Kununurra
Hi Guys, here we are in sunny Kununurra. Actually it has been cool, even had to pull up the doona of a night time. Everyone seems to be catching up with us as we hang around the area, as there is really only one way to get across from NT to the west coast of WA.
We did a day run around the area while dad worked for Horizon Energy. Out to Ivanhoe Crossing which is a barrage at the bottom of the Ord River for a spot of fishing. It is a causeway about 100m long with about 2 foot of water flowing over it every day of the week. No fish this time. Back into town and checked out the Lovell Art Gallery which after plenty of moaning from the kids and Julie as to why we were there, everyone was gob smacked about what was hanging on the walls. They had a painting of the Bungle Bungles that was about 10m long and 3m high which took the artist twenty years to finally finish. If you were allowed to take a photo it could not give a true idea of how this painting looks. Brilliant, and a must see. I had to drag them out of there about an hour later.
We went to the top of Kelly’s Knob lookout to view around the area and down over the local indigenous community drinking and partying away at the bottom, legless at twelve o’clock on a Wednesday. We’ve been up and down the main streets of town plenty of times already (there are only 2, plus some industrial and housing areas). Looks like we might be hanging around for a while for work will let you know.
I dragged everyone out of bed early on Saturday so we could do a run up to Wyndham which we have read is well worth the visit. Don’t believe what you read. This is probably the worst place I have ever been to. What an absolute dive. A shop, a post office, a pub, a police station and various run down dumps that are supposed to pace off as housing. Stop for a quick brake in the only green area in town where Julie almost trip over a dark brother sleeping in the kerb near where we just pulled in. She had to go to the toot but decided she could hang on as the public loo was surrounded by brothers and sisters having a smoke, a drink and a sleep. “Get me out of here”, was the consensus. Still the areas out of town were great, like the huge old Prison Tree, The Murglu Billabong with hundreds of birds and The Grotto. Made up for the wasted petrol.
Have been told a meaning of some abbreviations of the couple of states we have just been through. NT (Northern Territory) means – Not today, not tomorrow, not Tuesday and not Thursday WA (Western Australia) means –Wait awhile
Both of these tend to relate to the postal system, which everyone seems to have a problem with a one point or another.
We have been asked by GN’s as we tour around how you manage to live in a 27ft box on wheels with two kids in tow and still seem to be happy enough and not totally insane. Well Julie drinks, so that helps her out a bit, especially after five hours of schoolwork with Jack. Amazing how a ten year old can push someone over the edge and me well “She’ll be right”.
So here is some Van Etiquette
1: Try not to cook inside the van as this just makes everyone hot which makes for cranky people, especially when the smoke alarm isn’t removed (David)
2: If you are in bed, don’t throw yourself around like you are in a washing machine (Tayla) as your home is on wheels and does seem to rock and roll and will come loose of the wheel chocks if you are not careful, and start rolling into the van behind you
3: The fridge is not to help cool your lower parts, keep the door shut (Jack)
4: If you have to use the inside toilet, sit down as most people’s aim isn’t as good as they think especially when your bowl is the size of a Tupperware container
5 : You can have relationships with your other half, but you first have to wait for the teenagers to be asleep and then relate back to point number 4, also ensure your wheels are well greased or you end up with plenty of grins from your neighbours in the morning
6: Space in the van can also be related back to weight. Less is more ladies. You don’t need ten pairs of shoes and clothes for every event you can think of. A pair of shorts, a shirt, a hat and a pair of thongs will get you through most of the social gatherings you will be taking part in ( You are trailer trash don’t forget)
7: Water is of a premium at times, so keep your showers down to ten seconds to get wet, turn off water, and soap up, ten seconds to wash off, get out. If this can be done quicker it will be appreciated, Jack has it down to a fine art, washing his bits and that’s it
8 : Remember you are in a van, there will be people around you, silky curtains don’t hide a lot as you walk past them with the lights on inside (as I was witness to when the lovely eighty year olds beside us decided to parade past her window in her well worn birthday suit)
9: If you are going to pee outside of a night time don’t be surprised to be flashed by some ones torch or spotlight just when you are in full flow
10: While driving from one site to another keep the questions to a minimum to the driver. Like, are we there yet? Where are we going? Do we have to do school work? Can I have a drink? Can I go to the toilet? Can I have something to eat? (JACKSON)
So in answer to most of the questions asked about living full time with the family in tow, it does have its moments but the good far out way the bad. Wouldn’t trade this life for anyone else’s at this stage. Love to everyone back in reality town and wish we could see you all sooner rather than later, but unfortunately that won’t happen this year. Thinking of you all between beers and fish.
Love the Wattevas
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Kakadu to Kununurra
Kakadu – Kununurra
We are here. We finally made it to Western Australia. Only took 18 months, but we got here, and everyone is still alive and kicking. Probably more kicking than alive at times but still going. Still I digress. Last time I left you we were back at the entry to Kakadu.
We made it into the park and decided to spend the night at Merl campground. All our camp books and literature from the information centres showed free campsites and sites that would cost $10/family per night. As we have found with the Northern Territory, that seems to mean jack s^*t. Seems the Aboriginal tribe that now owns and runs the Kakadu region put their prices up two weeks ago and don’t have to tell the rest of the world, it’s just your problem mate. You are here now, what are you going to do? So our first night cost $20. Now I know these aren’t big sums of dollars, but when you convert it back to 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every dollar spent on accommodation soon starts to add up, especially when unlike your standard Grey Nomad, we have four in the car instead of two. For your own information, there are no free camp sites in Kakadu anymore, and as of next year you have to pay an extra $25 per vehicle per week just to enter the park. This revenue is on top of the fact that all the established businesses in Kakadu are now owned by the Aborigines, including townships, several caravan parks, the tourist information centre, the croc boat cruises ($95/person and always full), the art sites, the trees you look at, the dirt you walk on, the grass you dare to spend the night on. All this on top of the Government handouts for being of native descent (I was born in Australia but that doesn’t make you a native), not having been able to go to school (we are doing home schooling, why can’t they) and owning a dog (you get $10/dog per week). Unlike many of the GN’s on the road, I am not racist, but am starting to learn how you could become so, not that it is the aborigines fault, but the Australian government in their apparent wisdom has over the years created this stigma between the two cultures, and until you travel in these areas you just don’t realise how bad it has become.
Anyway, I got off track there for a moment (I think I was channelling Mum & Dad). Kakadu itself has been portrayed to us as Kakadont, but really that is unfair to this part of OZ. It really is a beautiful place with plenty of wildlife, flora and natural features around the area to keep you interested. Four wheel drive tracks, crocodiles and FISHING, and movie site observation areas. Remember Croc Dundee, we found the place he walked Linda up to on the cliffs to look down into Rapid Creek where he was attacked by the croc, the place he had a shave, and the water hole where Linda showed her assets in that little G-string swimsuit (what do you mean she has cellulite Jules, what is cellulite? All I saw was a hot butt). Now yes there are prettier parks out there, but I think this really is a place everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. Even if it is going to cost you more to do it in the future ............... sorry, channelling again.
We ended up spending four days in Kakadu, before heading out and back down to Katherine. We really did loved the place, heaps of bushwalks, loads of birdlife, waterholes to swim in and doctored up aboriginal art. Sorry, channelling again.
Just for the hell of it, and because fuel was $1.80/lt out at Kakadu, we tried to see how far we could get on the two tanks of fuel. I said we could make it to Katherine, but Jules wasn’t so sure. Still I was driving, so majority rules. About thirty kilometres out of town I started to worry as we had been on the sub tank with the light on for the past 20 kms. Still we managed to pull into the caravan park and the motor was still going. No problems, right. The next day Dad & I go to work for Power & Water and leave the rest of the clan to get to town in the very low on fuel Toyota. She be right Jules, you’ll get to town no worries at all. Get a phone call that afternoon. You ba$%^*d, we didn’t make it. Oh dear, sorry about that darl, lucky there was a jerry can of fuel on the roof. So now we know how many kilometres we can get out said vehicle, we won’t have to do that again.
Out of Katherine and onto the border. Stayed at a couple of rustic free camps on the way there. Well the sites were alright, but it seems NT doesn’t like to maintain their toilet facilities. First one was good during the day but at night the solar vents didn’t work, and with the mixture of very full toilets and heat, the methane levels coming up from seat as you are doing your business, at the least brought tears to your eyes and at best knocked you out completely. The second stop had something different in that there was no smell but as one is squatting on the throne you get a weird buzzing sensation around your never regions as the flies try to exit the loo at the same time you are taking a seat. Still you got to remember Jules, they were free. She just can’t seem to see the same logic for some reason. Women!
Finally we made it to the Western Australian border and after a brief interlude at quarantine, we were allowed entry. YeeaaHHH! Decided to make our first call out to Lake Argyle about 35km before Kununurra, as it was the weekend and the parks in town would be packed. If any of you come this way this is definitely worth the fuel out for the drive. Beautiful! Drive out through mountain gorges, past massive amounts of birdlife, Pandanus trees, strange shaped rock structures and the odd broken down grey nomad. Stayed at the Lake Argyle tourist village. The staffs here really makes the place, it is probably the only park we have been in where you are made to feel like you are wanted to be there, instead of second class trailer trash that should stay one night and get shoved along the next day. Liked the place so much that I even applied for a job there, but still waiting to hear back from the owner. After numerous treks around in the car and by foot, looking at the history, wildlife and the Ord River Dam ( plus an occasional flick of the lures in croc infested waters), we made our way to Kununurra. Jules phoned ahead to the park we were going to stay at and who should answer the phone, but the lady we met back at Daly Waters with the Retreat van that was falling to pieces. They are both working in town and were very grateful for the company after working here for four weeks. As I said we are awaiting a reply from Lake Argyle, but if that doesn’t happen we may still hang around here for a couple of months as there is plenty of work happening around d town and it’s not really that bad a place at this stage. So until next time
CYA
The Wattevas
P.S
Happy Birthday Beck (bloody magpies)
Happy Birthday Uncle Gary
Missing all our fishing, drinking and card playing buddies.
Happy Fathers Day to you all if we aren’t in touch before.
And Happy Birthday to my little tomboy Goddaughter Caitlyn, give those boys hell.
We are here. We finally made it to Western Australia. Only took 18 months, but we got here, and everyone is still alive and kicking. Probably more kicking than alive at times but still going. Still I digress. Last time I left you we were back at the entry to Kakadu.
We made it into the park and decided to spend the night at Merl campground. All our camp books and literature from the information centres showed free campsites and sites that would cost $10/family per night. As we have found with the Northern Territory, that seems to mean jack s^*t. Seems the Aboriginal tribe that now owns and runs the Kakadu region put their prices up two weeks ago and don’t have to tell the rest of the world, it’s just your problem mate. You are here now, what are you going to do? So our first night cost $20. Now I know these aren’t big sums of dollars, but when you convert it back to 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every dollar spent on accommodation soon starts to add up, especially when unlike your standard Grey Nomad, we have four in the car instead of two. For your own information, there are no free camp sites in Kakadu anymore, and as of next year you have to pay an extra $25 per vehicle per week just to enter the park. This revenue is on top of the fact that all the established businesses in Kakadu are now owned by the Aborigines, including townships, several caravan parks, the tourist information centre, the croc boat cruises ($95/person and always full), the art sites, the trees you look at, the dirt you walk on, the grass you dare to spend the night on. All this on top of the Government handouts for being of native descent (I was born in Australia but that doesn’t make you a native), not having been able to go to school (we are doing home schooling, why can’t they) and owning a dog (you get $10/dog per week). Unlike many of the GN’s on the road, I am not racist, but am starting to learn how you could become so, not that it is the aborigines fault, but the Australian government in their apparent wisdom has over the years created this stigma between the two cultures, and until you travel in these areas you just don’t realise how bad it has become.
Anyway, I got off track there for a moment (I think I was channelling Mum & Dad). Kakadu itself has been portrayed to us as Kakadont, but really that is unfair to this part of OZ. It really is a beautiful place with plenty of wildlife, flora and natural features around the area to keep you interested. Four wheel drive tracks, crocodiles and FISHING, and movie site observation areas. Remember Croc Dundee, we found the place he walked Linda up to on the cliffs to look down into Rapid Creek where he was attacked by the croc, the place he had a shave, and the water hole where Linda showed her assets in that little G-string swimsuit (what do you mean she has cellulite Jules, what is cellulite? All I saw was a hot butt). Now yes there are prettier parks out there, but I think this really is a place everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. Even if it is going to cost you more to do it in the future ............... sorry, channelling again.
We ended up spending four days in Kakadu, before heading out and back down to Katherine. We really did loved the place, heaps of bushwalks, loads of birdlife, waterholes to swim in and doctored up aboriginal art. Sorry, channelling again.
Just for the hell of it, and because fuel was $1.80/lt out at Kakadu, we tried to see how far we could get on the two tanks of fuel. I said we could make it to Katherine, but Jules wasn’t so sure. Still I was driving, so majority rules. About thirty kilometres out of town I started to worry as we had been on the sub tank with the light on for the past 20 kms. Still we managed to pull into the caravan park and the motor was still going. No problems, right. The next day Dad & I go to work for Power & Water and leave the rest of the clan to get to town in the very low on fuel Toyota. She be right Jules, you’ll get to town no worries at all. Get a phone call that afternoon. You ba$%^*d, we didn’t make it. Oh dear, sorry about that darl, lucky there was a jerry can of fuel on the roof. So now we know how many kilometres we can get out said vehicle, we won’t have to do that again.
Out of Katherine and onto the border. Stayed at a couple of rustic free camps on the way there. Well the sites were alright, but it seems NT doesn’t like to maintain their toilet facilities. First one was good during the day but at night the solar vents didn’t work, and with the mixture of very full toilets and heat, the methane levels coming up from seat as you are doing your business, at the least brought tears to your eyes and at best knocked you out completely. The second stop had something different in that there was no smell but as one is squatting on the throne you get a weird buzzing sensation around your never regions as the flies try to exit the loo at the same time you are taking a seat. Still you got to remember Jules, they were free. She just can’t seem to see the same logic for some reason. Women!
Finally we made it to the Western Australian border and after a brief interlude at quarantine, we were allowed entry. YeeaaHHH! Decided to make our first call out to Lake Argyle about 35km before Kununurra, as it was the weekend and the parks in town would be packed. If any of you come this way this is definitely worth the fuel out for the drive. Beautiful! Drive out through mountain gorges, past massive amounts of birdlife, Pandanus trees, strange shaped rock structures and the odd broken down grey nomad. Stayed at the Lake Argyle tourist village. The staffs here really makes the place, it is probably the only park we have been in where you are made to feel like you are wanted to be there, instead of second class trailer trash that should stay one night and get shoved along the next day. Liked the place so much that I even applied for a job there, but still waiting to hear back from the owner. After numerous treks around in the car and by foot, looking at the history, wildlife and the Ord River Dam ( plus an occasional flick of the lures in croc infested waters), we made our way to Kununurra. Jules phoned ahead to the park we were going to stay at and who should answer the phone, but the lady we met back at Daly Waters with the Retreat van that was falling to pieces. They are both working in town and were very grateful for the company after working here for four weeks. As I said we are awaiting a reply from Lake Argyle, but if that doesn’t happen we may still hang around here for a couple of months as there is plenty of work happening around d town and it’s not really that bad a place at this stage. So until next time
CYA
The Wattevas
P.S
Happy Birthday Beck (bloody magpies)
Happy Birthday Uncle Gary
Missing all our fishing, drinking and card playing buddies.
Happy Fathers Day to you all if we aren’t in touch before.
And Happy Birthday to my little tomboy Goddaughter Caitlyn, give those boys hell.
Darwin to Kakadu
Darwin – Kakadu
I CAUGHT A BARRA!!!! It’s been about four weeks since we last spoke and a fair bit has happened since then. Darwin is a nice place, might even live there, if it wasn’t so bloody hot. This is supposed to be their cool time but still we had the air con on every night, swam in the pool most days and basically tried whatever we could to keep cool. Not a good time to be in town as it is full of bloody southerners. Funny how the Victorian number plate says “The Place To Be”, and yet all the b@#$!@#s seem to be up here or in North Queensland. Checked out a few of the sights around town in the first week, including the free Cyclone Tracey museum, the underground oil pipelines from WW2, the wharf precinct and all the war memorabilia around this pretty city. They have markets here most days of the week, but the biggest is at Mindil beach where you can get a meal from about thirty different vendors plus all the usual knick knacks.
We tried our hand at a bit of fishing around the area up some of the rivers near the harbour. It is a fishing Mecca for those that enjoy this sport. I caught my first Mangrove Jack, plus plenty of Bream, Finger Marks and some huge Batfish. Not to mention the Mud crabs. Ohhh the Mud crabs. They are bloody huuuuge. Plus you can keep the females up here. There is no size limit on any fish except Barramundi and you can take thirty fish each per day. Of course there is the occasional Croc you have to dodge or keep your distance from as they tend to dwarf Dad’s 12ft tinnie.
As a side note, it would appear you don’t need to use bait to catch these massive Muddies either. Just ask Mum about the way she brought one into the boat. She came back to the caravan park that afternoon a little earlier than expected with two decent sized muddies and her hand wrapped up with bloody bandages. Seems she tried to feed one of her fingers to the muddie as it was coming out of the pot. She kept the finger and the crab, so all went well until the finger stopped being numb and started throbbing for the next week. Oh that’s right, I wasn’t supposed to tell you of this little event.
HEY I CAUGHT A BARRA!
We had a day out at the Coonawarra Naval Base, where Darwin was invited to come along and see the real Sea Patrol less Lisa McCune and her pathetic crew. Was a top free day, got to see how the patrol boats worked and talk to the real members of the Navy. Had a display with their inflatable runabouts, showing how they board a suspect boat. Funny part of the tour was down inside one of the PT boats in the mess room for the junior officers they had Sea Patrol playing. Hope this was just a joke and not what they actually watch. We ran into Pete & Corrine (the couple from Dubbo we’ve been following from one state to the other) and found out they were working on one of the local properties picking cucumbers. We also caught up with Alan & Lynda our friends with the big truck “Highway Hilton” had a lovely dinner on the beach and watched the sun go down.
We did a week’s work for Power and Water (the local Ergon) which paid for the camp fees and some petrol. Tried a few restaurants, visited a few shops, did some more repairs on the vehicle and basically spent more than we earned. Got to stay away from the big cities. If there was a criticism about Darwin, it would be the prices, not so much the basics like groceries and fuel, but the tourist and housing side of things. The caravan parks are expensive ( for what you get) and they don’t have a lot of spare spots, the tourist tours like fishing charters or croc parks don’t hold back either. The house prices to buy or to rent are extravagant on the verge of outpricing Brisbane ($450/week for a two bedroom, one bathroom house).
Still you can find plenty to like about the city to out way the negatives. The people seem friendly, the fishing is great, and the city is not unattractive. The locals up here are right into fitness. Every morning and afternoon you can drive up the main roads in the area and find people running, walking or riding their bikes. The afternoon sunset over the western waters is amazing, as soon as that golden globe hits the water it is gone within 60 seconds. We took to kids to the end of the airport runway, which is in the centre of several suburbs, to watch the F18’s land after flight manoeuvres. Awesome. Tayla didn’t agree, but stiff.
I CAUGHT A BARRA!
We spent a day out touring the out skirts of the city. Swam at the Berry Springs for about an hour. We went to The Territory Park as we had a voucher and it wasn’t that dear. Turned out to be a top idea. All the displays are either in a natural environment or can be viewed inside a cage (where you are in the cage) or through glass. Where going for an hour and ended up staying for five. A must do if you come to this area and love animals and birds. The only drawback is the walking. Of course you could hop on the tram, but you just don’t get the same effect “Do you, Jules?” Checked out Hidden Valley where they hold the annual V8 supercars (missed it by a week, “Bugger hey” says Jules).
We finished our visit to Darwin with a Seafood buffet at Darwin Casino. Crab, prawns, Desserts, fish, oysters, mussels, Desserts, Chinese, Greek, Salads, Desserts all for $22pp and $2.50 schooners. Brilliant.
Of course while you are at a casino you have to have a go a winning a fortune. Luckily the casino gods were on my side that night and I was able to walk away even instead of down a tank of petrol. I almost forgot we were in Darwin in time to see the beer can regatta. An annual event that happens at Mindl beach. A full day of beach games (Jack and Tayla tried the tug-o-war, both lost), markets, fresh food, ironman events and the sailing of the creations made by the locals. They have a year to drink beer and make a boat out of the said cans to carry four people around a laid out course on the waters of Mindl Beach. Yes on the waters where you know there has been and probably will be seen again plenty of crocs and sharks and box jellyfish. Needless to say there is a lot of spotters on the waters and lifesavers galore, plus the occasional chopper to ensure that the fun doesn’t come to an end. The idea is to get around the course as quick as possible without your vessel falling apart either by water, flour and egg bombs or any other sort of sabotage that the other competitors can inflict on you.
I CAUGHT A BARRA!
We pulled out of Darwin after three weeks and made our way towards Kakadu. On the way we had to stop at the Reidy lure factory to see how they are made. It really was interesting to see how they are manufactured by the 7 women working in his factory. It appears that age might be starting to creep up on me. Another tale to appease the missus. Seems Jack borrowed the car keys before going into the tour and gave the keys back to someone. After realising he didn’t have the keys anymore and Julie couldn’t find them in her hand luggage, she calls a handbag, and after an hour of walking around outside and inside the shop and the car park, it was brought to my attention the a might be a F%^$#wit as they appeared to be hanging from my pants right beside my wallet. Of course I pointed out that as my wallet and the keys are about the same thickness and weight it was probably a reasonable mistake to make. I guess a back rub and a couple of beers might be required tonight to soothe the savage beast.
Spent the night at Corrobeeree then did a run out to Shady Camp the following day for a fish. It is supposed to be the place to catch a Barra. If you can’t catch one there then you aren’t meant to catch one. The only drawback is that there are also more crocodiles here per area than anywhere in the world. “She be right Jules, no one has ever been taken here.” So we pull up to the barrage and before we even get a chance to turn off the motor, Jack is yelling bloody huge croc. So we venture out of the car and walk 50 metres to the barrage and thus far have spotted five. Two about three foot, two about six and one at least 14 feet. Bugger! We wander up to the bird hide and look around for ten minutes and spot another ten of varying sizes. S%$t! Still there are fish there. “Let’s give it a go!” “Are you sh#$*ng me?” asks my beloved. She’ll be right, darl. Just a couple of flicks while you watch for the crocs. So you start flicking off the barrage into the fast dropping water. Salt on one side and fresh on the other, and crocs all around. What a buzz. After a half hour of casting, snagging the rocks, losing lures, and watching one cheeky fourteen foot croc pop his head up out of the water ten metres in front of us every now and then, a bloke near us hooked up and pulled in a 74cm Barramundi. “Told you they were there Hon”. So after changing rubbers (lure that is) and three more casts and I hook up on my first ever Barra. After a nice little play (about five minutes worth) I pulled in a 75cm Salt Water Barramundi. Un %$*&ing believable. And the crocs didn’t get it or us, what a bonus. Of course not everyone was happy. Seems the old couple near us had been trying for five days, and I dare to be here half an hour and pull in a snodger. The inhumanity of it all. Bloody Victorians; go back to The Place To Be.
Kakadu is next on the agenda, so I will write next week.
Bye for now
The Wattevas
Love and our thoughts are with those that need it at this time.
And to the rest of you “I CAUGHT A BARRA, did I tell ya?”
I CAUGHT A BARRA!!!! It’s been about four weeks since we last spoke and a fair bit has happened since then. Darwin is a nice place, might even live there, if it wasn’t so bloody hot. This is supposed to be their cool time but still we had the air con on every night, swam in the pool most days and basically tried whatever we could to keep cool. Not a good time to be in town as it is full of bloody southerners. Funny how the Victorian number plate says “The Place To Be”, and yet all the b@#$!@#s seem to be up here or in North Queensland. Checked out a few of the sights around town in the first week, including the free Cyclone Tracey museum, the underground oil pipelines from WW2, the wharf precinct and all the war memorabilia around this pretty city. They have markets here most days of the week, but the biggest is at Mindil beach where you can get a meal from about thirty different vendors plus all the usual knick knacks.
We tried our hand at a bit of fishing around the area up some of the rivers near the harbour. It is a fishing Mecca for those that enjoy this sport. I caught my first Mangrove Jack, plus plenty of Bream, Finger Marks and some huge Batfish. Not to mention the Mud crabs. Ohhh the Mud crabs. They are bloody huuuuge. Plus you can keep the females up here. There is no size limit on any fish except Barramundi and you can take thirty fish each per day. Of course there is the occasional Croc you have to dodge or keep your distance from as they tend to dwarf Dad’s 12ft tinnie.
As a side note, it would appear you don’t need to use bait to catch these massive Muddies either. Just ask Mum about the way she brought one into the boat. She came back to the caravan park that afternoon a little earlier than expected with two decent sized muddies and her hand wrapped up with bloody bandages. Seems she tried to feed one of her fingers to the muddie as it was coming out of the pot. She kept the finger and the crab, so all went well until the finger stopped being numb and started throbbing for the next week. Oh that’s right, I wasn’t supposed to tell you of this little event.
HEY I CAUGHT A BARRA!
We had a day out at the Coonawarra Naval Base, where Darwin was invited to come along and see the real Sea Patrol less Lisa McCune and her pathetic crew. Was a top free day, got to see how the patrol boats worked and talk to the real members of the Navy. Had a display with their inflatable runabouts, showing how they board a suspect boat. Funny part of the tour was down inside one of the PT boats in the mess room for the junior officers they had Sea Patrol playing. Hope this was just a joke and not what they actually watch. We ran into Pete & Corrine (the couple from Dubbo we’ve been following from one state to the other) and found out they were working on one of the local properties picking cucumbers. We also caught up with Alan & Lynda our friends with the big truck “Highway Hilton” had a lovely dinner on the beach and watched the sun go down.
We did a week’s work for Power and Water (the local Ergon) which paid for the camp fees and some petrol. Tried a few restaurants, visited a few shops, did some more repairs on the vehicle and basically spent more than we earned. Got to stay away from the big cities. If there was a criticism about Darwin, it would be the prices, not so much the basics like groceries and fuel, but the tourist and housing side of things. The caravan parks are expensive ( for what you get) and they don’t have a lot of spare spots, the tourist tours like fishing charters or croc parks don’t hold back either. The house prices to buy or to rent are extravagant on the verge of outpricing Brisbane ($450/week for a two bedroom, one bathroom house).
Still you can find plenty to like about the city to out way the negatives. The people seem friendly, the fishing is great, and the city is not unattractive. The locals up here are right into fitness. Every morning and afternoon you can drive up the main roads in the area and find people running, walking or riding their bikes. The afternoon sunset over the western waters is amazing, as soon as that golden globe hits the water it is gone within 60 seconds. We took to kids to the end of the airport runway, which is in the centre of several suburbs, to watch the F18’s land after flight manoeuvres. Awesome. Tayla didn’t agree, but stiff.
I CAUGHT A BARRA!
We spent a day out touring the out skirts of the city. Swam at the Berry Springs for about an hour. We went to The Territory Park as we had a voucher and it wasn’t that dear. Turned out to be a top idea. All the displays are either in a natural environment or can be viewed inside a cage (where you are in the cage) or through glass. Where going for an hour and ended up staying for five. A must do if you come to this area and love animals and birds. The only drawback is the walking. Of course you could hop on the tram, but you just don’t get the same effect “Do you, Jules?” Checked out Hidden Valley where they hold the annual V8 supercars (missed it by a week, “Bugger hey” says Jules).
We finished our visit to Darwin with a Seafood buffet at Darwin Casino. Crab, prawns, Desserts, fish, oysters, mussels, Desserts, Chinese, Greek, Salads, Desserts all for $22pp and $2.50 schooners. Brilliant.
Of course while you are at a casino you have to have a go a winning a fortune. Luckily the casino gods were on my side that night and I was able to walk away even instead of down a tank of petrol. I almost forgot we were in Darwin in time to see the beer can regatta. An annual event that happens at Mindl beach. A full day of beach games (Jack and Tayla tried the tug-o-war, both lost), markets, fresh food, ironman events and the sailing of the creations made by the locals. They have a year to drink beer and make a boat out of the said cans to carry four people around a laid out course on the waters of Mindl Beach. Yes on the waters where you know there has been and probably will be seen again plenty of crocs and sharks and box jellyfish. Needless to say there is a lot of spotters on the waters and lifesavers galore, plus the occasional chopper to ensure that the fun doesn’t come to an end. The idea is to get around the course as quick as possible without your vessel falling apart either by water, flour and egg bombs or any other sort of sabotage that the other competitors can inflict on you.
I CAUGHT A BARRA!
We pulled out of Darwin after three weeks and made our way towards Kakadu. On the way we had to stop at the Reidy lure factory to see how they are made. It really was interesting to see how they are manufactured by the 7 women working in his factory. It appears that age might be starting to creep up on me. Another tale to appease the missus. Seems Jack borrowed the car keys before going into the tour and gave the keys back to someone. After realising he didn’t have the keys anymore and Julie couldn’t find them in her hand luggage, she calls a handbag, and after an hour of walking around outside and inside the shop and the car park, it was brought to my attention the a might be a F%^$#wit as they appeared to be hanging from my pants right beside my wallet. Of course I pointed out that as my wallet and the keys are about the same thickness and weight it was probably a reasonable mistake to make. I guess a back rub and a couple of beers might be required tonight to soothe the savage beast.
Spent the night at Corrobeeree then did a run out to Shady Camp the following day for a fish. It is supposed to be the place to catch a Barra. If you can’t catch one there then you aren’t meant to catch one. The only drawback is that there are also more crocodiles here per area than anywhere in the world. “She be right Jules, no one has ever been taken here.” So we pull up to the barrage and before we even get a chance to turn off the motor, Jack is yelling bloody huge croc. So we venture out of the car and walk 50 metres to the barrage and thus far have spotted five. Two about three foot, two about six and one at least 14 feet. Bugger! We wander up to the bird hide and look around for ten minutes and spot another ten of varying sizes. S%$t! Still there are fish there. “Let’s give it a go!” “Are you sh#$*ng me?” asks my beloved. She’ll be right, darl. Just a couple of flicks while you watch for the crocs. So you start flicking off the barrage into the fast dropping water. Salt on one side and fresh on the other, and crocs all around. What a buzz. After a half hour of casting, snagging the rocks, losing lures, and watching one cheeky fourteen foot croc pop his head up out of the water ten metres in front of us every now and then, a bloke near us hooked up and pulled in a 74cm Barramundi. “Told you they were there Hon”. So after changing rubbers (lure that is) and three more casts and I hook up on my first ever Barra. After a nice little play (about five minutes worth) I pulled in a 75cm Salt Water Barramundi. Un %$*&ing believable. And the crocs didn’t get it or us, what a bonus. Of course not everyone was happy. Seems the old couple near us had been trying for five days, and I dare to be here half an hour and pull in a snodger. The inhumanity of it all. Bloody Victorians; go back to The Place To Be.
Kakadu is next on the agenda, so I will write next week.
Bye for now
The Wattevas
Love and our thoughts are with those that need it at this time.
And to the rest of you “I CAUGHT A BARRA, did I tell ya?”
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