Wednesday 08 May - Darwin
We had planned to leave Kununurra at 6.30am so we could get takeaway food and coffee from the Wild Mango Café. Then Michael remembered the hour and a half time difference between WA and NT so we left at 5.30am instead, to make sure we arrived in Darwin at a reasonable hour. No yummy food or coffee.
In the pre-dawn haze, we made our way out on to the highway, Darwin bound. Fairly nerve wrecking for the first couple of hours, not being able to see clearly up ahead. We made it to Timber Creek without incident and by then visibility was good. Just a quick pit stop and then we were on our way to Katherine.
One of Michael’s mates, Mark Nelson, told him to be sure and stop at the Pop Up Café near the hot springs in Katherine. So we did. Mark had sourced a supplier of Hollandaise sauce for Steve of the Pop Up Café. When Michael asked this guy if he was Steve, he said no, his name was Mick. Michael gamely pressed on, asking him did he remember a big guy by the name of Mark who supplied him with Hollandaise sauce? Yes he did! Mick had since added to his pop up establishment with a freezer so he could buy supplies in bulk. Judging by the amount of people waiting for food, business was booming. While Michael had a yarn with Mick, I wandered down the track to the hot springs. Business was brisk there as well, quite a few folk semi-submerged, soaking up the ambience of the place.
We finally arrived in Darwin about 3pm. We had spent 12 days on the road and driven approximately 5500 kms. It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun along the way.
Michael’s great mate Allan Oates put us up for the two nights we were in Darwin. We spent Thursday buying new luggage, much to Michael’s horror, but to his credit, he said little and just went along with it. I decided our suitcases were too big to handle, especially for me. So off to Casuarina Shopping Centre, which Michael normally avoids at all costs, and in to Strandbags. We found two smaller versions of the bags we already had. Basically we could fit the same amount of stuff inside but in a smaller area. I felt much more confident about manoeuvring these cases around Europe and at the end of the day so did my husband.
We left the bags in the shop so we could go and check out Big W. I found a lightweight dressing gown and then Michael decided to buy some shorts. While he was trying them on for size, I grabbed a night shirt as well. We left with yet more items to squeeze into our new bags. After a coffee, we returned to Strandbags to pick up the suitcases. However, they were nowhere to be found. The staff were all pointing the finger at one poor young girl who valiantly denied that she wouldn’t have taken the bags to the storage unit as a lay by, or at least she didn’t think she would have done it. Anyway, suffice to say, she had done it. When she went downstairs to the storage unit, and came back up the escalator, she handed over our bags with a defiant grin and a “Sorry guys!” I felt for her, so young and vulnerable in the cut throat world of retail.
We managed to catch up with Yasmin and Bianca, Michael’s gorgeous daughters and three of the grandchildren, Ali, Mia and Kleo, for Chinese takeaway on Thursday night, our last night before take off.
Hot spring in Katherine
Mick from Pop Up Café
Farewell coffee in Darwin
Anazing documentary
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