Palmerston, house sitting

Nightcliff Jetty, sunset

After two weeks at Gary and Jeans we gathered our belongings needed for the house sit and headed into Palmerston suburb of Woodforrde to look after Billy (dog) and Ketuk (cat) while their owners holidayed in Bali.  This was a little closer to Darwin and made it easier for the doctor appointments as both of us needed skin cancers removed.  The timing of the house sit also coordinated with the V8 Supercars in Darwin and a visit from Ursula and Michael from South Australia.

Enjoying a cool off, but Billy still wants to play ball!

Billy was very focused on the ball

Ursula and Michael from Pt Pirie SA visited Darwin for 5 days and was great to catch up with them for a few days.  Managed to get tickets for the AFL Crows v Melbourne game (very exciting finish), visited Mindil Market, dinner at the Trailer Boat Club. Unfortunately their visit was marred by a gunman on a shooting spree - something so foreign to the Darwin lifestyle.

TIO Stadium, Adelaide Crows defeated Melbourne!

Mindil Beach, always a good crowd for the sunset.

Drinks at the Trailer Boat Club.

Supercar truck convoy through Darwin CBD

Hidden Valley Raceway

Hidden Valley, V8 Supercars

After race concert

Nightcliff Jetty, sunset

Karen and Con invited us for dinner at their apartment overlooking Cullen Bay where we enjoyed wonderful food, drinks, hospitality and a fantastic view of the harbour. Sincere thanks to you guys for a great evening.

View of Cullen Bay marina from Con & Karen's balcony

Really loved our housesit and thoroughly enjoyed looking after Billie, who loved playing ball, and Ketuk. Both animals were well behaved and we certainly missed them when we packed up and headed back to Darwin River.  Sandie & Pete arrived on an early flight and looked very tired when they came home so we had a bit of a chat before leaving them to catch up on some sleep.  Had breakfast at Coolalinga Cafe, stocked up on food then drove back our home and settled into van life again.

Caught up with Peter and Cathy from Adelaide at Tumbling Waters Holiday Park where they were staying and enjoyed plenty of talking and laughs. Great to celebrate Territory Day on 1st of July when the Territory celebrates its independence from SA with fireworks.  We joined celebrations at Berry Springs where they put on a brilliant firework display. Brought back great memories of our 4 years living in Darwin with Territory Day being a highlight.  Thought this year we would celebrate in a "controlled" area as against driving around the streets in a "less controlled" environment!!

Drove out to Crab Claw and caught up with Jenny and Frank from Coffin Bay SA who generously supplied us with Crabs and Coffin Bay Whiting!  They did not realise Helen does not like crabs so I was in heaven with my supply!

Sunset at the Ski Club, Darwin.

Had dinner at the Ski Club with some people I worked with in John Holland - not too many people left in Darwin now.  Great to enjoy the balmy evening overlooking the sea with great company.

Arrived in the Top End

A territory sunset at Nightcliff Jetty

As it was an easy morning drive we arrived at Noonamah just after mid-day. We mentioned to each other that there seemed to be a reasonable number of caravans heading south out of Darwin which did puzzle us, there didn't seem to be many going north. It was very early in the season and at the bush property where we stayed only had 2 other campers for the season so far. The weather was still a bit humid and during the first week we even had some rain, so the dry hadn't commenced.

Had the pick of sites and a slab to set up on

Not many other campers - the clouds still building up each day.

Helped Bruce set up the pool

A pleasant relief from the humidity

It didn't take long to settle in and plan the few visits to doctors, inspect our rental and arrange for the garden to be cleaned up. Even visited our post office box after 2 years of absence!

Lyn and Alan, friends from Adelaide, caught the Ghan up and were spending a few days in Darwin. Before they headed back we arranged to catch up and visited the Darwin Military Museum at East Point, had sunset drinks at the Trailer Boat Club and dinner at Stokes Hill Wharf. The night before they left was a Thursday so we enjoyed the sunset and dinner at the Mindil Markets. By chance we also saw Karen and Con at the markets and they joined us together with Con's parents for a great evening.

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An ambulance on display at the War Museum

Got in early at the Mindil Market to get a good spot.

Dinner at Stokes Hill Wharf with Lyn & Alan

And, of course a bottle of wine with Dinner

Being early in the dry season we also went to the first night of Hidden Valley Speedway, it's just great to sit out on a balmy night and enjoy the racing, although you need to take plenty of mozzie protection.

After a couple of weeks with Bruce and Julie, we moved to another bush retreat at Darwin River. The weather had started to change and we thought this was an indication of the start of the dry season. Again being early in the season there was only another 4 or 5 campers. We stayed here until our house sit in Palmerston at Woodroffe commenced.  We were fortunate enough to be able to leave our van at Darwin River for the house sit which made it easier, so we packed up the car with items we needed and headed into Woodroffe.

Tumbling Waters for dinner

Early morning walk in the low mist.

Managed to get the bike out for a few rides around the area.