Oasis Tourist Park, Darwin, Northern Territory

After a few weeks of rest & relaxation in Darwin we are back online. As we had been in Darwin before, we didn't spend a huge amount of time sightseeing so our Blog entry will not be as detailed as some. 

Sunday May 9th, saw us packing up camp in Mary River and heading into Darwin. Unfortunately it rained quite heavily in the early morning hours before we got up. No big problems, but meant we were packing up some of our stuff in the wet again. I have to say I got a bit of fun out of it as the loud group next to us in tents and campers had kept us up much of the night carrying on. My evil side enjoyed watching them pack up everything wet with hangovers!

It was only a short 2 hour trip into the Oasis Tourist Park near Howard Springs. We had stayed there the last time and decided to return. New owners/managers from our last trip, Andrew & Tina. This is a very nice caravan park. Lovely green, shaded sites with spotless amenity blocks (4.5 Stars). There is a small pool that gets fairly crowded in the afternoon. We had a huge site with a lovely green area out the front of the van. The park is fairly cramped and access into many of the sites is a bit challenging. However, Andrew guides everyone onto their site and even helps with getting the vans level. Also gave us a hand leaving as we had a tree that made our exit a bit difficult. Great service and highly recommended caravan park.

The first few days were spent shopping, getting the Jeep serviced, and helping the Ransleys prepare for their Singapore trip. We took the girls out on Sunday to the famous Mindil Markets to celebrate Mother's Day. Enjoyed a nice gluten free meal topped off with an ice cream. We also enjoyed a lovely meal at the Trailer Boat Club with our niece Emma and boyfriend, Andrew on Monday night.

Tuesday we had lunch at the harbour before seeing the Ransleys off to the airport hotel. Lovely Vietnamese restaurant called Chows, that had several Gluten free options. Sandra and I enjoyed a few relaxing days after they left as we both had a bit of a bug. Just a bit of ear and throat colds, but it took our energy away. Could have been the high humidity as well.

Wednesday we celebrated Stephanie's birthday with a Skype catchup. Tim and Stephanie also announced their engagement on the call which was very exciting! Sandra and I are both very happy to welcome Tim to the family; but I think we have both been introducing him as our Son in Law for a while now anyway. Congratulations!

I had the Bushman fridge looked at in Darwin as was having trouble starting up. Also had our Ark Pak battery pack checked out. The Bushman was repaired quickly and fairly economically while the battery pack checked out fine and our battery was judged to be very good. Got great service from both places. A shout out to RADO Refrigeration and IBD Batteries for their top notch service.

We had Emma and Andrew over for BBQ dinner on the weekend. Had a great visit with the two of them. They have been living in Darwin and working in the aviation industry for a couple of years now. 

We had planned to check out on Sunday after our first week but ended up extending for another week. The caravan park was lovely and Darwin is a very nice little city. Lots of things to see and abundant shopping and services. We decided it was as good a place to be as any while we waited for the Ransleys to return and we recovered from our colds.

Our second week was spent with lots more relaxation although we ventured out for a bit more activity and sight seeing. A few of our activities in no particular order were: the Parap Markets, Cullen Bay Marina, Stokes Wharf, Waterfront Precinct, Darwin Memorial Park, Lake Alexander, and the Military Museum. We also enjoyed a few more meals at Chows and some picnic lunches on our day trips. A few photos below of some of the sites although very little camera work was attempted during our stay.

We were lucky enough to enjoy a couple more visits with Emma and Andrew during our second week as well. All in all we really enjoyed our time in Darwin and I could see myself spending an extended time their during the winter. The only negative during our stay is that the temperature/humidity is still unseasonably high. Even the locals were complaining about it. I don't think I would enjoy the wet season/build up but would be lovely once the dry weather sets in.

Mary River Widlerness Retreat, Northern Territory

Tuesday morning saw us leaving Adelaide River around 10 AM and heading North. We turned off the Stuart Highway onto the Arnhem Highway near Humpty Doo. We stopped at Humpty Doo to restock groceries etc at the Woolworths there.

From there we carried on East across the Adelaide River and Mary River arriving at the Mary River Wilderness Retreat just after lunch. We pretty much had our pick of sites as wasn't very busy when we arrived. We picked two sites as Carol and Stephen are rejoining us tomorrow. The sites are quite large, green, and shady. The only thing to be aware of is the placement of power/water points is not consistent and you need to ensure you are within reach of each service. We had stayed here previously in 2011 and were happy to return. Amenity block was fairly good but could have been a bit cleaner. I will give 3 Stars. There is a swimming pool which although small was very nice. A bit of a walk to it as is located near the administration/restaurant building. Nice and green everywhere as they are watering grass continually. Mornings are beautiful here with Sunrise, Mist, and Kangaroos!

We got settled in and did some organizing/laundry in the afternoon. Sandra and I organized an Air Boat tour for Friday morning for the four of us. We had wanted to do the last time we were here but couldn't arrange during our stay. We cooled off in the pool as well. Mobile service is sketchy down by the caravan area so we did some internet catch up at the Pool area as well.

Wednesday we became aware of the terrible wildfire situation playing out in our former Hometown of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. We spent most of the day on the computers trying to keep up with the latest developments. A terrible tragedy with the whole city of over 80,000 people being evacuated and some 2000 home/buildings being destroyed. The positive being that miraculously their were no fatalities. Another positive on a dark day was the many stories of heroism and kind acts! It is wonderful to see how people can come together in a crisis. The crisis is still playing out with no planned return date for the City residents. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people affected.
Sandra and I went for a short walk in the early afternoon to clear our heads and get some exercise. We did the Bamboo walk which is about 3 Km. Was pretty hot and didn't really see too much as viewpoints at River were overgrown and well back from the water.

The Ransleys arrived at Mary River in late afternoon after flying into Darwin earlier in the day. We enjoyed a nice BBQ Baked Chicken dinner with them. They are both well but tired from the trip and busy activity while they were home for Stephen's Mum's funeral. It was an early night for all of us.

Thursday morning we did a drive with the Ransleys. We retraced some of the sites we had seen in 2011 with the expectation that there would be more water as the Wet Season had just ended. Unfortunately we witnessed first hand the results of a dry "Wet Season". Apparently they only received about half of their normal rainfall during the Wet Season which has led to water levels being very low. Our first stop was Fogg Dam where we stopped at the viewing platform before doing a walk out to the wetlands. Very disappointing as very little water or bird life.

The next stop was the Window on the Wetlands tourist site. This is a lovely tourist display with only a gold coin donation if you like. We had seen before and mainly came to see the view as is located on a hill. Again there was limited water, so limited wildlife as well.

A few more stops at Leaning Tree Lagoon and Bird Billabong netted similar results.

We returned to the caravan park for a late lunch and a relaxing afternoon. We spent some time up at the swimming pool in the late afternoon and after dinner. The girls decided to have a hair day with each of them getting a dye job. Discovered our outdoor shower might have been missed in our cleanup from Lorella Springs.

I haven't mentioned yet about the mosquitoes. They are terrible! Even sprayed with repellent and under water they were attacking in full force in the swimming pool. We've tried a few things to discourage them but not successfully to date.

Friday morning we were up early and travelling to Wildman's Wilderness Lodge for our Air Boat trip over the Wetlands. It is located on the Point Stuart Road towards Shady Camp. We arrived just after 8AM at the Lodge. It is a really nice place and would be interesting place to stay for non caravan travelers. We suggested they consider a few caravan spots as the road in is great and is a lovely location.

Our Guide, Chase, rounded us onto our transportation to the Billabong, where we boarded the Air Boat. Sandra loved the side mirror on the truck! One other couple joined us for the trip. It was certainly a great way to see the Wetlands although would have been even better with a better "Wet Season" I think. We saw a few Crocodiles and lots of bird life. Lillies and Lotus were out as well so was quite pretty as we drove through/over the Billabong/Wetlands. I've included lots of pictures, but as always there are more on the photo link of our trip.

We arrived back at the Wilderness Lodge after 90 minute tour where we had a quick break before heading off. We traveled back out to Point Stuart Road and then North to Shady Camp. This is apparently one of the "Holy Grail's" of Barramundi fishing! There is a barrage built that is intended to keep the Salt water entering the fresh water of the Mary River system. Apparently this also draws a huge population of Salt Water Crocodiles and Barramundi. We didn't see any of either, although we did see a few people placing themselves in unsafe positions in the attempt of catching a Barramundi! Was quite a nice area and has a large camping area that would accommodate vans of all sizes. No services other than toilets that we could see, but pricing was very reasonable. Not too many people there which is probably because of the hot weather and high humidity. I would guess it would get quite busy when the weather is good and the fish are biting!

We drove back towards our caravan park but stopped at Mistake Billabong for our picnic lunch. Very little water in this Billabong as well, which apparently is one of the last to dry up in the area. Last stop of the day was at the historic Bark Hut for a cold drink. Quite a unique pub and worth a visit if in the area.  We all had a bit of a rest back at the caravans, and did some clean up/organizing. Another hot day and with lots of mosquitoes.

Saturday we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in as no early plans. We did have a boat rental arranged for 10:30 at the Wilderness Retreat which we were able to walk to. Spent about 3 hours on the Mary River exploring. Saw a good sized Saltwater Crocodile and a small Freshwater Crocodile. I tried my hand at fishing with no success. Somethings haven't changed from our last trip! We enjoyed a Picnic lunch on the boat. Haven't seen nearly as many Crocodiles as our last trip to this area. Not sure if numbers are down or they are just harder to find?

 

Late afternoon was spent relaxing and preparing to move on tomorrow. We are off to Darwin for a week or so. Have enjoyed Mary River Park again although the lack of water has reduced the Crocodile and Wetland experience a bit for us. Would stay here again should we return to try Wet Season again!

Adelaide River, Northern Territory

Time for some Blog catchup. We have been busy, or more likely I have been lazy. Saturday April 30th saw us packed up and on the road North from Katherine. We had an uneventful trip for the 200 Km North to Adelaide River arriving around lunch time. We had called ahead to see about booking at the Adelaide River Inn Caravan Park. We were told no worries as it was pretty empty but by the time we showed up it had filled up considerably. We still got a nice shaded site. The caretakers are a lovely couple and he helps guide each caravan into their site.

It was fairly snug by the time we got our awning up but nicely shaded and sheltered from the elements. The Park is lovely and green as they are watering the grass most days. Amenity blocks are lovely and clean and ample for the size of the caravan park. I'll give them 4 stars. Best of all they had a lovely big swimming pool as is still very hot and humid. We got setup and went for a swim to cool off.

We took the short drive down to the Adelaide River War Cemetery after lunch. Normally we would have walked as only 1.2 Km but with the heat/humidity we took the soft option of the air conditioned vehicle. The War cemetery is the only one in Australia for Australian soldiers lost in Australian territory. Was beautifully looked after but quite emotional to walk around, particularly seeing the ages of some of the Aussies that died. Would have been a great place to attend ANZAC services.

The afternoon was spent keeping cool in the pool. We met quite a few people there. Some were fellow travelers heading North but a lot were locals from Darwin getting away for the long weekend. Was good to meet up with a lot of locals and get information about things to see and do. A few locals reinforced our decision about not going to Kakadu. They think it is overrated and too expensive as well!

Sunday morning we went to the local markets which took all of about 3 minutes. Luckily it was right across from the caravan park and we didn't have to travel far. We had a pretty lazy day after that as was very hot and humid. We had a quick drive around Adelaide River which didn't take very long and every thing was closed. They have a railway museum but we gave it a miss because we thought $5/head was a bit steep for what it looked like. Spent most of the day back and forth to the swimming pool. We did catch up with my Mom, my Sister Liz, and both our girls on Skype. Good to get reconnected with everyone and to have a lazy day.

Monday morning we took a drive out to Robin Falls. This is on Durat Road out towards Douglas Daly. Not a very long trip but quite a winding and narrow road. The road in was a short dirt road with lots of smaller campers etc setup. Wouldn't recommend for a larger caravan unless you stopped at one of the sites closet to the road. Was quite busy with locals from Northern Terrritory as is May Day long weekend. We did a short walk at the end of the road but failed to get to the falls. It is a nice clear creek which is safe for swimming which is a rarity in Northern Terrritory. See if you can spot the snake we saw while having morning tea by the creek. Was very busy by the time we returned from our walk.

We headed back to the campsite where we enjoyed another quiet afternoon.We met up with a couple, Noel and Kathy, who we had previously stayed near at Katherine. We had a good visit in the pool before going over to the adjoining Pub for a cold drink. The "303 Bar" is an interesting old Pub with a fair amount of history. We enjoyed a couple of cold drinks there before returning to the caravan for a late dinner. Because it was fairly late and we didn't have far to travel we didn't  pack up too much that evening. Turned out to be a bit of a mistake as it poured rain during the night/early morning. No damage was done and it was much appreciated by the locals as has been a dry "Wet Season". That being said it made our pack up a bit messy as everything was wet. Oh well, it's not the worst thing that could happen to a person.

We have really enjoyed our time in Adelaide River and the Adelaide River Inn Park. A hidden gem of a caravan park that we will definitely visit on a return trip. The caretaker was even taking the day off watering when we left due to the heavy rain, although he'll be back on it again on Wednesday.