Crocodile Van Royce

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Last time we left our intrepid travellers they had arrived in Darwin and had enjoyed the first night dining on losing toads. Well a lot has happened since then and it’s time you received the real perspective from the GMan.

After spending a great night down by the pool it was back to business for the Van Royces, and that meant......well, not much really... On Monday morning, Darwin Cup Day, we (I) started my exercise regime again by having a relaxing stroll around the caravan park. It’s amazing how many people are up and about early in caravan parks. No wonder the grey nomads are having dinner around 4.00pm as most of them are up early pottering around, fixing a loose screw here, tying back an awning there, all scintillating stuff.

Around mid morning, after the rest of the family had dragged themselves out of the scratcher, and we watched various people dressed up and heading off to the races, we drove into Darwin. We’re about 20 mins out of town, past the industrial area, parks, and industrial area (Yes....again...). As it was a public holiday, there wasn’t much open however we ended up at the Darwin wharf. It is still a working dock with plenty of ships, and customs boats but it has also been spruced up and has a number of cafes, ice cream shop, bar and various other businesses overlooking the harbour and the obligatory smoke from a fire. If there’s one thing I will remember from Northern Territory it’s that they love to light fires.....every day they are setting fire to something!!!

It was so nice, and the smoke hadn’t rolled in yet, that we decided to have lunch there (and a few beers of course, another thing Northern Territorians are famous for....). During lunch we noticed a number of people coming up to the corner of the harbour including a tv crew. “We’re famous,” I thought until a quick bit of research revealed that the replica Endeavour ship was due in about 10 minutes. And quicker than you can say, “Thar she blows.” there she was and it sailed (motored) right in front of us. We hung around watching them dock and get ready to disembark but in the end it took bloody ages, and well, how long can you stand in the sun looking at a ship? We were all sweating like pigs so got into the shade where the female Van Royces enjoyed an ice-cream.

After that bit of excitement we got into the car looking for a place to swim and after driving around for 20 minutes drove just about back to our original car park where we found the Darwin lagoon and wave pool. It’s a massive pool where people can play in man made waves. For those been to Sea World it’s like that and for those who haven’t been to Sea World it’s like the one at Sea World!!

I got first turn with the kids who commandeered a boogie board each and went right to the front where the waves are highest, and it was great fun. Although after about 10 minutes trying to keep an eye on the girls while trying to stay afloat myself I was bloody tired, and glad when there was a 10 minute break. Aware that Lisa had been stuck behind looking after the bags I did what any decent bloke would do and had another go....

Then it was Lisa’s turn and it was timed perfectly so that she was trying to enter the water with Scarlett while the waves started crashing down. Oh what fun....I had watching them get smashed by the waves...until I did what any decent bloke would do and went out to find Charlize (who was at the front again) while Lisa retreated to the shallow water. Finally Lisa did get out there with the kids....at least I think it was Lisa; all I could see was a green hat bobbing up and down.

We’d arranged to meet our French pacific friends (Stephanie, Vincent and their three boys) again that night for a drink and in that great European tradition we were an hour late, although they didn’t seem to mind (I did hear “Sacre Bluer”a few times though....). After a few drinks we had our first bbq tea in Darwin and like all bbq’s it tasted bloody delicious. After tea, Stephanie & Vincent joined us at the Van Royce for a few more drinks. We had a great chat and next thing you know it was well after midnight and no doubt we’ll get some dirty looks from fellow RVer’s the next day. While they didn’t say it specifically it was evident that they were missing an opportunity to talk with Aussies and kept on saying how great we were (although I’d had a few beers by that stage...they could have been saying anything). They are leaving the RV park to spend three days in an apartment in Darwin and were very sad that they may not see us again. The only downside for the day was losing money on the cup. The uncle of the family in the RV behind us owned one of the horses, “The Ruffian” which I backed and it came nowhere. That’s $2 down the tube.........Lucky it wasn’t my turn for the punters club.

The next day, was just as big as Darwin Cup Day, as it was Laundry Day!!! I headed off bright and early to find a washing machine however due to those bloody grey nomads every machine was full by 7.00am!! I finally found some machines, paid several large bags of coin and walked back to the Van Royce to sit around for about four hours waiting for the rest of the family to rise. Then we decided to head off to Crocodylus Park, a crocodile farm and zoo about 10 minutes from the RV park. We’d been given a discount voucher from the RV park which I was keen to put to use. After arriving we got to the entrance and waited....and waited, until finally one of the 16 year old girls rolled her eyes in our direction, looked up from her chat to wander over (can you see where this is heading?). After asking for a family ticket I presented my voucher to be told that the voucher could not be used for family tickets. I looked again at the card and this was not mentioned anywhere. So we basically had two choices, laugh it off and pay the full price or make a scene in front of other families waiting to come in. Guess which one we chose? About 5 minutes later after we had said our piece she finally offered to get the manager and I agreed that that would be a good idea. After 5 minutes later and a supervisor wandered over, said, “That’s fine, we will honour the voucher,” and we were in. The supervisor said that she had been there four days and said that she understood the need to talk to the staff about their attitude. Van Royces 1, Snooty teenage girl 0.

After such a great start we weren’t too sure about what to expect however I must say the price (less discount) was well worth it. A guy came out and gave a one hour tour on all things crocs which was very interesting and literally hands-on. I got to hold the stick dangling some meat down to a huge croc which jumped up to grab it and the power was unbelievable, they are just massive beasts (and tasty too....). After the tour we all got to hold a baby croc which was a great experience for all. There are nearly 10,000 crocs in the park and unlike a zoo they can be as little as 10cm away from you (behind a lot of wire of course). You get the sense some of them are watching you just waiting for you to make a false move. I always made sure I stood next to someone chubby just in case.....

Later on we walked around the rest of the park looking at wallabies, kangaroos, emu’s and monkeys and were able to get really close to them. What is it about monkeys that makes people (Graham) start to harass them? I could have happily spent 20 minutes standing in front of the monkey cage taking the piss out of two monkeys staring back at me. One seemed to be getting annoyed so I was glad when Scarlett said she needed to go to the toilet as either way I could have been pee’d on.

During our walk around we came across a lion enclosure with a male and female lion. The female was on heat and let’s just say the male was taking full advantage of this. Within ten minutes of us standing there he’d tried it on at least three times. Apparently the lions had come all the way from Tasmania....The only reason we know this is that one of the rangers told us that they were brother and sister!!! The only way they could stop two-headed lions being born was to have the male fixed. Our girls didn’t seem to notice the lipstick appearing on the male so we just told them they were having a cuddle.....A great way to finish our visit.

After leaving the zoo, and giving the 16 yo the bird as we left, we headed back to the RV park for a well earned swim. The facilities here are fantastic. It has three pools, plenty of bbq areas and a bar/restaurant. The main pool was just about empty when we went for a swim so the girls and I made full use by bombing each other.

Later on it was bbq time again at one of the camp kitchens followed by a game of Uno Attacks. Lisa (cheated) won a few games but generally you’re only really as good as your last game and I won that one!!!! We were taking it in turns crushing the girl’s spirits until they started to sook so we let them win a game each (of course they sooked when each other won....). Then it was off to bed for a well earned rest.
On Wednesday we (I) arose early as now it was time to wash the sheets that we had been carrying in the car for a week as we kept forgetting they were there. This time I got to the laundry at 7.00 on the dot to find.....the bloody staff member hadn’t turned up to unlock the door. It was finally unlocked around 7.20am so I could throw the washing in and get on with real issues, like reading the paper online. Which I would have expect for the fact our Wi-Fi wasn’t working and I spent a frustrating 45 minutes on the phone to Telstra arguing about why they are such a pack of useless bastards. I finally got on to find there wasn’t any news worth reading anyway.

The rest of the morning was spent pottering around the Van Royce while Charlize did some school work and Scarlett drew some pictures. I tidied up the front boot while Lisa put away the washing and tidied up inside (I know, all very exciting....although you all wish it was you!!!). Worn out by that hard work we headed again to the pool where Lisa punched Charlize in the eye (she actually threw a ball at her when trying to hit me) and Scarlett was kicked in the mouth (by a girl she had befriended only moments before). A great time was had by all.

Later that day we drove back to the wharf to sample one of the restaurants we had seen the other day. What a life, eating lobster mornay (Lisa) and a dry cracker (me) watching all the boats come in from various cruises. Life is pretty good up here. So much so we are actually thinking of selling up and moving here.....or at least staying a few extra days anyway.

And that takes us to now, 11.00pmish on Wednesday night. It’s about 20 degrees and as it’s been about 30 minutes since my last one, I thought I’d have a beer. We hope everyone is well. We’ll post some more photos soon; we have plenty of bushfire ones to share......

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