12 months off

We have been a little slack recently in keeping the blog up to date so here is a quick summary:

We ventured to Sky City in October to join in the Otoberfest Festivities- what a hoot!!

Chris and Bear joined us up until Chris got booted out (but we promised not to tell his mum that)!

Phil came up for a visit and seemed to bring with him some really warm weather. He valiantly battled on though and we managed to keep cool enough with a few swims and plenty of white wine.

We spent the weekend at Batchelor and spent Saturday swimming in the Buley Rockholes and having a look at Florence Falls.

Since we last wrote we have both become Territorians (in as much as we can) by transferring our driver's licences to the NT and registering our wagon up here as well.
Our positions up here have both been extended into 2012 and we have been given extended leave from both our jobs in SA. So the journey looks set to continue.
Take care,
J&D

Since our last update there has been a definite change in the weather- the temperature and the humidity is slowing creeping up and whilst no one is officially saying its the start of the build up, we have certainly noticed the difference. And the great thing about it is we are now back in the pool!!

We have had a couple of visitors in the past month. Ben and Heidi dropped in for a few days on their way to Bali. It was great to catch up with them and share some great SA wine!

My cousin Chris and his mate Ben also arrived from NSW. While talking to them on the phone we realised they had booked into the same caravan park as us so organising a catch up was pretty easy.

At the end of August we visited Gunbalanya ( a community in West Arnhem Land). One day a year they hold an Open Day which allows people to visit without the usual permit. It was just an incredible day. We stayed in Jabiru the night before and it meant an early start to get across the river at low tide but it was worth it to see the sunrise.

The Art Gallery had paintings and baskets for sale, spear making for those who wanted to and a spear throwing competition.

The cooking in the ground oven was terrific. The yams tasted quite delicious. There was also magpie geese and fish to try.

There was a footy comp on the town oval. We were hoping to watch the grandfinal at the end of the day but we were still up Injalak Hill.

The highlight of the day was definitely the walking tour of Injalak Hill. The views from the top were spectacular and the rock art (some of which was 8000 years old) was simply awesome. Our guide, Simon was quietly spoken and had the most amazing Dreaming stories to share. Our 2hour tour ended up being nearly 4 hours long!

There are plenty of other photos in the gallery.
Till next, J & D

Hi Everyone, This is just a quick one to fill you in on the past couple weeks.

The day of the cup finally arrived and it was a great day- lots of sunshine and a great atmosphere and even though they ran out of drinking water, there was enough champagne and beer to keep us cool. We didn't pick the winner of the cup but we did manage to choose the second and third horse over the line and we won enough during the day between us to keep us going back to the bookie.
Enjoy the photos and don't forget to check out the photo gallery on the right for more!

Danny, Jac and Ken all ready to go

Danny and Jac at the general admission marquee

Danny and Jac in the Darwin Life Glam Marquee

Last weekend was much more low key. We spent it at Douglas Hot Springs which is south west of Adelaide River. It is a stunningly beautiful part of the world and how great it is being able to loll about in the water and not have to look for crocs at the same time! Some areas really were too hot to stand in and others quite cool. The trick was to find a spot where the temperature was just right and then sit back and let the water (and fish) swirl past. Beats me how the fish didn't get poached on the way through but I guess they knew how to keep to the cooler channels.

Steam rising in the early morning

Termite mounds on the way home from Douglas Hot Springs

Bins at the campground

RIP CHARLIE

This week we said goodbye to Charlie. He was put down on Thursday suffering badly from cancer in his liver. We miss him!

Hi Everyone, The 'cool' weather of the Dry Season just keeps on coming and it seems like everyone is outside at the moment. The mozzies have disappeared, the humidity has gone and it's just great being out and about. Danny rode his bike into the city the other week and had a look at the Beer Can Regatta. We just can't get our head around drinking beer in cans so we would have struggled to get an entry together although it looked like for some of them it was no trouble at all!

On July 1st, we celebrated Territory Day- what a hoot! It wasn't actually a public holiday but for one day only fireworks can be purchased and set off anytime between 6pm and 11pm (which in reality meant until 3am and for a few weeks following)! We went to the Dripstone Cliffs with Sam and Ken, had fish and chips on the clifftops and enjoyed watching everyone else's extravagent displays (one group near us even choreographed their fireworks). Ken bought us a few and we set them off on the beach before heading home. And yes those sunsets really are that fabulous.

The real highlight of the past month though has been our trip to Cooinda. It has been ages since we got out of Darwin for the weekend (due to all our house sitting commitments) so we were very much looking forward to packing up and heading off last weekend. We drove along the Arnhem highway to Jabiru and then down to Cooinda and of course we did it Grey Nomad Style at 90kms an hour so it took us most of the day! In the morning we headed down to the Yellow Waters Billabong for the sunrise cruise (getting up pre sunrise was a bit of an effort but well worth it).

We decided this cruise was probably the best one we have done so far (and we have managed to fit a few in, in the last few months)! The changing colours of the sunrise were beautiful, the abundance of wildlife was spectacular and the gentleness of the water so peaceful. It almost impossible to choose just a few photos to share with you but here goes!

We did get caught out a bit here with the amount of mozzies that were on the water pre sunrise. We were so busy slapping our legs, arms wwe could barely stay still to take any photos. Thankfully they disappeared once the sun was up.

these little guys didn't realise that just out of the shot lurked a croc sitting very still in the water looking very much like a mound of mud

Paul Arnold does a lot of photography in the top end and produces calendars and books for the tourists. We came across him pottering around on the billabong as well.

This weekend is the Darwin Cup and the extra day off will be much appreciated. (Mind you we had a long weekend last weekend for the Darwin Show so we can't really complain). We are off to dinner tonight at the restaurant in the Caravan Park. Once a month they do a degustation menu with matching wines which is a bit of fun and a chance to mingle with some of the other caravan park residents. It is really buzzing here at the moment with up to 1700 people staying in the park every day.

Hope you are all well,
Till next time J & D

Well it’s been a month since our last report and we have had a very busy time with trips to the Mary River and Litchfield Conservation Park. We’ve done a bit of work, watched a movie outdoors under the stars, visited Mindil Beach Markets and experienced the real start of The Dry Season. I have been working now for 3 weeks and have been fortunate enough to find a great company and people to be associated with (no offence Theo). Since I have started work there has been a cooking contest (as part of the Biggest Morning Tea), work drinks, a birthday party to attend and a golf day.

All set to head off to Lindsay's 1950's dress up party!

One of the constants we both keep hearing about is the cold snap we are experiencing in Darwin. We are up to 14 nights in a row where the overnight temperature has been below 20 °C – and there is no end in sight. The day temps are still 29-30 °C but in the coming days that is expected to drop to 26 or 27. Everybody is talking about it!

A couple of weeks ago we took a drive out towards Kakadu to the Mary River National Park to see the jumping crocodiles and see some more of the surrounding countryside. Large areas are still under water and it was obvious where the water had risen to, particularly on the roads which are being worked on to repair pot holes and ruts left by the long wet. The Jumping Croc Cruise was great and thanks to a tip from those who had ventured there before us we were seated in prime viewing seats – hence the picture below.

The following weekend we ambled down the Stuart Hwy to the Litchfield National Park which was truly magnificent. We had plans of driving all over the place to see as much as possible but never ventured any further than Buley Rockhole, which is the first water hole inside The Park. Thanks to the longer than normal wet season the flows through the swimming holes are still quite strong and the water deep. We found the best time to swim was early or later in the day when the crowds had gone because when a tour bus pulled in and unloaded 20 people the area got crowded. There is still much to see at Litchfield so expect more photos in due course.

We have only a few days of house sitting to go before we are back into the wagon again. We are currently looking after a pup for some friends of friends (and the house also) which has been quite entertaining. We cannot leave anything within reach and we soon found that the tv advert with the pup and the toilet roll does not go on to show the end result when he has chewed it to bits and carefully spread it over every inch of the floor. But still, we have taught him to fetch a ball in two weeks which puts another dog we know to shame (even though we still miss him).

To all those who are wondering, the Darwin Cup is not on until August 1st so we have some time in which to condition ourselves appropriately. There is plenty on in the coming weeks and this weekend is the Glenti Greek Festival (which we will be attending in order to get our fill of spit roasted lamb and baklava). Tomorrow night we are off to the Casino Lawns for a picnic concert to watch Grace Knight . We imagine it will be easy to spot the difference between the locals and the tourists like ourselves at these events. Those who have been here for a while will be wearing ugg boots and beanies, those of us who are not yet acclimatised will be wearing shorts and sun cream. Well that’s all for now as I am getting cold and have to go and find a Tee shirt to put on.

Hope you are all well,