DAY 27 – Darwin & DAY 28 – Darwin - Katherine

Good Morning Darwin!
 
Low 24°c (75°F) – High 34°c (93°F)
75km
 
Our last day in Darwin and we had a bit to do in preparation for the next leg of the journey including a few “security fixes”.  One thing that we have noticed even more than previous trips has been the food here.  All of it has been of an exceptionally high standard especially the takeaway options which have been a cut above what we have at home.  Not that we have takeaway that often, but enough to make a good comparison.  From all reports restaurants etc also are of really good quality.
 
Shane headed out with the shopping list including a refill of one gas bottle which has lasted pretty well considering the van shower has been getting used.  Meanwhile I did a bit of housework, had a chat with our friendly neighbours Mick & Deb, gave Kitty a complete bath and trim, and tried to stay cool in what was a really nasty humid day.   I also spent a bit of time washing the awning arms on the van – as the van at home has to be parked so close to the house we can’t extend the awning to clean it.  I’ve been looking at the dust and cobwebs on the inside of the “legs” of it now for almost 4 weeks and figured it was time for a clean.
 
Shane also decided being our last night in Darwin to head back and take another round of sunset shots north of the city and being a bit tired and having already scored enough mosquito bites to last me a lifetime, I made a start on packing everything down ready to leave in the morning.  In doing so I realized just how dirty the van had become with not only dust and dirt from the road trip but also the trees we had parked under were dropping really fine particles almost like small pine needles.  I brushed off the awning before rolling it up but the van was covered and it was too late to start washing it by then. 
 
And - I only realized at about 9.00pm that I hadn’t taken even one photo for the day!

So for Day 28 -

Good Morning Darwin!

 

Low 24°c (75°F) – High 32°c (90°F)
317km

 

A fairly early start this morning that didn’t result in us leaving early as I couldn’t leave without giving the van a quick wash-down so out came a bucket, hose and a broom and in about half an hour she was shining brightly again.  With all the shiny new vans surrounding us, I felt a bit better not having the only unloved van in the park.  By this time our neighbours had headed off, funnily enough to Katherine to the very park we were booked in to.  It took a bit of work to get poor Miss Kitty up this morning.  This morning was just too morningy!  And so we departed Darwin around 10.00am with mixed feelings – Shane being very sad as he’s always felt so connected to this city, me sitting in the middle of being a bit over the humidity but also sad to leave, and Kitty who I’m sure will be happy to leave the heat behind with absolutely no hesitation and happy to be back in a dog bed on the back seat, sleeping.

 

So many vans on the road now and while a few of them, like us, were heading south, there was van after van heading north to Darwin all along this section.  June is traditionally the really busy start to the peak season and so we were grateful to be a little ahead of the rush.  Certainly the caravan park at Howard Springs was never completely full during our week there but that will no doubt change from here on.

 

Much to Shane’s disgust with Pork Roll-gate, we stopped in Pine Creek to make something for lunch having no need to rush to Katherine knowing we had our site booked.  There is a central park in the township with plenty of shade although peace and quiet was on short supply with the trees being inhabited by bats that were incredibly noisy.
 
Arriving in Katherine around 4.00pm and checking in to the River View Caravan Park we were pleased to find that we were in fact positioned on one of the outer sites at the front of the park as requested.  We’ve stayed here each time we’ve passed through Katherine and although these front sites get a little bit of traffic noise given the road is the main road out of town to head to Western Australia, at least you get the benefit of any breeze passing through and there has always been lovely green grass at the back of the sites making it so much easier to keep a certain dog clean.  The rest of the park always seems to be sandy dirt and dried leaves making for a pretty dusty experience.
 
The weather here was much cooler and very pleasant with the exception of quite a few mosquitoes once the sun went down but we were able to sit outside and read for a while and Kitty was very settled sleeping beside us.