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Published: July 24th 2011
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Sunday 17th – fairly early in the morning we had a phone call from our daughter Sarah – she was slightly concerned because we hadn’t issued any blogs for almost a week. We often chat via Skype but hadn’t managed to do that lately so it was lovely to chat and reassure her that all was fine. It was true that we had got a bit behind with the blogs and once you do that it’s hard to catch up especially when there are interesting trips to write about.
So, slightly later than planned we set off for Berry Springs - we had been concerned that the springs there were so popular that they would easily become un-pleasantly busy. The car park signs suggested this was the case: “If the car park is full then Berry Springs are busy - come back later”. Yesterday we had arrived (by mistake) at about 9:45am and it was reasonably quiet. Today we arrived at a similar time and were pleased to see that there weren’t too many cars in the car park. As we were already prepared in our bathers, we made our way to the main spring area where the warm water
emerges in abundance. This area in itself is a popular place for kids who like to frolic in and around the waterfall that feeds the two “drifts” and the two main swimming holes. I decided not to get in the water here but Graham was determined to enjoy the full “drift” experience. So, armed with one of the “noodles” that Sarah and Darryl had left in the caravan, he was soon in and began to drift down towards the first major swimming hole. Drifting was not so easy as the presence of some huge boulders meant that you still had to clamber over some areas before reaching the outlet into the first magnificent swimming hole. By the time Graham had made it over the boulders, I had walked down to the swimming hole and had climbed in to the beautifully comfortable water – no huffing and puffing – it was truly lovely. We spent some time in there before getting out and still there were only about six people there as most were still up at the waterfall.
A few more people were beginning to arrive but we still had plenty of room as we both did the second
“drift” down to an even bigger water hole. Again drifting wasn’t easy as in places the water was quite shallow but the bigger lower swimming hole was a joy with lovely, warm and clear water with plenty of fish. Why hadn’t we brought our snorkelling gear? For the experienced swimmer it would be possible to swim several hundred meters here but we contented ourselves with staying in the deeper water near to the exit ladders, still using our noodles to float easily around. We chatted to a few people and enjoyed a bit of ‘fish spotting’ while we dried off. As it became busier we strolled back to the car for the return journey to Howard Springs. We had noticed a couple of interesting features which would be worthy of a visit on our way back. The first was a huge termite mound right on the side of the road and it was easy to pull in and take a photo which Graham took of me being dwarfed by the enormous structure. The second thing which caught our attention was a series of World War II temporary airstrips from which the Australian Air Force had launched flights to counter the
potential invasion of Japanese forces. Several airstrips had been constructed generally running parallel to the main road and at one of them, The Strauss Airstrip, there was a display of mock aircraft with information on them about the various wartime activities.
Our return to Oasis Caravan Park at Howard Springs was to be interrupted yet again as we were attracted by the sign to a town called HUMPTY DOO! We had never heard of it and knew nothing about it. It wasn’t far off the main road but, we suspect like thousands of others, we couldn’t resist going the short distance to see what Humpty Doo had to offer. It was a surprisingly pleasant and well established small but independent town with a reasonable shopping centre, hospital, plenty of businesses and ideally located for anyone who wanted to be near to but not actually part of a city like Darwin. But why Humpty Doo? We never did find out but there were three possible answers listed on the internet none of which were that compelling. This had been an extremely enjoyable day with just the sort of things we like doing – a swim in some hot springs, a
bit of investigation into Aussie history and an inquisitive look at an unusually named town. It lacked the wildlife of yesterday’s visit to the wildlife park but, over the weekend we had fulfilled and thoroughly enjoyed everything we had planned.
But there was more to come - every Thursday and Sunday evening, ‘sunset’ markets take place at Mindil Park on the water’s edge in Fannie Bay, Darwin. As well as a very busy and varied market it provides for an excellent sunset opportunity over the bay. This being Sunday we decided to give it a visit but we remembered from last time that parking could be a nightmare. So we drove in early and arrived at about 3:00pm – an hour before the markets were due to start. We weren’t sure what the traffic would be like or how complicated the journey might be but it was very straight forward and with a tiny bit of help from Sat Nav it took us well under 30 minutes. We were able to park immediately opposite the market area which was already a hive of activity with vehicles coming and going setting up the market stalls. In fact many of the
craft stalls were already up and running so a casual wander round gave us a feel for what we might expect when everything was in full swing. We walked right through the market area and along the sea front but it was so hot with very little shade that we didn’t walk as far as we originally planned. Instead we went back and sat in the shade of a large tree and watched the many unfinished stalls being completed.
Graham was particularly absorbed by a young fellow and a girl setting up some amplification gear and it soon became clear that they were establishing a small stage. Judging by the amount of electrical items they had, we were expecting a group of considerable numbers. Having been involved in the setting up of the kit for Mo, Mac n’ Me, Graham was convinced that there would be at least four players - amplifiers, speakers, microphones, mixing desks and sound effect panels were everywhere. Imagine his surprise when the young fellow turned out to be the only artist!! With just one guitar, he seemed to be extremely over equipped but, to be fair, he produced a really pleasing and professional sound.
Outline replicas of Kittyhawks
used in WWII from the airstrips that run alongside the Stuart Highway It was difficult to establish how much was him and how much was his equipment but he could certainly play a guitar and his voice was extremely mellow. His name was Harii Bandau and judging by the variety of CDs he had for sale he must be reasonably successful.
We resisted the temptation to buy a CD and strolled on round the market which, by now, was bursting at the seams with stalls and visitors. All of the stalls were of a high standard and very professional with crafts, health items, food, entertainers, tourist trips, etc. There was no end of tempting bits and pieces I could have bought – pictures, ear-rings, ointment for mossie bites, tee-shirts and other things but I thought of the bulging cupboards in the caravan and didn’t buy a thing! It was easy to pass an hour or so there and we partook of some tasty Chinese food for our evening meal. But, after what had been a fairly busy day, we decided to forego the sunset and make an earlyish exit. Traffic was quite heavy but it didn’t take too long to get back to the caravan park. We spent some time Skyping
Mindil beach looks pleasant enough
but it's not safe to swim (although a few people braved the stingers and the crocs) with my brother Rod and his wife Tania – it’s always nice to catch up - and by then the evening was almost over.
What a varied and interesting couple of days it had been!
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