17th August

It was pack up and hit the road again today.We farewelled Andy & Woolly and headed to Mareeba for a few nights at Debbie's.That night we had pizza with Debs daughter Taylor and her boyfriend Jed and her friend from NZ.

18th August

Today we did a tour of the Atherton Tablelands with Richard and Debbie.We stopped at a cheese place for a tasting and then drove to Lake Eachem and the Curtain Fig Tree.Matt cooked up some fish for dinner and we sat down to have a few beers.Late in the evening we received the sad news that Matt's Nan, Irene, has passed away.

19th August

After much discussion and thought we decided we should hot foot it to Darwin and fly back to Melbourne from there, so we had 3-4 days of driving ahead of us.We also decided that we would still go via the Savannah Way so we hit the road and headed west.We decided to set up camp just west of Normanton and found a track along a river and drove along it a found a nice sandy river bed to camp on.Well it looked nice but it wasn't!Matt drove down on to the sand and was turning around and the car and camper just sank in the sand!We were well and truly bogged!Matt said 'No worries!I'll get the winch out."But the winch decided to die and Matt had to use his ingenuity and every piece of recovering equipment we had to get us out.Two hours later, after much digging and towing we were out!Tired, sweaty and hungry we drove back up to the road and camped on the roadside.Matt set up the shower and we all washed and went to bed hungry as we were too tired to eat.

20th August

Up early and on the road again! Along the way we had just crossed a river and found a car full of aboriginals on the other side with a blown tyre.We stopped and loaned them our wheel spanner and watched them change the tyre, all the time wondering if they were all travelling in the one Toyota Ute (there was about 4 men, 3 women and 6 kids and no other car in sight).They were very thankful for our help and the kids happily waved us off and yelled out big Thank You's as we drove past.We did a big day of driving today and spent 13 hours in the car!We drove through to Cape Crawford and camped there for the night.We headed straight to the bar for a few drinks and a cold pie as we were too tired to cook and the guy running the pub felt sorry for us so he gave us the pies even though the kitchen was closed.

21st August

Today we drove to Daly Waters pub, stopped for lunch and then went and had a couple of drinks and a game of pool.We made a donation to the RFDS and left our business cards on the wall along with thousands of other little knick knacks.We then drove a little way up the road and stopped at the Larrimah pub for a drink and a look at the animals (there was a small zoo out the back).On to Mataranka we went, with a quick stop at the old Elsey Station cemetery - the station featured in 'We of the Never Never'book and movie.We set up camp at Elsey National Park Campground and went for a much needed swim in the Roper River - it was heaven!We had a lovely night in camp with a lovely bbq dinner.

22nd August

Our first stop today was a Mataranka Caravan Park for a barramundi feeding demo.Then we went for a quick dip in Rainbow Thermal Spring at Mataranka Homestead - there were too many people so we didn't stay long.Then we stopped for another dip at Bitter Springs which was a much nicer more natural thermal pool.We arrive in Darwin early evening and headed to Glenn's (Matt's cousin) where we cooked up a roast for dinner and had a visit from our friend Dan.

23rd August

We had a lazy day today.We had a nice sleep in, did the washing and relaxed before catching the red eye flight to Melbourne for Rene's Last Shout

26th August

Today we repacked the car, hitched up the trailer and headed to Litchfield National Park where we set up camp and then walked down to Florence Falls for a much needed swim.It was heaven!After lunch we drove to Tolmer Falls and then on to Wangi Falls for another swim at another awesome spot.On the way back to camp we stopped at the Rock Holes for a swim in yet another fantastic location.We are loving Litchfield National Park today!

27th August

We drove to Sandy Creek and hiked 1.7km in to Tjaynera Falls.It was well worth the hot walk as it was yet another beautiful spot and a great swimming hole.We even had the place to ourselves for about 10 mins.On the way back to camp we stopped for a wallow at the Rock Holes which was heavenly as well.That evening Glenn and Taylor drove out and the boys drove back to Darwin leaving the girls to fend for themselves.The girls cooked up dinner and before they could clean up it started to rain.It rained for a couple of hours so the girls jumped in the camper and played cards for a while.

28th August

Matt and Glenn were out fishing with Dan all day today while the girls packed up camp and hitched up the camper.It was Mel's packed and driver without Matt and she was bit nervous but everything went well.The girls spent the morning at Florence & Wangi Falls before driving back to Darwin in the afternoon.

29th August

Veg day at Glenn's.Then hit the Mindil markets for dinner before going to see the John Butler Trio perform.Very enjoyable evening.

30th August

Back on the road again heading to Kakadu.First stop was the Adelaide River Jumping Croc tour and then Matt put the pedal to the metal to get us to a boat tour on the East Alligator River - we made it just in time!After the boat tour we walked to the Ubirr Lookout, had a look at the aboriginal art along the way, and watched the sunset.It was a spectacular view!We were sitting on a rocky outcrop looking out across a grassy plain.It was just what I imagined Kakadu to be.We spent the night in Jabiru at the caravan park with the pool!

31st August

Today we spent a couple of hours driving down to Twin Falls where we did a short boat cruise followed by a short hike to the falls.Unfortunately we couldn't swim here but it was a beautiful spot and worth the visit.After Twin Falls we drove to Jim Jim Falls and hiked in to the base of the falls.Unfortunately the falls weren't flowing but we could swim in the pool at the base of the falls face.We were quite happy about being able to swim because it was bloody hot!

1st September

Got up, packed up and drove to Katherine.We stopped for a quick look at a couple of billabongs in Kakadu along the way before leaving the park.We spent the night in the Nitmiluk National Park campground at Katherine Gorge which was another great camp spot - mainly because it had a pool!So once again we had an afternoon swim.

2nd September

Hopped up and had swim and then packed up camp before doing a 30 min helicopter flight over the Katherine Gorge.After our helicopter flight we did a boat cruise up the gorge which was really nice and much more impressive than from the air.After lunch we drove back to Darwin.

3rd September

We stopped in and had a look around the Darwin museum before heading to downtown Darwin for a Tapas lunch which was really nice.In the afternoon we headed to the Darwin Ski Club for Sundowners and farewell drinks for Jane.After quite a few drinks we headed to Mitchell Street for some pizza and then headed out to the Beach Hotel for dinner and dancing.

4th September

Bye Bye Jane!We farewelled Jane and then spent the rest of the day getting ready for our trip to Phuket.

5th September -15th September

We spent 8 relaxing and fun days in Patong, Phuket lazing by the pool and eating yummy Thai food.We met some great people and had a really good time.We did a boat trip to Phi Phi Island and went swimming and snorkelling and we also did a kayak trip around the limestone pillar islands and through the sea caves.

16th September -18th September

Lazy Darwin days!We spent a few days hanging out at Glenn's and slowly getting ready to hit the road again.We finally got organised and were ready to hit the road the following day.