[NT] Daly Waters,Katherine,Darwin,Timber Creek, [WA] Lake Argyle,Fitzroy Crossing

Friday 18 June we drove to Daly Waters (via Banka Banka, Renner Springs, Elliott, Newcastle Waters, Dunmarra). On arrival, we checked out the very famous and interesting pub with all its hanging bras, undies, thongs, t-shirts, and different currency notes visitors have nailed to the walls.

The camping area was full of vans when we arrived and so we were the first to camp on a spare vacant lot but in no time we had neighbours, as more vans and campers rolled into town - talk about a popular spot! The town of Daly Waters is basically "the pub" so that's where it's all happening. The entertainment for the night was an old guy singing and playing the guitar (with a live large chook sitting on his head), he told a few jokes and stories along the way - he had everyone laughing.

Next day we headed for Katherine and stayed at Takaru Bush Resort, 44 acres of lovely green grass but there's no camping allowed on the nice green stuff, so camped on the crusty dry grass. The local fire brigade were burning off in the area so there was a lot of thick smoke when we went into town for some groceries. We only had the one night there and next day headed for Darwin.

Arrived in very hot Darwin on Sunday 20 June staying at the Free Spirit Caravan Park for eight nights, as we had a few things to sort out for the van and had to hang around waiting for delivery of some items. Paulie received a phone call from ABC Radio to advise that he had won the last "Juke Box" competition he had entered when at Tennant Creek and they would post his prize (three CDs) to home!  During our time in Darwin, we drove into the city for a look around and noticed an improvement since we were there in 2001. We visited Cullen Bay with its beautiful aqua blue water. We took a bus trip to see the popular evening Mindil Beach Markets with all its variety of local entertainers, colourful stalls of jewellery, clothing and all manner of international cuisine. The SkyCity Casino is also close to the markets so we popped in there for a quick look and to feed $20 into the pokies, and we ran into an old work mate of Paulie's - Trevor and his wife Carol - who we then caught up with the next day for a lovely barramundi lunch at the wharf, sharing a great time and lots of laughs. At the back of our caravan park was a very long flat bike/walking track, so we did a couple of 10km bike rides and walks - tough going in the 32 degree heat each day! On Saturday 26 June we decided to go to the Fannie Bay horseraces, so in order for us to both be able to have a drinkie, we endured a rather interesting one hour bus ride to the racecourse in the company of some of the locals. We had a great time at the races but didn't leave there rolling in money - oh and we decided to get a cab home and skip the bus trip!

Monday 28 June we backtracked to Katherine again for one night at the Springvale Homestead caravan park, which is a pet friendly park, and so our camping neighbours included a huge german shepherd. It was very hot in Katherine and a million flies everywhere, which is so much fun when trying to cook dinner! Next day we drove 300kms to Timber Creek (about 170kms from the WA border). They have small fresh water crocodiles in the creek and have a feeding at 5pm each night. That night we cooked up all our fresh vegies in preparation for going through the WA border quarrantine check next day.

Wednesday 30 June we set off, eating the last of our fresh fruit for morning tea and headed towards the WA border. Once into WA, we drove to the beautiful Lake Argyle, again experiencing very warm weather. We drove down to a lovely green grassy picnic area for lunch, where the hydro electric system is and then drove to other lookouts to view the enormous Lake Argyle (the biggest body of fresh water in Australia  covering over 900 square kms) with its spectacular red rocky hills surrounding it. We checked into the caravan park and had a swim in their beautiful new "infinity" pool which overlooks the lake and appears to have no edges - quite breathtaking views. Our next day at Lake Argyle started off warm and lovely but turned overcast and by the afternoon was blowing a gale and showery, so we had to batten down for the night.

Unfortunately travelling in WA at this time of year coincides with school holidays, the grey nomads, local shows and rodeos etc, so most accommodation is booked out along with tours to the most popular tourist sites e.g. the Bungle Bungles which require 4WD vehicles. We are restricted with our current vehicle, so we intend to return in the near future with our own 4WD to visit all these special places including the Gibb River Road ... we are already planning our next trip!

Friday 2 July we drove about 670kms to Fitzroy Crossing camping for two nights at the Fitzroy River Lodge at their grassy camp area. Very warm sunny weather once again. We did a walk along the road towards town on Saturday morning, crossing the Fitzroy River which is mostly dry this time of year. Later we drove into town for some fresh fruit and vegies which we purchased from the supermarket (which was basically a large tin shed - no Woolies or Coles here yet) - not a very big town and not much to see unless you have a 4WD. We will be heading for Broome (via Derby) over the next couple of days.