The wet has hit....

We woke up today to the sound of rain - it started around 6.30am and was just tapering off at around 9.40 am. We have been waiting for the 'wet season' to begin and now it has.. and how! I have NEVER seen rain like this - a torrential downpour that just kept coming. It was so loud in the caravan - even the kids were up and awake by 7am and it's a Sunday! Good thing I thought to pack my wellingtons and a huge umbrella (the umbrella I share, other than that, I'm right Jack lol. The guys have to tough it out until they get their own.) We needed them this morning. Even a thirty metre dash to the loos proved hazardous due to the slippery patches of mud lol. I did the splits at one stage as I dashed back to the safety of the caravan. 

I watched in amusement as poor people around us here at the park started gathering their stuff to bring indoors, most drenched to the bone, a few forward thinkers, doing it in their bathers. The good news is it's beautifully cool. How long that lasts, who knows. But its mid-morning and still really nice outside. We are heading out to the Palmerston water park this morning (the huge slide doesn't open until 11am) so at least there won't be a blazing sun for a change.

We have made good friends with two guys in their mid-twenties who are tenting in the next spot to us. Paz and Billy. They live in Melbourne and every wet season they head up this way to catch the excess of work. While Chris was out getting some tarps from Bunnings this morning (to block off the sides of the awnings to help stop the rain coming in sideways) poor Paz came over looking bedraggled lol. His tent was slightly flooded and he was desperate for a cup of tea. He ended up having breakfast with us. You got to take pity on the poor kids. These two are doing it hard. 

We haven't done much this week apart from visit water parks, a bit of exploring and just generally living life albeit from a caravan park. Chris has spent hours scouring the net for work (there's a fair bit up here. The backpackers are nicking off because of the wet season and not many people, according to those who live here) want to stay here and work if they are not a local. So it's out there. It's just that everything takes forever to process. Weeks even. Depending on the bites, we will wait for Mitch to arrive (Tuesday next week) and if we don't have much going on by then, we will hang on for a few more days to show him around, then scarper east. 

Will let you know how the work side of things pan out....

The water parks here in Darwin are amazing - and free! As you can imagine - we have spent a LOT of time hanging around them. They are a great relief from the heat of the day. This one in Leander has an enormous pool, these water slides and covered picnic areas. The small kids have an amazing water playground too (though the big kids - aka me and the boys have been known to have fun on them too.)

This red water slide goes super fast. You double up on a blue raft and hurl down at an alarming speed. The scariest part of it is that most of the tunnel is blacked out. Chris and I tried it out together and I sat in front but I wasn't quick enough to lie back down when we hit the light (I was yelling my head off almost the whole way down with Chris laughing his head off at my antics lol..) and when we hit the end - I popped out of the raft like a cork in a bottle, sliding along the edge and earning myself a huge bruise on my right thigh. Ouch!

This little guy was found and made himself at home in our caravan for a bit. We let him go in the gardens..

A harbor shot just outside Darwin - Look at that sky!

We went fishing for the first time since landing here. This is Fishermans' Wharf. The guys didn't catch much but we still had fun, staying until dark. On the way home we went through and had a look at the city all lit up like a Christmas tree. One street - Mitchell Street, was soooo busy. There's restaurant after restaurant of every description and they were bustling.

Shot of Darwin as the sun was going down - taken from the wharf. 

Perfection on the water

Jake mucking around - no explanation needed lol.

That's it for now. Things are ticking along nicely and tomorrow another week starts. Will try and blog again soon when I have a few more interesting things to add. Bye for now xx

Darwin

Hellooooo from Darwin,

What a beautiful city. What a hot city. We arrived in Darwin two nights ago and parked ourselves in a caravan park just on the outskirts of the city in a place called Howard Springs. I have to say it was a shock once we started driving around again to encounter traffic lights lol. You don't realise how nice it is just to be able to move freely around, then you hit a city and are confronted by fumes, and traffic snarls and lights. Ack! That said, I do like it here. Darwin is a really pretty city. Loads of gorgeous parks and nooks to explore and the city itself really reminds me of a condensed version of Perth. I've heard people say you can't get lost in Darwin. I guess the city is easy enough to navigate but the outskirts? Another story. There's plenty of signage around but it's tricky getting from A to B when you are new in town. We have only got lost once (Chris will say he wasn't lost just misplaced....) and we found our way back after taking the long way through Palmerston. 

All good this end though. The weather is hot and humid and we haven't seen much rain as of yet - though they tell me it's coming. Today, particularly this afternoon feels like it has the potential to rain. It's humid, the insects are going nuts and while there's a slight coolish breeze the clouds are closing in. I wish it WOULD rain - it might cool things down a bit. 

Just a quick post today with some pics we have taken over the past few days. Not much (yet) to show but more will come as we get out more and more and explore. 

 Another beautiful sunset - but we all know what that means with a sun and sky looking like that. Yup another hot day to follow.

 

 These signs are everywhere and you have to take note up the top end. 

 Cheeky Ibis strolls in to see whats around to eat (thanks Shell for the name of the bird - I sent you a pic because if anyone knows birds and flower names it's you, lol)

 Riley draws a crowd of them when he starts handing out bits of bread.

 We are spending a bit of time in the caravan park pool...(yes another shot of a pool - I know, must stop putting these in... but they are so inviting!)

 The great Fridge Festival is on at the moment in Darwin...loads of old fridges are repainted and then a theme is added. These are everywhere around the city right now. This one was at Wave Lagoon where we went  yesterday and since everybody loves a mermaid.. had to get a pic.

Wave Lagoon. A really great place to take the kids, big and small!. Wasn't too expensive at all - around 15 dollars for the family for two plus hours and that's enough time, believe me. The waves hit you for 20 minutes straight and there's no respite! Then they turn off for ten minutes to calm waters only have a siren sound and everyone rushes back in lol. The waves might not be high but they are strong (the left side more than the right) and there are complimentary pink and blue blow up donuts and boogey boards - just help yourself and body surf to the front.... rinse, repeat, do all over again. Only grizzle about this fantastic place is that there is no covering from the sun. We all got burned (the boys more than me...) and boy, was I sore this morning from the constant battling of the waves. Fun and good exercise too!

 Finished at the Lagoon Wave we contemplated what to do next?

 The view of the wave lagoon from the park next door.

 More fridges -  imagination runs riot.This is the inside of the one Riley is peering into above. It's a hospital theme complete with an operation going on lol.

 Government house - it's huge! And really majestic. And quite pretty too.

 One busy street in Darwin....

 Heading up towards one of the parks. Very pretty. 

That's it for me now.. 
'Till next time. 
Seeya
(PS Oi! Is anyone going to leave me a comment... come on already lol.) xxx 

Katherine

Hiya,

We ended up only staying the one night at Timber Creek. It was a great little town but sometimes it's just to hot to stick around (41 degrees on the day we left - yuck!) and to be honest, there wasn't a lot to do there. 

We have spent a fair bit of time with our new friends, Robbie and Gail. We all traveled together from Timber Creek (after meeting up again at Lake Argyle) to here in Katherine, booking into the same caravan park (adjoining lots right next to one another) and just hanging out. We tend to do our own thing during the day (which is really nothing more than vegging out or the odd trip into town - we all needed a rest from the sightseeing) and every night after dinner have either joined them at their caravan or ours for drinks usually crashing out about 11pm. We did get together Friday night at the camp kitchen to have a bbq together and that was fun.

The one thing we have done a lot of here in Katherine is visit the hot springs. The caravan park we are at has direct access to them. A walk of about 300 metres though the back gate and downhill gets us there and they are really pretty.  I had a vision of the hot springs being about the size of a spa but they're not. They actually loop around and join up to the river (which you don't go near!) They are a constant 32 degrees so no matter what time you swim, it's a treat. There are two good size pools where most people gather with lots of canals joining one to the other, but no matter where you end up, there up are people of all nationalities just lazing about. The kids usually head down there before lunch to climb the sides and do bombies from the tarzan swing with Chris and I joining them after and we easily spend hours talking to new people and just enjoying the atmosphere. 

 Above - all different views of the Katherine Hot Springs.

 Riley, Mason and Jake in one of the main pools.

 The bigger of the two rapids. Not huge but quite powerful in their pull.

 Chris being entertained by one of the locals.

 Jubana (L) and Mikkey (two k's lol... he took great pains to tell me that.)

 The kids literally spend hours climbing up the sides here and swinging from the Tarzan rope. This is Riley just hitting the water and Jake about to have another turn.

 The 2nd set of rapids where we spend most of our time. Like I said, they are not huge by any standard by they are strong. If you don't get a hand and foothold under the water they will carry you away to the edge of the pool lol. Been there, done that. This is Mason relaxing.

 Poddie is on the left, Nayla on the right. These two kids were just gorgeous. They are cousins. Little Nayla played possum I think - pretending she wasn't a strong swimmer. She first clung to Chris then spent an hour or more with me hanging on and just playing around, clinging to my neck as though her life depended on it. She was a little charmer lol.

Me with Nayla again and a little boy who I can't remember his name. The kids are always happy to have their picture taken. 

So that's it for me today. Just a short one. Tomorrow we say a sad farewell to Robbie and Gail who head off towards Alice Springs as we make our way to Darwin. We plan on staying a while, hopefully finding some work to supplement this trip. It's quite an expensive journey. Mitchell our oldest son joins us on the 6th of November - can't wait. He is flying to Darwin to join us on the trip for the few months. We just booked his ticket last night. Whooo, hurry up the next three weeks...

Bye for now
Carolyn and Crew xx
  

Holy Croc!

Hi there,

Well, we have had a few eventful days, that's for sure. The guys DID go out to Ivanhoe's Crossing and tried their best to catch some Barramundi - but instead got a couple of massive catfish. They threw them back since we still have a few fish in the freezer left over from Broome and we don't want to take more than we can use.

The night before we left Kununurra we wandered down to the banks of the Ord River and went night croc spotting. There were some Freshies (fresh water crocs - the salt water ones are called Salties...) Anyway, Chris and I took a flashlight and there in the water were shiny eyes. We saw about three in the water. They were in there all right. Before we knew it there were a few other people doing the same thing. You always keep your wits about you, but blundering around in the dark with just a torch shows you that they can sneak up on you without a sound lol. We turned around and there was a little one behind us and it took about three seconds to compute the fact and hot foot it out of there, the kids hot on our tail.

Sneaky crocs in the water - all you see are the glowing eyes just like a cat. Only orange.

We left Kununarra for Lake Argyle at 9.30am. There is nothing at Lake Argyle but a caravan park but we needed to stop for the night because it was going to be a long trek to the next place (Timber Creek where we are right now) and also because this caravan park is the last West Australian stop before you go over the border to the Northern Territory. And I really wanted to see and swim in the  infinity pool. The pool overlooks Lake Argyle and it's incredibly beautiful. Very very cool.

The drive into Lake Argyle

The pool at night. They put these beautiful purple and blue lights on - it was dark by about 5.45pm and we all had a swim. Again.... nothing else much to do when you're in the middle of nowhere. 

 Below are some shots of the Lake Argyle dam. We took a drive, went up to the lookout and checked out the river/dam. 

A shot of the river from the bridge connecting the dam to the mainland. 

 Panoramic shot of Lake Argyle as of from the lookout.

 The dam...

Down by the ramp - the guys decided not to put the boat in - too many crocs and this madman went for a swim in the lake.

The guys exploring the boat ramp area..

The lake again - and it's not very clear but that grey line at the bottom of the hill on the left is the water line when the rains hit and the lake rises.

These are all views of various parts of Lake Argyle from the lookout to the dam.

This is a croc catcher - there is a 2 meter croc terrorising these waters and this has been set up to catch and relocate him/her.

Another 'freshie' in the waters just down from where the boat ramp was - and that guy was swimming. EEK.....

We managed to catch up with Rob and Gail again at Lake Argyle after making loose plans. Because we had stayed that extra night at Kununurra I thought perhaps we had missed them (but would probably catch up with them again at Katherine, which is on both our agendas.) They had stayed a few days at Lake Argyle so it all worked out well. We got together last night for drinks and blowing off the 10pm curfew lol... drank quite a bit. And laughed a lot. 

This morning for me was exciting. We were finally out of W.A. and into the Northern Territory - somewhere I've never been before. Actually, apart from Chris who came here as a teen, none of us have been here before. It was a weird feeling. You drive the 32k's back from the Lake Argyle Caravan Park, turn right and 7kms later you cross the border - and are an hour and half ahead time wise. We turned our clocks to midday as we blew through. 

Chris forgot to slow down as we passed the sign lol... so if you look closely, we are a second away from entering the N.T.

We drove 225kms today to get to Timber Creek. This place is like nothing we have ever seen before. You drive and drive and you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere, then suddenly there's this little town is in front of you. It is really small yet it feels like you're somewhat back in civilisation. There are actually 2 caravan parks (we have forgone the free camping for a while - it's wayyyy to hot and right now we need a pool at hand - where you tend to spend a lot of time in because of this heat - and air-conditioning of course is a must lol. Everyone we meet says the same thing - no free camping up here - way too hot.) So, after saying goodbye to Rob and Gail at Lake Argyle here we are - by mutual agreement - together again at Timber Creek Caravan Park. 

The first thing we notice is that there is no-one else here. Chris and I and the kids have the run of the place and we get to choose our own spot to set down the caravan. Luckily, though the park is smallish there is a massive canopy of trees which provide LOTS of shade. By the time we set up, Gail and Rob have arrived, then another couple who introduce themselves and join us as well. 

This park has a river running along side it. And bats - thousands of fruit bats which smell something awful and crocodiles in the river. We had fun checking it all out and then went down and watched the crocs being fed. Below are the pictures.

 The bats - thousands of them! They fly from one tree to the next in a wave - the racket they make is unbelievable and the smell.... whew. At we first got out of the car at the park we thought the lingering smell was from fruit that was dropping from the trees that had fermented. Wandering down to the river and the bats - we quickly changed our mind. It pongs - like a wee smell - to a heavy musky smell. Not too pleasant.

Rob on the far left, Jo and Peter. Just met them this afternoon. Nice couple who have been telling us all stories about Alice Springs and what its like to travel the middle of Australia. 

 Gail and the boys at their campsite. 

This is a video that I shot this afternoon. They feed the crocs here at 5pm and it was fantastic. We also had the first of the 'wet season' hit us today. Again, just magic. When we arrived we pulled up to 41degree heat... that's hot and draining. A few hours later the thunder started, the willie-willies were in full force, we had about three in the park alone, and the smell of rain was in the air. Then it hit. The temperature immediately dropped about 10 or more degrees and its now 8pm and its cooler still. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings (I'm hoping we head to Katherine as the cupboards are bare and I want to get to the hot springs. I might be fighting an uphill battle though as the guys want to stay another night. May the best man - or woman - win!)


Before I go, Happy Birthday for tomorrow Mum. xxxx Thinking of you and missing you. Hope you get spoiled. You deserve it :)