Tuesday 7 May 2013

We are out of the pool and sitting outside having a drink while waiting for dinner.  36 degrees in Katherine for anyone interested.  But, to go back to where we left off last time, we have spent the night at the oasis in the middle of nowhere, Barkly Homestead Roadhouse, where the beer was cold and the shade welcome.  Jude even managed to find a dress to buy out here.
Next stopover was Daly Waters and the famous pub.  The camping area was beside the pub this time, so we have broken the pattern of camping behind pubs.  If you haven't been there, do yourself a favour.  It is a fantastic place to visit, and the food is really good too.



There are collections of  just about everything, there isn't a spare spot on the walls, the ceiling or the posts holding up the ceiling.  It was a very enjoyable night, even though the music from the rodeo in the next paddock went on until 2,20 a.m.   And yes, I did say the next paddock, the pub is in a paddock!

Next morning we were Katherine bound, with a stop over at Mataranka to try out the thermal pools.  It was a very pleasant setting in the National Park, but the water is a bit too warm to be refreshing in these temperatures.



The park where we have been staying in Katherine is the Big 4, and it is one of the best we have stayed in.  There are lots of shady trees, a lovely pool, a bistro by the pool run by 2 very friendly young ladies and the owners are from our area - Jeff and Julie Smith.  They lived at St Leonards, and Jeff came from Inverleigh.  They know lots of people the Browns know (the Browns do know just about everyone in Victoria!)  Again, do yourself a favour if you are up this way and find this park - there are lovely cabins for those of you who don't have your own cocoon.  The park is very large, not overdeveloped, and they grown their own mangoes for the very delicious mango daquiris (don't know about that spelling) at a very reasonable $7 each at the bistro.  We thought it a good idea to have several of those, purely for the fruit content.  Dinner there was also excellent.



No, I haven't shrunk since I left home, it's just the photo.  And in case you are wondering, we have done some things on this trip other than visiting country pubs and eating.  Here's an example (oh, no, it involves eating and drinking too!)
Last night we had a fantastic experience, we took a sunset, dinner cruise through Katherine Gorge.  It is a spectacular natural feature of the area and seeing it at sunset was amazing.





And, sorry to mention food again, but the food they produced from the front of this little boat would do credit to any restaurant.  We started off with anti pasta plates on the table.  This was followed by absolutely delicious crocodile cream soup (who knows if it was really crocodile, it tasted good!).  Then we had sorbet to "cleanse the mouth" before our main course of barramundi or local beef.  How good is that - especially if you could see where they produced it all from.  The highlight was the dessert - watermelon, then kakadu plums topped with lemon pannacotta - magnificent!



Sorry - forgot to take a photo before we started them.

So it's goodbye to the beautiful Katherine in the morning and onward to Timber Creek, then Kununura (never sure how many ns to use there) to meet up with Craig and Di and head for El Questro.
Not sure when next we will meet, but until then we will do our best to enjoy ourselves - it's a tough life being a grey nomad.  xx


3 comments:

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    1. I'm enjoying the photos and stories. For someone who has no blog experience, you're doing a fantastic job.

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    2. Thanks, Luisa, glad you are enjoying the journey with us. We are certainly having fun.

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