The day started out early with a quick packup of the van. We had to have our first stop of the day and be back at the camp by 9:30.
Mataranka Hot Springs was that first stop and it was smelly one. The area is very beautiful, but is also populated by oodles of flying foxes … hence the smell.
The area is also the site of the replica of the Elsey Homestead used for the movie ‘We of the Never Never’, that was based on the experiences of Jeannie Gunn in the early 1900’s.
Sep 19
So great to be on the road again! Being back in the van and also back touring feels almost like being home. We’re all getting very used to this travelling the countryside gig.
A couple of little errands before we left Darwin. I finally managed to find another porta potti. I also picked up a fridge fan to give the fridge a helping hand. Since arriving back in Darwin the van fridge has rarely been below 10 degrees. As I write this, its 18 🙁 The fridge is working as hard as it can, but it relies on airflow to cool it down and there is just no breeze, or its coming from the wrong way. A fan will help provide that breeze when its needed.
Definitely our last day in Darwin today. We decided to take this last day and do one of the main things we wanted to do here but just hadn’t been able to, for one reason or another. That thing was Litchfield National Park. It can be mostly done in a day, but its a big day … so we had a big day!
Up at 6 and on the road by 7. First stop was the Magnetic Termite mounds.
No photos today … we just didn’t get much time to think about cameras.
The flight back from Bali was a quick 2 and a half hour event. All very efficient and we all even managed to get a little nap, except Blake. He got a huge nap … nearly from takeoff until landing.
Immigration and customs wasn’t too bad. We had a bit of stuff to declare, but it was quickly sorted out. Lots of people getting pinged for BB guns and laser pointers.
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Sep 16
Last day in Bali started out with a sleep in … followed by an eventual breakfast at the hotel. Nobody had the energy to walk far enough to get the big version, so we settled for sitting at the beachside table and ordering a normal sized brekky for a change.
Things were looking good … we had no plans. We did need to pack our bags, at some point, and get to the airport in time for the flight … but not much else on the agenda … and what was on there was sounding pretty optional. I certainly planned on doing nothing useful and it was a given that Blake wasn’t capable of anything useful so we were half-way there.
Kel threatened to upset the applecart by going to Hardy’s for a ‘big shop’. But she strangely finds this relaxing … without the kids. B&H were quite happy to just go back to bed and play Nintendo and read. A decision made all that more delicious for them when they were reminded that all their mates had been at school for 4 hours now.
Sep 15
Today, as planned, we got up and had a big brekky and then hailed a taxi for Kuta.
We’d seen a few factory outlets and wholesale places on our travels that, from the outside, were offering good deals.
Strike One. Once we got there and had a bit of a look around we found that the prices weren’t really much better. The factory shops in Kuta have even more expensive prices than at home and these bargain outlets weren’t really any cheaper.
Strike two, Kel couldn’t find much she liked. In fact, “downright ugly” was what she thought of most of it. Just not what she was hoping for… She got a few items, but not the fangs bared shopping frenzy she was expecting.
Strike Three, this shopping caper is hot work and there’s not an eatery to be found anywhere nearby. We’re outta there !!!
Sep 13
Up bright and early today as we’d planned to spend the whole day in Kuta at Waterbom Park.
A quick brekky and short cab ride soon had us at the front gates of the park at about 9:30.
Hardly anybody else there at that time so we all headed over to the big slides first. The Boomerang, The Superbowl and The Climax.
Sep 12
We almost managed to do absolutely nothing today. Almost. Its actually pretty hard for the four of us to sit still long enough to achieve that goal.
We started out well, just brekky. But then Kel suggested that we go and get some books to read by the pool. That naturally turned into the usual shopping expedition…
Sep 11
We’d planned to go to Waterbom Park when we got up this morning, but by the time we’d had breakfast we were already over the idea. Sounded too much like hard work really.
Hannah stepping out for brekky in style
Brekky just filled us right up. Juice, fruit, toast, eggs, pancakes, coffee … all you can eat for $4. We just rolled outta there and figured some relaxation by the pool was a much better idea.
But then we started talking about taking the kids up to Ubud to see the Monkey Forest and check out the art markets. It’d only be half a day … why don’t we do that?
