Pearls On Wheels

Darwin is a great place to visit. Recent and ancient history to learn about. I am enjoying exploring friends Judy and Dave. The city is closer to Djakarta than to Sydney and is cosmopolitan. This is very evident at Mindil Beach Market  with its wide variety of food stalls, crafts and entertainers . Carla tempts me with her pralines which she is preparing in a large simmering sugar syrup pot. Richard introduces himself as he keeps rhythm. Tall cowboys. Crowds in the setting sun. Food stalls from many nations. "I'll only eat one potato chip"... Wild food hamburgers. Farmed crocodile looks just like fish. Didgeridoos and boomerangs that come back. Cracking the whip.  Mick's whips have a steel core, shot, plaited kangaroo hide, a binder twin tip. With the flick of the wrist you can break the sound barrier.

Over the hills and far away is Darwin.  Our route through Mareeba, Atherton, Croydon, Normanton, Mt isa, Tennant Creek to Darwin is about 3,300km.  So let's get started. Narrow strips of seal. One lane bridges. Watch out for road trains. They have right of way. First stop,  Croydon hotel. She is a grand old dame, built during the gold rush in 1887. There were 33 hotels in the town then.   The Gulflands train does a tourist run from here to the Gulf of Carpentaria near Normanton. A five hour journey. We'll be there and beyond in that time. Checking in at reception.  A bank of CCTV monitors reveals an image of a swimming pool. It was very refreshing after a long hot day.  Settled for the evening. The washing dries very quickly. On the road to Normanton. Kris the  Savannah King.  A replica of a crocodile shot in 1957 by Krystina Pawloski. Claimed to be the largest authentictaed  croco...