DAY 21 – Adelaide River - Darwin

Good Morning Adelaide River!

Low 21°c (70°F) – High 33°c (91°F)

93km

Total after week 3 – 4,579km (2845 miles)

And welcome to the tropics it is with an incredibly humid night resulting in condensation on every surface despite having a couple of windows and vents open.  The air conditioner did its magic to keep us cool over night but the steamy air outside was a bit of a shock to the system.  Stormy skies greeting us this morning and we were grateful not to have much to do to get on the road this morning.  Humidity is fine so long as you don’t have to do anything physical.

With under 100km to travel and already booked in to a park in Darwin we were in no rush to head off and left the showgrounds just before 10.00am after bidding farewell to our neighbours.

The cloudy skies stuck with us all the way to Darwin and about 10 minutes south of our destination there was a huge downpour of rain and clearly there had been some significant rain in that area with water lying beside and on the road all around.

After a fairly slow trip held up by numerous vehicles including a road train that obviously had a significant load onboard, we arrived at Howard Springs caravan park around 11.30am and were ushered to our site.  We had booked a specific site we had stayed on previously and had been assured that would be fine.  Unfortunately when Shane had called last week to extend our stay by a day, he had been told that they had assigned that site to someone else.  Not much you can do about it sadly.  On our arrival he went to check in and just asked again on the off chance something had changed and was told in a fairly rude manner it was “site 38 or happy to provide a refund”.  Clearly some people have forgotten how to be courteous – a simple “no I’m sorry that site is still taken and we apologise for the mix up”.

Thankfully, although site 38 was a little tight, we managed to maneuver the van in place and have a nice little grass area adjacent to exercise Kitty.  As we were setting up we saw our neighbours from Adelaide River pull into the park and low and behold assigned the site directly behind us.  We all had a bit of a laugh about that one.

As always there was a lot of washing to do, this time including all of Kitty’s blankets and bedding.  I missed mentioning yesterday that in an effort to cool her down a little at Adelaide River, we gave her a bath and let her dry outside in one of her pens with towels on the ground.  So a clean dog on dusty blankets didn’t make a lot of sense.  With the humid weather, all but the really light clothing took much longer to dry.  It’s very steamy here still but we have a good amount of shade which will help.  While I washed what seemed like everything that could go into a washing machine, Shane did a run to the supermarket to top up on fresh fruit and veggies and a few other bits that we needed.

It was lovely to spend an evening sitting out under the awning, with a small fan just to move the air around a little and even Kitty enjoying the opportunity to stretch out in the warm fresh air.  I think my best friend this week though will be a can of Bushman’s Insect Repellant as the mosquitoes are hungry and traditionally I always seem to be a popular item on their menu!

DAY 20 – Mataranka – Adelaide River

Good Morning Mataranka!
 
Low 21°c (70°F) – High 33°c (91°F)
318km
 
It was a pretty warm night with a very bland sunrise so the only items of interest as we prepared to depart Mataranka were the family of peacocks who stopped by to say goodbye.
 
We were on the road before 8.00am having decided not to freecamp at our original planned location tonight.  Kitty just isn’t coping with the heat and so to not have power will present us with a problem keeping her cool until we head further south.  We decided to aim for Adelaide River where we have stayed a number of times in previous trips.  The showgrounds has well watered grass, there is shade, power and water, and so we thought that was our best option.
 
A thick haze hung in the air for almost the entire trip with many burn-offs taking place, or had taken place, along the roadside for almost the entire trip.  Traditionally there have always been burn-offs to our recollection along this stretch each year we have passed through. 
 
At Katherine there were extensive roadworks taking place at the entry to the town which appeared to be to extend the dual carriageway lead-in to the township.  Sadly this meant many beautiful ghost gums that were growing on the roadside were being removed.  Shane and I both really love Katherine and although we drove straight through today, we will stay a few days on our return from Darwin next week.
 
And so we get to the saddest part of the trip so far.  After some 3 years of solid anticipation and 6 years of telling people how good they were, we rolled into Pine Creek and Maysee’s Café for Shane to purchase Pork Rolls for lunch.  When we passed through town we happened on the café back in 2016 and the pork rolls with gravy AND crackling were amazing – so good that we called in on our way back to have them again.  Shane has told just about every traveler we’ve ever met since that time about those pork rolls.  On our second trip we unfortunately were on the wrong day – it was beef rolls, but I have to admit they were almost as good as the pork the first time around.
 
So here we stood in Maysee’s Café only to find that the menu had been reduced to pretty much breakfast items.  On saying to the owner about how he had remembered the amazing pork rolls and how sad he was that they no longer had them – the owner replied “I’d cry for you but I’m too busy crying for myself – just be grateful we’re here”.  So we ordered bacon sandwiches and I asked if I could get some extra bacon for Kitty – which was met with a snide remark and she asked in a snarky way would I like that in a separate bag for the dog.  WOW – I mean I know Covid was tough on a lot of businesses and it must have been tough for businesses like this that relied on tourists in really remote areas, but she was so unbelievably rude and condescending I can guarantee we won’t be stopping by there again or recommending it to anyone. 
 
It is through this stretch of the journey that the Palm trees start to become more prevalent amongst the trees and scrub through the paddocks surrounding the roads.  Just in case you were in any doubt that you were in the tropics.
 
Adelaide River Show Society (or ARSS as we always fondly refer to it) is a great stopping point although in the past it has been a bit hit and miss with caretaking staff.  New caretakers took over just a few weeks earlier and they seemed like a really lovely and helpful couple who have the grounds and pool area looking great.
 
Adelaide River refers to two different locations: the township and the river itself. The town is a small service centre noted for the Adelaide River War Cemetery which contains 432 servicemen and 63 civilians and is the only Australian war cemetery on Australian soil.  During the Second World War, Adelaide River was the headquarters of a large base and the Adelaide River War Cemetery was created especially for the burial of servicemen and women who died in this part of Australia.  The town was used to grow fruit and vegetables for the troops and it became a weekend retreat for service personnel from Darwin.  Adelaide River was bombed by the Japanese in August, 1942 and wasn’t officially proclaimed a town until 1 January, 1962.
 
The river, particularly on that section where the Arnhem Highway crosses it on the way to Kakadu National Park, is famed for its Jumping Crocodile Cruise where crocodiles leap out of the water tempted by pieces of raw meat.  The river is well known for its high concentration of saltwater crocodiles, along with other wildlife.
 
The historic Adelaide River railway bridge was completed in 1888 and the line reached Pine Creek the following year. It is an important section of railway line and the Friends of the North Australian Railway have gone to great trouble to restore rolling stock and develop displays in the Railway Station which include old photos, the manual telephone exchange and memorabilia which recalls the days when the railway was the only access to the town.  Sadly every time we’ve passed through the museum has not been open.
 
We were again surprised to find so many campers already here at around 12.00pm.  We were shown to a spot that was perfectly level, water, power and shade which was fantastic because the humidity was extreme.  Setting up was light on given we were only in overnight AND because it was so sticky.  We had a nice chat with our neighbours, a couple from Warragul who had been on the road roughly the same time as we have, but it was the cool of the caravan we were keen to get to as the temperature climbed and so did the humidity.

DAY 19 – Mataranka Homestead

Good Morning Mataranka!
 
Low 16°c (59°F) – High 35°c (86°F)
0km
 
A bit of colour in the sky this morning but mostly obscured by the tall trees nearby and of course another visit from the resident peacock family.  We wanted to take a walk along the spring today and that is a job to tackle first thing before the heat hits.  After letting Kitty out to stretch her legs, we set off around 8.00am taking in the amazing tall palm trees and their discarded fronds resting on the ground, the birds and looking for the little lizards that scuttled out of our path.  I love the textures in the different stages of decay and the light through the canopy.  The shade didn’t offer respite from the heat for very long and after a little over an hour we headed back to camp to find our four legged friend still sound asleep on the couch.
 
It wasn’t long before there was a panting tongue (Kitty – not Shane) and the air conditioner was back on and all was well with the world again.  This presented an opportunity to relax and read, catch up on news, and for Shane to take a bit of a look at some of the photos he had taken, as all of my postings are just my happy snaps.
 
The movie industry came to Mataranka in the 1950's when parts of the movie "Jedda" were shot here. Another movie based on Jeannie Gunn's "We of the Never Never", was shot around Mataranka and at Pine Creek in the early 80's. A replica of the old Elsey Homestead was erected for the film and is still at Mataranka Homestead.