We are so out of practice at this whole moving on game that we took ages to get ourselves sorted out and back on the road this morning. It should have been a fairly simple exercise, but I think a healthy dose of GNS kicked in as we fiddled about getting things packed, and the van hitched up. Checking out, we also got to find out how much our reliance on the air conditioner and all of our other electrical gadgets has cost us. Just over $120 for the 3 weeks was added to our bill, but that was actually a little bit less than we had been steeling ourselves for. It was 10:20AM by the time we finally rolled out of the gates of the caravan park for the last time. Our new ETA for Melbourne is now 8:30PM on October the 11^th.

Our original itinerary actually had us staying in Darwin for a few more days, as today is the 1^st of July, which is Territory Day up in these parts. It is supposed to be a celebration of the Northern Territories status as a territory and its independent government. Territory Day can be roughly translated to ‘cracker night’ however. We were in Alice Springs a few years back for Territory Day, and it’s a huge night of fun and games. It is the only day of the year here in the Northern Territory that fireworks can legally be purchased and let off, so people go nuts. Driving around Darwin over the past few weeks, every second business is advertising that they will have fireworks for sale today. From supermarkets, to crash repairers, to shops set up specifically for the single day of trade, crackers will be available everywhere. As much as I had wanted to stay and watch the show, we thought better of it. Bethany is terrified of the loud noises, and when we thought about it, we decided that Katherine might be a quieter spot to stay. The caravan park we have booked into is about 10Km out of town, so there oughtn’t be too many errant kids (or adults for that matter) running around indiscriminately letting off crackers.

On the road again, we were therefore headed due south, backtracking over terrain we covered on the way up here. There is only one main road out of Darwin, so there was no choice to be made as we pointed the nose of ‘The Beast’ in the direction of Katherine and set the cruise for a bit over 100Km/h. At that rate, we’d be on the road for a little over 3 hours, which makes for a pretty easy day.

I know I said on the way up here that we would take it easy on the south bound trip to call in at a few places, but we made an executive decision to make the run down to Katherine non-stop. About the only thing that we have missed that was of interest to me was the Adelaide River Hotel, where the stuffed hide of Bill Charlie the Buffalo (Blame it on GNS), of Crocodile Dundee fame resides. I am sure I can survive without getting to meet the stuffed beast this time round.

Partially to blame for our decision to roll on non-stop was getting caught up amongst a slow moving convoy of military trucks hauling tanks and bearing ominous ‘wide load’ signs. Passing them was an effort in itself, as overtaking lanes are few and far between out this way. Once at the head of the queue, I saw no good reason to let them get back ahead of us.

We still made relatively good time, pulling up at the caravan parking area in Katherine after spending 3 ½ hours keeping the seats of ‘The Beast’ warm. As the caravan park is a little way out of town, we decided we’d better stop at the information centre to collect a few brochures on what to do around the traps. A trip to the supermarket was also on the cards, or else dinner would have consisted of tinned spuds and beetroot. Not exactly the culinary delight I was looking forward to.

Pulling into the caravan park, Manbulloo Station, which is situated on a corner of a working cattle station, we headed for the reception area. The lady behind the desk quickly picked me as a city fella, based on the cleanliness of my hat, as she collected our money, then pointed us in the direction of the campground. Even though we had rung a few days ago to book a site, it was still a matter of park where you want or can. If I had realised that it was going to be a free for all, I might have made an effort to get here a little bit earlier, although we did manage to pick out a lovely shaded site, which allowed for us to drive onto it without the need for any embarrassing reversing action.

With the van unhitched and everything sorted for a stay of a few days here, we retreated inside to have a bit of a rest. It is surprisingly tiring sitting behind the wheel for hours at a time, so we were due a bit of a lay down. As we did recline though, the dulcet tones of a Kenny Rogers tune found our ears. As it turned out, there was a bit of a concert going on over by the camp kitchen and barbeque area.

We grabbed our chairs and a couple of drinks then went to listen to the music for a while. It was just one man, his guitar and a backing track, but it was a bit of fun, if not for one thing. Sitting in the shade beneath the canopy of foliage, we got cold. Apparently the temperature is still hovering around the mid 20^oC mark, but our bodies have become more accustomed to the Darwin climate than we ever realised. It sounds crazy, but now that we don’t have to consider how much electricity we use, there was the consideration that the heater may be called into play tonight!

Back in the van, to extricate ourselves from the cool night air, we made a start on getting dinner prepared. Dinner was subsequently eaten, with Bethany squeezed onto Becs lap, as nearby volleys of fireworks started to get her worked up into a frenzy. Thankfully, there hasn’t been too much cracker action so far, and she all but ignored the explosions overhead as she tucked into her own dinner, but the night is young.

The source of…

…Bethanys frenzy.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.