Off the beaten track

Thursday meant we were back on holidays and with the alarm set for a very early start we left home long before the sun came up. We were on our way to Corroboree Billabong, a couple of hours out of Darwin, where we hired a little pontoon for a half day on the water. The billabong abounds with bird life and whether it's in the air, the trees, in & on the water or the wetlands, it's an experience you won't forget. In the water there are plenty of Barramundi. We shared the billabong with many fisherman and saw quite a few caught & released. And of course the Crocodiles. We saw 7 or 8 as we gently motored along, all but one minding their own business. The highlight was the rather large crocodile lunching on an equally large python. Certainly gave us shivers up the spine as we watched the whole thing be consumed. Awesome but scary.

It was so hard to hand our boat back but we did so and on the way back stopped at Windows on the Wetlands. The Visitor Centre is perched on Beatrice Hill, one of the highest points on the Adelaide River floodplain. Beatrice Hill was named in 1864, by Naval officers Hutchinson and Howard while surveying the Adelaide River on board the HMS Beatrice. There are fun & interactive displays about seasonal changes, the ecological processes that occur in the wetlands and the problems of feral animals and weeds. That night we joined friends, Greg & Virginia at Mindil Beach markets, and sunset no 6 was enjoyed with another freshly grilled seafood platter and a drink. Ah, this is the life.

Friday morning the alarm went off even earlier, 4.30am, as we were going to watch the sunrise at Fogg Dam. Again clouds subdued the sun but it was still lovely. The bird life in the wetlands is just wonderful and we were treated to a special performance of 2 Jabirus dancing. That & the 3 Brolgas were certainly worth the early start. It is just so great to see these creatures in their natural habitat and not in a Zoo. From Fogg Dam we drove further out to the Adelaide River where we joined Harry on his crocodile cruise. If you have seen the Darwin/Yahoo Ads on the telly then you will have seen Harry and the big croc. Up close, Brutus (as Harry has named him) is even scarier. We did see about 6 more that morning and got a close up look at a Crocodile nest. Quite amazing really.

Our 2 early mornings had taken their toll and we went home for a nana nap that afternoon. Feeling refreshed we boarded the lovely old Pearl Lugger, The Anniki, for a Sunset Cruise. The old lugger recently starred in the movie 'Australia'. We had a great night and Bill was a real hit with all the ladies up the pointy end of the boat with us. Sunset no 7 was beautiful and I think the most spectacular of them all.

Saturday morning we had a look at the Parap markets and then we wandered around the city and local areas taking a closer look at the new waterfront precinct. A safe beach and a wave pool gives everyone the opportunity to swim all year round instead of just in the dry season. From October to May the beaches are off limits because of the stingers. A quick trip to Darwin's biggest shopping centre kept us out of mischief for the afternoon and then it was time for the other highlight of our trip, catching up with Peter M, who had just returned from skiing in NZ. All in one piece, I must say. Dinner & drinks with Peter were wonderful and we had a great night. Thanks for having us and again for the next afternoon allowing us to use your bathroom as a changing stop as we shed the holiday clothes and got back into the city gear to fly home. A four hour flight back home saw us swap summer for winter, a little hard to take, and the following morning it was back to work.

Still all good things must come to an end, we had a wonderful 9 days and can't wait to do it all again.

until next time.............

Return to Darwin

An early morning start & 2 flights got us to Darwin in time for lunch. It was hot & sunny and after a chilly week at home it was just the tonic we needed. After finding our home for the next two days we set off to check out the city and see what had changed in the year since our last visit. The new waterfront precinct is just fabulous and lots more luxury apartments along the front has added to Darwin's skyline. Most other things seemed the same.

After a walk through Smith St mall and Mitchell St we played tourist stopping at Charles Darwin National Park to have a look. Here we checked out an Old WWII ammunition bunker and were impressed with the array of memorabilia there was. A great view of Darwin from the lookout as well. We left the park and joined lots of other people at Nightcliff Jetty to watch the sunset. The first of 7 in a row.

The next morning we drove to Berry Springs Nature Park, a very popular park with 3 natural swimming holes, all being used on this very warm day. The signs warning us that if crocodiles were seen the ranger would put up a notice advising people not to swim, did not convince me to get in the water, but obviously everyone else had faith in the system. Next stop was Howard Springs Nature Park, another waterhole but this one now closed to swimming but a great place for walking and bird spotting. Our next stop was Holmes Jungle National Park. An area of Monsoon rain forest was home to the tiniest little birds I have ever seen. Also in even greater proportions were the mosquitoes which were big enough to carry us away. Even the layers of repellent we had on did nothing to discourage them from biting us. Savage brutes. We were both very spotty for the rest of the week. Sunset was watched at Mindil Beach and a with a freshly cooked seafood platter from the Mindil Beach markets you would have to try really hard to find a better way to finish the day.

We moved hotels on Monday morning and spent the afternoon at the George Brown Botanic Gardens. The gardens were wiped out by Cyclone Tracy and were replanted by the Mayor, George Brown, hence the name. They were beautiful & lush as you image gardens in a tropical climate would be. The old Methodist Church beside the gardens was lovely too. Sunset no 3 was watched that evening from the cliffs at Fanny Bay, though with the storm clouds gathering we did not see much sun. Darwin had it's first storm of the season later that night. Wish we could have transported some of the rain down to Victoria.

Tuesday & Wednesday Bill had to work but each night we joined Josie & Nolan at Nightcliff to see 2 more lovely sunsets, the 2nd night with their family as they were heading off the following Saturday to drive to Albany in WA. With Bill hard at work, I amused myself exploring the city and made our final move to hotel no 3, an apartment in Cullen Bay.

With an early start planned for the morning, it's time to leave you all here wondering what we were going to get up too.

until next time..........

Road Trip continues

We spent the night in a lovely little B & B and once again Bill left early to see the Sunrise. This time I didn't even walk. A chilly morning kept me tucked up in bed. I did cook his breakky when he came home though. Did I mention it was a self contained B & B. They provide - you cook.

In the morning we played tourist and set out to see the sights and found Mallacoota is a very pretty & quiet place though well spread out around the two lakes, the other being named 'Top Lake'. Someone obviously had an original moment there. With the Tasman Sea on the other side of the cliffs it is a very popular place for all sorts of water activities. It is also recognised as the home of the Victorian Abalone industry, though we did not see the famous return of the fleet, must have had Sunday off eh.

It was during our stop at Quarry Beach where we found not only the 'folded rocks' that the area features but a wallaby taking some time out playing in the Surf. At first we thought it was in trouble but after watching in awe for about 20 mins decided it was having fun in the Sun & the Surf. He kept coming out having a rest and then returning to play further. Who knew!!

From there we started back to Lakes Entrance stopping along the way at Gyspy Point, at the junction of the Genoa & Wallagaraugh Rivers. Beautiful. Genoa Falls, hard to find and very little water. Up the Monaro Hwy in search of Beehive Falls, even harder to find and no water. Cann River - Lunch, Bellbird - nothing but a hotel and a field of daffodils - pretty. Coming through Orbost we resisted the urge to go in search of another waterfall, next time.

Two sunrises where enough for Bill and he had a well earned sleep in on Monday morning. We came home via Metung, nestled between Lake King & Bancroft Bay, we followed the Tambo River to Swan Reach and then stopped at Paynesville for lunch. Paynesville is another waterfront town at the 'end of the Gippsland Lakes' set on the shores of Lake Victoria & Lake King. We took the short ferry ride across to Raymond Island where the Koalas live in the trees all around the island, seemingly in harmony with the people.

Leaving the highway again we followed the road to Lake Glenmaggie, the water was down, but still a huge body of water at the bottom of the mountain ranges. There you can start the climb to the Great Dividing Range and Victoria's snow country. We didn't, coming back to the highway via Cowarr Weir, a small but pretty reservoir in the area. A coffee stop at Dargo and then we were back on the road again for the slow journey home. Peak hour traffic!

We had a great 4 days and though our little state is only small, it is very big in beauty & character. We drove over 1200 kms and passed through many National Parks, State Forests & Coastal Parks and they were all so different. And still we have only covered such a small part of not only the state but a tinier corner of this big country.

So with the road trip complete it was back to work the next day, but only for 4 days as we are off to a much larger place on Saturday. We'll see you then Darwin.

until next time..................

Hitting the road...

again after such a busy time was great. We had been so busy during the previous month that I forgot to mention our biggest highlight. Auntie Shirley's 80th birthday. Bill's Auntie lives in Frankston & we joined other family members to celebrate the big day with her. We caught up with Bill's cousins & met their children. As we were living away for so long we had never met the next generation. A wonderful day was had by all & Auntie Shirley looked like the Matriarch she has become. Driving home that night from Frankston seemed like a road trip but compared to our adventure next week it was just a tiny trip.

Leaving home on the Friday morning we drove to Lakes Entrance stopping at Yarragon for lunch and Wah De Lock at Statford for a reviving coffee later on. A walk around the waterfront & the estuary reacquainted us with the lovely tranquil place it is. A great night was had at the local RSL watching live music and a group of dancers. We wandered home still smiling at some of their moves. Bill got up early for some sunrise photo's, I didn't but went for a walk a bit later on. We left then to continue our way East to Mallacoota, somewhere neither of us had been before.

We stopped at Nowa Nowa to see the gorges, small but picturesque. Orbost, where we stopped at the Grandview lookout where you can see the Snowy River winding through the country on it's way to the ocean at Marlo. That was our next stop to see where the mighty Snowy meets the sea. Marlo is a little fishing village with lots of holiday homes & campsites. We followed the coast rd to Cape Conran & then went 'offroad' through the State forests to see Yeerung gorge. Back to Hwy No 1 & lunch at Cann River. It is here that the Monaro Hwy meets the Princes (is that where the car came from?). Straight on from there and we turned off at Genoa for the last 19 kms into Mallacoota.

Mallacoota is Victoria's most eastern town and at 521kms east of Melbourne is also equidistant from Sydney. A very pretty little hamlet on the edge of the quaintly named Bottom Lake it was just the place to take a few hours to do some peaceful bird watching in the many beaches and Stateforests in the area.

So while we go and have a look around, I'll leave you all here

until next time..........