Jun 03, 2009

Whenever we travel around either here or overseas we make it a habit to never try to see everything there is to see. Firstly because that is impossible but also to try means you can risk being saturated with 'lots' of experiences rather than having a chance to' savour' them as you go. We always leave some for the next time should we ever get the opportunity to return. This trip is no different however one experience we planned but which we missed out on was a flight over the wetlands of Kakadu. Having planned to see the majority of the waterfalls at Litchfield National Park which we achieved we figured the wetland flight over Kakadu would give us a taste of the wetlands and their vastness. But, there's always a but. Unless we wanted to charter a plane for 9 which surprisingly hadn't figured in our thinking or budget, it wasn't going to be a happening thing from Darwin. All other flights leave from and return to Kakadu. So, that one is on the next time list for now.

We travelled well today. Left 7.15 to beat the majority of the heat (which we did) and arrived at 2.45 having travelled 600 kms. The butts held up surprisingly well considering it’s been a few days since we have done much riding at all. The bit of anatomy which was the most reluctant were our necks. Apparently they had enjoyed the break from having to hold our heads and helmets on so they don't flip off and bounce down the highway behind us, mind you we did have a pretty stiff head wind most of the day as our fuel usage reflected. Anyway, about 2/3 of the way here they were very owie but we both did some stretching and flexing and they got over it. Norm has many theories about some sort of device to attach to the helmets and handlebars connected by an occie strap or zip tie to alleviate the problem and if that little number makes it from the grey matter to the production stage you can be sure I will NOT be the test pilot.

It was good to be on the road again and viewing the scenery from the opposite direction and opposite lighting. Remarkable how different things can look. We had an interesting experience with a great brahman bull this morning. We saw him from a good distance as he wandered down from the grass verge onto the other side of the road and crossed to the middle and just stood and looked at us and a car behind us approach. We slowed and slowed and slowed and he stayed and stayed and stayed. The only perceptible difference in stature was his head seemingly being raised. Dilemma. Really don't want to assume he will remain statuesque as we ride slowly by, but also don't want to be travelling slow enough to be chased if he decides we've invaded his territory. Thankfully he helped out by deciding he'd just finish crossing the road and Norm drove by and once he heard Norm's bike he started behaving in a decidedly skittish manner with head and tail in the air and making good speed away from the road. Worked for me, he was off on the grass verge and heading for the scrub as I rode by.



The Larrimah servo. Definitely no fuel there!

We checked out the burnt out Larrimah servo I told you about on the way up.A sorry sight but provided some shade to stop for a drink of water and a bit of a break. We decided against revisiting the old Daly Waters Pub, figured the inn on the highway would likely be quieter but of course that remains to be seen or to be strictly correct to be heard or not.

That's it for today.



The kids tucked up in bed in front of our room at Daly Waters.