Well it has been a while since our last post so we have lots to talk about!
We travelled up the Stuart Highway and each stop was more tropical than the last. The first stop in this story is Banka Banka which is one of many working cattle stations and farms that have opened their doors to travellers. These places are different to caravan parks in that smaller numbers of sites are available and they are usually unpowered. This place was open and expansive, very welcoming and had a swimming-hole within walking distance.
As we moved further north the towns became more tropical and humid. Many also had hot springs to relax in and quirky pubs with different entertainment for travellers, many of whom escape the Tassie, Victorian and South Australian winters every year.
Unfortunately when we arrived in Darwin I (Cheryl, not Noddy) wasn’t feeling very well for a few days. Coupled with the fact that we had been to Darwin twice before we didn’t do much sight-seeing, but lots of “life admin” while we were there. We did see the sunset at Mindil Beach and wow, what a show it was.
On the trip up to Darwin we noticed many historical World War 2 airstrips and barracks. We knew that Darwin was attacked by Japanese air raids, and that there were US troops stationed there. What we didn’t know is that Darwin and surrounding towns in Queensland, Northern Territory and northern Western Australia had over 100 air raids in 1942 – 1943. These wiped out all infrastructure in Darwin and many US ships were sunk in the harbour. This resulted in almost everyone leaving the town and there were a number of military and civilian casualties.
Next we were off to Dundee Beach, all that beautiful blue water, tropical weather and amazing beaches – but you can’t swim in the ocean unless you want to lose a limb or two…
Enjoy our video! https://youtu.be/xapEY5aTNhs