Becky Wilde’s – Stumbling Across Australia – Drama in Darwin

Hi guys, and welcome back to Stumbling Across Australia.

As I left you last week, we needed a couple of nights to camp up before heading to Darwin. We stayed at a great little free camp, Robin Falls. We needed this because we had a couple of time sensitive issues to rectify, and while travelling, with no fixed address, it takes a little planning and scheduling to get things sorted out. As we were packing up, hubby dropped the glass portable solar panels we use to keep the caravan batteries up and smashed one of the panels. This was not good, we needed that to stay on top of our power needs.

The car was due for a service when we got to Alice Springs. About a week before we were to be in Alice. Hubby contacted a couple of mechanical workshops to book it in but was told they were booked out over 3 weeks. Never having been a fan of Alice Springs, we weren’t about to stay there for 2 weeks waiting to get the car serviced.

Having decided that Darwin was the next destination even though that was another 2000km up the road. We estimated we would probably land in Darwin in 3 weeks, called a workshop and they were able to book us in.

Now we needed to ensure that we could find a caravan park where we could hole up nearby, and book that. Because we were getting to the back end of the tourist season, finding accommodation wasn’t nearly as difficult as expected. Figuring that there could always be delays and “extras” in the service, we booked for a week.

Because we were staying put for a little bit of time, we ordered a couple of hats to be delivered to the caravan park. Gotta stay protected. We also had an issue with one of the indicators on the caravan a week or so prior, so the order for that was also made to be delivered to the park

The car service was on a Wednesday, and we arrived at the park the Monday before. Tuesday, we decided to go and have a look at Darwin. Because we were about 20 minutes out of town, we tried to make a bit of a day of it.

Having never been to Darwin, we really didn’t know what to expect, except that it could get hot and steamy this time of year. I really don’t do well with a humid heat. That is why we booked a caravan park in the first place, so we could put the air conditioner on if needed. We needed it.

The Parking Drama

The streets were wide, and the general feel of Darwin town was relaxed and open. That’s where our first bad turn happened. Finding a car park in town, the metered parking was paid on an app. That would normally not be a problem; however, Hubby searched for the app and downloaded the first iteration of it only to find that it was a scam site masquerading as the parking app. They had our credit card now!!!

Cancel the cards. Being annoyed that he fell for this, the day just wasn’t getting any better. Waking out onto a pier, we came across a café, it was a suitable time to eat and settle our nerves. Hubby went up to order some food only to be told they would not cater to my requirements. Since I have a bad reaction to Garlic and Onions, I needed to be certain they wouldn’t contaminate my food. This was apparently too hard.

Thankfully, we found a pub that would help us out and we had a nice meal, but what an ordeal. To be fair, it is the number one reason we don’t go out to eat very much. Many eateries pre-prepare most of their food and don’t want to make something outside of their menu. Now royally pissed off, neither of us were in a mood to enjoy our day in Darwin. Back to the caravan to lick our wounds.

The car went in for a service and all appeared good. The car has always been such a dependable beast, and we look after her to ensure that is how it stays.

We were getting to the end of the week and still no Hats, or replacement indicator for the van, and of course there no deliveries on a weekend. Something we hadn’t factored in was the distance to Darwin from everywhere else.

Darwin to Melbourne – 3794km

Darwin to Brisbane – 3420km

Darwin to Sydney – 3987km

Darwin to Adelaide – 3065km

Australia’s postal service is renowned for being a little slow. I would never have anticipated that most deliveries to the top end would take between 8 and 12 business days. There really wasn’t any option. We needed to stay longer, nearly another week. We’d leave the following Saturday.

The Lichfield National Park Drama

Staying longer gave us time for a day trip to the Lichfield National Park instead of moving and finding another camp. It was only an hour away from where we were staying. After the cars service, our first day out was a disaster. Halfway to Lichfield, the car was starved of power. This was something we had never experienced before.

Uncertain what the cause was, since the only change to the care was the service. Suspecting the issue was caused by something that happened at the mechanics, we headed back to get them look at it. Reluctantly, they did, and hubby convinced them to check the computer codes. There were no new faults, but old faults were still present. After clearing all faults, hopefully, we would see a reason for the anomaly of losing power if it happened again. The workshop was pretty adamant that it could have been bad diesel. A splash of diesel cleaner into the fuel tank and hope for the best.

A second attempt to visit Lichfield.

Nearly exactly the same place as yesterday’s lack of power, there was a noise from the roof of the car. We both looked in the rearview mirrors, to find the solar panel screwed to the roof had let go and smashed onto the road behind us. Pulled over and sure enough the wires were there and the brackets that held the panel in place were there, but no panel. Not much we could do since it was too late.

Onward to Lichfield. Or so we thought.

The lack of power returned. It was a problem, but now that we knew it was probably fuel related, we just needed to run it all out and the only way to do that is to drive. Though the workshop suggested dropping the fuel tank for another $1200-$1500.

Not being deterred by the issues of the car, we soldiered on to visit the impressive termite mounds, and some extremely beautiful waterfalls and swimming spots within Litchfield National Park. Our last swim for the day was in Wangi Falls. A totally epic spot to for a refreshing dip. We both made it across to the falls. The great day was enough to create some positives out of a stressful time.

Market Day Drama

Darwin is renowned for their Dry Season Markets held each week. The morning Nightcliff Markets, held on a Sunday is touted as a cultural melting pot with a collection of street food vendors with flavours from around Asia. At night the Mindle Beach Markets holds its own charm with another more creative selection of foods from around the world. The top end of Australia truly is a melting pot of cultures from around the globe with many seeking their fortune in the rich fishing, pearl, or resources industries.

As I had discussed, pre-prepared food is always an issue for me. Street vendor food is more of a problem, since there is no way of knowing what has gone into it. So many will use onion and or garlic in their dishes. I used to also until I worked out that it was the cause of me not feeling well nearly constantly.

It was nearly lunch and the tummy was rumbling. Trying to play it safe, we both had a bacon and egg muffin with a drink from a cafe. That sounded safe. Right?

Well, the ingredients weren’t the problem, but possibly the state of them was. We both got food poisoning. I had a bad gut ache for three days, while hubby lasted 2 hours before running to the toilet and expelling everything from both ends at the same time violently. He was pretty good after that. Sucks that it took me three days to get over the illness…

The Mindle Beach Markets are held twice a week. Due to our extended stay, we were able to go there on Thursday night. This was an event well worth the trip into Darwin. The sights, sounds and smells were fantastic. I was even able to eat something that didn’t upset me. Yay.

Whip cracking show, fire juggling show, loads of different food stalls as well as the usual crafty stuff you find at normal markets. The real show stopper was the sunset from the beach.

The whole feel of the market was relaxed, gentle and family friendly. As the sun reached its last couple of minutes, many would bring out their take away containers of food and sit on the beach. Where there were once a couple of dozen, turned quickly into hundreds of people. Watching, waiting and enjoying the changing of the colours in the sky as the massive ball of gas and fire slowly sank into the water on the horizon. And once completely gone, a surprising and rousing applause sounded across the beach in appreciation of another day’s work done. The colours of the sky then continued to increase their vibrance in hues of orange to red before giving way to the night sky.

The hats and indicator turned up early the second week and they were put to good use. The replacement credit card didn’t make it before we were ready to go.

Next week we venture out of Darwin, and to be honest, I’m not sorry to leave.

We are heading for Kakadu National Park.

That’s it for this email. It turned into quite a long one. We will pick up next week with more of our adventure Stumbling Across Australia.

Stay Safe, Sane, Happy and Healthy.

Love Becky Wilde, XXOO