Week 17 : 15 June to 21 June 2012 -- Darwin

Since returning from Kakadu last Monday it’s been situation normal with Vic working and me doing the home duties and getting rid of the Kakadu dust by cleaning the car. Neil and Jan returned from Kakadu on Thursday and went straight to Mindil Beach Markets, where we met them for dinner.

Another perfect way to end a busy work day at Mindil Markets

The Hidden Valley round of the V8 Supercars was run over the weekend and as part of the lead up, there was a street parade for the race car carriers, held on Thursday. Probably due to the close proximity of the race track to the city, this is the only round that holds such a thing. I decided to go and have a look, so, found myself a good spot under a tree along the main road back to the track, and waited. The sight (and sound) of the convoy of trucks trundling along the road got my old rev-head juices flowing again.

Vodaphone Team Commodore

Team Red Holden Racing Team

Jack Daniels Kelly Racing - Kelly brothers

Mack from Cars 2 Promotional Truck 

Back in our youth, Neil and I used to go to the old Surfer’s Paradise Raceway and watch the Touring Cars ( as they were back then). The last time he and I went, Dick Johnson was racing a Holden Torana, and we were both single (last century!). With Vic working Friday, and Jan probably quite happy to spend a day alone, Neil and I decided to go and watch the practice sessions.

Not one but three classic GTHO Falcons in the one shot!!

Steve Mason's '66 Shelby Mustang

Jim Richards in a 1972 AMC Javelin

John Bowe's '69 Trans Am Mustang

from the front

It was a real hoot to hang around the track, smell the fumes, feel the thunder, and there is no doubt the V8’s of the 21st century are absolute weapons, but for me, there is nothing like the Touring Car Masters. The sound of these classic race cars doing the rounds is unforgettable. There are   some magnificent cars in the series… John Bowe’s ’69 Trans Am Mustang, Jim Richards ’72 AMC Javelin, Andrew Miedecke’s ’69 Camaro plus a heap of other Mustangs, Toranas, Monaros, GT Falcons and a whole bunch of other classics. By the time we picked Vic up at work, Neil and I were a couple of very tired ol’ petrol-heads.  

Neil enjoying the racing

Saturday morning we all headed over to the Parap Markets and had a good look around as well as a damn good cup of coffee. Even though we usually just stroll around here when we go, I really like the atmosphere, and enjoy watching the people go about their business. 

The beautiful colours of Parap Markets

One of several flower stalls

One of the many street frontages at Parap markets

Neil and Jan returned the whiz-bang on Sunday morning and after picking them up, the four of us drove down to Berry Springs (via Howard Springs) for a swim and picnic lunch. It was a beautiful day again and the water temp was just perfect for a lazy swim and float around on the noodles. Unfortunately, Jan lost her camera during the day and consequently, all her photos from their week at Kakadu (hopefully she’ll like some of mine and we can share).

Howard Springs resident

Howard Springs

Neil and Jan got a lift to the city when I took Vic in on Monday, and spent the morning playing tourist. I came back into the city in the afternoon and the three of us took a drive over to the Botanical Gardens were we had a walk around. I have to say, we were disappointed. There are certainly some magnificent trees that have obviously done well to survive the tropical cyclones, that Darwin is famous for, but the general condition of the place is very ordinary.

Monday night was our last night together, so we had a quiet bar-b-q at home and settled in to watch the grand final of ‘The Voice’ ( Well it had to be done!!).

Neil and Jan were on the red eye Tuesday morning so I dropped them at the airport at 4.45am and we said our goodbyes. It was an exciting couple of weeks for Vic and I, with Paul Swenson visiting and then Jan and Neil spending time with us as well, so we’ll be right now until August when we head home.

There has been a change of plan on that front too. When we set out on this odyssey, we always planned to fly home for Christmas, and then with the news of the impending baby, another flight home was on the cards. We’ve now decided to drive home and hang around south east Queensland until the new year and then head down the coast, visiting the southern parts of New South Wales, then into Victoria, across to South Australia before heading up the middle of the country and picking up this trip in Katherine in a years time. This will allow us to visit Alice Springs, Uluru, and other places we’d been wanting to see, but hadn’t planned in this circuit around Oz. In the meantime, while we’re back home, we’ll do some other trips around, including three weeks in Tasmania that Vic has already booked for the end of October into November. She already has eight days accommodation booked in Hobart and a four day housesit in northern Tasmania organized.  

The time back in Queensland will allow us to reorganize our storage, off load some stuff from the caravan that we’re, clearly, not going to use, catch up with friends and relatives and maybe look at our long term future. Two things we’ve definitely realized since leaving home is that we, eventually, want to live within a few hours drive of Brisbane and that we certainly don’t want to cut this journey short.

So, Vic’s working until July 18^th, we leave Darwin on the 20^th and commence our return trip. Our planned route home will have us retracing some roads (unavoidable), but mostly, we will be travelling a different course. As much as we’ve enjoyed Darwin, we are both really looking forward to being back on the road.

Until next week… happy travels.    

Dripstone Cliff beach - 2klms bike ride from our house sit