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Published: June 16th 2009
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Distance traveled 4060km(100%).Stayed two nights.Washongi was starting to sense “mission nearly accomplished” as we swung back onto the Great Northern Highway for the last time.The sign board read Darwin 797km’s.About 30km’s further along we crossed the state line into the Northern Territory and this was in itself an interesting “crossing”.Just keep in mind the following….the NT has a land surface area of 1349000 sq km(SA equals 1215126 sq km)and a population of just over 200000.Lots of space with not too many occupants.When you enter the NT two things whack you between the ear lobes….firstly,you put your watch forward 90 minutes(aren’t time adjustments done in bites of 60 minutes?)and,secondly the speed limit leaps forward to 130kph(from 110kph).Washongi salivated at the prospects!Now given the lack of permanent residents you would think that the speed limit would be halved to 60kph…..let’s keep these tourists here as long as possible to boost business prospects?A few things started to change noticeably.The sealed road was not in good shape in many sections perhaps confirming the NT is the poorer sister in the family of states.Secondly,it became increasingly more treed and one sensed that this was a more tropical climate which it is.A real case of leaving the
red of the Outback behind and meeting the green of the Top End.Thirdly,the dry creeks we had seen all the way from Perth now had good supplies of water in them including the Victoria River threading it’s way alongside the road for some distance.Our destination was Katherine,some 400kms from Lake Argyle where we intended spending the evening just to break the journey.Inevitably nature called and Sue located a parking area off the road which had a toilet(these stop and park areas are numerous and warnings many km’s away provide some relief as to how long one needs to assume and hold the clinch position).Sue released the dashboard,which by then had noticeable scratch marks, and marched off to the ‘loo.Soon thereafter she came bursting out with pants barely secured and emitting a wide eyed screetch.The cause of this extreme trauma was a large frog which found something attractive about Sue’s anatomy and leapt out of the toilet bowl.Bush wee’s then became the order of the urge.In the same parking area we saw a caravan which looked as though it might have been the first ever assembled with an old,grey bearded occupant staring into space.Not unusual except he had a large stuffed
dog,dressed in a warming jacket,chained to the caravan and sitting alongside him on a cushion.Wow!Earlier in the journey we had stopped at Pine Creek,an old mining hamlet which looks to be in struggle mode.Objective was simply to do the Roadhouse “thing” and get brekkie.On entering said roadhouse one sensed that all was not well…..shelves were empty and the owner,an old grey bearded guy,looked up startled at what could have been his first customers in weeks.Without prompting,he proudly announced “No milk for coffee”…..I sensed a strange “Deliverance” musical jingle in my head and we bolted to an Elvis Presley themed diner up the road.Phew…we had been warned that the NT was tough.Something else we had observed along our long journey were the odd cyclist or two slowing peddling their way across chunks of Oz.They all carried a full load of camping gear and the odds and ends needed for on the road survival stored in pouches on the bikes.Now I would imagine cycling around this country must be a pleasure in the dry season.Absolutely no chance of rain,relatively flat and good sealed roads and very few auto drivers who are going to wipe you out.Not quite in the mould of our
guy Riaan Manser who cycled alone around Africa on anything but sealed roads and through seriously hostile countries(if you haven’t read his book “On my bicycle around Africa”..do so).It is an incredibly courageous and inspiring story.Katherine was a very pleasant little town sitting on the banks of a lush,tree lined river.No need to explore as we would return there on The Ghan a few days later.Darwin was now within reach and along the roadside were a number of clearly signed airfields built and used in WW2 against raiding Japanese war planes.Somehow arriving on the outskirts of a smallish city after six weeks of delightful small towns and resorts didn’t resonate with us.But then it happened…Washongi purred across the finish line.No ticker tape parades or roaring crowds but simply the satisfaction of “mission accomplished”.A few words of tribute to Washongi.Total distance covered since leaving Perth……6675km’s.She started first time,every time.She did not develop any of the symptoms of swine flu…no coughing,spluttering etc.,Those Germans at the ‘Benz factory can be proud of their Deutsche technik.Just remember Washongi had 286474 clicks on the clock when we,sadly,handed her back.Take a bow Washongi….you did us proud.Darwin is a city of some 120000 people and was surprisingly
new and modern which is not entirely unusual as it was heavily blitzed in WW2 and then whacked by Cyclone Tracey in 1974.There are signs of major new road construction,upmarket apartment developments and a brand new marina which in many ways was very similar to what is happening in the Durban Point precinct.There are a number of buildings of historical significance which escaped war and cyclone damage.Beautifully laid out memorial park areas in honor of those who perished or contributed to the war effort are positioned along the esplanade.Australian fact file…….ever wondered what those marsupials are all about?Some of us may remember from riveting biology classes a good few years back but a gentle reminder nevertheless.A marsupial is a class of mammal characterized by a distinctive pouch in which females carry their young through early infancy.Early birth means that a developing marsupial removes from it’s parents body much sooner than in placenta animals.These little “joeys” have to climb up to Mom’s nipples for tucker and as a result their front limbs are much more developed than the rest of the body at the time of birth.Australia has about 200 of the 330 marsupials found World wide.Now here’s the thing…..a kangaroo can have two “joeys” in the pouch and be pregnant all at the same time.Considering the manner in which ‘roo’s are being annihilated on the roads,this is probably nature’s way of keeping the species going.So the Perth to Darwin chapter of our journey ended six wonderful weeks and we were able to reflect on many of our memorable and magical moments whilst we were in Darwin.Hopefully,the stories on the travelblog have somehow managed to describe some of what we have seen and experienced.If it inspires anyone to contemplate doing a campervan trip along similar lines then we would have succeeded to some degree in our attempts to sketch the story.Would we do it again?You bet……an unqualified “Yes”!Now for a different mode of transport…The Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide.For the “9 to 5’er’s”……no fishing in Darwin but Tasmania waits to be conquered.
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Barrie Irons
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What a great trek
Fantastic final report on the journey - it will be so different in Tassie - you could have traveled around it 6 times with that distance covered.