We stopped at Renner Springs so that Rob could have some breakfast. The entire ceiling of the roadhouse is covered in hats and caps. The roadhouses are general stores, petrol stations, cafes and hotels all in one all.

We stayed at the Highway Inn at Daly Waters, the days ride was a fairly short one, only about 380km. We met Byron and Esther, also returning HOG members, at lunch.

 

In the evening we went for a ride to Daly Waters where the pub is the only attraction. We’d been told by several people that the Daly Waters Hotel is a must see, another pub with lots of hats, underwear and football tops from around the world pinned to the walls and roof. There was a group of young guys from Ouyen in country Victoria, there on a fishing trip who were very friendly and chatted with us for a while. We had something to eat and took a few photos before riding slowly back to our accommodation. (Lots of roos on the road)

The weather is getting very hot; we were roasting by the time we got to Darwin. We checked in at the caravan park and put up the tent, it hasn’t had too much use lately; we’ve stayed in a few cabins as it’s a big task to set up the tent for only one night.

We went for a ride to have a look around Darwin in the evening. I’m not sure about the weather here it’s extremely humid. The caravan park is similar to that in Townsville in that it’s by the airport and RAAF base.

LINDA & ROB AT THE ENTRANCE TO DARWIN

We got some washing done in the morning. We also went out to register with Adecco, the agency who had got us some work in Townsville.

In the afternoon Tony, Rob and I bought some groceries and had a look at the wharf. Tony and I registered with another labour hire company, they offered me a job as a topless waitress; I could look at it two ways, 1. I could be flattered or 2. They must be desperate.

In the evening we all went to Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, it’s the one thing everyone tells you to go and see. There’s a lot of craft and clothing for sale, lots of jewellery and many foods stalls. Buskers entertain the crowds of people who attend.

We went back to the Wharf and had barramundi for tea, we’d never eaten barramundi before and we both enjoyed it. We were the coolest we’ve been all day, sitting by the ocean.

After checking the post office for mail we all went to the Aircraft Museum. Pride of the collection is a B52 which spans the entire building, it’s enormous. Darwin was bombed during WW2 and there’s a lot of history to do with that period at the museum.

We went to the Harley shop to meet up with Richard, one of the Darwin Chapter HOG members that Tony had talked to in Alice Springs. He was interested in getting copies of a couple of my photos to use on their website; I’ve got a really good one of their chapter flag flying with Ayers Rock in the background. Richard said that he’d put a link to our website on their site.

When we got back to the caravan park we went for a swim in the pool, the water is very warm but it’s cooler than the air, the weather here is stifling and people tell us this is nothing, it will get a lot worse.

This afternoon we went for a look through the museum and art gallery. They have some excellent displays especially the one on Cyclone Tracy which includes aerial photos of the same sites in 1974 prior to the cyclone, 1975 after the cyclone and 1995 20 years on. It’s well worth a visit, especially as admission is free. It’s also where you can visit Sweetheart, a 5.3 metre stuffed crocodile that had previously terrorised tinny fishing boats.

We spent the evening around the caravan park.

As we set off on the ride we had to overtake many experimental solar cars that were on the roads, travelling at about 60kmh with support vehicles in front and back of them. We’d gone about 50km when Tony and I got stuck behind one on a long stretch of double lines; we lost the group we were riding with.

We decided to continue on to Adelaide River and see if they were there. When we got to Adelaide River there were a lot of bikes parked at a servo/café, but they weren’t the ones we had left with, but Top End Ulysses members who’d come out to Adelaide River to watch the Solar Cars go by. We chatted with them a while before deciding to go for a ride through Litchfield National Park for a look.

Litchfield National Park is where you find Magnetic Termite Mounds. Apparently one type of termite builds their mounds so that the thinnest edge is facing the hottest direction. There are many regular termite mounds in the park as well as the magnetic ones which look a little like tombstones.

Florence Falls has two waterfalls cascading into a popular swimming hole. Unfortunately we hadn’t bought our swimming gear with us. I took a few photos and we sat a cooled off by the water before climbing the stairs back up to the carpark.

The humidity was really getting to us by this time so we decided to head back into town.

We went to Casuarina Shopping Centre and had some lunch and bought a new fridge, the one we had previously had died. The camp kitchen is a long way from where our tent at the park and we really need a cold drink in this heat.

The pool was where we headed once we’d plugged in our new fridge. It’s not very cool but it is a bit of relief from the heat.

The bike was booked in for its 32000km service, so Tony dropped it off first thing and someone from the bike shop gave him a lift to work.

I took a bus down to the city to collect our mail and have a bit of a look around.

When Tony finished work he walked back to the caravan park, bringing with him a few packets of biscuits, damaged stock. We caught a bus out to Palmerston where the bike was being serviced and collected it.

We decided that we’ve had enough of Darwin and that we’d head out tomorrow.

After fuelling up at Boomanah, about 30km from Darwin we rode another 270km to Katherine. We weren’t sure if we’d make it on a tank of petrol but we had a jerry can with more in it. At 230km we switched to reserve and travelled the other 42km on that.

After lunch in Katherine we headed west and stopped at Victoria River Roadhouse and got a camp site for the night. It’s quite a scenic spot surrounded by towering red rocky hills and beside a river that actually has water in it. I asked the lady in the roadhouse if there were crocs in the river and she told me she saw a couple the other day. We didn’t see any crocs but we did see a water buffalo go running through the camp round.

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