To the Top, then Back Down

The drive up from Katherine to Darwin was long and hot. More termite mounds and road trains, as well as lots of signs for WWII historical sites. By the time arrived in the city of Darwin-- and it is a city, unlike the little towns we'd been visiting since Port Augusta-- we were both a little hot and cranky.

Big termite mound

We figured out how to pay for parking near enough to the visitor center, though it wasn't very intuitive. The attractions there seemed to be mostly centered around War (the area played a role in WWII) and Fishing. These are not particular interests of ours, and we were also disinclined to spend money on a hotel and dinner out at this point in the trip. Which seemed to be the only way to stay in Darwin proper. We just weren't getting a great vibe in the city, so we decided to drive back out to the outskirts where there were some caravan parks, and then head back south in the morning.

We managed to find the Free Spirit Holiday Park, which thankfully had a small but pretty dark-blue-tiled saltwater pool. Despite my cruddy mood, we had a blast playing in the water, doing handstands and generally goofing off. We laughed ourselves silly, had showers and a decent night of sleep.


Thursday morning we packed up and headed back south on the A87. Oliver had recommended Kakadu National Park, which is just south and east of Darwin, but it was just too hot (for me) to contemplate more hiking. There are not many towns on this road, so planning how far to go before dark is somewhat simplified. We decided to stop in a tiny town called Daly Waters, which is a ways south of Katherine. I had picked up brochures on both camping options, and we were able to find our first choice, the Daly Waters Historic Pub, fairly easily. 


There is not much to "town"-- it's really literally in the middle of nowhere. Campground bookings were handled in the bar. We were asked if we also wanted to book for dinner-- they had two seatings for a steak and/or barramundi grill dinner. Since there were no other real options, and supplies were low, we decided to partake. We paid up front and had about an hour and a half until dinner.


The camping area was a little reminiscent of the cattle station at Curtin Springs (near Uluru) but a bit nicer. We set up our tent near a couple of trees, on one end of the tent area. As usual, there were few other tent campers. The info we had said there was a pool, so we changed and went off in search of it. We had to walk through the bar area to get there-- it was attached to the bar, and you could order drinks there. We were the only ones to swim, though a couple of people we passed seemed to think it was a good idea. The pool wasn't the prettiest one we'd seen but we enjoyed it.

cool tables

The real treat though was dinner. There was a large dining room, decorated with shoes and hats and clothing and car licence plates and other random detrius. The tables were made from palettes and wheel rims and the place had a kind of old west feel. Plus there was Coopers Pale and a decent cider on tap (for Shawn) so we were content. The place filled up, which amazed us since it was a Thursday night in the middle of nowhere! There were mostly tourists, older people, but some locals as well. Our name was called from the grill area when our "beef and reef" was ready, and we then got to go over to a buffet table for sides, bread, etc. Every single thing looked delicious, and was. 

The atmosphere was festive when the first entertainment act, an outback cowboy singer, came on. He was good and we finished our dinner and stayed for quite a while and listened. We gave up our table as people started coming in for the second seating, and watched the show from the side for a while. We ended up talking with a young couple from Germany who had also just gotten married, and left their jobs for an extended trip around Australia. Like us, but in their 20's instead of their 40's. (We found out later that they were camped near us, also travelling in a station wagon. Funny.)


It was a very enjoyable evening, and a pleasant surprise. I laughed when I saw a sign on the wall: "The Daly Waters Pub: The only Pub where the bouncers throw you back in!"

Enjoyed the show