Day 162 - 163 24th July - 25th July 2012

Day 162 Tuesday 24^th July 2012.  

Today was a “catch-up” day.  I sought out a watch repairer and had my watch fixed as well as pick up the new rear tail light assembly.  As you travel around you get to realise that people want to be helpful but are not fully qualified to provide “professional” assistance. The lady jeweller in Katherine that put the new battery in must have lost a small part and this caused the watch to not work. I wasn’t charged for the battery, however to fix it in Darwin I had to pay.

I had put out my “opera nets” in the local billabong and to my surprise actually caught 2 fresh water “prawns”. I felt that they were much too small so I threw one back and a young boy wanted the other for live bait for when he went fishing for Barramundi.

Quiet night and into bed early.

I thought this was one of the best "looking" tents I have seen so far on our journey. How practical it may be is another question. Fun anyway!

This was one of the fresh water "prawns" I caught in the "opera net". Since there were only 2 and they wern't HUGE, I threw 1 bne to a young boy who was going to use it for barramundi fishing. Good luck to him

This is the "billabong" where I catch the fresh water prawns.

 This is one of the resident guests at the "Tumbling Waters Caravan Park". There are 11 others.

Compulsory "arty farty" photo.

Day 163 Wednesday 25^th July 2012.

Up early this morning to take WDU564 in for servicing.

Vania decided to have a relaxing day simply “hanging” out at the caravan park.

After I dropped WDU564 off I got a lift into Darwin (only 7-8 minutes away) and did the local sights. The previous day I had picked up a map of Darwin which highlighted the major attractions. Not having the car I walked continually for 4.5 hours. It was very interesting to read about the bombing of Darwin on the 19^th February 1942. I Never realised the extent of the damage caused by the 2 air raids by the Japanese air force on Darwin that day. In excess of 200 people died and numerous ships / boats sunk. Major damage was inflicted on Darwin.

I caught a cab back to pick WDU564 up mid-afternoon. Considering what she has been through her injuries were relatively OK. The only unexpected problem was a “high pressure oil switch”. I had this replaced and hopefully WDU564 will now be OK for the next part of the “journey”.

There is a “free” outdoor movie on at the caravan park tonight , under the stars. Vania and I will take our chairs and enjoy the movie.

Tomorrow, may play Bocce in the morning, go for a swim at the Berry Springs Nature Park, go to the late afternoon / evening market at Mindil Beach in Darwin followed by some entertainment.

So till next time, take care and cheers from Vania and Oscar.

Early morning in the Darwin Mall. It does get much, much busier than this latter in the day.

View into the Darwin Waterfront Precint. They have done a tremendous job so far and are working on the next stage of the project. There are eateries on the pier. Great spot to have a meal and whatch the sunset.

View of the boats near the pier.

Coast guard has a presence as well. Hmm, is it for the "boat" people?

Photos taken during the bombing of Darwin on 19th February 1942. There are many, many photos like this inside the "fuel" tunnel near the wharf. Next picture is the actual tunnel.

A system of tunnels was built to store "fuel" for the boats. In this particular system there are 7 tunnels. The project took 2.5 years to complete as the whole system was dug by picks and wheel barrows. It was meant to be all hush, hush. When it was completed the war was over and the tunnels never ever were used for what they were intended for. It is now a "tourist" attraction. The tunnel system goes right under Darwin and it was extremely humid inside, despite the fact they had many large fans working.

Cargo ship coming into berth at Darwin Harbour.

Two lovely "mares"! What more can I say.

Inside the Chines church in Darwin. Don't know too much about it but I gather the Chinese must have "many" gods as I saw quiet a few that appeared to be "Gods".

This is looking down "Berry Springs". More comments about this tomorrow.

Honestly guys this charactyer was HUGE. He / she looked really mean as well.The body was almost as big as a 50 cent piece. True!