Pine Creek to Adelaide River

23-7-09 On the road again to Pine Creek, only an hour away, we decided to stay at Miners Park no 101 NT in free Camps book . Well what an adventure, we followed what we thought were the directions & got onto a dirt rd, we were supposed to go 3 k’s but we could not turn around, we went 10 k’s & said OK we are just going to do it. Den had to do a 10 point turn & we filled up the back legs of the caravan with dirt scraping the van in & out of the rubble. I will give it to Den he can back a caravan. We did not do any damage & we did not end up in a ditch . The road was so rough that we were only doing 5 to 20 KMH, it took for ever, then we got back onto the bitumen & made another wrong turn & we ended up in an aboriginal settlement, we did a u turn quickly & got some strange looks. We headed back to town & saw Copperfield Dam turn off so we slowly went along 2 km’s dirt road & when we got there we asked where the Miners Park was & no one knew. You should have seen the red dust on the car & van it was thick. So we gave up & came back to Pine Creek & asked at the Servo but no one knew where it was. So we decided to go to Pussy Cat flats Camp Spot no 135 NT , well what a gem, it was only $13 a night, power but no water hooked up ,but can fill our tank whenever we like, showers & toilets . It is the racecourse, come golf course & we went up for happy hour at the bar, it opens at 4pm, a great spot on a hot day. The girls are allowed to have a run off their leads, so have been taking them down the back near the big termite mounds & they are loving it & coming when they are called, pretty much. After happy hour we cooked a BBQ tea & then talked to Merry on Skype , & we had a bit of trouble .We could hear Merry but she could not hear us. After she fiddled with the volume etc it worked & we talked for an hour. I had a few wines & I was ready for bed. We did 100 Km’s today & it was 33 deg & Den put the thermometer on the back door of the car & it reached 48 deg, So the air conditioner went for a long time.

24-7-09 Happy Birthday Beck . We started the day with bacon & eggs & then we gave the van a quick clean inside & there is surprisingly little dust inside, we washed our carpet mats & did some hand washing. Dad & Ivy were at Merry’ & Jims so we thought we would try to have a chat to them, but we could not get Skype to work. Same problem, Merry could not hear us , so we gave up. But it was nice to see Dad & Ivy’s faces & wave to them. Maybe next time it will work. After that we gave the van a quick hand wash & hosed off the wheels on the car. We are having a lazy avo & I posted another blog & updated my diary, we might have a rest as Den has a cold & my back could be better. Then it will be time for Happy Hour Again. What a shame someone has to do it though. It’s hot again this avo, must be at least 33 deg again. We went up to the bar for Happy hour & had a couple of drinks, the couple running the park are really nice & friendly. We ambled back to the van & I cooked a chicken baked dinner, we washed up & went to bed. It’s nice to have a rest day.

25-7-09 We are going to stay another night its just too good a spot , so we decided to do the touristy thing, we went & looked at the Miners Park where they have a lot of old mining equipment from 120 years ago. We went from there to the Railway Station Museum & Steam Locomotive that has been restored, from there we walked along the ”Walk through Time” Footpath that is a series of hand painted tiles laid at intervals in a path that explains the history of the town. We stopped at Ah Toy’s General store which has been operating since 1937, & it was like stepping back in time, I don’t think it has changed much since it has opened. They even had a wooden turn style that was still operating. There was an old man sitting at the door & I am sure he is a direct descendant form the original Ah Toy’s who started a bakery in 1908. We walked to the Water Gardens that was old railway cuttings filled in to make gardens & ponds with Lily’s growing in them, Next we went up to the Mine Lookout that over looks Copperfield Dam, it was an old open cut gold mine that was filled in with water to make the dam. We went back to the van & dropped the girls off & decided to go out to Umbrawarra Gorge 22 km’s out of town on that dreaded dirt road. We started off but the road was not nearly as bad as with the van on, we got there & walked trough the scrub & over rocks & over trees, through mud & came out at this wonderful gorge & swimming hole. We both went for a relaxing “Cold” swim & had a sunbake & had a great avo. We then made our way back to the car park & back to the van into the air con as it was very hot again today. Well we had to go up to the bar & pay for another night, shame that, so we a had a couple while we were there & got talking to the manager who said they had left Vic in February to have a working holiday & had minded a few parks & got to Pussy Cat Flats & had been there since April, They did a great job & we enjoyed our stay there & will probably call in on the way back. Well eggs for tea tonight an easy tea as we are off to Adelaide River tomorrow.

26-7-09 Happy Birthday Kaz . Up early & on the road again to do the 111 km’s ,we are staying at the Showground S20 per night for two nights, we settled in , a nice spot with shade cloth over a lot of the sites, we got one & left the girls in the van with the fan going as it was getting hot. We went sight seeing & passed the old Low Level Bridge, the old original Railway Bridge & wandered through the Sunday markets across from The Adelaide River Inn that has “Charlie the Buffalo” of Crocodile Dundee fame ( Stuffed) at the bar. Yes we had to try the beer & wine in case its different from pub to pub, Den reckons this is the life. We then went to the War Cemetery that is beautifully landscaped & very interesting. We went back to the van & Den went to look at the Railway Heritage Museum while the girls & I curled up on the bed under the air con as it is really hot. Den came back & watched the footy as we had not seen it for a few weeks, he enjoyed it. While I caught up on the diary.

27/7/09 We are a bit slow this morning, we had a talk to the people next door & decided to go & see Robins Falls & maybe go on & have a look at Daly River. We got to the Falls 15 km out of Adelaide River . We left the girls in the car & started our walk through the bush track, over rocks & trees with no real path to follow. We must have gone about a km & were just about to give up when we got to the end to a beautiful waterfall & rock pool. We took some photos & made our way back to the car, it was really worth seeing & a beautiful spot. We then drove the 100 km to the Daly River, we had heard so much about this place, we were a little disappointed as there was not much there. We went down to the Daly River Crossing which was pretty, & called into the pub to check out the Caravan Park next to it (no we didn’t have a drink - surprise ! surprise ! ) . We then drove to a river front spot ,all the time looking for crocs as there is warnings everywhere, we did not see any thank God.
We then went looking at about 4 other caravan Parks, but most did not take dogs & we found that unless you had a tinny ( boat - for you Canadians looking at this ) there was not much to do. So we can say we have seen Daly River & I think on the way back from Darwin we will stop at Bachelor & explore Litchfield National Park & then go & see Douglas Daly Springs, we have been told its nice. We made our way back to van & did a little packing up & got tea & watched TV after another hot day. Off to Darwin tomorrow.

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