Currently sitting tonight on the balcony of an apartment that will be home for us in Darwin these next few days. Must still be 28C at 7.30pm!
The day started early at Cooinda Resort when my alarm went off (again) as I forgot to reset it from our dawn cruise morning. We hit the breakfast buffet again, packed up and were on the road at 8.45am.
The traffic was normal for these parts with hardly another vehicle spotted between the resort and the Jabiru turnoff. From the turnoff towards Darwin the traffic picked up and we passed another couple of roadtrains hauling fuel destined for places in the west. We stopped at the entrance to Kakadu National Park for a photo and a successful search for a geocache. The speed limit for much of the way was 130kph – not a good cruising speed with the Tvan behind so we plodded along at 115kph.
The traffic increased as we approached Darwin and became quite disconcerting – traffic lights, multi-lane roads, indicating, giving way, keeping to the left, etc. Filled up with fuel on the outskirts of Darwin at the best price we have paid for ages ($1.52 per litre) but it still cost over $200 to fill!
Made it into Darwin city centre, washed (blasted) the Prado and Tvan, found the apartment and did a quick check around the centre of town. Unpacked a few things after making sure the vehicles fitted into the secure parking area.
Walked to the Sunday night market at Mindil Beach – about 2km walk. Roughly half the market was trinkets and the other half food – a vegie samosa, curry laksas and a coconut and pineapple lassi to wash it all down was very nice. Wendy also took the opportunity to enjoy the local mangoes that are just coming into season – there are also some in the fridge for breakfast!
Cars are booked in for a service tomorrow – a 10 minute walk from the apartment. Also looking for a haircut and Wendy is after some pampering after a couple of months camping in the bush. Have to get a tyre repaired and Glen is after someone to check the bearings on his camper trailer as a precaution before he heads back to Brisbane. Hopefully Darwin will give us a chance to kick back before the final leg of our adventure.