Bitter Springs (Mataranka) to Darwin - 26 June to  3 July

Last night at Bitter Springs 

The caravan park had a free movie night, where you bring your own camp chair, snacks and drinks.

We thought it was quite special as there was a roaring fire in between the screen and the viewers.  Not that it was cold, it was actually quite warm and you certainly didn't need a fire. Besides being able to feel the heat from the fire it was in the line of sight to the picture screen which seemed very unusual.

Ever since we've crossed that magical line its been quite warm, even at night.

We're not sure where that line was -  at Camooweal we still ran the diesel heater one morning, then 200 kms up the road the doona came off and swe were leeping with just a sheet and a thin blanket.  Better still, it was above 30°C during the day. This is well above the Tropic of Capricorn. So that's not the magical line.

Darwin temperatures hover around 33 degrees all year round, only the humidity varies.  It's beautiful at the moment with low humidity.

Katherine

Katherine was a pause for more shopping. We decided to go on the Katherine Gorge cruise again, as the last time we did this was when our kids were very young - long before we owned a caravan, and we travelled around in a tent.

Katherine is a special place and there's always something that raises our eyebrows.

Darwin

We planned our last few days so we were in the Darwin area a day ahead of our plan. So what better thing to do that to sneak up on Chuck and Sue a day earlier than planned.

We pulled into the caravan park where they were and were relieved to find their van there, vacant as they were out.

This gave us time to setup and just wait for them to come back. Chuck saw us first as he was outside as we walked up, and quickly banged on their van to let Sue know we were there.

Many cuddles, hugs and greetings were shared.

The next day we headed to our camping place in Darwin and then the celebrations started. Talk! You'd think we hadn't seen each other for years! :) 

In 2014, we contacted a storage facility in Darwin where we could leave our car and van behind and fly home for a while.  The owner told us he also had a small camping area with enough room for about 10 caravans. Over the years it's improved, and now has 3 toilets, showers and a great undercover communal area.  All this work has been done by caravanners who spend the winter here.  Our friends Merv and Jenny were big helpers during this time. 

As well as a storage facility and camping, there are also horse stables and yards.  Unfortunately we've had windy days since we arrived, and the horses are having a great time kicking up dust everywhere.

Morno's on the lawns of Darwin Surf Life Saving Club

Our 'across the fence' neighbour in Darwin

The Darwin WWII oil storage tunnels were interesting. What a waste of resources these were back when they were being built and were never used!

These BBQ Ribs look questionable. But they were delicious!

Another Tawny Frogmouth (not an owl) came to visit us here in Darwin

and perched himself on the rear boot of Alan's car

Yesterday's activity was a visit to the Aircraft Museum which had fabulous displays of F-111, Hercules and assorted aircraft, as well as interesting information on the bombing of Darwin in WW11.  More bombs were dropped on Darwin by the Japanese than on Pearl Harbour.

The sign says "DO NOT TOUCH" Chuck!

An F-111, what a beauty and the planes not bad either!

Territory Day

Territory Day is a holiday celebrated in the Northern Territory of Australia on 1 July that commemorates the territory achieving self-government in 1978. The holiday is famously commemorated with fireworks since the early 1980s. Popularly known as Cracker Night, Territorians have 5 hours to legally blow up fireworks without a permit or special training; the only instance of its kind in Australia these days. NSW banned fireworks in 1986, and much earlier in other states.  So you can see the NT has many of its own laws up here and way of life!

They start selling the fireworks at 9am on 1st July, and finish at 9pm. Most are pre-sold and they 're expensive. The shops specifically state that "They don't ship to Sydney". We have no idea as to why Sydney gets signalled out. On our way back home that night people were letting them off in the middle of the streets!

Territory Day is celebrated at Mindil Beach , and we arrived just in time to witness the F-35A flyover. As we were walking to the beach 4 of these beauties flew right over our heads and then went vertical. Talk about noise, it rattled our teeth and bones, and also set multiple car alarms off! What a spectacular display.

We hurried further to the beach to watch a great display of these spectacular planes and their talented, if not young pilots.

We settled on the beach and waited for the fireworks to start. Amazingly they had cordoned off two areas where people could set off their own fireworks mostly ahead of the main show.

We're ready for the show to start

Private fireworks were being set off all evening

The main fireworks display were brilliant

Naturally when you leave a beach you have to wash the sand off your feet. This was the first time we've ever queued to do this!

We're here in Darwin for another week. We've been very busy so far with an activity every day, so hopefully it'll slow down a bit!