Sunset and Sunrise over Corroboree Billabong, Mary River

Sunset over Corroboree Billabong, Mary River

Sunset

Sunset

Sunset

Purple shadows of sunset

Sunrise

Sunrise

Sunrise

Fireball

Fireball

Sunrise

Just thought I would share these maginificent sunrise and sunset photos with you.

Off to explore Kakadu National Park tomorrow.

Adieu from The Wandering 2s.

Mary River Houseboat

Our houseboat Ullinda

Skipper Lyn and her motley crew

Skipper Lyn

The fishermen

Never smile at a crocodile - this is why you don 't get off the boat!!

Mary River

Lily pads along the Mary River

A tree in the early morning light

The fisherman turned into a catcherman!!!

Flood plains along the Mary River

Beautiful sea eagles

A jabiru

Well Skipper Lyn and her motley crew decided to hire a houseboat on the Mary River for 3 days and 2 nights and what an experience that was.  We all had our jobs to do - Lyn was the skipper, Charlie and Graeme the fishermen who would hopefully catch dinner (however the girls went to Woolies first and stocked the fridge just in case) and Jane was the "Princess Drinks Bitch"!!

We actually cruised the Corroborree Billabong which is part of the Mary River system and it was just magical.  The birdlife was prolific and we saw lots of sea eagles, kites, kingfishers, jabirus to name but a few.  We also saw lots of crocodiles and you certainly wouldn't want to fall off in these croc infested waters.  So very different from hiring a houseboat on the River Murray where every night we got off and had a fire on the banks of the river!!

On the first day we motored along taking in all the sights - there are lots of floodplains along the river and it would be a wonderful sight in the wet as the billabong would be endless.  The vegetation is quite diverse as well, with lilypads, big clumps of pandanus trees, and paperbark trees all side by side.  Skipper Lyn drove the boat effortlessly, Princess Drinks Bitch made sure that everyone had a stubbie in their hands and the fishermen did what they do best (which is fish, not catch!!).  On that first morning Graeme caught a barra but unfortunately as he was reeling it in, it spat the lure out so that was a great disappointment.  The weather was perfect.  We then had chicken kiev on the bbq for dinner along with a few glasses of beer, wine, Jim Beam etc and went to bed.  Our bedroom was upstairs and was accessed from the back deck up a ladder - As I was climbing it I kept thinking of all those crocs I'd seen in the daytime!!

Next morning, we had a visit from the owner of the Mary River Houseboats who brought us freshly baked scones, jam and cream and also the morning paper.  What service.!!  Another day of drinking, eating, fishing, cruising and then another yummy bbq for dinner along with a few glasses of beer, wine, Jim Beam etc. - this could get monotonous!!  Who am I kidding - I'm in heaven. 

We anchored that night and just watched the sunset which was magical but during the evening our anchor slipped so it was fun and games trying to manouever and anchor again in the dark!!  Charlie was anchor boy, Lyn was driving and I was out on the back deck with the spotlight making sure we didn't hit anything.  It was very eerie seeing all the red eyes of the crocs in the water!!  Anyway all's well that ends well and we re-anchored and spent an uneventful night waking to the most brilliant sunrise.  Another paper delivery and we set off for more of the same.  A few fish were caught but at the end of the day we had a brilliant time and such a great way to enjoy the Corroborree Billabong!!

Thanks Lyn and Graeme for your great company and I'm sure we will be meeting up again some time soon over in the West.

For now Adieu from The Wandering 2s.

Charlie and the BIG BARRA!!

Look its BIG!!

I'm so COOL!!

Well I thought this deserved a special blog all of its own - FINALLY Charlie caught a big barra!!!  76 cms long and weighing 6 kg.  He was like a little boy when he was reeling it in and it certainly didn't want to be reeled in, jumping and fighting all the way.  Anyway had some for dinner that night and it was yummy and the rest of it is nicely filleted and sitting in the freezer to have later and then WOHOOO WE CAN RELIVE THE CATCH OVER AND OVER (Joy!!).

Adieu from The Wandering 2s.

Darwin - a beautiful harbour city



The great wave lagoon on the Darwin waterfront



Charlie reading about the bombing of Darwin Harbour

The watefront precinct Darwin

One of the WWII oil storage tunnels

One of the information board in the WWII oil storage tunnels

Jane outside Government House - a lovely building in a beautiful position

Charlie at one of the underground ammunition batteries at East Point

Charlie wrestling a crocodile at the marina - the new Crocodile Dundee maybe?

Waterfront properties at the Cullen Bay marina in Darwin

Cullen Bay marina in Darwin

Jane outside Buzz cafe at the Cullen Bay  marina - they have the "quirky" men's loo

Well we have spent some time in Darwin now and we are loving every minute of it.  The city is so easy to get around, apparently it was surveyed by the same person who surveyed Adelaide and is done in squares so we are finding it difficult to get lost (well I am anyway!!). 

One day we spent some time down at the waterfront which is a lovely area and there is a wave lagoon there which looks fantastic fun - might have to go back with my boogie board!!  The waves get quite high and the people in there are having a ball.  There is a small charge for the day - only about $8 or so but it looks well worth it.  There is also a large swimming lagoon alongside which is free.  These pools are all surrounded by a lovely waterfront precinct with cafes and shops.  We had a lovely coffee watching all the activities before we wandered around the area reading all about Darwin's part in WWII.  I never realised until we came here what an important part Darwin played in the history of the war so have learnt something this trip.

We also went to have a look around the WWII oil storage tunnels which were constructed in 1943 to protect Darwin's oil supplies.  Apparently they were all dug by hand but by the time they were finished the war was over as they took 2 years to complete!!  They are now a major tourist attraction.  After that we wandered around the Esplanade looking at all the plaques commemorating certain events in the war and ended up outside of Government House which is a beautiful white picket fenced wooden building overlooking the water.  From there we wandered on to the Darwin wharf where we had a lovely lunch of local NT barramundi and chips.

Shopping in Darwin is easy as with every city there is a mall with lots of specialty shops, cafes etc along with the suburban shopping centres but haven't spent too much time shopping as we are saving our pennies so that we can do some of the tours etc.  However its still nice to wander along the mall and listen to the buskers, have a relaxing (there's that word again) coffee and people watch.  The weather is just perfect at the moment, very warm and have had a couple of quite humid days.

On Monday we decided to go and have an "old farts" lunch at the Skycity Casino in Darwin.  What a great deal that was.  We both joined and it didn't cost us anything and with our membership they gave us $15 each to play on the pokies, a free drink (beer, wine, basic spirit, soft drink), plus $5 for keno and we also had a smorgasbord lunch at a cheap rate because we are "seniors".  It was a beautiful lunch with everything imaginable in a beautiful venue overlooking the sea.  We managed to win about $15 between us which we thought was ok although would have liked to have been like John in our caravan park who won $5,500 with his free money!!

After that we wandered down to the Cullen Bay marina - there's certainly some money there and some beautiful waterfront properties.  Had a drink in the Buzz cafe and then I did the "mum" thing and persuaded Charlie that he needed to go to the loo.  After going to the "fake" loo which is just a door and then an inner door which won 't open and standing there trying to get in, he found the men's loo.  Inside the urinal is up against a one way wall of glasss and as he's doing (or trying) to do the business, I'm standing on the other side of the glass waving at him as you can see out into the cafe.  He said it put him off - I wonder why????  All good for a laugh!!

Well that's probably all for now about Darwin - we will be leaving on Saturday or Sunday as we are going on a houseboat on the Mary River for 3 days and 2 nights with Lyn and Graeme so until I've got more to say Adieu from The Wandering 2s.

Darwin beer can regatta and Mindl Beach market

Beer Can Regatta - Aussie thong

Charlie peeking - mmmm I think he likes what he sees!!

The "pure blonde" crocodile



Out on the water racing



Merrilyn, Jane and Fi

Jane doing what she does best and what she's been doing alot of - CHEERS

Entertainment at the Mindl Beach market

Sunset over the water at Mindl Beach

Ball of Fire

Where's the sun going Mum?

Almost gone

Gone for another day and everyone on the beach clapped!!

Well we had a lovely day at the Darwin beer can regatta and the originality of some of the floats was great.  As you can see from the photo, Charlie really liked one of them!!  It was a really fun day, the atmosphere was great, there were lots of families, lots of food at the markets and the beer was flowing!!  Well they do have to start collecting cans for next year's regatta so I had to help them along.

Met up with Merrilyn who I used to work with in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, she and her husband are up here working so that was great and also Fiona who I used to work with at MMC Asset Management in Adelaide.  She has been living up here for about 7 years so it was a good catch up.

We had a look around the markets and had some food (the food is sensational - all types, all nationalities and very reasonable).  Also had icecream and beer.

We then stayed for the highlight of the day which was the sunset over Mindl Beach which is truly spectacular.  People take their chairs and glasses of wine down to the beach and sit there watching the most perfect sunset over the water and at the end clapped!!  It was a truly lovely day - another one on our truly lovely trip.

Anyway all for now from the beer can regatta - Adieu from The Wandering 2s - until my next blog - if you keep on reading then I'll keep writing!!

Berry Springs and Surrounds

Charlie, Jane and Graeme bobbing in Berry Springs

One of Berry Springs natural pools

Charlie talking yet again in Berry Springs upper pool

Mandorah Beach Hotel - great spot

Looking from Mandorah Beach Hotel across the Darwin Harbour

Charlie trying his luck again at the Mandorah Jetty

A croc trap on the Darwin River Dam - there was a large saltie in the Dam

He was interested in what we were doing

Historic WWII Strauss Airstrip 5000 ft long and 100 ft wide

Charlie, Graeme and Lyn at the Singalong with Tigertone at the Caravan Park

Jane doing an Abba karaoke number at the Singalong - embarrassed Charlie!!

Well here we are in beautiful Berry Springs about 56 ks south of Darwin at a lovely caravan park called Tumbling Waters - don't you just love the name!!  It is a perfect spot, very relaxing and the owners are brilliant - can't do enough for you.  We had thought to stay for a few days and then move on in closer to Darwin but decided no, we really liked it here and its only a 45 minute drive to Darwin anyway.

We've had a good look around this area and there's plenty to do.  There's the Territory Wildlife Park just 5 minutes away from the caravan park which has won lots of awards and is supposed to be brilliant but we haven't been there yet.  May or may not go. 

We have spent some time bobbing around in the beautiful Berry Springs pools - I seem to spend half my time "bobbing" on this trip!!!  The water is crystal clear and although not hot springs is warm and there are lots of fish which swim with you.  Now me being a Princess took some time to get in because they also nibble at your toes removing any dead skin and I just didn't want that to happen but I finally plucked up the courage and plunged in.  I had my noodle with me so just floated on the top and kept my feet up.  However - there I was bobbing when all of a sudden I felt something touch one of my feet and I screamed - turned into JC and walked on water only to find that it was a leaf!!  Gave everyone a bit of a laugh anyway!!  As it was pointed out to me people spend a lot of money in health spas to have their feet nibbled by fish but not me.  Next time I went I wore my reef shoes!!

We also went to Mandorah Beach and Charlie tried his luck (no luck) at fishing from the jetty.  Its a beautiful place with a lovely hotel right on the beach.  A bloke to one side of him caught a couple of big queenies and another chap caught a spanish mackerel and some queenies, using the same bait as Charlie but unfortunately he didn't even get a bite!!  Still I'm sure it WILL happen one day.  I got fed up with waiting for the "big one" and took myself over to the hotel where I spent a very relaxing (I'm getting really good at this) hour or so with a glass of sauvignon blanc just looking at the ocean.  I could get used to this life - oh yes I'm living it - perfect!!

The caravan park has resident freshwater crocs and put on all sorts of entertainment including Deckchair Cinema on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Didgeridoo info and playing on Saturdays and the highlight of the week the "Singalong with Tigertone"!!!  Its all a bit of fun really as its also karaoke.  Its in the lovely garden bar where you can buy a crownie for $5 so I've had a few of those.  Sunday was their opening night as they are now going to be doing food and there was a lovely spit roast and entertainment.  I had a couple (or 3 or 4) so decided to get up and do a couple of Abba numbers with a couple of other ladies - had great fun.  Am waiting now for the contracts to start coming in so that I can find fame and fortune.

Well I think that's about all from Berry Springs so its Adieu from the Wandering 2s - until my next blog!!