Darwin NT

We left Jabiru this morning, quite relaxed. It's the kind of place that has nothing much to do but you seem to fill the days up easily enough.

The road across to Darwin is not as good as the one in from Pine Creek, it has limited overtaking and once you get down toward the Mary River, they are doing extensive road works. We stopped at one place for nearly 20 minutes while they rolled out the dirt or graded the gravel or something. By the time you reach Humpty Doo, you are in the city traffic more or less. We notice they still haven't moved that dumb sign that announces that the Big 4 at Howard springs is a right turn at the Howard Springs Lights, assuming you know where that is of course. And this was erected years before they installed that extra set of lights, before Howard Springs... Who knows how many newbies turn down the wrong street and end up miles away looking for somewhere to turn the rig around.

No problem for us old hands, who needs Howard Springs? We are heading straight for Free Spirit at Holtze, just past Palmerston, and we even know when to take the offramp and fly over the Tiger Brennan Drive to stay on the Stuart Highway.

In no time we had arrived and rolled into 'our' old spot from last year. Something odd happened though, the front of the van was so low we couldn't put the jockey wheel on. Maybe the new car, maybe they changed the site a bit, anyhow we backed the van up onto our ramps and that was enough. Only problem now is that we don't have anywhere to park the truck. Next door don't help by parking right across as far as they can, so I moved the garbage bins and packed out the side. We'll have to see how that works out with the ground staff, probably broken 10,000 Oh&S rules or something. One thing that has worked out is our new 'darwin' track we had installed on the side of the van. Quick as a wink we put the big privacy screen up which gives the windows and the 'fridge shade in that hot hot afternoon sun. Gosh, a winner. Get it's picture!

We both had an after late-lunch snooze and we needed it. Then we took ourselves off to the Casuarina Shops to replenish our food stocks and  ... wait for it ... buy me some new shorts. I confounded Judith by taking the first sensible pair we saw, and grabbing 2 new T-shirts as well, all for $15!

I have to mention as well that the caravan park here is officially Full, and it's a big park. We have not seen it like his before, there isn't a space to be had nor a cabin to rent, it is chockers, as they say. Oh well just two more weeks of school holidays!