Humpty Doo – 28 June 2012
The day started very early. Kelsey woke up vomiting at 1.00am and then again not long after. She wound up in bed with us and was running a mild fever. We had to cancel a catch-up with old friends of my Dad’s who were passing through Darwin. Sue went to the chemist later that morning and picked up some panadol for the fever, which helped markedly. We spent most of the day at home, before Kelsey picked up mid afternoon. As we’d previously organised to catch up with John and Penny again at the Mindil Markets, and Kelsey was feeling better, we headed into town for another sunset and a feed. Kelsey was fine the rest of the evening and that night.
Sue and Penny at Mindil Beach
John and Penny with our girls
Humpty Doo – 29 June 2012
No further trouble from Kelsey during the night, she appeared to be fighting fit again. After a few more chores around home that morning, we joined all the crew for a bbq and swim at Berry Springs. The kids had a ball swimming in the warm pools, as did the adults.
Main pool at Berry Springs
We came back to the van, got changed and went in to check out the weekly Palmerston Market. The girls loved it, as they had their faces painted for free and also had a specialist balloon made for each of them. Kelsey got a kangaroo and Georgia a buffalo. We met Monty Dwyer there, the ex-weatherman from Sunrise. We ended up buying a full set of his books and dvds, written during his travels around Australia. We had dinner on the grass in the town square beneath approximately 50,000 screaming lorikeets.
Potential road kill
But alas, she survived
Our rainbow child
Humpty Doo – 30 June 2012
Kelsey woke this morning with tummy pains which turned out to be a nice old case of the trots. We decided to rest her that day, so I did some more welding while the girls relaxed. Later that day we drove to Berrimah to buy a new water pump/tap for the van and then went on to Howard Springs. You can no longer swim with the barramundi at the springs, which was a real bummer, as we’d been telling the girls about it since leaving Brisbane. They were doing a lot of work to make the area more tourist friendly and the girls enjoyed running through a new water feature that had been completed. Kelsey’s tummy was still troubling her, but she came good for dinner and the rest of the night.
Humpty Doo – 1 July 2012
We started Territory Day with a trip to the local shops to buy some fireworks for that evening. As chance would have it, we ran into one of Sue’s girlfriends from Brisbane in the car park. Kerri, her husband and two kids had made the long run to the Top End for a quick 4-5 stay with friends, just down the road from Humpty Doo. We chatted for about 30 minutes before getting our fireworks and heading into town for a trip to the Darwin Museum.
The Museum was enjoyed by all. We especially enjoyed a special fishing exhibit and the Cyclone Tracey display. We sat in the shade on a beautiful grassed lawn and ate our lunch overlooking Fannie Bay.
Next stop was Aquascene at Doctor’s Gully, where we hand fed the mullet, milkfish and many more with the bread supplied. The kids loved getting their fingers sucked. We finished 2 hours here with an ice-cream each, before heading home for the Territory Day celebrations.
The girls hand feeding the milkfish and mullet
Kelsey feeding a mullet
Adam feeding the milkfish
Georgia keeping the mullet happy
A close up of a milkie sucking in a crust
There was about 40-50 people at the block that night. After a mixed feed of bbq and party food, we enjoyed about 1 ½ hours of fireworks, supplied by all. It was a really good night, without any collisions in the dark.
Humpty Doo – 2 July 2012
Sue had a really bad night’s sleep and woke to her own dose of the vomiting and diarrhoea bug. She endured a hairdresser’s appointment, feeling like she was going to die and spent the rest of the afternoon curled up in bed. The girls gave her plenty of peace and played with Margaret’s grandchildren all afternoon. I continued my welding and fabrication.
Margaret kindly made a big round of toasted sandwiches for all 4 girls and I grabbed a late serve of fish and chips at the shops while picking up some groceries. Sue of course opted out.
Lee Point – Darwin – 3 July 2012
Today we packed up all the gear and moved to the Lee Point Caravan Park, on the outskirts of Darwin. We decided this was best because we had a lot of running around town to do and could save considerable time by staying closer than Humpty Doo. When we arrived at the park there was a small market in progress, where park patrons sell their wares each week. Sue and the girls were rapt with our timing and headed straight for the market, while I set up the van. Luckily, they didn’t spend too much money.
As the tinnie was already set up on the trailer, we left it behind and I returned later that afternoon to pick it up separately. On the way, I managed to find my way into a couple of tackle shops and Super Cheap, where of course I had to buy a few lures, etc.
That night we caught up with our old friends Ian and Mandy Carmichael and their son Nicholas. Their unit backs onto a golf course and the kids had a ball kicking the footy on the fairway. We had a great night with them catching up on old times. They mentioned their daughter Samantha was arriving on Friday evening for a surprise visit (for Nicholas). Mandy asked if we would still be around on Saturday for a catch up with her. We hadn’t seen Sam since she was 13 (now 23), so we made a date to meet on Saturday at the Lake Leanyer Waterpark.
Lee Point – Darwin – 4 July 2012
After a late start to the day, we headed into Darwin City and had a wander around the shops and mall, before the girls had their first feed of Maccas since leaving Brisbane. It never even touched the sides.
After town we drove down to Stokes Hill Wharf for a quick look and then over to the Darwin Waterfront, a new development which includes a hotel, private residences, restaurants, retail stores, a lagoon with a sandy beach and best of all (for the kids), a wave pool.
We didn’t swim then, as it was getting late, but made plans to return the next day.
That evening Georgia and I donned the maroon and adorned the bed in front of the telly for the State of Origin 3 broadcast. Once again, the mighty Queenslanders triumphed over the evil Cockroaches from the south. That’s 7, can’t wait for 8.
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