#BadBetty On Tour - Week 4 (Pt 1)

Early Monday morning we bid a fond farewell to Ron and Linda and to the community of Barunga - thank you for having us all and for showing us the Katherine Gorge, the old Maranboy Tin Mine and other sites around Barunga - Barunga was an experience we certainly didn't plan on - and I don't think anyone can quite understand the "Music Wars" unless you are there a while! :-) 

We headed back to the Stuart Highway and started on the way to Darwin - it was a bit of a hike but we took the opportunity to check out the Douglas Hot Springs and Pine Creek - both excellent adventures!

There were lots of photo opportunities at Pine Creek (you can see them below) but I got left in the #BadBettyBus for the Douglas Hot Springs - bit unfair if you ask me!

We arrived into Darwin on Monday afternoon and many thanks to Drew, Esther and Chook for having us here for the week! Excitement Plus - there are Donkeys over the back fence at Drew's place and I got a picture with them!

We wandered around Darwin CBD and the Waterfront yesterday - wait till you see the kids slide! How that has gotten through OH&S is beyond us!

As a tourist - hats off to all those places that takes the time to put up signs explaining exactly what we are looking at and what the historical significance is - yesterday in Darwin we learnt stuff about Australia and its colonies that has completely bypassed Mum and Dad through all the years at school! 

Thanks for enjoying our pictures and wait till you see what is next - its a Sunset Champagne cruise on the harbour this evening and a trip to the Jumping Croc & Litchfield tomorrow - wow - pictures will be incoming!!!!

Until next time - love from all of us - #BadBetty Mk II, Mum & Dad xoxo

 


Pine Creek

Pine Creek was a bit of a pleasant surprise - we pulled off to check out the lookout (which showed the old open cut mine all filled in with water - HUGE and an amazing view) and then traveling back to the highway, saw a great collection of trains and old mining equipment. 

We had no idea of the significance of Pine Creek in the Darwin to Adelaide train line and the mining equipment gave us an opportunity to see equipment we had seen at Maranboy actually in its right sort of order and its use explained - we are really enjoying this mining stuff and its providing me with lots of awesome photo opportunities!

Douglas Hot Springs

It was a bit of a detour to go to the Hot Springs and boy, were they HOT! In the shallow area, it was literally burning your feet but then almost a bit too cold in the deeper areas - hard to get it right!

There was a bit of dirt road to get in and out of there and mum is well and truly OVER any more dirt road! The #BadBettyBus did an awesome job with the unexpected water crossing on the way in and out too!

Darwin CBD & waterfront

Hello Darwin! Yesterday Mum & Dad checked out Darwin CBD and the Waterfront - we will be going back!

The Waterfront has the most amazing water park with a wave pool, the biggest inflatable pontoon we have ever seen and further around on the esplanade - the biggest slide structure too! Hail Darwin! :-)

The fish picture is in the same section of the water that the pontoon is - so clear!

 

There is lots to see here in Darwin - we are heading back in on Friday to do the underground bunker tour, Parliament House and the Museum so this is just a taste of what we have seen so far!


Simon Says.....

It's hot, bloody hot up in the Northern Territory, the ice cold temperatures of winter back home are a fading memory relegated to the back of our minds to be reinstated in the near future.
When Lyne suggested bringing an Esky to supplement our fridge and keep extra drinks cool when we reached the summer temperatures of the tropic, I rained shit on the idea. Rugged up in warm clothes and shrouded in the wind proof protection of my snow jacket, I couldn't comprehend the idea of needing to buy ice and keep drinks cool, " I don’t want to drag that bloody thing around for 10,000km, it will just take up room" I said with male wisdom. I have lost count the number of times I have wished I could reach into that plastic tub and pull out an ice cold beverage as we lumber along in our giant oven, slow roasting alive in the NT sun and the large 4.2 litre motor just inches beneath our delicate, white, southern bottoms. In hindsight, Lyne may have been right.
A good reason to set off on an extended traveling holiday is you learn to relax. The frenetic, stressful pace of modern life is replaced with the slow pace of nomadic travel as you meander from one place to another. Relaxing is not a natural state, we have to learn how to do it and it takes practise, one has to learn to be still and enjoy the moment rather than rushing about like a headless chook, freshly decapitated.
There are so many things to worry about in our modern lives it can be hard to let it all go when on holidays or at all - I failed miserably in the past when I was self employed - I was continually worrying about work, either not having enough or having too much, I could never get the balance right. How much is enough? This is a question we should all ask ourselves - when should we stop striving for material possessions and be content with what we have?
When you stop to think about it we actually need very little and I have reason to suspect as we age it's the simple things like having your health and a comfortable chair to sit in that really matters and everything else takes second place.
As many empty nesters would concur, once their offspring have left the nest or "flown the coop" so to speak, it's a challenge to grocery shop for two people - and no longer is the ideal family one of 4 -  mum, dad & 2 kids. 
You should never go grocery shopping when you are hungry as you end up buying way more food than you really need - your stomach a powerful lobby for buying more goodies!
Lyne and I have had to adjust our shopping habits to get the equation right now our kids have grown up and the reality is you don't need anywhere as much food as you think you do. Having a small fridge in the bus certainly helps with the transition and being Jewish in the monetary sense also helps.
Kids today have far too much crap - most of it plastic with a life span of 5 minutes before it's relegated to landfill. It makes me mad - why can't they just play outside with some sticks or a cardboard box and use their imagination to amuse themselves instead of being glued to the iPad or TV like an invalid?
I actually feel sorry for the newest generation and often say to Lyne that I wouldn't like to be growing up today, she concurs. We have done the hard yards, scrimped and saved and done our bit to populate the world and now it's our time to relax, be still and enjoy our health, while we still have it.
Let's leave the world to the younger generations and watch in amusement as they live their high tech lives at break neck speeds setting new records on a daily basis.

 

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