Day 27. Sitting on the shady deck of Eva Cafe, a beautiful old restored Wesleyan Methodist Church in the Darwin Botanical Gardens. We spent the early morning at the very busy Parap Markets where we had icy smoothies and stocked up on fresh produce and coffee. While Raechel visited the hair salon, I drove up Bagot Road to Bunnings for a look and onto my old haunts of Nightcliff and Rapid Creek. Cullen Bay now a boat marina, trendy village and waterfront mansions!...

Day 26. Up early to the ARB 4WD shop at Winnellie to fit a new Century deep cycle battery and upgraded wiring to our car fridge. Next Jaycar to buy a multimeter to check DC currents as we go. Back to the van where Raechel had prepared a nice ham salad lunch, our car fridge now working to keep our drinks cold. Then back into Darwin to visit the Darwin Military Museum at beautiful East Point Reserve. Great portrayal of the 1942 bombing of Darwin by the Japanese a...

Days 24 & 25. We finally headed west on the Arnhem Highway towards Australia's northernmost city Darwin. Crossed the very wide West Alligator River and onwards to the Bark Hut for morning tea. This was formerly a buffalo hunters' camp as the photos and old buffalo hunters' jeeps show. Even gangs of black shooters with rifles! Up further at Mary River we decided to overnight at the Eco Resort and Caravan Park. Spacious grassy sites amongst the shady trees. Cy...

Day 23. After breakfast we farewelled our friends from Canberra, Robyn and Ross, who are travelling towards the Kimberley and who we will meet up with again in WA. A quiet rest day for us - washing, shopping, reading and trying to diagnose a problem with our Waeco car fridge. A friendly resident groundsman at our van park lent me his multimeter to check my battery output/input. Seems 11.2 volts may not be sufficient to power the fridge and our second battery may...

Day 22. After breakfast, a visit to the Bowali Visitor Centre outside Jabiru to view cultural and environmental exhibits on Kakadu and to watch an interesting movie. After lunch we all piled into the Prado for our next Kakadu adventure to Nourlangie Region. Walked around a picturesque billabong called Anbangbang full of water birds and with a spectacular view to Nourlangie escarpment with its sheer sandstone cliffs. Very hot today 33 degrees so we're all feeling...