Sunday the 1st of June
The first day of winter and around 7am it was raining steady and looked as if that would continue all day. The rain stopped thankfully at 8am and the sun came out and warmed the morning as the fire was lit. Then a fog came over and blocked the sun. No fish last night and after renewing the bait, cast out and within thirty minutes the buzzer sounded and another Carp was hauled in, I knocked it on the head and placed it beside the carp I caught yesterday and it only a quarter of the size.
After breakfast and cleaning up we drove up into Merbein and purchased the sunday paper and returned to camp via the Look out, we first inspected the water channels that carry water from the Murray River on its way to the filtration plant to supply water to the township and surrounds. There are many old date palm trees lining the waterways.
We refilled with water and then went and had a look from the Lookout near the winery. unfortunately trees have grown blocking most of the view to the Murray River, though in the distance you could see the outskirts of Mildura. They have a monument to Sturt who supposedly passed through this area in early 1800.

There was an old log puller constructed entirely of timber including the wheels which had a steel band around the wheel. It must have been tough in the timber industry in that period.
We returned to camp after filling our water drums. We noted that a Pelican was cruising up and down the river in front of us. I threw the small carp which wasn't a bad size on the bank and then withdrew. The pelican waddled ashore and grabbed the fish and you wouldn't believe that a fish that size would go down such a small neck whole.
We also couldn't believe that after awhile it came back and tried the large Carp to no avail it was just to big for it to swallow.
John and Jenny arrived in their 5th wheeler and set up near us. We had a good old discussion on we had all been doing in the past fortnight and then the other happy campers started to arrive back from the markets at Red Cliffs and told us about the steam train rides etc.
Before we knew it happy hour arrived and we gathered on the table and seats near Rex and Sandra camp. Eric and Bev arrived and joined us and they had a discussion with John and Jenny for they live in the same district in Tasmania.
It was starting to get dark so we came home and whilst our evening meal was cooking we watched the Fremantle V Western Bulldogs game. Fremantle won which made Liz happy for she has picked all the winners up to this point in the football tipping competition she now only needs Hawthorn to win to have a perfect score. Watched a bit of television tonight and then off to bed.
Monday the 2nd of June
A rather cold morning though overcast the weather changed somewhat later in the day. We had our breakfast and showers and then we decided to go into Merbein and get some cash from the bank. Then onto IGA to stock up with alcohol specials for the days ahead. Then we went into Mildura and onto the Centro shopping centre. Along the way we topped up Diggers tank at $1.52.9 a litre.
We arrived at the shopping centre and went into the el cheapo shop and bought a few items which included a wi-fi mouse and as it was lunch time we headed to the food mall. We met John and Jenny so we joined them at the same table. We decided to have the asian food which there was plenty of and very nice indeed. We then wandered through the many many shops in this complex and especially JB Electronics where we checked out the tablets and other goodies. We noted their televisions were very expensive talking in the thousands, though we suspect someone must buy them, $5500 for a television you must be kidding!
The day was going fast so we drove down to Coles and purchased bread rolls and a hot chicken for our meal tonight with salad. We are just getting used to where to travel and on which roads and it is nearly time to move on.
Back in camp and some happy campers had left and one had arrived. When I noticed that they had one of those noisy scorpion generators which they had placed next to a nearby caravan I knew it would cause problems.
Sure enough when they started it there was an altercation so they moved it to the front of their caravan and we could now hear how noisy it was. The fishing has not been good today I am losing my bait thus no fish. Rex on the other hand had caught two reasonably sized Carp which are lying on the bank waiting for the pelicans to arrive and eat them.
We had another good happy hour where all and sundry was discussed especially camping areas and the fruit and vegetable fruit fly exclusion zone. One interesting point was made in that just prior to the South Australian border and the inspection area you dump off your fruit and vegetables. Now the question was, do the fruit fly recognise that they can not cross over the border from the drop off bins?
We had our meal of cold chicken and salad and it was nice. We used the last of our lettuce etc so as not to cause us any grief on wednesday at the border.
After our meal we sat out by the fire until after 9.30 pm before retiring inside to watch a bit of television. I have been a bit slack today for I did not take any photo's thus a photo free day.

Tuesday the 3rd of June
It was a pea soup fog this morning though when the sun started to rive the fog was to dissipate into a nice day for two hours that is. It became overcast and stayed that way all of the day.
The fire was lit for the last time and we had our breakfast outside even though it was a little cool, it is time to leave this wonderful spot and move off to towards warmer climes.
Liz wanted to do a final wash before we head off so out came the washing machine and up went the clothes line. Now we have all clean clothes for our next journey into South Australia.
We then went into Merbein and to the bank and then onto get the paper. We visited second hand stores and el cheapo shops before going into the Red Cross store. We didn't make any purchases for all the items were heavy winter gear. As it was now lunch time I opted for two large spring rolls and Liz said she would wait until we went back to camp and make herself a salad roll for lunch. We had a cuppa and then I started the slow process of loading poor old Digger.
Everything has a spot and it took me over two hours to do for I was in no hurry. Eric and Bev have returned to camp so we will get together at happy hour. There were more happy campers arrive and set up so we may meet them later in the day.
Every thing is now packed, the awning is in and the table and chairs packed away so even if it rains it will not stop our departure in the morning. It was good to see the fishermen trolling the river for fish from their dinghy's, though we did not see them catch any fish. The houseboats appeared again some very modern with a few on and another small houseboat coming up stream though not fancy it looked a treat. Everyone must be taking advantage to the winter rate which is a lot cheaper than peak season.
Well off to happy down at Rex's camp tonight and I am taking a few led lights to show him how to cut his power use in the motorhome which is the same winnebago as ours.
We will finish the chicken and veggies off tonight and then go out by John's fire as ours is packed away and then maybe in to watch a bit of television and off to bed. Tonight we will have a blanket on the dooner for it was a bit cold last night and this morning.

Wednesday the 4th of June
This morning was very very foggy you couldn't see across the Murray to the opposite bank. Due to this we were in no hurry to finalise our packing for we had no desire to drive in foggy conditions. It was not really cold and we walked down to the other happy campers and said our farewells that took over a half hour or so to do. When we came back to the motorhome, we were inside and I looked out the door and there was a baby kingfisher sitting on the step waiting for us to feed it, it was only a baby and we gave it nothing for we did not want to have the bird dependant on humans for its meals.
I came off the blocks and packed away everything and then hooked up Digger and drove up into Merbein to refuel before heading of to Renmark in South Australia. The fog had dissipated and there was a nice blue sky with no wind.
We were now in the Sturt Highway heading toward Renmark there were plenty of interstate truckers on the road heading for Adelaide or places beyond. The highway was such that we never held any truckers up.
We were once again in cropping country and the paddocks and planting's was as far as you could see on both sides of the highway and with a nice blue sky it looked excellent. Before we knew it we were at the border on South Australia and then at Yamba we pulled into the fruit and vegetable inspection station where we were checked for same. We knew we did not have a problem due to Liz cooking spuds, carrots, and cauliflower which they found acceptable. Then under and through the half tyre welcoming everyone into the state.

We were to go through several small towns and then arrived at Paringa where they have conserved the original riveted steel bridge and just added a lane ether side for traffic both ways. Before we knew it we had arrived at Renmark and drove through and down to Plusher Bend for our camping for the next few days. There were plenty of small tents set up and they told us that backpackers were using them for they were picking fruit in the area.
Looking at the tracks they have had a lot of rain and as usual with black soil you could tell that it had been boggy before our arrival. It was 2.30 pm before we finished setting up and then we hopped into Digger and drove first out into the vineyard country and then back into Renmark and down to the tourist centre and looked at the literature for the area and whilst there we had a look at the old paddle steamer "Industry" tied alongside the wharf. Went aboard and looked at the large wood fired boiler and the wheelhouse etc, back on the wharf we both posed in the kookaburra and koala for a photo shoot.
Into the shopping centre for a few veggies and then into the el cheapo and dick smith's for a cd cleaner. Then back to camp and had happy hour with John and Jenny and then cooked our meal on the camp fire, whilst doing that a council worker came around and warned us of the danger of getting bogged if it should rain. We have been here before so we know the risk if it rains, hopefully it will not whilst we are here.
Kilometres travelled 146

Thursday the 5th of June
Awoke to a foggy morning with no wind, it stayed around until around 10am when it cleared and then it was overcast for most of the day. Lit the fire as usual and cooked our breakfast and then showered. Whilst Liz was having her shower I drove into Renmark to the dump point and then onto fill the water drums, by the time I arrived back it was time for my shower. We cleaned up in the motorhome and then decided to to go to Lyrup and check out the camp ground we will use for the next three days.
We had two choices the first was to drive 35 kilometres around through Berri or 15 kilometres if we drove down Lyrup road and onto the ferry to cross the river. We close the latter and drove onto the ferry to cross over. As we were underway a wood duck flew aboard and walked up to the cabin where the ferry operator was. We can only assume that operator must feed the duck for it to do this.
We drove off and there was the camping area right on the bank and you can free camp there for 72 hours with toilets and power. There are only four power outlets and they were taken and on one of powered sites we noted one of the happy campers from Horseshoe Bend. We stopped and had a natter with them for awhile and they will still be there when we arrive tomorrow morning.
We didn't cross back on the ferry we drove around by road and over the very high bridge at Berri and into the shopping centre and the tourist information centre.
We could see the houseboats across the river for hire, though we could not see the Lady Pelican the houseboat we were on three years ago.
We drove back over with John and Jenny and made enquiries about houseboat rental, we asked about the Lady Pelican and they informed us that it had been sold privately. The prices were right so we have booked a houseboat with John and Jenny for next monday returning on friday morning. We are excited about this and later they rang and told us that the Loxton Lock will be out order for repairs on monday so we will have to sail back towards Renmark and through the many Locks. It will still be good tying up to the bank for the night and enjoying the scenery on the way.
Then onto the shopping complex where we had Subway for lunch and it was really nice and not so dear at all.
Then we did a bit of retail therapy at Coles, two el cheapo's and some small shops and then it was late afternoon so it was time to head back to camp. When we arrived back and unloaded we hopped back in Digger and drove out to Paringa and had a look about especially the black stump which is huge and it is supposed to be one of the five largest in Australia. We then went looking for Frank's houseboat that is supposed to be dressed up in many forms making it somewhat unique.
We unable to locate it and the locals told us that he had left to go to end of the Murray river and he did so knowing that the loxton Lock would be closed.
Back at camp and Liz cooked silverside for our meal this evening and then we had happy hour before coming inside due to the cold. We really have had a busy day and enjoyed every minute of it though Digger may not say the same for he clocked up quite a few kilometres today. We also stopped at a roadside stall and purchased very large bag of Mandarins for $2
We will watch television for awhile and then head off to bed and read our books for awhile.

Friday 6th of June
What a wonderful morning no fog and sunny with all blue sky and it would stay that way all day. We dumped our rubbish in the bins and were underway around 9am bound for Ellen Park our free camp for the next three days. The going was easy and it wasn't long before we pulled onto Lyrup road bound for the Ferry. When we arrived the ferry was on the opposite bank and in no time it was on our side and we were loaded. The ducks alighted on the front of the ferry again and the GPS told us that we came across at 8 kph and we left and luckily I had taken the tow hitch off the motorhome. We still touched at the rear coming off and going up the concrete ramp.
We pulled into the park and there was no movement off the powered sites so we set up in the middle on grass to catch maximum sun for the solar panels. Had a cup of tea and then relaxed until lunch time.
After lunch we drove into Berri past all the grape vines and there are literally hundreds of hectares for as far as you can see, in one area there was a machine that actually picks the grapes off the vines looking somewhat like a sugar harvester. The traffic was light so we arrived in quick time, we were to check what time the farmers market commences tomorrow and then into Woolies for a few groceries and a carton of beer for the houseboat trip next week.
Checked out Coles and then back to the centre of Berri and listened to an aboriginal on his didgeridoo very entertaining indeed. We had another look at the waterfront and then headed for our camp on the Murray at Lyrup.
We had a council worker come to see us and he gave us a permit to camp for the next 72 hours. That will take us up until Monday morning and that suits us fine.
There were a few more happy campers arrive and then it was time for happy hour and we only came inside when darkness descended along with the cold air, I would not be surprised if we awake in the morning to a frost. The ferry is getting plenty of work with people arriving home from work. Lyrup itself as a village only has a population of 419. The township is well laid out with one pub and a local store for groceries etc. It has been a beautiful day with little wind and plenty of sun and cloudless sky's. Tonight we are watching the Geelong V Carlton game
kilometres travelled 17

Saturday the 7th of June
A slight fog lifting quickly and a fine day following. We did a few chores, had breakfast and were on the way to Berri for the Farmers Market. On the way we stopped at the old water tower and climbed the many steps to the top to have an overview of Berri and the surrounding district. The bridge over the Murray River is the most prominent along with the red cliffs along the Murray way. The view is excellent though many trees are blocking the otherwise perfect view.
Down to the farmers market and the excellent range of vegetables for sale. We were tempted to purchase, However as we are on the houseboat next week they would be a bit old before we were able to use them. Hopefully we will able to purchase the following week, we were impressed with butternut pumpkins a bag of five nice sized for $5 certainly a lot cheaper than the supermarkets and veggie sheds. We only purchased eggs and few tomatoes for our meal this evening.
We had a drive around and purchased the cheapest fuel for Digger at $1.51.9 a litre and we only took on $25.55 worth to fill the tank. Wish the motorhome was this sort of consumption.
We then drove to Loxton some 20 kilometres away. Along the way we were to see many vineyards and some huge wineries that had massive amounts of stainless steel holding tanks.
There are only a few fruit orchards for most have now been replaced by grapes, though a few still have roadside sales for oranges and mandarins plus pumpkins and other fruits.
When we arrived at Loxton we drove down to the old town display situated on the edge of the Murray and as we had explored this some years ago we decided not to visit given that you could not see any changes to buildings etc, they we advertising that they would firing up all the old machinery and boilers and printing presses etc tomorrow.
We had a look at facilities for mooring houseboats which we used on our last houseboat adventure on the Murray.
Then onto have a look at the Tree of knowledge which records the level of the Murray River during flood times and the highest flood was in 1956, the date is some five metres from the base of the tree.
Whilst there we noticed a lot of canoe's on the river and plenty of people watching, on enquiring we found that they are having a canoeing marathon that started at Mildura and ends at Morgan in a few days time. They must be very fit to be able to sustain paddling for this length of time.

There were the dreaded Corella's in the trees and many trees along the river bank we showing signs of distress as these pests strip the new growth of leaves, which in time kills the tree. There were literally hundreds of them making a hell of a noise and stripping leaves, it looked like a rain shower they were stripping so much.
We drove up into Loxton for it was time for lunch and it has been costing around 20 dollars for this in previous days. I noticed that they were selling large hot chickens for $7.99 at the Foodlands Supermarket so I purchased one and four rolls for $2 and went down to the river and filled the bacon and cheese rolls with hot chicken, very nice indeed.
We decided to head back to camp and along the way we dropped into have a look at Lock 4 however it was closed to the public due to major repairs etc. We drove back to the highway and noted the extremely well maintained Lutheran Church at Bookpurnong. It was built in 1924 and sure is very nice looking and a credit to the church in the way it is maintained.
Back on the highway and we arrived back at camp around 3pm and by the time we did this entry and few other things it was time for happy hour once again. We will watch the footy again tonight and hope it is as exciting as the game was last night with Geelong just winning in the last three minutes of the game.

Sunday the 8th of June
A sunny morning with the ferry toing and froing, it is free to travel on and it goes 24 hours a day and as it is the long weekend it seems to be doing a brisk turnaround from each side of the river.
We did not go anywhere today for it was time to pack and clean up. One happy camper moved off the powered sites so we moved on to power just for the night. We were to charge our e-books and computer for later in the day.
Out with the washing machine and whilst Liz was doing that I decided the wash the motorhome for it was looking a bit grubby. That took up a fair bit of time and no sooner was that finished it was time for later than normal lunch.
After lunch we had a chat with a few happy campers and then it was time to load Digger, poor thing the extra weight it is carrying. Once the clothes were dry they were packed away and then in with the awning. We then picked our clothes for the next few days and as usual we seem to have over packed, tomorrow we will purchase our food for the week and not touch what is currently in the motorhome.
We watched a bit of football and then it was time for happy hour with a few of the happy campers where we discussed all and sundry. Who knows we may drop in tomorrow as we are cruising this way as we have to go past this camp spot. We are looking forward to board our house boat "Ranger" no doubt it will take time to pack and get underway on our adventure on the Murray River
We settled in after our evening meal to watch a bit of television and then into bed. We had turned on the electric blanket so the bed was nice and warm as we read our books for awhile. It appears that we did not do much today though the day went very quickly indeed.

Monday the 9th of June
Arose to a nice day and it would stay that way all day. The chill came into the air at around 5 pm. We had a chat with the happy campers and departed our campground around 10 am. Most of the packing for our trip on the houseboat and only needed to transfer to the Ranger. When we arrived they were preparing the Ranger for our trip. When we finally boarded to bring our gear on we were impressed with the opulence on the interior and the many appliances to use. Most are powered by batteries and the electrical appliances are powered by a Honda 6.5 kva generator. Hot water for showers and dish washers etc is instant heat by gas.
It was 12.15 pm before we pulled away and commenced our adventure on the Murray with two 50hp Honda's it was easy to go astern and then turn to go up river. I dropped one engine back 100 revs and it made it much easier to steer.
Being a public holiday there were many small boats on the river fishing, one went virtually under our bow and I thought we were about to ram him, idiot!
It was very relaxing with the sun shining and as we decided to set the speed at only 4 knots we were able to take in all the sights along the way. We didn't realise how many houseboats are moored against the shore and lived on them permantly. We passed the area that we parked at Lyrup and then had to slow down for the ferry to drop its wires to allow us to pass he put on green flashing light and we were on our way again.

There were many homes that had barbecue/party areas right on the water and given the shade of the trees you could imagine in the heat of summer and the shade of the trees along with a river breeze it would be really great.
We were to pass many high banks with red clay and other colours which looked great. We had lunch on the move along with a cuppa and Liz was watching football on television along with her mascot Rocca.
We decided to pull into the bank for the night at around 3.30 pm and once moored we settled in and used the shower which was great with plenty of hot water etc and then out to set up the rods to see if we could catch a fish and then inside to watch the Collingwood V Melbourne game.
The sunset was great and in all we counted 21 Pelicans drifting around the river no doubt looking fish, they may be getting more than we are at the moment.
Then it was a late happy hour as we watched more Pelicans dropping onto this stretch of the river and when it was dark we started the generator and put on the heater to warm the place up.
We had a game of cards with John and Jenny and then retired for the night after a very relaxing and beautiful day

Tuesday the 10th of June
There was a slight fog on the water this morning though it cleared quickly, we had our breakfast and then started the motors to move on up the Mighty Murray. Only one problem! flat batteries so we had to run the generator to recharge them, this took nearly 45 minutes before we could start the motors. Slipped the lines and we were off. What a magnificent river as it twists and turns and the scenery we were experiencing changed from bend to bend, it was really nice. Along the way we were to see many Pelicans either fishing or resting on the bends and logs. Needless to say they were catching more fish that we did last night.
John and I took turns on the wheel for an hour on and hour off cycle. It was much easier to steer and control than the Lady Pelican that we hired some years ago. We have come to the conclusion already that it should be mandatory for happy campers to experience this river and its environs.
Liz was to do a little knitting whilst enjoying the scenery and listening to the radio and Jenny was following our trip upriver on her ipad. It is only 11am and we will pull into the bank for lunch and give Lily a trip ashore.

We had a bit of a calamity in that whilst I was on he wheel I run the Ranger onto a sand bank and it took a bit to extract it, after that I consulted the river chart more for there is a lack of river markings. Usually the high banks signify the deepest part of the river. I went up to the upper deck and it has a nice dinner setting though a little cold as we are moving due to the breeze we are making.
We made it to Plusher Bend and rammed into the bank bow first and down went the gang plank and we had a walk around. There are a lot of back packers and happy campers though we can not see our camp when we were here a couple of weeks ago.

Back onto the river proper and on our way towards Renmark. Again the scenery and birdlife was excellent though cormorants were starting to appear. We were careful to dodge the sand bars by consulting the maps. We then approached Lock five and had to sit on the mooring for awhile whilst they drained the water from the Lock. Then we received the green light to proceed into the Lock. Tied up and watched the water rise up to the next level of the river. Then we were away and in no time we approached the Paringa bridge which only lifts at 9.30 am and 2.30 pm each day. We have booked in for the bridge to raise at 9.30 in the morning and then we will be on way towards Renmark.
We are moored head first into the bank near the bridge and we are experiencing a lot of road noise with trucks using their exhaust brakes and the noise of cars going over the bridge.
We only just missed the deadline by 10 minutes for the bridge so we will need to watch this on the way back.
We put the lines back in the water and John caught a large Carp which was thrown up the bank, you attract a fine if you place Carp back into the water.
So now we are relaxing even more if that is possible with a happy hour on the stern of the houseboat in the late afternoon sun.

Wednesday the 11th of June
The traffic last night did not worry us at all we had a peaceful nights sleep. I went for a walk to take photo's of Ranger moored into the bank. The traffic was light and no doubt they may be a bit miffed at 9.30am when they are stopped to allow the bridge to lift to let us cruise through to Renmark. We have worked it out that we will spend a day in Renmark and come back through the bridge at 2.30pm to allow us to have a casual trip back to Berri in the next day and a bit. The time is going so quickly we could spend months enjoying this style of living, unfortunately all good things must come to an end.
We let the lines go and moved back into the river and waited for the lift span on the bridge to raise and we cruised on through. The run into Renmark did not take long and before we knew it we were approaching our mooring. Wouldn't you know it the wind increased so the engines were worked harder than normal for the we were side onto the wind, we eventually tied to the wharf and we settled in and had a cuppa. We then went and did a bit of retail therapy and then onto the Renmark Club where we had our midday meal.

The meal was great and at subsidised rates made it even better no doubt poker machines assist. We were able to enjoy the meal whilst looking through the very large glass frontage which gave views of the Murray both upstream and down. We were able to see Ranger sitting idly at the wharf, we noted another houseboat arrive and it moored close to us. When we completed our meal we played the pokies for awhile and I won one dollar on a two cent machine. We returned to the wharf and had a discussion with the other houseboat owner who gave us a run down on the river and the charges for mooring full time etc. They conduct devonshire tea cruises for tourists and were awaiting 2pm to take aboard the tourists, we had a look aboard and there was plenty of room which included a bar and many tables etc. It was a large houseboat and he is thinking of turning it into living area for themselves and selling the current houseboat they live in.
All good things come to an end and it was time to head back to Berri, we headed out from Renmark with a certain amount of sadness.
We had booked the bridge at Paringa to be raised 2.30pm so as we could travel through so we could take it leisurely on our return. If we waited until 9.30am in the morning we would have to travel faster than we wish to.
We arrived at the bridge 15 minutes early so we pulled into the bank awaiting the green light to go through, we noted the green light and knowing that the bridge raised meant the traffic and interstate trucks would be held up we travelled through at around ten knots.
Once through we dropped back to four knots, things look different when returning though we still marveled at the scenery. We saw many large houses with excellent views of the river. There were many house boats for sale and John and Jenny indicated they would like to purchase one and have this style of life.
We then arrived at lock 5 and they called us straight in, we tied up and the water dropped to bring us down to the next level of the Murray and it was easy this time for the wind had dropped thus there was more control over the houseboat.
We decided that we would travel through the shallows and then seek a place on the bank so could drive in head first. I dropped the speed back to around three knots and followed the buoys and kept very close to the bank. We still came across a sand bar which we reversed off very quickly and went even closer to the bank. You could nearly reach the bank with your hand however the charts indicated this was the channel to take.
Another 15 minutes later we were going into the bank for the night and tied off. Then it was shower time and a late happy hour and as we had a large meal at lunch time we are only having pizza's for our evening meal.
Out came the fishing rods and we had a couple of beers awaiting the bites which did not come though the pelicans were still on the river looking for small fish.
It looks like a fair bit of wine has been consumed for the music whilst I do this part of the diary is ear splitting and no amount of complaining about the level of noise was helped it was just ignored oh well I better have another beer.

Thursday the 12th of June
It was a boisterous night last night with the wine and beer flowing freely and the music reasonably loud along with the television blaring in the background. When everyone went off to bed I sat and watched the movie until 11.30 pm.
This morning was overcast showers were had and then breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomatoes and mushroom with copious amounts of tea or coffee. We tidied up and pulled in the fishing lines which caught nothing at all.
Started the motors and we were on our way back towards Berri. The road trip from Berri to Renmark is only 19 kilometres by road and by the Murray River three times longer for the river is like a snake as it wends its way to the sea in South Australia.
The morning was overcast with no wind thus there were plenty of reflections on the water from trees etc. The pelicans were in abundance along with the cormorants, we had swallows following us along the way and they stayed with us for many kilometres.
Though we experienced the scenery on the way up it was just as good going back. This part of the river appears to much deeper for it was a trial yesterday coming through the narrows and the shallow water complete with sand banks.
We were passing the many blue markers on the trees so it gave us a clue as to our position. We have noted the many flood marks on the trees that appeared to be as high as 5 metres, we would come across many stands of young gum trees that seemed to be on the flood plains and the shallowest parts of the river.
Then past the salinity testing float stationed in the middle of the river and then we could see many houses on the hill with fruit trees which included citrus. We came upon a large houseboat that appears to be permantly moored to the bank for there appeared to be no motors.
Before we knew it we had arrived back at Lyrup. We had to await the Lyrup ferry to give us the green light before we could pass over the cables that move the ferry backwards and forwards across the Murray River. We have decided to tie up against the bank for the night and go into Berri in the morning which will mean the end of our trip. We were to note a Semi trailer loaded go onto the ferry and boy did it sink in the water. Then lunch and then we went for a walk up the shop to buy the paper.
We had a look around the various signs around Lyrup once again explaining its origins and into the shop for a paper and a magnum ice cream for each of us. Back to the house boat and a couple of happy campers we have met before came over so they were given a cooks tour of the houseboat, so to speak.
Happy hour arrived and the happy campers came back and before we knew it it was evening meal time and then to watch the footy shows before retiring to bed with our last night on the house boat and the Murray River.

Friday the 13th of June
It was a nice sunset last night and an enjoyable happy hour when four happy campers from the Lyrup campground came aboard for inspection and to have a few drinks etc. It was an enjoyable time. We were up early this morning having our showers and then breakfast, we did our packing and in came the fishing rods for there were no fish again and then cleaned up so the house boat was nice and clean and tidy. There a few happy campers who came over to watch us pull away from our mooring this morning. We pulled out of the Lyrup overnight mooring at 8 am and the day was clear with little wind.
This is our last day on the Murray River and we have really enjoyed the experience and the beautiful scenery along the way. It is surprising how many people live full time on their houseboat and they all give you a wave as you pass by.
The scenery was great and we were recognising sections of the Murray on the way back to Berri. Again the pelicans and cormorants were working the river and two hawks were diving for fish as well. It is surprising to see so many seagulls and diver birds away from their normal habitat the sea.
The houses along the banks are enormous and usually have a houseboat or boat moorings nearby. We came around one bend and the sun had just shone on a river gum and with the clay bank with different colouring in the background made for excellent viewing. Further along we came across huge clay banks that are being mined for the concrete industry and by the look of it they will still be mining this material for many many years to come. It was a little sad for we not far from our berth and the end of this journey on the Murray River and as we had to have the houseboat back at its berth by 10 am we increased speed. Liz was to take the wheel of the houseboat for awhile and she did an excellent job keeping close to banks and staying away from sand banks. We came past the Martins Bend campground that was being well patronised for it has a thirty day limit, it looked good from the river so maybe one day we may stay there.
We came around the bend towards Berri at 9.50 am and there was the large concrete bridge over the Murray River. Wouldn't you know it the wind had risen which actually slowed us down and when it came time to come into the berth it was on our side so there was a fair bit of sideways drift which had to be compensated for. Finally we tied up and closed down the motors and then started to take our gear ashore and as our motorhome were virtually in front of us it did not create any difficulty to disembark.
Then it was time to refuel the houseboat for you pay for the fuel used as well as the hire fee.
The total fuel used was $203.16 so in all it cost us $500 for the five days. Was it worth it? Bloody oaf mate the experience was absolutely wonderful. unfortuneately we cannot show all the photos taken nor can we describe the totality of the enjoyment, space does not permit. Believe me if we have the chance in coming years we will do another trip on the Murray River though maybe in another state of Australia.
What a let down coming back to earth, so to speak, loading the motorhome with our gear. We were going back to our camp at Lyrup for a couple of days, though when the hire people indicated we could stay where we are and stay on power we happily accepted. We had broken a fitting in our shower and when I asked the hire people if they would have a spare he went away came back with a new hose and connection which fitted lovely cost? It will be right mate was the reply, We hopped into Digger and went out to the shopping centre where we had a subway 12 inch and then into coles to buy a few things for our trip ahead. We spent the next hour or so visiting gas and plumbers looking for a connection for gas bottles and finally the last place visited were able to help us.
We decided to take a final trip on the Lyrup ferry and visit the happy campers and let them know that we wouldn't be coming back there. They offered us a cup of tea which we had to refuse for the sky's had darkened and we were told a storm was on the way, so back on the ferry and on the way back we had a few spots of rain and luckily when we arrived back the clothes were ok. No sooner had Liz taken the clothes inside and I folding up the clothes line it started to rain pretty heavy. We are getting good television reception so we will watch the football between Carlton V Hawthorn tonight.
Oh well, this happy hour business is becoming a bit of habit though tonight Liz and I are just having our own along with a few biscuits and cheese.

Saturday the 14th of June
Though it rained during the night it had cleared this morning and we had partially clear sky's. We had our breakfast and headed onto the farmers market in Berri. We had a good look around and then purchased broccoli, red onions, mushrooms and celery and then headed back to the motorhome. We put the a-frame on Digger and then took a final photo of the "Ranger" to remind us of our wonderful few days on the Murray River. We could easily jump back on board and do it all again though we have to move on or we will be driving large distances to get back on track for our journey this year.
I went and refueled the motorhome whilst Liz drove Digger a little further up the road. The cost of diesel was $1.53.7 a litre and we did not have to take much on board and then on the road, hooked up Digger and we were on our way away from Berri. We headed towards Bamera and it didn't take long to get there, just a small country town with a Seppelts winery and plenty of grape vines. We had vines on each side of the road for a distance and then out into the saltbush and scrub country. I had set the GPS to take us to Port Augusta which came in as 400 kilometres distant. We took a turn on a country lane and merged with the highway to Burra. We have no intention to go to Burra for we have been there on two previous occasions. We are going via Crystal Brook which will be new territory for us so we are looking forward to it. We really do not want to arrive at Port Augusta until Monday so we will be taking it easy over the next two days.
We finally arrived at Morgan and drove down to the waterfront, we recall seeing the Murray Princess a modern day paddle steamer catering for hundreds of tourists on board arriving at Morgan. Then into the souvenir shop and purchased a couple of items.

We drove down near the ferry across the Murray and noted the ferry was much larger than that at Lyrup and it was being well patronised. It took fourteen cars and there were still more awaiting their turn to cross over.
We noted there was many tents etc along the foreshore so we thought it was another market. This was not so for the locals are trying to restore and old Paddle Steamer the "Canally" and are having a wooden boat regatta to raise funds. There were many wooden boats of all descriptions steaming up and down the river, there were a few on the shore on display some fully restored others in the process of restoration.
They also had vintage tools and other items for sale. Old motorbikes and sidecars and a few old cars on display. They had a stationary engine display and old engines working away they were over a hundred years old. Overall we spent nearly two hours taking in the spirit of the event.
We had our lunch whilst watching the ferry running non stop and then we noted a long line of old cars lining up to go across the Murray whether there was a car show somewhere or just a motor car club on an outing we do not know.
Lunch over, we headed out and the sky was not looking to good with some spots of rain falling. We were now on the road to Burra though we take a turn off before arriving there, we decided to find a spot for the night at around 2 pm which we did. This is our first bush camp.
There was no television available so out came the satellite dish and before long we were watching the Richmond V Fremantle football game. The sun has appeared again so we are just relaxing and when happy hour arrived we only had a cuppa and few sweet biscuits.
We will watch the football tonight and then off to bed and read our books before moving on in the morning.
Kilometres travelled 137

Sunday the 15th of June
We have decided to have a lay day and remain in our bush camp just have a cleaning day which included getting the washing machine out. Complete bed sheet change and then the washing was hung out to dry in the sometimes foggy morning. The fog will no doubt lift though there is very little wind and now and again the sun breaks through. It is not cold so a fire will be lit with plenty of wood about and then just relax and read our books. The Collingwood V Bulldogs footy game is on this afternoon so Liz will want to watch that, the joys of having the satellite dish in operation. Well that's all today it is just an easy peasy day.

Monday the 16th of June
Liz was not happy yesterday when her beloved Collingwood were defeated by the Bulldogs. We had a good fire last night and only came inside when the evening chill came down. Dismantled the satellite dish this morning and had to wipe down for it and and the stand were wet with the heavy dew we had last night.
We packed ready to move on which we did at around 8.15 am bound for Port Augusta. We were punching a heavy head wind so we must be using plenty of fuel especially with the large hills we had to climb, firstly we were passing through saltbush country and we were to see a few sheep grazing on what we do not know. It wasn't long before we came to Burra renowned for its old stone buildings and abandoned mine houses etc. We did not go into the town proper for we have been there on two previous occasions. Around ten kilometres on we turned left on the road to Crystal Brook and the countryside changed to beautiful large paddocks with a mosaic of green with plenty of grain being grown. It started to rain though only showery just enough to wet the road and as usual when this occurs poor old Digger receives the back spray from the motorhome. This means the motorhome will need to be washed though more so Digger.
We came across two pipelines who have there origin in Morgan which pumps water from the Murray to send to Adelaide in the large pipe and the smaller pipe is water for Port Augusta and the small towns along the way in the Spencer Gulf. Again the beautiful greens that abound and the rain was dropping off and were getting the wind on our side which was better for travelling.
We travelled through many small towns which included Spalding where we pulled up and bought a newspaper and then into Crystal Brook and then headed towards the Port Pirie region, before we knew it we were on the main road between Adelaide and Port Augusta. In the distance you could see Spencer Gulf and as we came further along there was Port Germaine who's claim to fame among many things is its wharf which runs out into the Gulf for about two kilometres. We could see the Flinders Ranges on our left and they were quite colourful though there was a lot of mist hanging around there peaks.

We decided to stop for lunch at a rest area 20 kilometres out from Port Augusta which was once a nice camp area until the local caravan park had it closed some years ago. The sun was now shining and the wind had decreased to a gentle breeze. We were surprised that there was so little traffic coming our way there was much more going in the opposite direction.
We came past the road houses and then entered the causeway and then hung a left and unhooked Digger and then drove into the sports club where we are paying $7 per night no facilities, use your own, when the Football Club is closed.
We noted John and Jenny plus Lily had already arrived and set up. No doubt we will have happy hour with them later. At the moment the sun has disappeared and it is very overcast.
So we may or may not play the poker machines this evening. In all it has been a good drive to get here and the amount of countryside under crops in the areas we travelled through was a real treat and even though you take many photo's you use just a few.
Kilometres travelled 276

Tuesday the 17th of June
We had a restful sleep last night and woke to cold foggy and overcast weather. I went for a walk this morning and took a photo of the old and new power station in Port Augusta. While we were having breakfast there was a small shower of rain and then it stopped. The fog lifted though the clouds were heavy and we expected more rain which did not eventuate, in fact by 11am it was warm and we had to discard our pullovers and the clouds disappeared.
We said farewell to John and Jenny who are leaving for Pimba this morning on the way to Darwin. We decided to take our shower gear and went over to the BP Roadhouse and had wonderful hot showers costing $2 for both of us. We stood under the hot water for ages for this is the best shower we have had for awhile which saves our water for later on.
We then drove into Port Augusta central shopping centre and went first to Coles for a few items and generally looked at the price of groceries etc then down to the waterfront and into Woolworths where did not make a purchase. A pleasant half hour spent in the Reject Shop and purchases a few items and then into the chemists.
We noted in all shop fronts was sign warning those that should be in school if they entered the shop the police would be called. There were plenty of Indigenous people about and only a few rowdy ones.
Off to the Bank for we need to replenish the cash supply for the next couple of weeks then we went into the Big W and purchased gas canisters which they only had four left, they indicated that there had been a run on them by tourists who were stocking up.
We went for a walk along the boardwalk along the waterfront and they have certainly cleaned this area up given that the whole city centre is a alcohol free zone unless you are in a hotel there is no drinking allowed in public places what so ever.
We then drove over the bridge and went into the vegetable shop and bought a few items which included apples for the journey ahead, we usually munch on one whilst driving. Then into the bottle shop for beer and wine for the prices from here on in will be very high. Who knows it may turn us into teetotalers.
We then drove back to camp and as we turned the corner I heard a quick bip of a siren and looked in the rear vision mirror and there were flashing lights. Of course it was a police car and they asked for my licence and gave me a random breath test which returned no result. We were there for another ten minutes whilst they checked the licence and the registration on Digger. We gave them the registration papers which did not appease them and then the officer started to look at the A-frame hanging off the front of Digger. I thought I was gone though they seemed more concerned that we had groceries etc piled to the roof and maybe I could not see what was behind me. I found this strange for there were two outside mirrors. The first lesson is do not challenge them until they look like writing an infringement notice and they never looked like doing so. After a few more questions and informing them that Digger was towed behind the motorhome they gave my licence back and wished me a good day. Strange however alls well that ends well.
Digger was very dirty from the road scum flying up off behind the motorhome yesterday so I decided to grab the bucket and went down and gave it wash in the rest area down the road.
Came back and had lunch and then washed the Motorhome with a bucket of water and chamois. It was surprising where the day went and it is happy hour already so I need to go and participate it that ritual.
Tonight just watch the movie which we have seen before and then off to bed reasonably early for we are back on the road in the morning turning right and on the way to Darwin which will take us a couple of weeks or more.

Wednesday the 18th of June
A restful night again and this morning there was a breeze blowing that kept the dew away. It was a little cold though beautiful blue sky's as we moved out of our camp site and onto the highway heading to refuel. The cost of diesel was $1.51.9 at Woollies Port Augusta, this is the largest amount of fuel we have taken on so far this trip though I can imagine between here and Darwin we are going to consume a bit.
We did not hook Digger on until we turned onto the Stuart Highway heading for Pimba our first stop along the way. The going was easy and the scenery was really great though we are still seeing those signs about kangaroos crossing the road and to date we have not seen one live or dead. We seemed to be climbing though the road was good and the views were great with the different greens along the way. We were to see our first 50 metre road train parked up and it was a cattle transport. It wasn't long before we were to see them coming towards us and the they really push wind at you. We sighted the train and its wagons that must have been at least over a kilometre long heading south. There were a few caravans pass us as if there is no tomorrow and I bet they are chewing through the fuel.

We were to pass through several dried salt lakes and then we were climbing higher hills and the wind had picked up and you could see the clouds were streaky with wind. We are only around 90 kilometres out of Pimba and we are struggling against a head wind. Those going south would like the tail wind pushing them along, many of the truckies were on the UHF stating they were struggling with the wind.
We finally arrived at Pimba our stop for the night and parked up and then unhooked Digger and then drove into Woomera for a look see once again. Not much has changed other than more houses have been dismantled and the ground rehabilitated. We went into the shop at Woomera and bought a couple of items and was surprised to see that XXXX Gold was only $2.00 dearer than Port Augusta, Liz bought a bottle of wine and then we went into the museum cafe for lunch. I had a Hamburger with chips and Liz had Nacho's washed down with a cappacino.
We then drove around and had a look at the rocket display as well as the old planes who have seen better days than down to Burns Park to have a look at the birdlife.
There are no longer any kangaroos on display just a few birds mainly parrots and silver crested cockatoos. We came across Peacocks and Peahens and the looked very nice with all their plumage. We drove around a little more then headed back to our camp for the night and hooked Digger up for towing.
It is nearly happy hour so no doubt we will go outside with other happy campers though it is very windy with a bit of dust blowing about. We will watch the State of Origin rugby tonight before going off to bed and hope that the wind has abated in the morning as we push onto Coober Pedy.
Kilometres travelled 183

Thursday the 19th of June
There was a cold wind blowing when we hopped out of bed this morning. During the night we heard three trains go through Pimba each one sounding its siren at the railway crossing. After we arose e were to count 62 double wagons on one train and I need to revise my estimation of the trains being one kilometre long I would say they were at least 2 kilometres long with two locomotives at the front and one at the rear.
One was a goods train and the others we were to see were ore wagons no doubt from Roxby Downs. We were to say farewell to the happy campers we had happy hour with last night and then after they were gone we had our breakfast and tidied up for the next part of the trip.
On the road and we were still pushing a head wind and it is taking a toll on our fuel consumption with the computer indicating that with the fuel aboard we will fall 16 kilometres short of arriving at Coober Pedy. We will need to make a judgement as to whether to pour the 20 litre's that Digger is carrying in the back or take a quick splash further up the road.
We said our farewells to other campers and then we pulled out onto the Stuart Highway bound for our next rest area at Bon Bon, the sign just out of Pimba gave us an indication of the kilometres we will need to travel to arrive in Darwin, something like 3 thousand kilometres.
Though pushing a head wind the scenery on the plateau country was excellent and even a cloudy sky could not disguise the beauty of the land. We were pass by Island Lake which looked quite pretty in the distance. We were now starting to climb and there was not much traffic travelling north though a fair few road trains coming south.

As we came down off the plateau we noted the amount of salt pans that were about and then we came across Hart Lake where the rocket testing from Woomera takes place all the area is closed to the public and regarded for military use only.
We came across a few water holes which left us with the impression that rain fall has been plentiful in this area. Then we saw our first Wedge Tailed Eagle soaring on the wind and even though it was high you could see the enormous wing span it had, no doubt we will see many more up ahead.
If Liz had not forewarned me then we would have hit an Emu that appeared to want to commit suicide, Liz saw it coming from the bush and it passed just two metres in front of us running across the road if I hadn't hit the brakes when Liz raised the alarm we would have hit it at 90 kph and no doubt it would have made a nice mess of the front of the motorhome and possibly it would have been killed, that is something that we do not want to happen.
We were to see plenty of sheep and cattle along the way and we noted that one had been killed and it was alongside the highway, it was a large cow and no doubt it would have caused damage to the vehicle.
We decided to pull into the Glenmambo Roadhouse and take diesel on, there are two roadhouses and a hotel. We checked the price at BP thinking this would be the dearest and then onto to the Shell Roadhouse and found that they were dearer per litre by 5 cents.
Back to the BP and took on a splash, so to speak, at $1.75.9 cents a litre, our dearest yet and no doubt we will pay more than this as we head north. The sun was beaming into the cabin of the motorhome for we had driven out of the clouds and into nice blue sky's though the pesky wind was still with us.
We finally arrived at Bon Bon rest area where we set up for our stay tonight after lunch out came the satellite dish and even though I found the signal quickly it was poor. We had television though I was not happy with the signal strength. We even tried John's signal finder to improve the reception to no avail. I changed the satellite box and the LNB and still had a poor signal. Back to the 12 volt box and we had television so we left it at that I have never experienced this problem before.
Before we knew it happy hour had arrived and Liz had a soft drink and I had a couple of cans of beer. Boy weren't there plenty of fly's about pestering the life out of us.
Tonight we will watch the footy shows and then off to bed to read our books.
Kilometres travelled 206

Friday the 20th of June
A very nice sunrise this morning with no clouds and just beautiful blue sky's which would remain that way all day. There was a breeze we were pushing into when we left the rest area bound for Coober Pedy.
There were more caravans going south than those going north and the drive was pleasant with the sun streaming into the cabin of the Motorhome making us a bit drowsy. The countryside was still flat plains with mainly saltbush and we were to pass several cattle stations who speak of thousands and thousands of hectares etc. One had a sign indicating that the homestead was 34 kilometres in from the highway though their land was on either side of the highway.
We are still to see a great deal of wildlife. Today we were to see only two kangaroos, big grey's, and two wedge tailed eagles. One was sitting on the carcase of a road kill kangaroo and as we went past it did not move at all.
We had several road trains come at us plus one very large oversize with mining machinery on board. This over width truck took three quarters of the road which required us to pull off the road all together. It was beautiful scenery once again and it was obvious that we were in arid desert with just a few jump ups appearing.
We were 52 kilometres from Coober Pedy when we noted that there were many test holes and some excavation for Opal and along further there were mine roads going under the highway with the signs indicating that they were mining iron ore. This explains the amount of ore carriages that the trains were pulling they must have been for this mine as well as Roxby Downs.

The road was becoming undulating and I decided to bring the cruise control into play. With this head wind of the last few days it would probably not burn much more fuel than being manually operated and besides just steering was just a treat.
32 Kilometres out of Coober Pedy there were more signs of Opal mining with the screening machines in action as well as excavators etc. We have never seen them mining this far south in past years.
Before we knew it we had arrived at Coober Pedy and as we are pulling out for Alice Springs on Sunday morning we decided to get the cheap fuel now for they do not open on Sundays. We were to pay $1.68 cents a litre some seven cents cheaper than other service stations in the town.
We cruised on down to the cloths barn where we have stopped in previous years and set up for $5 per night with water and toilets, we have no need for power for the solar power and batteries are giving us all we need.
We had our lunch and then decided to go for a walk into the town centre, on the way we looked at the only two houses in Coober Pedy who have green grass lawns and palms etc. The rest of course have gravel yards and even the golf course has gravel fairways and the putting areas are still gravel though have been oiled down. They give you a piece of artificial grass to tee off. There is a grader there full time to groom the golf course.
We looked into a few Opal shop windows though we did not go in for fear of being badgered into buying Opals of some description. We were lucky the bloke that parked us up gave us a small plastic bag which contained some Opal and potch. We decided to go into the underground hotel for the fly's were driving us crazy. We had a drink and a bit of a flutter on the pokies and of course we did our money.
We had a look around the underground alley ways of the hotel and the Opal interpretation presentation before deciding to go to the supermarket to buy something for our meal this evening. On the way back to camp we had a call from Ian who filled us in what is going on in his part of the world.
Well it is happy hour so we will sit out by the fire tonight until evening meal time then inside later to watch the football before going off to bed. Tomorrow we will bring out the washing machine and then the baby Q to cook a roast tomorrow.
Kilometres travelled 179

Sunday the 21st of June
Last the night whilst sitting out for a short while we were to see what we always admire and that is the clear sky's and the stars especially the Milky Way. We were to see several satellites pass overhead and they are easy to pick out for they travel slowly.
We are now in the outback of South Australia at Coober Pedy and the day are cloudless and 24 degrees at 10 am.
It was time to get the washing machine out and so the clothes lines were set up and then we had showers whilst water is available, it will be harder to find as we travel further up the road towards Darwin.
I pulled out the baby Q and we are having a hot lunch today. I cooked a roast of beef with all the usual baked veggies which we both enjoyed. There is enough meat left over for a salad tomorrow night.
We went walkabout again and noted the Big Winch with it many pipes in the ground and these are exhaust pipes for there is both above ground and underground accommodation. They say in the tourist information that the temperature below ground is a constant 23 to 25 degrees both summer and winter, given there summer temperatures reach 45 degrees.
We passed by the Drive in picture theatre where you can either sit in chairs or sit in you vehicle though at the moment it only operates on a friday night.
We were to note the many houses that are built underground and by all reports they just add another room now and again by using the special diggers and folklore has it they strike opal now and again. So I suppose it could be said that it encourages you to extend your house underground. They say that the ground is so stable there is no need to shore up the ceilings at all.
There are plenty of shops selling Opals and they all try to entice you inside for a look see and no doubt add pressure for you to buy. We went underground in the Desert Cave Hotel that advertised rooms above surface or underground. They advertise that they have the only gaming room in the world that is underground and it is strange with the poker machines clattering away for the underground rooms sounds are louder than normal. There were eight ball tables and a glass of wine was $5.50 or a stubbie for $6.40, needless to say we only had one round and went back out into the heat.
There are only two houses in Coober Pedy that boast green grass and they are side by side, in competition I suppose, one house has beautiful bougainvilleas and Palm trees and the other poinsettia's and small ornamental trees. Given water is so expensive here they must have large water bills. There is a wind turbine that stands tall when you come into the town and it supplies just 4% of the towns power needs. The rest of their power is generated by diesel engines in a power house.
We decided to go for a drive on the outskirts of the town and we noted the vast areas of saltbush and the many operations into the side of large hills both for housing and mining. We were to see many blowers mounted on old trucks that suck the material up from underground and separate the rubbish leaving only the heavy material which they hope will yield Opal.
Then onto have a look at the Serbian orthodox church which is built into the side of a hill and goes down into the ground, to see the way they carved the church into the ground whilst maintaining the feel of a church is very good.
We dropped in at the service station and had a gas bottle filled and the price was treble the price we paid at Mildura. Oh well that's the way it is when you get into the outback, we bought an ice cream which we ate whilst driving around for the temperature is 26 degrees celsius at 3 pm. I bought a long neck for happy hour today at $6.40 and was somewhat taken back when they asked for my drivers licence. It means that I cannot buy anymore alcohol for 24 hours anywhere in Coober Pedy. What a joke though it is mainly aimed at the indigenous people who walk aimlessly around the town. One thing is that they do not approach you and are happy to say G'day.
Only a light meal tonight after a beautiful meal at lunch time. The Baby Q sure cooks a good meal.
Oh well I am late for happy hour and tonight we will watch the footy again and then in the morning we are back on the road heading for Alice Springs.

Sunday the 22nd of June
Caught the sunrise this morning over Coober Pedy. It reflected on the clouds in the distance giving them a pink tinge and it really highlighted the small hills where the underground house's are.
We had breakfast and then said our farewells to a couple of happy campers and then to John and Jenny who are staying to fossick for opal today. Talking about Opals last night at happy hour Liz was sitting in her chair and happened to glance down and spotted a fragment of Opal. It was confirmed by Joe who lives on site and he indicated that most of the yards of Coober Pedy have mine tailing in their driveways and yards and often they will pick up small pieces of Opal.
We realised that we would be pushing a head wind this morning and bearing this in mind we decided to push on and we wound our way out of Coober Pedy through the many mullock heaps that dot the landscape for many kilometers up the highway.
We were driving into a strong head wind and it was reflected in our fuel use going by the gauge. We thought with a 20 litre top up from our jerry can we would make it to Alice Springs, weren't we in for a rude shock. I should have known better for how many times have I said do not drive into strong head winds for you are only throwing money away with the amount of fuel used.
Given that the scenery along the way was saltbush and gibber and mulga bushes it was still colourful. We could see in the distance many mountains though we wound our way around them, though still appearing to be climbing.
We have decided to put a few kilometres under our belt today, so to speak, and go into Alice Springs tomorrow.

Out first stop was at the Marla Road House where we refueled and what a surprise in such a short distance the cost of diesel had risen to $1.95 cents a litre and I was surprised how much we took on. Clearly we were burning heaps of fuel for the wind was very strong hitting us on the front of the motorhome it may not have slowed us down however the consumption at the end of the day was 19 litre's per 100 kilometres. This is something we have never suffered usually we are around 13-14 litre's per hundred and when you paying close to 2 dollars it certainly adds up.
Anyway that's enough whinging for it was to get worse, we noted the 53.5 metre road train coming towards us and then as it passed we heard a large bang on the window screen and lo and behold there was a massive star in our windowscreen. The window screen was replaced for the same reason only last month.
Of course you must be resilient to all these things when they crop up or you may as well stop at home. So stop whinging and get on and enjoy the travelling!
We finally pulled into a rest area and had a quick lunch of biscuits and cheese and we had our cuppa's in special warming mugs to drink on the way in all we only stopped twenty minutes.

We were to come across many jump ups and small mountains with their ochre and green colours with the sun shining on them they were beautiful. It wasn't long before we came across the border between the state of South Australia and Northern Territory. We noted that it is now a 24 hour stop over for camping. We just stopped to take a few photo's and read the information boards and then said farewell to South Australia and we were on our way into the Northern Territory.
The first thing I noted was that the wind had abated and was now coming onto our side and the fuel consumption was dropping at last. We were to pass where a caravan had been destroyed on the side of the road and you could see it had been picked over so we did not stop, it looked as if it occurred some time ago. On the subject of wrecks we noted there were many sedans laying by the road or in the paddocks wrecked and stripped just like the caravan.
The sun was still shining through the window which was nice and the outside temperature was 28 degrees. We were to drive for another 50 kilometres from the border and found a gravel pit which was suitable for us. Then out with the satellite dish and watched West Coast Eagles defeat St Kilda easily. It just has not been my day! Oh well better open a stubbie or two.
Kilometres travelled 469

Monday the 23rd of June
Out of bed early this morning just in time to watch the sun rise which was absolutely beautiful. We had our breakfast and we were on our way at 8 am bound for Alice Springs. I was rather surprised to find that we had a tail wind this morning and the fuel consumption had dropped remarkably.
We were coming into the area of Jump Ups as they are called. We would call them small hills. The colours of ochre and greens of various shades made them look beautiful and after that the landscape had changed to sandy hills and stunted ghost gums. There wasn't a great deal of traffic on the road when we left and a little later we were again surprised by the amount of caravans heading south along with four hire motorhome's with single occupants no doubt delivering them back to Adelaide for the next hiring. Though we were travelling beside the train line we were to see only one heading south again with heaps of containers of board. We came to Stuart Wells where we noted the dozens of Camel's which are farmed there for export to the middle east, when we were here last time we stayed in the free area and went into the tavern for a meal and to watch the piano playing Dingo who walked along the keys whilst howling away as they do. This is another attraction that we have seen several times so we pushed on.
We were crossing many creeks that were dried up and sandy with Ghost Gums on either side of the creek. The sun was beaming in the window and even though there clouds they were high and spread sparsely which was not blocking the sun out.

It didn't seem all that long before we arrived at Alice Springs where we stopped to take a photo of the welcome to the Alice. This is our fourth trip to this area and in the past we camped out at the various gorges and then stayed in caravan parks in town. On this occasion we decided to push on. We broke the trip by spending two hours in the area firstly filling with fuel at $1.75.9 a litre and then drove to the northern outskirts and parked up. Off with Digger and then we drove up to the lookout at Anzac Hill which gives you 360 degrees views of the town and the O'Donnell ranges. We could see where we came through the gap in the ranges and again the colours were stunning. Then we came down to Coles and bought bread and few other items and then onto the Todd Mall and had a look at all the shops and most were selling Didgeridoos painted of course in aboriginal art work. The temperature was 26 degrees which was higher than the predicted 20 degrees. You can tell the tourists for they are wearing shorts and T-Shirts and the locals are all rugged up with beanies or hoodees or jackets and long jeans etc.
We then moved on down to the Todd River where they hold there famous boat races in the sandy river bed which only has water in it in the wet season, which is later in the year.
There to many tourists in the sandy parts and we did not want to take pictures of them. We hopped into digger and drove over the bridge and took photo's on the other side away from people.
Then it was time for lunch and we favoured a noodle box however they were only take away and we wanted to sit down away from flies and eat our meal. Given this we drove around to Supercheap Auto's and bought a couple of Items and then onto Hungry Jacks where we only had a small meal each not wanting to spoil our meal tonight.
We hooked Digger up and we were back on the road heading towards our rest area for the night at Prowse Gap. On the way out of Alice we noted caravans and one of the motor homes called "Are we there yet" who were camped up at Coober Pedy, they were waiting to get in the caravan park.
The first ten kilometres was spent climbing up out of Alice Springs and even when they indicated we had reached the highest point monument we still appeared to be climbing. The wind was still at our back which made me happy in relation to fuel consumption it will mean if it stops this way tomorrow we will make Tennant Creek without having to refuel.
We were to pass the camp area at Connor Well and there were no happy campers there which surprised us a bit. In no time at all we reached the monument that indicates that we are Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn we never stopped for a photo shot, so we expect to have good weather all the way now.
We noted the amount of trucks with carnival rides on the road south along with there attendant caravans there were plenty of them and no doubt they had been at the Hidden Valley V8's races in Darwin.
We came past Aileron and saw the huge statue on the hill of an aborigine with a very long spear. We have stopped to look at the dingo's and other wildlife caged in the past so we drove on.
We were to come across our first Termite Mounds which were not large and all an ochre colour mirroring the local earth and some were on the verge of the road. We finally arrived at our stop for the night and noted there was not much room for there were many happy campers and of course we are the only motorhome.
The bloke that cleans the toilets, fills the water tanks and takes away the rubbish arrived as I was putting rubbish in the bin and I struck up a bit of conversation with him. He indicated that he spends three days on the road cleaning, filling water tanks and rubbish collection plus whipper snipping the verges of the road near the rest area. He goes back to camp at Aileron tonight and then up to Barrow Creek and then back to Alice Springs. He was interesting to talk to and stated that he used to be in the timber industry in Campbell Town in Tasmania and his wife was made redundant from the commonwealth bank call centre in Launceston and her job shipped off to the Philippines. Thus they came up this way to find work and at the moment they are staying in a caravan park in Alice Springs. I noted the wood he had on board his truck and he left 8 pieces so I can cook our chicken for our meal tomorrow night, more weight on poor old Digger.
Off to have happy hour with the happy campers if we can stand the fly's of which there are plenty of. I haven't worried about the satellite dish tonight we will either watch a DVD or read our books dependant on how we feel.
Kilometres travelled 394

Tuesday the 24th of June
I know that in previous parts of this diary I have indicated that some sun rises were the best I have seen. Well I was wrong the sunrise this morning has exceeded them all. I could not believe the luck in capturing the photo's for normally I would not be out of bed this early.
We had our breakfast said farewell to the happy campers around us and headed towards Tennant Creek, we had the wind on our side so it wasn't to bad for the road was pretty flat. The usual scenery with saltbush and mulga and the beautiful ochre and greens that abounded. It wasn't long before we arrived at Ti Tree which really is a roadhouse with some houses and no doubt the hotel serves the broader community. This was the first roadhouse where I have seen the price of fuel advertised.
Unleaded was $2 per litre and diesel was $2.10 per litre needless to say we kept the foot down and kept going for the wind assistance it has ensured that I will have enough diesel to arrive at Tennant Creek.
We were to drive past Barrow Creak which is a small roadhouse attached to a hotel. Its main claim to fame is the disappearance of backpackers and the murder of one plus the old Telegraph Station that existed a few centuries ago.
We were seeing more jump ups again along with small hills or mountains again very colourful.

It wasn't long before we were to pass the Devils Marbles a place we have camped at many times in the past, however we decided to push on. Along the way we were to see many termite mounds and we saw our first wild Dingo cross the road and stop at the fence line looking at us as we passed. There were many budgerigars and small parrots flittering from side to side along the way dodging the Hawks who were eyeing them off.
We haven't seen anymore wedge tailed eagles as we have in past years when there plenty though not this year unless they have moved further into the outback for food. There were many dead cows beside the road and no kangaroos at all. We haven't seen a live kangaroo for days. We crossed many dry creek beds with ghost gums on either bank which are picturesque.
We finally arrived at Tennant Creek and parked up to walk the town as we have done in the past. All we can say the place was dirty and smelly and there were aboriginals in the main street yelling at each other from the doors of the hotels, which is sad really. We are surprised at the amount of young people that are roaming the streets.
We walked into one shop and noticed around about ten young aboriginal kids putting goods up their jumpers and hoodees whilst a couple kept the bloke on the till busy. That was enough for us.
We walked to the fuel station and on the way back bought a newspaper. Liz stayed at the service station whilst I went back and drove the motorhome back. We pulled into the bowser and the bloke came out and said they were doing the tills and would not be able to make fuel available for around five minutes. No worries I informed him and he said see him after fueling up and he would give me larger discount than the seniors discount.
When I finally fueled up he gave me a six dollar discount on the fuel which was great so it meant we paid around $1.68 cents a litre and not the bowser price of $1.79.9. Liz was to buy chips from the Red Rooster and we pulled up further up the road and had a cuppa and rolls stuffed with chips, very nice indeed. It was noticeable that I only took one photo in Tennant Creek and there are so many shops closed and the rubbish laying around and the smell was enough for us to leave the area.
We came across the Three Ways intersection and I said to Liz that there will be the vehicles from the south and the vehicles coming in from Queensland that will make it more difficult to find camp areas.
We drove to the Attack Creek rest area and as we suspected it was crowded out though we were able to get a spot on the side of the road away from the main camp area. There were many still coming in at 3 pm and leaving for lack of space so we are wondering what will happen tonight when the real late comers arrive.
We enjoyed our DVD last night so much so that we are playing another tonight. Oh well happy hour again though on this occasion we will have ours inside away from those dreadful fly's
Kilometres travelled 446

Wednesday the 25th of June
These early sunrises in the Northern Territory are costing me sleep. I hop out of bed earlier than I should just to experience day break with the sun rising and giving out all sorts of reflected colours. This morning was especially good for the moon had venus in line as the sun was rising and it was wonderful to see, unfortunately the the camera could not capture all even when I zoomed in.
The rest area at Attack Creek was full up last night with late comers unable to find a spot, so they just moved on. I think if we had been any later yesterday we would be in the same boat.
We had our breakfast and cleaned up and showered and then we were on the road determined to make Daly Waters today. Before we pulled out I did the usual check of the tyre's and noted a few strands of the steel belt were showing due to uneven wear on the passenger side front. I knew that I would have to address this quickly or face a possible blow out.
On the road and we had a side breeze which was assisting us along the highway and when I checked the computer for the distance to the Katherine it came up short so I have decided to bring the spare jerry can into play and that will get us through. The scenery was again t excellent you either come around a bend or over a hill and there it is in front of you all the colour of greens and ochre very nice indeed.
We had one fuel road train pass us and it looked like a B-double with extra trailers attached when I enquired the driver informed that his road train was 53.5 metres long and unloaded he was allowed to do 100 kph and loaded 90 kph. We wonder how you pull up something so long and heavy on this highway. Talking of highway we felt a bit uncomfortable when we were in the unlimited speed zone for we were afraid some freak may try to do 200 kph of something similar. We felt a lot better when we reached the 130 kph zone again.

We were to see three magnificent Wedge Tailed Eagles soaring on the up drafts and then we were surprised to see a bush turkey beside the road. Unfortunately these things occurred before we can grab the camera.
We were to see our first herds of grey Brahman cattle mostly by water holes for we noted that a few of the creeks had water in them. The outside temperature at 10 am was 21 degrees and would rise to a warm 26 degrees at 4pm.
We had a discussion about our front tyre and agreed it would have to come off today either a new one fitted or bring the spare tyre out.
We arrived at Elliot and noted that they had a tyre service so we drove to a side street and checked it out. Yes they had the right tyre size for us and could fit it for $340 or I could have a second hand one three quarters worn for $240. Well I declined both for I thought the prices were just a bit to much. So it looks like the spare will come into play later in the day when we pull up.
We noted the wattle was starting to blossom along the way and there were more gum trees appearing. It wasn't long before we arrived at Daly Waters first the roadhouse on the turnoff to Borraloola and noted that the diesel there was advertised at $1.82.9 which was cheaper than the roadhouses at Dunmah or Elliot. We took the turn into the Daly River Pub which was our destination for the night. When we arrived I noted the diesel cost of $1.95.9 and Liz went into book in while I had a look at the happy campers already there and noted that they were parked very close together and none had an awning out for they were packed in like sardines, so to speak, even in the no power area. Liz came out and told me it was $28 for two with power and $16 for two without power. We thought about it and decided to go back to the highway and camp the night in the gravel pit. By the end of the day there were 7 happy campers come in and join us. They all thought what was on offer at the pub was a bit rich.
We had lunch and then I placed everything I needed next to the front wheel to be changed and then underneath to take out the spare. Well that's where the nightmare commenced it was sitting on a channel bar and all you had to do was take out the split pin and wind it down. Easy mate however the tyre was bolted to the channel and obviously had been done up with a air gun. The only way I could get the tyre out was to dissemble the whole channel and drop the whole frame down and then drag it outside to work on. Sounds easy, why did it take two to free the tyre from the channel.
I broke one spanner luckily the bottom of the bolt was welded to the channel so with the assistance of a one and half metre bar it finally came free. When was the last time I checked the spare for pressure, though no worries out with the tyre pump the U-beaut twin cylinder compressor which I have only used before to pump up barrow tyre's. I thought I was pumping the tyre up and found that it was letting air out of the tyre. So in the back of Digger and Liz went back down the highway to have it pumped up.
Whilst Liz was gone I refitted the spare tyre channel which took more time than I could imagine. Any way end of story the brand new tyre is on the front and old as spare. Now we will be more relaxed tomorrow going up the highway. I poured the jerry can of Diesel in the motorhome and that should now get us to Katherine.
Well I had to have another shower though first of all I had to degrease my hands and the cloths well I think they are destined for the rubbish bin.
The wind has dropped and it is nice sitting out having our happy hour. Tonight we will watch DVD's again before retiring.
Kilometres travelled 348

Thursday the 26th of June
When reflecting on yesterday it became obvious that there is a need to check tyre's before moving off each day especially if you have duel wheels at the rear. A quick bang with a stick will tell you if they are properly inflated or not. This could save a serious accident. It was only because I knew about the uneven wear on the front tyre that I checked and for that I am thankful. On a more somber note I received phone call from my mate of 30 plus years Eddie who was ringing me from hospital. I noted that his speech was a bit different and I thought he may have had a stroke. He indicated he had been in hospital three months and I knew that was not possible for we were at his place less a month ago and then he couldn't tell me the name of the hospital other than one in Melbourne they had flown him down from Dimboola. Our thoughts are with him and hope that he makes a speedy recovery for he is reasonably young. Boy, I am feeling a bit sad.
We said farewell to the happy campers and we were on our way to our next rest area. Still a tail wind which good for going up not so good for coming down. There heaps of caravans heading up and it was good to see the amount of Motorhome's increase somewhat. There were plenty of road trains which included cattle road trains and fuel road trains and there were plenty of them being the tourist season. It would appear that the fuel is coming out of Darwin and the cattle being shipped for overseas destinations from there also.
The scenery again had changed and we came upon a sign indicating that we were passing through a forest. Well I thought these gums are very small in height and diameter so where was the forest?

Along the way we were to see another Dingo crossing the road this one was in the middle of the highway not knowing which direction to take and it was to far in the distance to get a photo. We had our first small kangaroo hop across the road and I took a photo and you will need to look hard to see it or if your ipad or computed allows you to expand photo's I am sure you will see it.
We came through Larrimer the home of the Pink Panther Hotel and the road signs were advertising free camping at the hotel and the next signs advertised a caravan park attached to the hotel. As we drove past there were plenty of happy campers in the grounds with a few of them moving out.
Some of the caravans were travelling in groups of three all very close together and the truck drivers were going crook for with a 53.5 length it was to far to overtake three vans at once. It was a bun fight for awhile and I listened to it all happening. The road rules are if a road train comes up on you use the UHF to indicate that you will back off when he wants to come around, which they will do and thank you for backing off. Simple isn't it.
We arrived at Mataranka and did not bother to go the hot springs we will do that on the way down. We pulled into the rest area for ten minutes to allow the traffic to sort itself out. We noted the giant termite mound surrounded by palm trees and gums.
Back on the road and before long we had arrived at our stop for the night at King River rest area. We set up at 10.30 am and this will be the earliest we have come off the road for awhile and had a cappuccino.
While Liz stripped the bed I hauled out the washing machine and generator and the awning and then it full on, that is, until we heard the sound of a Mr Whippy van. We are still some 46 kilometres short of Katherine and to hear this sound warrants the purchase of a double and single cone. Who had the double cone I wonder.
At noon it was a pleasant 26 degrees with a cooling sou/easter blowing.
Well that it for the day other than set up the satellite dish to watch the Marngrook football show tonight and cook a chicken and all the baked things in the Baby Q for our evening meal.
Kilometres travelled 229

Friday the 27th of June
The Baby Q cooked our chicken last night just right and moist in the meat, there was enough left for a salad tonight. This morning I walked down to where the wet lands use to be and at the moment they are as dry as a bone. The Brahman cattle were eating the moist grass and when I approached them for a photo they took off. There would have been thirty odd in the herd.
We had our breakfast and was surprised that there were over 30 caravans and motorhome's here last night plus four lots of back packers in motor cars. The morning was bright again and the going was easy though the breeze was just that and not giving any assistance to our travels. We only had to travel 47 kilometres to arrive at Katherine at around 9.30 am. We parked up at the tourist information centre and unhooked Digger and went for a drive around the town.
First to check the price of fuel and then drove out to Katherine hot springs.

We didn't go into the water we will do that on our return journey. There have been a few changes since we were here in 2011 or thereabouts and we drove into the showgrounds and filled our water containers.
Back to the motorhome and then went walkabout in the main street of Katherine. At the moment all the road trains drive up the main street to Darwin and at the moment they are building a bypass for trucks. The streets were clean and I couldn't believe how thin the legs are on the Aboriginals in this area. Down to the Post Office for more stamps and then had a look at the shops and then into Woolworths for a top up of groceries. Now the shopping was easy we did that in under half an hour. Going through the checkout took 45 minutes and there were many disgruntled customers including us. When we checked our docket it has happened again, Woollies overcharged by $1.50 on one item, it never ceases to amaze me how often this happens and I wonder how many people do not check their dockets.
Back to the motorhome and stored the goods and left Digger there whilst we went to the dump point and fueled up again at $1.66.9 cents a litre. Taking on 76 litre's.
We hooked up and even though we know of a place to camp close to town we elected to move on and find a bush camp along the way. The temperature was now 31 degrees and it was even hot in shade.
We stopped before we left the town boundary and had lunch and then moved on. The going was easy though we were climbing many hills and the scenery has changed somewhat to Karsts and other large boulders along the way. There have been many fires lit around the area and the smoke is still hanging about. We believe most of them were controlled burns.
We were looking for a spot we had stopped years and ago and lo and behold they had dug ditches so as you could not get in off the road. We drove another thirty kilometres and found a spot well off the road where we thought no one would see us. It wasn't long before a motorhome came in and stopped dead when they saw us. They fussed about for about five minutes before making up their mind and where they are they can be seen easily from the road.
Well, I have wasted the best part of two hours setting up the satellite dish and do you think I can pin down the satellite. This is the problem the more you travel north the larger the satellite dish needs to be. Unfortunately we have a small dish so it takes longer to find the signal. I gave it away and came inside to do the diary and will try again later for we do not want to miss the football tonight. The temperature at 4.15 pm is 33 degrees in the motorhome with all the windows open to let the breeze pass through. Liz has gone outside to sit in the shade with the fly's
Kilometres travelled 111

Saturday the 28th of June
Well what a turn up after I finished the diary yesterday I went outside to have another go at receiving the satellite signal. After the previous attempting over a two hour period would you believe it took just a minute to get it right. Well you could blow me down with a feather duster when I found it so quick.
We had a motorhome spot us from the highway and they came in and so we invited them for happy hour. Well that happy hour lasted until 8.30 pm this was when I called it quits for we were missing the football game. We could not believe that we were sitting in the dark and around 7.30 pm we heard this enormous howling of a Dingo. We knew it was close and when we shined the light it was less than five metres from us. It frightened the living suitcases out of us and our guests where in a quandary as to what to do. The Dingo took off and then we heard the howling again and then in the distance there was a reply so we can only assume that he had met up with his mates.
This morning was the same as usual another fine cloudless day and at 9 am it was 21 degrees and at 3 pm it was 34 degrees. We said our farewells and then we were on the road and there was a lot more traffic than usual and they seemed to come in blocks and then nothing for a half hour or so. The scenery was great once again with many mountains appearing and two lots of roadwork's that slowed us a bit.
Before we knew it we arrived at Pine Creek and went in for a splash of diesel at $1.68.9 and then onto the post office to mail a get well card to our mate in hospital in Melbourne and then we returned to the Stuart Highway.

Arrangements were made with Liz's niece Lisa and her husband Kim and their three children to have a camping weekend at Douglas hot springs. They drove down from Darwin and we pulled in from the Stuart Highway bound for Douglas hot springs which was some 76 kilometres in.
We arrived before them and pulled out the awning and put down the ground cover and no sooner had that been done they pulled and set up their camp behind us. We had our lunch and then decided to go into the hot springs which really is a slow flowing river.
There are plenty of people laying in the water and in some spots it very hot other spots warm and cold. It is very invigorating so we strolled along the river bed to find the origin of the mineral spring.
We knew we were there for the water was very hot and green and so were the rocks. There were Pandannis Palms in abundance and plenty of birdlife and small fish swimming around oblivious to people in the water. I didn't worry about setting up the satellite dish for we have decided to have a campfire tonight for our barbecue and then to sit around. It is time to relax even though we are only staying overnight. The fire was great and because it was a balmy night we cooked our meal later in the night. There were a few backpackers and they partied well into the night.
When we went off to bed it had cooled so it was comfortable in bed and easy to get off to sleep.
Kilometres travelled 139

Sunday the 29th of June
It was a bit chilly this morning though there was a cacophony of birds sounds including galah's, Whistling Kites and dancing Brolga's plus others unknown. Though noisy it was good to listen to all the different sounds around the camp grounds.
We were out of bed at 7 am and I went for a stroll down to the billabong which has signage indicating that the area is a sacred site and please respect it. Someone needs to tell the backpackers whose camps were there and in the day use only car park. We have struck a lot of this on this trip and whilst not all them are making a mess and leaving it for others to clean up, at least 70% are doing so and camping in prohibited areas.
I noted the steam coming off the water and you could actually see the hot water bubbling up from underground, it is crystal clear and virtually boiling. Back to camp and had breakfast and we were on our way, the last step to arriving in Darwin.

The going was good and you could see plenty of smoke in the distance. The traffic was the densest I have seen to date and there were plenty of caravans all impatient to get wherever.
I was sitting on 90 kilometres an hour and they were passing me as if they wanted to get there yesterday. One caravan stated that I cause accidents doing this speed and he explained I should be doing at least 100 to 105 kph. I informed him that the should relax, slowdown and enjoy the scenery and he replied he had to drive fast due to having a broken spring on the caravan. I made no reply and thought I would see him up the road all smashed up. He had been the only one to moan out of the hundreds of caravans and motorhome's we have come across. I will not travel over 90 kph whilst towing a motor vehicle and that is that. Stiff Cheddar.
We arrived at Adelaide River and pulled into to go look see at the Markets. We wandered around and noted the high prices of things. Liz bought a few trinkets and I went over to the shop and purchased food for our lunch. We sat in the shade and enjoyed our spring roll, chicken dim sims and chips.
After that we walked down to the river and appreciated the cooling breeze coming down through the ravine. Back to the Motorhome and then back on the highway. We were remembering the camping areas we have stopped at in the past like Camoolie Creek which was closed by the caravan park owners. Though we noted one happy camper had set up there and will no doubt be visited by the owner of the caravan park just up the road.
We were approaching the outer limits to Darwin and on to double lane highway which made it easier for everyone and before we knew it we were at Palmerstone which is only some 20 to 30 kilometres from Darwin central.
We are going to stay with Kim and Lisa for a few days so we drove into Durack and set up on their front lawn. At the moment it is 30 degrees with a little humidity and I am wiping away the sweat and drinking iced water, inside the motorhome it is 32 degrees.
Well outside now to enjoy the surroundings and the company with a another barbeque happening again tonight plus the normal happy hour.
Kilometres travelled 192

Monday the 30th of June
Slept with only a sheet covering us last night with the overnight temperature at 15 degrees. We are parked amongst palm trees at Durack a suburb of Palmerstone which is some 20 kilometres from the business centre of Darwin. Before breakfast I went for a walk around the series of ponds that back onto the golf course and they are absolutely beautiful with colourful water lily's and birdlife including the screeching Corella's. There were normal wild duck and another black and white which look like ducks, though I have not seen this type before. When you ask locals what breed they are they just say "They are ducks"
At 10 am the temperature is 25 degrees with a pleasant cooling breeze among the palm trees. We are thankful for the opportunity to stay with Kim and Lisa for a few days before starting our way back home via Queensland, their hospitality is very welcome and appreciated. We will just tour around Darwin in Digger and go to the Mindle markets this thursday night, no doubt we will visit area's and attractions that we have enjoyed in past years.

We hopped into Digger and headed off to the Casuarina Shopping Centre which contains all the major stores and around two hundred specialty stores. The traffic was heavy and we were relying the GPS in Digger to get us there.
Not a problem until we turned on to Vanderlen Drive and half away along the police were redirecting due to a major accident, so we diverted to Macmillan drive which we recalled from some time ago. The GPS was trying to divert us in another direction which I ignored and finally we arrived at the Casuarina Square which is the main shopping centre in the area.
The shopping centre is huge with Coles and Kmart plus Targets and Woolworths and the Big W plus in excess of two hundred specialties stores. There was plenty of tiered parking spaces so we parked digger up and entered this large shopping complex. It among other things contains a medical centre and dentistry centre. It was time for Liz to be tested for her wolfram levels so we went into the medical centre and they made an appointment for her to be tested at 2 pm.
It was lunch time so we went into the food hall and they catered for all tastes in keeping with the huge multi cultural population that Darwin is renowned for. We decided to stay away from the spicy food on offer and not being adventurous today we settled for a Subway with Liz having a six inch and me a twelve inch. We then searched out a hairdresser for Liz to have a haircut and found there was a waiting list of 15 people so we decided to return after the doctors appointment.
We had a look at the various stores and finally made purchases at the Big W and Kmart. Back to the doctors and Liz's results were excellent and then on for the haircut which cost $26 with the seniors discount.
Then on two the coffee lounge were we had a cappuccino and then into Digger and drove down to the Drystone Cliffs in the Casuarina Reserve. The views were excellent with the varying colours of the cliffs and the sandy beaches, though the tide was out. We could see many people walking the beaches well away from the water due to crocodiles in area and you could see many ships anchored out in the harbour.
We then headed back for home with temperature being 30 degrees though this would cool down during the evening. The barbecue was lit and we cooked our meal and ate under the roof on the deck looking out at the ponds where the water Lily's were still flowering and the ducks were feeding. I have been told that small Barramundi have been released into the ponds though it would be hard to spin for them due to all the Lily's near the banks.
We sat outside under the veranda and enjoying the stars and the cooling breeze before going in to watch television and later retiring for the night after such a good day.

July