We headed off to Katherine and took a 40km detour off the highway to Leliyn (or Edith Falls as the whitefellas call it). The falls aren’t very high or wide, but there is a lot of water coming down them, opening out into a pool about 150 metres across. The water was cool and inviting but there were still signs saying estuarine crocodiles might be there and to swim at your own risk. This was better than all the previous water holes we had seen that said not to go into the water.

Katherine became a quick stop to get a new shirt after my favourite one tore across the back. We decided to push on towards Kununurra. The original plan had us staying in Katherine and going to Kununurra the next day. This would have been a drive of 520 km so we wanted to break it down a bit.

We returned to Katherine railway station to grab the cache (The Ghan) we had previously missed coming through on the train. The sun was getting hot and the breeze was dropping. This was the sort of weather we were expecting, but had luckily avoided in the previous few days.

The road passed through a lot of flat sparsely vegetated country with lots of termite mounds. Around Gregory National Park, the country changes to a mix of high cliffs and narrow chasms. We had thought of staying at Limestone Gorge but this was a 30 km detour and further away than the next town if we went straight ahead, so we continued to Timber Creek.

Timber Creek has another all-in-one centre and we decided to go for luxury and get a room rather than sleep in the ‘Bushcamper’ again. Most motor homes are like caravans to sleep in, relatively comfortable and enough room considering the circumstances. The Bushcamper on the other hand is exactly like sleeping in a car except….. well, there are no exceptions. It is exactly like sleeping in a car. It has two bed areas. One just above floor height that is about 3/4 of the width of the car (a Toyota Troop Carrier) and not big enough for two. The vehicle has a high-top and this transforms into a bed with the use of some wooden panels and a  three-part mattress. It is possibly big enough for two, but very claustrophobic. If you lie with your legs bent, your knees hit the roof. So we have been sleeping with me on the top bed and Sue down below. Every time she rolls over the vehicle rocks a little bit and the top section moves even further. The vehicle isn’t insulated either, so between the cold, the thin mattress and the rocking, the sleep is not as deep as it might be. Hence, the motel room tonight.

We need to buy some more 15A fuses as the Cig/Radio conitnues to blow periodically. We took all that Mary River had and Victoria River roadhouse had none. We ended up taking the fuse for the defog out. I hope Timber Creek has some.

It is just like being at home on a Saturday night as we are watching “Australia’s Funniest Groin Injuries”. What we don’t have at home are the community road safety advertisements with such good advice as “Don’t sleep on the road”.

Tomorrow should be more site-seeing and less driving. At least it should be a more restful night.

Ah -  the joys of caravan park plumbing. None of this fancy one drain per shower business, just have one drain for all the showers and slope the floor accordingly. Rule number two of caravan park shower blocks is ‘Try to get an upstream shower’. The closer to the drain you are, the more soapy water, mucus, wee, and the odd turd you get floating through your cubicle.
Rule number one is ‘Always wear thongs’ (flip-flops, jandals, etc) so your feet don’t come in contact with the breeding grounds for tinea on which you walk.

Mary River roadhouse is an all in one motel, caravan park, service station, cafe, shop and bar. What more could you ask for?

Last night we ate chicken schnitzel while having a beer and watching ‘Friday Night Footy’. This place really is an oasis.

To get here we came by another oasis called ‘Yellow Water’ or Ngurrunggurrudjba

It is a billabong off the East Alligator River and it is teeming with water lilies, birds and crocodiles.

At one point in the cruise we came around the corner to see thousands of whistling ducks. Periodically a larger bird would swoop into one area of them sending hundreds into the air at once. As they started to settle again another area of birds would take flight.

The crocs around here were small and probably females, with the largest one being about two metres. Not huge by croc standard, but too big to go swimming with.

On the way between Yellow Water and Mary River disaster struck. We were put in a very perilous position for the want of an 80 cent part. The 15 amp fuse for the cigarette lighter AND radio blew.  This meant the iPod, the FM broadcaster and the radio were useless.

Britz (noting by now that the Br is pronounced as an Sh) had not included a spare, so I am glad it was nothing more serious. The lighter had cam loose and somehow shorted out. The replacement fuse blew when the lighter moved so we ended up putting the double adapter into the lighter and taping the whole lot to the dashboard with elastoplast . I wonder how long we will have music for.

Now we must away to Katherine.