Friday 19^th May Maningrida

We got up before dawn after a night with much less animal noise from outside. At breakfast I discovered that what is labelled as “gluten free” is in fact Carman's Gluten Free muesli. So I'm having that tomorrow. Alison made iced coffee to put in her water bottle, which was nice. We piled back into the old bus and drove the ½ hour back to Maningrida, where we got off at the boat ramp. We'd been told there was a toilet before we got on the boat, as well as one on the boat; but neither of these was really correct. So after 2 cups of tea, and two of coffee, we went out on the boat fishing for three hours.

My bladder had a good training session, and I'm sure others' did too. We dropped off some crab pots, then travelled at high speed further up the river, which is lined with mangroves – some of them very tall. We stopped ad our guide, Trevor (an experienced and ardent fisherman) showed us what to do. There were six of us on the boat; only two could fish at once.

Very soon, Richard caught a good barramundi. A good start! But it was not to continue; a few got away, some (including me) caught undersize ones which needed to be thrown back; and there was quite a lot of snagging on underwater roots and rocks. When our time was up we collected the crab pots (with three not-undersize crabs) and returned.

(Both entry and exit to the boat was done on land; the boat on its trailer was then put into or out of the water with everyone on board.)

Back on land, I found the toilet. And we went over to have a picnic lunch at the Maningrida Art Centre, before having a little demonstration by two Aboriginal ladies (Doreen and Frida) on string making; and weaving; and such things. Then a walk around the art centre, and I was able to check emails and load website because there was phone connectivity here. Down at the lodge, there isn't.

Then a look around the museum and we returned to Barramundi Lodge. The afternoon's fishing parties caught two more barramundi – a total of three for a full day's fishing from two boats. It seems a tad silly to me but I'm not a fisherman.

I was late getting down to pre-dinner canapes; I just caught the end of Ben's demonstration of barramundi filleting. No matter. Then it was dinner, seated with Don & Millie and Richard & Carol. Dinner was fine but then the conversation became boring. I moved with my cup of tea over to another table, kneeling next to Lucia; a much better option; after introducing some of them to Cointreau & Bailey's (“Orgasm”) about six more were ordered. It was popular! (So easy when it is all “free”).

It was 8.45 before we left and returned to our tent. Quite late for here; but some others were still going.

Saturday 20^th May Mt. Borradaile

We”slept in” till 6.45; packed our bags and went up to breakfast with them at 7.30. We had a bit of a wait to leave, but had to be out of our rooms; the only drawback of doing this tour by air, and not by road. So we had breakfast; went for another walk around the airstrip route and the little lookout walk; people chatted; and others (very few) read. I very nearly finished my long-time book, “The Makioka Sisters”. Not quite – at 10am we returned to Maningrida, and waited at the very basic terminal for our planes. A closed building with a sheltered area with seats and tables; no toilet or anything like that.

The familiar planes arrived, refuelled into their wings from a petrol bowser with a long hose; and on we went. A flight of a bit under an hour, over country which began to have large stone outcrops, not just trees. We landed at a remote airstrip in the trees, and had a short bus ride into Davidson's Safaris, where we (after a little talk) sat down to lunch. A salad again – a good lunch.

There is a (tiny) swimming pool here. We found Murray and Henno already in it! Alison jumped in – whie wearing her hearing aids, and unfortunately found it was deep enough to go under water. We hope they survive their brief immersion. I dived in – it was just big enough to do so. But a very nice feature for the resort to have.

At 3pm we loaded into an old windscreenless 4WD and drove off to see some art sites – which is what Mt. Borriadale is renowned for. As a group, we had a slow careful walk across and then up a creek and around some sandstone outcrops. The guide here, Ryan, gave a talk. It was slow and boring, and I found his style really annoying – as if he was a 2^nd grade teacher and we were his students. The rock art we were shown I thought much less impressive than other that we have seen, and we've had far better interpretive talks to.

So, all in all, it was a bit of a disappointing afternoon. Tomorrow we divide into two groups – a longer walk and a shorter walk. Alison and I have both independently decided that we're doing the walk which Ryan is not doing.

We had a G&T before going over to a very reasonable dinner. Tonight with Alice & Henno, John & Anne, and Maria. A very reasonable table. A lot of chat till going “home” at 9.15.

Tonight we have the creek in front of our cabin making relaxing noises to go to sleep to.

Sunday 21^st May Mt. Borradaile

Today, fortunately, was better. Though we both are feeling very limited; here in Arnhem Land the opportunities for walking much at all are very limited; we are not allowed to venture outside the resort area at all because the permit does not allow that.

After a reasonable basic breakfast (I've stopped having any sort of cooked breakfast) we gathered for this morning's tour. Ryan was taking the “long” walk; Don the “short” walk. So we went for the short walk. As it turned out the long walk wasn't very long anyway. The other benefit in the short walk was that the group was much smaller – 8 people vs. 13 in the other one.

We went off to a much better art site, with a guide who was pleasant, did not grate on me, and was much more informative about plants and the area in general. It was enjoyable. After morning tea of fruit, we went to a large swimming hole on a creek and had a swim. It was very nice – clear water at a good temperature; some water lilies but a mostly sandy or rocky bottom. Despite it being so nice only about half the group went in.

Back to the camp for lunch, and then a siesta time till 4pm; when we drove to another creek and got into boats. Three boats; we again went with Don. We travelled down, seeing a few crocodiles and many birds and plants, to where the creek opened up into a floodplain at the base of Mt. Borradaile. Here we all stopped, and there were drinks and canapes served as the sun went down.

A quicker drive back to the 4WD's and home for dinner. Not as interesting conversation at our table tonight. We again tonight had decided to have a day off alcohol (something no-one else seems to have done) and it was interesting seeing how much some of the others drink. Despite my worrying about drinking too much myself, I'm not in the same league as some of the others!

Tomorrow we move on to our last stop before finishing in Darwin, and I am feeling that, while it has been good in general, I'm ready for a bit of “do what I like when I like, and don't have anyone organising me” time.

Monday 22^nd May Seven Spirit Bay

Another departure day. Pack bags, breakfast.... and then, we took a walk around the camp, which is as far as we are allowed to venture on our own. It took us five minutes, so we did it three times. This was followed by a morning tour; because we are flying, not driving, we have more time. So we all piled into the “adventure bus” with Ryan and Don, and off we went. It was a good tour, despite minimal walking time; some sessions on bush foods, burning practices, and visiting more art sites and a burial site. (You could see some bones, but nothing like what we saw thirty years ago in the Kimberley.)

Nonetheless, good. We returned to the lodge for lunch, and soon after the plane arrived. The new group came in one door while we went out the other. And onto our usual plane, with our usual pilot, Matt, and our usual seats, for the 40 minute flight across to Seven Spirit Bay.

The flight was very scenic, across varied country, lots of big rivers, and across the sea for a while. We landed at “Seven Spirit Bay International Airport” and then had a 25 minute bus ride across to the resort.

And here? Luxury. Wide expanses of green lawn, a lovely extensive main building, a palm-fringed swimming pool, views over the beach; all drinks (and everything) at no charge, as usual; after an introductory talk we were taken to our cabins – just as luxurious. Two double beds, the best shower I think I've ever been in, a balcony with views over the sea; shutters all around which we, of course, fully opened. And an iron and ironing board as well.

There is wi-fi in the main building but not in the cabins, so we (and everyone else) checked their emails. And we've relaxed here, and gone for a swim; and now we're off to dinner. We have been advised that the food here is very good.

We went over for dinner. And we were not disappointed; the food was exceptional. And the dinner in general was much more sociable than last night; me between Lynda and Helen, Alison between Don and Graham. It's interesting how you learn more about people in the group as time goes on!

So now it's 9.45 pm and we're winding down for bed in our luxurious cabin. A lovely place to end this tour.

Tuesday 23^rd May Seven Spirit Bay

We were some of the last along to breakfast – which meant also the last to select our places for dinner tonight. But apart from that, it didn't matter. Today was a tour to the Victoria Settlement, a military post occupied from 1828 to 1839, on Port Essington. So we all piled into a biggish boat and had a 45 minute high-speed trip across to the settlement. It was bumpy, and noisy, and blowy, and you really couldn't do much except sit there and look around. There wasn't much to see, except for a manta ray flying briefly out of the water as we neared the settlement.

Eventually we disembarked on a beach, and Ian gave us a little dissertation on its history. He certainly knows a lot about it; I knew nothing. (I know virtually no Australian history; my schooling in this area was woeful.) We went for a walk of 3.7km; it took a long time because not only were we walking in a large group, there were also multiple stops at various sites along the way. Despite being abandoned for nearly 200 years, and having had a number of cyclones through, there are still quite a lot of remains of stone and brick structures – the magazine, various houses, the hospital, the quartermaster's store, the lime kiln; and two wells, as well. At the end we came to the cemetery, where over 50 people were buried – there was a high death rate, due to malaria and meliodosis and other diseases.

Back on the boat, we travelled across to Report Point and along the coast there, at slow speed allowing us to eat our picnic lunch; followed by another high-speed trip back to the jetty at Seven Spirit Bay.

Back home with a coffee. A read on the balcony, and then a walk trying to access the beach on the far side of the resort (which we're not meant to go to, because of crocodiles.) We failed to find any beach access, so we wandered back to the jetty and home again.

And by now, it was time for pre-dinner canapes again. I did my digital checking, and we had another exceptional meal.

Wednesday 24^th May Seven Spirit Bay

I had a very good sleep and woke as the sky was beginning to lighten. We had plenty of time for breakfast, and to make iced coffee in our waterbottles for later. And we walked down to the jetty for our fishing expedition.

We were on a boat of five – us, Glenn, and Murray and Tracey. Our skipper, Sid, took us at high speed around to another bay, where we trawled around. Various fish were caught, but not too many retained – only a little mackerel (me) and a trout (Glenn). The others, mostly trevally, were thrown back into the sea – including one who had been attacked by a shark while being reeled in and had the lacerations on its side to prove it.

And we saw quite a large turtle, as well. All in all, it was a good morning; when our time was up we haeded back to lunch at Low Beach. Not a picnic lunch really; we sat at a long table with a white tablecloth, and at fried crocodile with a slaw salad, with another pasta salad as well; and fruit for dessert. (There were also yesterday's same Sara Lee muffins, but I wasn't tempted.)

After lunch: some went to do more fishing, some returned to the resort, and we went on a trip in a 4WD into the bush, stopping to look at some more bush foods, and a short walk down to Trepang Creek – which is a wetland area with waterlilies and nypa palms – a SE Asian palm, presumably brought here by birds; this is their only location in Australia. And then back to the resort just after 3pm.

We went over to the main area for a coffee and to look at emails; the next group after ours had arrived. Among them was David Bainbridge! He was rowing with Rob a couple of weeks ago. Small world. I emailed Rob a photo of us here.

Back to our cabin for a relax. Then,,,, over to the main area; pre-dinner canapes again; then down to a dinner outdoors, overlooking the sea; a sort of “tapas” dinner; many small courses, and we didn't know what was coming. There were three tables; we were sitting wit Tracey & Murray, Helen & Graham, and Maria. It was a very pleasant “last” night's dinner, with lots of banter. Till we all went home soon after 9pm.

For a sort of last day- it has done very well.

Thursday 25^th May Darwin

And now for another “last day”. I was awake for some of the night, but it was a relaxed sort of awake listening to the night sounds. The alarm was on for 6.30am - earlier today, as we decided to go on another tour before departure at 10.15. As usual, I woke before it and turned it off; we mostly packed stuff up, and went over to breakfast – which we had to have outside, because the new group was inside. But it was nicer outside anyway.

At 8am we left – only six of us - with Phil. Phil is a good sort of guide. After showing us a bit more of the local plants – especially those used for dyes, including “red root”, an ordinary looking lily he's never been able to identify in a book, which has a bright red root! And then on to Kennedy Bay, for a beach walk. The first one this trip! It was a very pretty bay and a good – though short – walk. We did manage to see a bintang, one of the sort-of-feral ex-Indonesian cattle which a tolerated here.

Back to Seven Spirits Lodge, where we found most of the group sitting inside doing things on their phones. This seemed silly to me. We went out and watched the water's edge, seeing fish swimming by in one direction only – why? - and littleish sharks going both ways.

Then it was time to go. The best part of a ½ hour drive over to the airstrip, and onto our plane, in the same old seating arrangements but with a different pilot; and a 40 minute flight across to Darwin. A less scenic flight than many of the others, over a bigger expanse of sea.

In Darwin, we piled into a bus – the sort we would have travelled the whole way in – and drove to our Hilton Hotel. Up to our rooms – fairly standard hotel rooms, not like what we've had on the way across – had some standard lunch in their restaurant, and then.... we went out for a walk! So good to be able to again! We walked across to check out tomorrow's hotel, then down through town (which has changed quite a bit since we were last here), tourist info, and down to the waterfront. This area has been developed hugely, with a lagoon, a wave pool, a big ferris wheel; etc.

And then wandered home again. Here we bought a bit more baggage for the flight home, ate some of the chips and a mandarin we've carried around for ages; and it's nearly time for our (really) last dinner together, at Wharf One restaurant in the waterfront complex.

The last dinner? At one long, long table; not nearly as good as two or three shorter tables. And the food was dreadful – every course! None of our plates was fully eaten; the worst restaurant meal I can remember. Our opinion of it was widely shared. The high point was Ian, the guide, giving a little speech; following which nearly half the group stood up and said a few words as well – which I found quite remarkable.

Then we all came home in the bus.

And in contrast to last night's “last dinner”, not a single photo was taken tonight.

Friday 26^th May Darwin

We slept in. till nearly 8am! Went down to breakfast, ate a big breakfast; said goodbye to Ian and to some of the others who arrived; and then went out for a walk. We walked down to the Botanical Gardens. And wandered around – especially in the Madagascar section, where they have a large collection of mature baobab trees. Amazing as it was only started in 2016, 7 years ago.

Alison had rung Gae, and arranged to meet in Eva's Cafe there at 10am. So we had a coffee and chatted for an hour, before she drove us back to the Hilton – where we checked out and took our luggage three blocks over, to the Metro Apartments and Hotel. Our room wasn't ready yet; we walked about and were nearly going to board the No, 10 bus, to get to an op shop recommended by tourist info, when the phone rang and our room was ready.

So we went back and checked in. This hotel is so much better! We have an apartment with kitchen / living room, separate bedroom, and little balcony opening onto the internal courtyard above the pool. We did some internet searching and found out just where we were going to, and got on the No. 10 bus. (All Darwin buses free for seniors!) We got to to the op shop (a red cross one) but it wasn't so good anyway. So we took the bus back to town.

We got off just past Parap, and walked over to find the Art Gallery / Museum. This wasn't so easy as the map on my phone didn't have it marked; but we walked in the right direction and eventually found a sign to it. By now it was 2.30pm, so we began with a coffee and a muffin before a walk around the museum.

When we left, we walked around the seafront past Mindil Beach and the casino, back home via Woolworths to buy some food for dinner. After our lack of a real lunch (our response to being a tad overfed while on the tour) we had a coffee and ate the remains of the chips etc. we've been carrying around for days. While on an Outback Spirit tour there is absolutely no need for any extra food!

And we went down for a swim; but the sky was overcast, the air quite cool (for Darwin) and the water quite cold. We didn't go in and had a little disagreement about it. To fix this up we got dressed again and went for an evening stroll down to the Esplanade.

Now, it's 7.30pm. The airport shuttle is booked to pick us up at midnight. We have to cook and eat our dinner, and re-pack everything for the flight home to cold Melbourne.

Dinner? 9pm, after packing everything again. Our mealtimes today have been very late. And waiting for midnight; diverting ourselves with reading, having a shower, clean clothes for the night in the plane........