Kununurra, Katherine, Darwin and in between.

From the wilds of the Gibb River road we entered the relative civilisation of Kununurra, a town which I knew only as the former home of Turia Pitt and the location of a caravan park which let you use as much water as you liked (rare). Said caravan park was located on the edge of Lake Kununurra, a very picturesque location but, at this time of year, a tad windy as the south easterly whips across the lake. Not to mention frosty of the evening. Having made it across the desert and through the higher parts of the Kimberley where it is still getting rather cold at night, Kununurra night time temperatures broke us and we were forced into Target to purchase Hugo a quilt. Where this additional item, along with the many others we seem to be collecting, will be stored it remains to be seen, but it did allow us to reclaim our second blanket and let us also sleep in relative warmth and comfort.

Highlights of our Kununurra visit:
- boat trip up the Ord river to the base of the dam wall (a 110km round trip), where we saw amazing birds, plentiful freshwater crocs and a beautiful sunset 
-Tim catching his first (very small) Barra at the Ivanhoe Crossing (losing $30 of tackle in the process)
-taking in the sheer size of lake Argyle and the immense quantities of water involved
-dipping our toes in the Lake Argyle resort infinity pool and deciding it was far to cold to spend $10 per head for a swim in it
-very respectable coffee
-being in close proximity to bitumen, a bottle shop and a supermarket.

Lake Argyle dam wall

Time to move on- we are leaving in 5 minutes....

Five Rivers lookout, where the Ord, the King, the Pentecost, the Durack, and the Forrest rivers meet 

Tributary off the Ord River

Tributary off the Ord River

After 4 nights in Kununurra, during which time we caught up with and said goodbye to many friends we made on our way over the Gibb, we headed east (this will become a theme), and crossed back into the Northern Territory. 

The time difference meant that mornings suddenly became later and less friendly, albeit with the benefit of more day light in the evening time. Our first NT stop was Gregory National Park, where we had a delightful overnight stop, and our first experience this trip of having an entire camp ground to ourselves. The tranquility was short lived, as early the next morning we scored neighbours, and the ranger came to visit and kept us company while his volunteer cleaned the toilet. After the constant crowds on the Gibb however it was splendid to revel in some solitude. A bit like being at home!

definitely not 2WD access to campsite, Gregory National Park

bike riding in PJ's....

morning walk before heading out to Katherine

From Gregory we pressed east and spent another pleasant night in Katherine. We achieved nothing more in Katherine than cleanliness (of car, trailer and body), a good meal and a decent coffee before we left to head to Darwin and vowed to return before long. We landed in Darwin to find ourselves next door neighbours to fellow South Australians friendly with some distant relatives. We proceeded to indulge in all of Darwin we had fond (and distant, for the kids) memories of. We visited Darwin with the kids 6 years ago and they have been banging on about returning ever since. Now we are actually here, it is entirely apparent that the children have no recollection of the place whatsoever, and their continual badgering to return is just learnt behaviour. So we have taken them to all the places they loved the first time around, fish feeding at Doctors Gully, the wave pool, Berry Springs, Mindil Market, the Territory Wildlife park. 

bread again for the fish at Doctors Gully, they don't seem to mind

lunch at Stokes Hills Wharf

Berry Springs for a cool off in the afternoon- Mondays are tough

Given that they were toddlers the last time they were here, this time we have taken free reign to drag them to all sorts of WW2 "educational" attractions and they have decided that wars are actually quite ridiculous and unfathomable, an attitude which I am taking as progress. Darwin is the biggest centre we have visited since leaving home so we have also visited our fair share of shopping centres, making up for many weeks which were (reluctantly for some) retail free.

Tomorrow we leave Darwin for Kakadu- and the next adventure. 

this weeks injuries: injured knee from splash park, persistent blocked nose secondary to dust, more sore toes probably related to thong wearing (accompanied by a suspicion that giving the habit up would be for the good)

notable wildlife sightings: fresh water crocodile, black bittern, nankeen night herron, southern boobook, white browed crake.