issue all day, culminating in complete failure just 50km short of our destination, Heartbreak Hotel at Cape Crawford. I should add in at this stage that there was nothing special to see on this road. So we arrive fuel up, ascertain that the clutch fluid has all decamped and that the shop does not have any to fill up again. So we book in for the night and begin the process of claiming under our warranty. 

Jump forward to Wednesday and I spend most of the day on the phone, as there is no mobile coverage this means using a phone card in a dirty, hot phone box and getting messages sent to the hotel! In the end I arranged for the RAC WA to tow ( read on a tilt tray truck) the van to Katherine, a recommended repairer in Katherine to have a look when we arrived and to organise repairs. The warranty provider had found an out, so that will be an ongoing conversation. Then we relaxed for a short while and went to bed.

Now to today Thursday May 22. We were picked up at 6am, loaded onto the tilt tray, that is the van on the back and us in the cab with the driver, and headed off. It was a 530km drive to Katherine after which the driver had to take his truck back plus 100km in the opposite direction. It was an up eventful drive, not much to see unless you stop and spend time at the towns on the Stuart hwy, which we will do next year. In Katherine the repairer confirmed the diagnosis, ordered the parts and collected a deposit. As the parts won't arrive until next Monday or Tuesday we had the van towed to a caravan where we will await his call!

Hi everybody, guess what 3 days in a row!

Today we stayed still, more or less, we just shifted further along the Georgina River. Last night the birds were very noisy, but in this spot we can hardly hear them. So the day was filled with doing a few jobs and relaxing. We got a lovely picture of Lyla & Poppy playing together and soon we will be in Darwin to see Acacia and Zimmy, so life is good. Dinner tonight was another Elaine fire cookout success. Then we enjoyed a baileys on the patio overlooking the river. 

Hi all,

It is. Ow Saturday May 17 and guess what? I have actually remembered to do a post 2 days in a row. Although I am not sure whether anybody besides man is ready my posts! Comments would be nice, I will also try to add a few photos today. 

Our friend Tom was still in hospital but we took off anyway as his family has become involved. We started the day washing, cleaning etc then took off for town. Visited Tom and decided that we could take off without any issues. 

So down the track we went heading west and after 50kms were in new territory. We have now camped at Camooweal on the Georgina river at a spot that, I believe, is called lake Francis. It is another beautiful spot that we have had the pleasure of visiting. As I write this post I am looking over smooth water with lots of white lilies, black swans & pelicans. Elaine had the fire going for dinner and life is great. 

I get confused and miss a day or two sometimes, so what it is a privilege of age!

Thursday we stayed put did a few jobs and met some new people. One of the nice things about free camps is that people are very friendly so that we continually meet new people. At this stage of our trip we are starting to meet people who are travelling much the same route that we plan to take. This is good as it will make it more likely that we will see them on the way in other sites, we don't like to camp without company. Late in the day are friends Tom & Laureen turned up after attending to a few issues in Mt Isa.

Today we packed the van and headed into Mt Isa to do some shopping. I was booked into do an underground mine tour, which I did and enjoyed as a new experience. We then planned to head back to the camp site and drove west tomorrow. However Tom wasn't feeling to well with chest pains so drove himself back here to Isa and admitted himself to hospital! I drove his big ute & caravan, scary stuff to a caravan park, followed by Elaine in our van. We will stay here tonight as Laureen's support team, and decide out future movements tomorrow.

Ok so I get busy , there is so much to do!

Anyway from Wals camp we drove to the Clem Walton Dam anda bit of fiddling around the 3 of us camped in a triangle. Then Tom with Elaine's minor assistance cooked a fabulous meal on the campfire in his camp ovens (big, as in huge, pots). We had a lovely spot overlooking the dam, which is way down on water, along with lots of other people camped all around the dam. The next morning Tom and I went for a walk the next morning, being Monday, up the hills next to the dam and were rewarded with a magnificent view. The day was spent relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. 

Tuesday we left the dam and drove through to Mt Isa where I enjoyed the visitor centre with outback garden. I wanted to do the underground mine tour but the next tour was 1pm Thursday. So we drove out of town tried a spot by a dry creek bed then joined one of the couples at WW11 memorial site for the night. We have stayed here today, but now we can't get the tour until Friday. So I think we will move on, reinforced by the arrival of Tom & Laureen. The other couple Roz & Ian have moved on, so we will probably move on tomorrow. 

That's it folks- more tomorrow!

Today is Sunday May 11 Mother's Day 2014. So happy Mother's Day to all mothers.

As I said on Thursday we went back to our camp site half way between Normanton and Karumba. As the afternoon approached evening other people arrived, one lot with fish so we had a combined BBQ fish dinner.

Friday we headed south stopping at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse for the night. This was a pretty average site but was the only site (the only building in fact) there although it did have reasonable ablutions etc. We have been traveling since Thursday with 2 other couples which is nice and gives us the option of parking anywhere as a group. They are all heading to Tenant Creek but one couple may go south from there.

Last night we stayed at Cloncurry at a place called Wals Camp, a fairly basic 'tourist' park but by the time night fell was packed with about 25 vans & motorhomes. During the afternoon we did a bit of sightseeing then after dinner a whole group of people joined us for a talkfest.

Today we have travelled only 60kms to a spot called Clem Walton Park at Corella Dam, a beautiful spot all corralled up together with dinner currently cooking on an open fire.

Once again happy Mother's Day!

Well today the blog is a little limited because I can't put photos on due to the lack of full coverage here.
We started the day with another trip down to the pond to commune with the platypus family and were rewarded with a number of sightings. Each sighting is very brief as they pop up swim a little then dive down again, although we did have a couple that did a long swim. We did get some photos that will probably need computer attention to really see these lovely, shy, small creatures.
Then after breakfast and a chat with our host we drove through the usual very pretty countryside for only an hour to this overnight camp at Archer Creek Rest Area. The is a nice little spot next to a fast flowing creek with rapids and all. I had a swim them we collected some firewood so that Elaine could have a bonfire to cook her spuds.
Ok that's it photos later.

Ok once again I am doing 2 days at once. Yesterday we stayed put at Lake Tinaroo in the Platypus Camping area. This is a great spot, paradise even as I said yesterday. We were in company with a Swiss couple whom we met on the way into the park. The day was finished with a bonfire & BBQ which was great.
Today we headed out as weekend visitors arrived and into Atherton which was only 7 kms away. Attended to a few jobs then went to the Platypus Park for lunch, but no sightings we remained in the 90% of Aussies who have not seen these shy animals. Then we headed out taking a detour to a place called Tarzali Lakes, which is a private aquaculture park. We arranged to camp here for the night then with drinks in hand went to look for the platypuses (should that be platypie) that live here. According to the owner it is the largest quantity of platypuses in the world. A reasonable claim as they are indigenous to Aussie. Anyway we are now part of the 10% (the owner here says 4%) of Aussies who have seen a platypus in the wild, in fact we have seen several. We even have some photos, maybe we will be the only ones who know what is in the photo, but there you go! Photos later.

Just have a look at these photos".............

Are we camped in paradise or not? This is Lake Tinaroo just a little NE of Atherton, it is so idyllic that we might hang around for a couple of days. We found it quite by accident after we missed our planned stopover and decided to have a look. The Queensland government has a system of issuing permits for national parks like this, costs just $5.60 per person and they are pretty basic and in this case we spent half an hour on the phone organising it.......but the results are worth it.  We left Mareeba this morning after a little shopping and a little revisit to the local heritage museum heading for a camp spot just north of Atherton when we missed the planned spot we came on to have a look at look Lake Tinaroo and it's dam found this spot and fell in love. There are 2 other campers here so it is not crowded.