2011 Trip to Cape Leveque - Day 7,8,9

Day7
We should be half way there, I think we are doing pretty well & look to be ahead of time and the back is holding up well. All is good. We are up very early, it’s around 5.30am and the place is starting to move, a quick shower, breakfast and boil the kettle for some hot water for the thermos and the rest into the travel mugs to drink when we get going. Packup times are really getting cut now and given it’s not a hard floor I reckon we’re doing pretty good & we have it all closed down in 30mins with only the tailgate open for the hot water. We top up the jerry with fresh water and even put a little in the camper’s tank and off we go again. This was a great place to stop overnight, friendly owners and cheap considering what you got. I would even say that it was better than some CP I have stayed in. So we head for Katherine, refuel and turn left. Broome here we come. We have decided to do a free camp tonight and find one that is already pretty full, not really what we had in mind but as we are driving thru it Jen spots a friend she knows so we stay put with this campsite and setup. Bill comes over after we have setup the chairs and joins us for a beer & a catch up. He’s been doing the block in an anti-clockwise direction for the last couple of mths and is stunned when he finds out that we have only been on the road for 7 days. While catching up with Bill a mobile home pulls in and provide us with the nights entertainment. What a hoot. We’ve all seen this in our travels. The missus gets out to direct her husband and doesn’t realize that she is out of his mirror range….. well the language that followed had us in fits. “Where the ----k are you woman? I can’t see you. Get here woman” A lot of huffing and puffing and eventually he gets out with his white singlet (I’m being generous) and tracky-dacks with a well earned beer gut hanging over the top of them. Have you all got the picture now? ? Well, off he goes telling her how he can’t see her and so on, then gets back in the cabin and backs up so close to the toilet block that I think one or both of them might be suffering from some ill prepared meal. Then he’s out and firing up the generator. 1/2hr later it stops, he can’t get it going again, uh oh more language. He’s got it worked out now after re-fuelling it and peace is once again restored. (apart from the generator that is) Haven’t had a laugh like that in a long time.Well I’ve mentioned before that I’m not really an early bird but now that I’m in bed by 7pm I’m finding it quite easy to be out of bed around 5.30, of course if I had to get up that early for work I’m sure it would be another story.

Day 8/9
I’d have to say that the stretch from Katherine to Broome is my favourite stretch of road, and as we pull into Victoria River to refuel Jen's eyes are on sticks. I can’t wait to be pulling into all the great places along here and take in the beauty that this area has to offer. But we don’t have time now and will take it all in on the way back. As we drive into Kununurra we decide we have made such good time that we’ll stay 2 nights here and restock and do the washing. Our campsite (yes in a CP) is facing the lake with nothing between us and the water but green grass. There are kids playing with a frizzbie and are getting dive bombed by Kites.

I’ve noticed, now that the weather has improved the freezer/thumper is doing it tough so I bring out the solar panel for a bit of battery maintenance. Sit back and do a spot of reading and after a while check the battery volts, hmm not what I was expecting. Out comes the multi-meter and take a few readings from the solar panels, again not what I would have expected. Then as I am moving the panels a wire falls out, ummm that could be the problem. Fixed and lets try that relaxing thing again.

Yes we have mobile reception, but let me just say in Jen defence she was just letting everyone know what an awesome country we have.