Mon, 30th May, 2022 Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

The Air Force jets are zooming over us again as they land at the airport - very loud.

Steve helped Rod to try and sort out his problem with his Redarc system.

The new neighbour had to shift sites so the groundsman came with the ute to shift him to a new spot so Steve gave them a hand. His car had blown the gearbox yesterday so it was friends that got him and dropped him here last night. Hearing that we don’t have much to complain about really - just useless freight companies that say ‘pay us more money and we will overnight your parcel’ but then don’t!

Clouding over this morning making it very humid.

Found a number on the TNT site to send the tracking number and got a response saying on 27 May it was still at the Brisbane Depot!! I had put in a support request with Shippit and they sent a text that they were investigating but no one can tell us where it actually is and why it hasn’t arrived.

Sent Malcolm a text as they are in for some very cold weather down there. Ray and Carol rang - they have been stuck in the van as it has been raining and you can’t go anywhere on wet dirt roads. They have got out the cards and are trying to play Skipbo. Made me get out the cards too and have a few games with Steve.

2pm we heard some rain drops then it rained a bit harder and now it is very muggy.

I went for a walk out to the highway for a while - needed some exercise as we are sitting around so much.

The jets have returned from their exercise - probably at Tindal. A few bigger planes too - should have taken some photos to send to David.

Rod and Christine have been so helpful offering us a lift etc if we need anything.

Chatted with the neighbours while we sat outside with our drinks. A couple with their kids have arrived. They are from New Zealand and have been travelling for 12 months. He was a pilot and of course had no work through Covid so they came over and hit the road.

 

Sun, 29th May, 2022 Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

Few clouds about this morning. Went for a nice walk. 

Now I have my groceries I made pikelets and put the date slice in the over. Rod and Christine wandered over while we were have a cuppa and joined us for pikelets and rosella jam.

I read my book while Steve went for a wander. Sounds like lots of people have issues with their car or van so we don’t feel too bad.

Erica returned my call. All good at the moment. They had been at the markets this morning.

Gary and Cheryl stopped by on their walk and checked out the camper then stayed for a lovely long chat. 

Got our drinks out then Rod came over to offer Steve a drink for helping him out with his car so we went over and spent a lovely time chatting with them over cheese, biscuits and Christine’s homemade sweet chilli jam which went beautifully with the cheese.

New neighbours beside us tonight.

 

Sat, 28th May, 2022 Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

Put on our boots and went for a long walk this morning. Too much sitting around at the moment. 

Got back just as Tony and Hilary were heading off. Might catch them on the road somewhere.

At last we received the photos from Coral Expeditions from our cruise in April. Here’s a couple of us having a great time at King George Falls, exploring King George River and then the exhilarating ride through the first of the Horizontal Falls.

Pottered about and read our books.

My food orders were due to be delivered in the afternoon. I waited at reception and luckily took my book as I waited a long time but it saved us having to rush around and do it once we are back on the road.

 

 

 

Fri, 27th May, 2022 Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

Took the books we have read and DVDs we have watched over to Reception as they have an exchange library there. Came back with more books and DVDs to keep us occupied.

The advice on the TNT Courier app changed to ‘delivering’ but by the afternoon nothing has arrived. Tony offered to drive me to the FEDEX/TNT office where we picked up the fridge to check in case it was there. Unfortunately it wasn’t and the chap said it was in Brisbane. I hope he read the info wrong as yesterday the lady said it was in Cairns after being picked up from Brisbane the night before. I will be writing a strong letter to the company as they advertise Overnight and charge for it but don’t deliver what they promote.

As we still don’t have a car to use I went online and put in our shopping orders with Woolies and Coles for delivery to her - the lady in reception said people do it all the time.

Sad news through that one of the big boats we saw at the Horizontal Falls has crashed or something going through the falls and 26 passengers and 2 crew were injured. We had planned to go with that company but of course did the cruise and did the falls in the zodiac.

Chatted with some other campers throughout the day. The park is full again for the weekend.

 

Thurs, 26th May, 2022 Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

Chilled out today reading and chatting while we waited for the overnight delivery of the turbo. Hot and humid but there is a good breeze blowing so it is nice in the shade.

Air Force fighter jets zoomed over us a few times throughout the day coming in to land at the airport.

No turbo yet and then we get a text saying due to Covid there could be delays. Decided to get a Uber around to FedX to check if it was there and was awaiting delivery. Unfortunately no, it had been picked up in Brisbane and flown to Cairns and left there at 2pm but still not here! The lady was very helpful and will check on it tomorrow. Oh well, nothing can be done about it so just wait and chat with the neighbours. Hate to think how long it would take if we paid for normal delivery.

Quiet night watching TV.

 

Wed, 25th May, 2022 Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

I baked some Anzac cookies then rang the girls at Tuckshop to say I had but I won’t be able to drop them off! Had a nice chat with Rochelle as they were all busy there.

Rang Rebecca for a catch-up too.

The garbage truck came by so Steve asked if we could put the fridge box in and he said yes so that got rid of that rubbish. Will dispose of the fridge once the truck is going. 

Uploaded more days of my blog - slowly catching up but it seems to be taking ages to upload the photos again.

Steve gave the camper and truck a clean as a few moths had made left their egg sacks on the vinyl. We are all clean again. Just need to top up some food etc and get back on the road.

We walked up to the pub and got our grog so one job done.

Joined Tony & Hillary at the camp kitchen for drinks. Gary and Cheryl from Melbourne joined us too - they have been held up with brake problems on their camper. Tony played a few songs and we joined in with a few. Great evening chatting.

 

Tues 24th May, 2022 Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

Up early. I got the washing on as there was a line up for the machines yesterday.

Jon rang/videoed from his room on the mine site so we had a wonderful chat. Lovely to see his face and check out his accommodation. He is looking forward to being home again this afternoon for two weeks off.

Steve measured up for another solar panel as he wants more power for winter when the sun is lower in the sky so you don’t get enough exposure on the flat panels on the roof. Otherwise he is very happy with his battery set up.

I cleaned the camper to get rid of all the little black bugs. Nice to have it fresh and clean before we head off again. 

Steve went off in the truck to look for a new start battery as this one is getting old and it will be cheaper to replace it now than on the road in the bush! 

He wasn’t gone for long as he had only gone up the road when he heard a poof, hiss and then black smoke. He looked for blown pipes then limped back to camp. On further investigation he found it was the turbo - Oh No. First the common rail, then the fridge and now the turbo so that’s 3 so we should be right from now on! It looks like the nut has come off the front turbine wheel and gone into the turbine and snapped the shaft taking a few blades with it. We rang Eclipse Turbo Systems as it was only 13 months old. They were very helpful and will air-freight us a new one so we should get it Thursday. 

Sometimes it is frustrating when things break but I look for the positive in the situation - at least we were in the middle of the Gibb River Track!

We let reception know that we needed a few more days. She said she will mark us till Monday and we can just fix them up when we are ready to go. She said NT stands for Not Today or Tomorrow when it comes to deliveries. The staff here are so helpful.

We put the awnings up as we will be here a few more days and the afternoon sun still has a bite to it.

We sit out the front in the afternoon in the shade of the camper and chat with our neighbours. A NSW couple across from us were having troubles putting up their awning so Steve leant a hand. They had a poultry farm and I mentioned Mum’s cousins, the Inghams. They only supplied Steggles with their chooks.

Tony, next to us, was heading over to the camp kitchen with his guitar. He played us a song from a Clint Eastwood movie ‘The Mule’ which was great.

We were having dinner when Tony came back and said he and Hilary and another couple were having a BBQ tomorrow arvo if we wished to join them. Sounds great.

Jon sent through a photo - home with his darling again.

 

Mon, 23rd May, 2022 Couzens Lookout Campground, Mary River National Park to Hidden Valley Holiday Park, Berrimah, NT

Packed up and headed off. Lots of wallabies on the road - most were good and went back into the bush but some just want to be dare-devils and dart across the road.

Back into the Arnhem Highway. Saw a dingo on the road near Mt Bundy.

Turned off to check out Leaning Tree Lagoon Nature Park which was closed on our last visit. The track is still wet but we made it to the lagoon where it looks like the track went around the edge but that is underwater. Not much to see other than lilies etc and we can’t see any leaning trees! No info boards either.

Back to the Stuart Highway and turned north. Stopped for a cuppa in the Info Bay near Palmerston. A car pulled in and had the hide to dump more rubbish on the pile beside the overflowing rubbish bin - really - couldn’t they take it a bit further and find an empty bin!

Went shopping for more soft plastic lures and some traces as we lost a few of ours! Decided to buy a outside table too - one with the roll-up top so it folds up into a bag.

I checked the tracking number for the fridge and one thing says its here and another says not till Monday. The depot is down the road at East Arm so we drove down to check. It has arrived so we headed back to the caravan park we stayed at last time and booked in for two nights.

The park is much busier than our last visit in April. We are further around nearer the road. Dropped off the camper so it will be easier to swap the fridges over.

Back to the depot and picked up the fridge. 

Had lunch then got to work taking the old fridge out. Steve took the doors off so it was easier to carry out the door - lucky he had put in a wider door. Put it back on power so I could put the food back in till the new one was in and cooled down.

Steve had to swap the door hinges over first on the new one so he took the doors off and we carried it inside and put it into place. On with the doors and turned it on - all good so far. Just need to push it back and screw it into place.

We sat in the shade of the camper within easy reach of the old fridge for our drinks. Rang Daniel and enjoyed a lovely chat with him. He had a great birthday. Rang Annalise to see how she survived with Jon being away. Doing well.

Yummy barra again for dinner - so wish we had landed the other one.

Quite noisy here beside the road but it will settle as night falls. At least there aren’t any black bugs.

 

 

 

 

 

Sun, 22nd May, 2022 Shady Creek to Couzens Lookout Campground, Mary River National Park, NT

Heard on the radio that Labour has won the Federal election - oh well.

We headed down early for a flick. It is low tide but the little ones were happy to play with our lures and we both caught a nice size one for a photo even if they are under ‘eating’ size.

Went back to camp for a while. I wrote my blog then we had a cuppa while the birds squawked. Our neighbours have left but we didn’t see them leave as we were fishing.

Back to the barrage again - there are more barrages around the area but this is the only one we can have access too as the rest are on the pastoral lease here. Had fun with the little ones again. My poor orange plastic is getting a bit sad and I have to push the hook through in different places as it is about to fall apart. I caught one that was nearly legal so after a photo he went back in to grow a bit more.

I commented to Steve that there should be one more bigger barra hiding under the grass on the edge when I got a strike and I knew it was a bigger fish. When he showed himself it was big. He put up a bit of a battle then I started working him across to where the lower bit of the concrete so Steve could lift him up but as Steve grabbed the line it broke and the fish disappeared with my orange lure. Everyone saw it so I did a little dance! Oh well at least we know there are bigger ones on this side with all the babies. Steve reckons it would have been 75cm at least - Dash it all!

Steve gave me a new green lure like he had and I got strikes and a couple of small ones on it straight away but no more big ones for either of us. Lucky we have yesterday’s barra for dinner tonight so we don’t feel too bad.

My big fish enthused all the kids as they rushed over to where we are and moved in on our spot! They are all so keen and happy to be catching the little barra too. The tide has come in and the saltwater was just starting to reach the top of the barrage so the mullet extra were doing their mad dashes across the barrage.

We headed back for a late lunch then packed up and headed back out. Stopped at Mistake Billabong for a look. A small tour group was there and parked on the track so we couldn’t get past. We parked at the entrance and walked in. Read the info then did the short walk down to the viewing platform. Wasn’t very exciting.

Back in the truck and down the road to the turn off to Couzens Lookout and Rockhole (19km). A blue-winged kookaburra flew over us then a white-bellied sea eagle slowly rose off the ground and flew into the bush. Are we becoming ‘twitters’!

Travelling through thicker scrub and trees as we reach a Y-intersection. We went right to the Rockhole. Passed the turnoff for the Wildman 4WD track but it is still closed. The Rockhole is part of the Mary River with a boat ramp and day use area. There is a nice grassy area near the toilets that would make a great campsite! Made a cuppa then wandered over to read the info board in the shelter. We aren’t far from Corroboree Billabong that we visited last time.

Great photo of the Heron - he looks like the ‘stealth’ walker we saw at the barrage but without the pretty colours.

The sea-eagle we saw.

I spotted a croc making its way across the water.

A whistling kite was having a good time diving for things in the water but he didn’t seem to get anything to eat.

Walked down to the boat ramp area for some photos. I think this point of rocks is why it is called Rockhole. Two guys we saw at Shady are here and put in their boat for a fish. We can’t fish from the bank here as the big water lilies are all along the bank and too hard to get a lure through.

Back to the Y-intersection then around to Couzens Lookout. We went around a small hill for a lovely view over the river and wetlands. Lots of big lilies with lovely flowers. Might be a good spot for sunset as there is a park bench here facing the west.

We continued around the hill then back to the turn off for the campground which is around another small hill. Chose a spot with a lovely shaded view of the water.

Steve settled in with his book in the shade and I wrote up my blog so we are up-to-date for when we go to Darwin tomorrow and I can upload it all. 

Drinks outside enjoying the view.

The sun was heading down so we walked around to the ‘lookout’. A couple had pulled in near us and put up there tent then driven off. They were at the lookout too set up to enjoy their drinks and nibbles as the sun set. There was a cross next to the lookout sign and seat and it was in memory of Ranger, Ken Couzens - hence the name of the lookout.

Of course we chatted as the big ball dropped. We spotted a crocodile cruising along the river. Lots of other ripples further along which was either ducks or crocs!

The colours were better after the sun had set.

The mozzies moved in so we headed back to the camper. Two birds were calling to each other - I thought it was Mopokes but it sounded more like dogs barking which Steve said he thought there was a barking bird. I looked it up and they were Barking Owls - cute. They have a distinctive double note ‘woof-woof’. The male and female often duet with the male making the lower-pitched call and the female the higher note. We learn things every day. They seemed to follow us as we walked along - bit eerie. When we got into the camper they sat on the tree beside us and ‘woofed’ away. I tried to see them with the torch but they were well hidden. They moved on then later on came back past us. I had fun calling back to them.

Had half the barra for dinner which was yum with roasted vegies.

Unfortunately the little black bugs are here too. Will have to give the camper a good clean out when we get to Darwin.