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We got home at last with just a minor water leak at Cadney Station to keep us on our toes. The caravan uses those "push on" connectors that rely on water pressure to hold them clamped in position. The problem is, when there is no water pressure, such as when traveling, there is not much holding the connection. If something bumps against the pipe, such as when traveling on a bumpy road, the connection is easily loosened so that when pressure is applied the connection leaks, such as when you stop and connect the water again. A little leak soon becomes a big leak and there is water all through the van. The connector that failed was under the sink, in a cupboard that contained lots of kitchen type things.
I will have to do some more modifications to make sure this does not happen again.
Our first night was at Dunmara, which was the third night there for this trip, and then at Aileron, north of Alice Springs. Their claim to fame is the Aileron Man on top of the hill behind the pub/store/service station/caravan park and the more recent addition of the Aileron Woman and Child in the grounds of the Art Gallery, the other building at Aileron. See Pics. The sculptures are about 5 m tall.
We had a stop at Cadney Station the next night and for the first time in ten years we did not have a Cadney Burger for dinner, they are just too much food for us to eat.
Our last night out was at Woomera and we got home late on Friday.

Katherine Gorge

You can not be in Katherine without visiting Katherine Gorge. We gave the dogs a long walk, fed them and left them to sleep in the air conditioned caravan while we slipped out to the Katherine Gorge. We did not have time for a cruise, which is the best way to see the Gorge, but we did have time to climb to the first look-out over the gorge, and the pic shows us at the top. The facilities have changed since the last time we were there, there is a new visitors centre with a restaurant, an interpretive centre, a 'tourist trap' shop and a garden planted by the local school.. The gorge is still the same.
There is a swimming area designated free of crocodiles, but just a little off-putting is the crocodile trap on the other side of the river. Lots of birds and fruit bats in the picnic area, and the tables and seats were clean. Someone must go round to clean them every morning, because the fruit bats are hanging in the trees above the tables.

Katherine River.

We are still in Katherine waiting for the caravan to be fixed. The caravan park is on the banks of the Katherine river, but a long way up! We walked the dogs down the path at the back of the caravan park which goes to the Katherine Hot Springs and passes close to the river. We saw the crocodile on the opposite bank. It is a Freshwater Crocodile, they do not normally eat people but they can take a big lump of flesh out of your body if they get a chance. This one was about 50m away, basking in the sun. Not a very good photo, it was taken on my phone on maximum zoom.
The spring for the van should be here on Friday's (arrives on Saturday) truck which means we could get it repaired on Monday, otherwise it will be Tuesday before we can leave. There is no way we could make Geraldton for their trials so we have apologized for not getting their to compete. Their has been other complications, primarily Kathy's mum being taken into hospital, and so we have decided that when the van is fixed we will go home and save WA for a later trip. We will have to work out how we will get to Perth for our judging commitments, but we will have several weeks to sort that out.

Katherine Sans Caravan

Here is the van being winched onto a tow truck. We are at Katherine, we pulled out from the Riverside Caravan Park, heard a bang and stopped up the road. The other van spring had broken. This time we called the RAA who arranged for the van to be taken to an engineering company. They are trying to get a replacement  spring. There are no spring repair people in Darwin the only option is a complete replacement spring pack- from Melbourne! Again. $500 air freight!
More news tomorrow.
The RAA have arranged for us to stay in a cabin at Knotts Crossing Resort where the dogs have to stay outside the cabin. They are not liking that.
My premium membership will allow me 2 nights emergency accommodation, plus up to 5 nights if the van is going to take a long time to repair.
In the mean time we are staying in Katherine. If the van is going to be a long time we are considering going to Lake Argyle and staying in the tent again, then coming back to Katherine when the van is roadworthy.
After that we will get the van home and trade it in.
Any one want to buy a Caravan?

Darwin Aircraft Museum

The pic shows a B52 bomber in the hanger at the Darwin Aircraft Heritage Museum. It is so big they had to cut the ends of the wings off to get it in the hangar. Under the wing you can see an F111 fighter and a bit further round, hidden by the engine, is a Sabre Jet.  Aircraft of all types were on display, from a tiny ultralight gyro copter up to the giant B52.
There is a big section on the bombing of Darwin in WW2 and also a big section on female pilots going back to the 1920's. They have a replica Spitfire and many commercial planes from the past on display. If you are interested in aircraft, visit the Aircraft Museum.
We have about 1 more week in Darwin before we move on to the next leg of our trip. Trials on the weekend then on Monday we will pack up and move down the track to Katherine.

Coolalinga

Strange things grow in the tropics. The picture shows some tiny things that had attached themselves to the dog fence and started growing. You can see the fine stalks and the pod on the end. The wire is 3 mm diameter and the stalks are about 7 mm long. Any biologists know what they are?. Pic is a bit blurred due to the wind blowing.
We are staying in Darwin for a couple of trials that are on this week and next week. Last night was not to good with a lot of NQ's. Hopefully we will do better tonight.
We will be doing the West Coast to Perth starting a week on Monday, aiming to be in Geraldton by the end of August for their trials.