Stranded In The Outback

Trip Start Apr 16, 2006
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Trip End Ongoing


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Saturday, October 28, 2006

After a big last night out where we hit the clubs and the Vic in Darwin,danced with a fella in a wheelchair,got chatted up by the hot dog woman and watched Mick pour a pint of Lager over his head we met Flores at the back,and eventually crammed the gear into his Holden(vauxhall in oz)Jackaroo even strapping Si's surfboard to the roof.After driving around Darwin for 2hours trying to find a spare tyre for his wheel as we'd heard all about the loads of punctures you get eventually motored along the Stuart Highway down out of Darwin towards Lichfield National Park,passing the massive "Road Trains"-huge arctic lorries that are about 30metres long and pull you over the other side of the road if your in their slipstream.Pulled into a local store in outskirts of Lichfield to get some pasta and stuff for tea later when we get into the car....it wont start!sat there getting more and more pee'd off with it until I jog down to the only tiny workshop garage and get the bloke to tow us to his garage.After loads of huffing and puffing the geezer tells us as its a Japanese car and an electrical fault,he cant fix it as you need a computer to tell you the fault!!Brrrrrrillliant!So we go back to the only bar/restaurant in the place,a butterfly farm/restaurant run by a bloke from Huddersfield who sounds like a cross between Jimmy Saville and Mick Dundee and keeps offering us apple crumble.Only thing for it is to get towed back to Darwin the next morning,costinf Flores $270 and the owner lets us pitch our tent in his backgarden and gives us loads of cold beer and chips.Up at 6am next morning to load the jeep onto back of the tow truck and get hauled alllllll the way 3hours back to Darwin and to a leccy shop,where they tell him his spark plugs need changing and will cost him $250-for a car the lads bought outright from a dealer for $6000 cash!So he says ok I have no choice,and after an hour of waiting and them not able to find any more faults we set off yet again along the same road out of Darwin and this time drive past the stores and right into the heart of the national park
The park is thousands of m2 big and we stop on the way to see the Magnetic termite mounds,a field full of gravestyard like termite mounds where the clever little buggars build their mounds on the right compass point so it gets heated by the morning sun and then cooled in the afternoon-and they are massive about 10metres high.We carry on driving and eventually stop at the waterfalls where we pitch up for the night and go for a swim in the pools.The most natural setting Ive seen with a massive lake with waterfalls falling down from the rocks,and after reading the sign "freshwater crocs are found in this lake and SALTWATER crocs can move unnoticed BEWARE!" we dive straight in Breakdown
Breakdown
 !
Bit eerie swimming in green dark water when youve just read that but really wanted to cool off!Waterfalls surrounded by trees FULL of fruit bats and after getting a fire going and cooking up the pasta we all sat back and watched them all fly out at dusk in their thousands off to hunt,wicked sight.
Got up early for another dip and then drove deeper into the park,stopping at some mint natural pools for more swimming,the planned to stop at the last falls before heading on down to Katherine and the turn off to the Gibb River road,.....when we get back to the car and yeah,again it wont bloody start!!!!So were stuck,in a national park deserted thousands of squaremiles in the forest/desert with no one around to even tow us.Somehow managed to get it going and jumped straight in and said to FLores look mate,lets just keep going and not stop or it wont start again.So we head off on the 4hour drive to Katherine,and the engines fine when an hour into the drive along the highway,the engine starts overheating,and steam coming from the bonnet.We pull over and are straight away hit by the most annoying thing Ive found about Oz so far-the flies.Hundreds of them in your face,and I mean,like swarming trying to go in your ears,up your noes and in your eyes and mouth apparantly searching for moisture.So were all sat there,bonnet up on the Stuart Highway one of the most deserted arid places on earth with red dust and shrub as far as the eye can see,sat in fold out chairs,heads wrapped in towels to try and keep the flies out thinking we might die out here as theres no one around,no signal on phones and about 5litres of water left Breaking down AGAIN on Stuart H'way
Breaking down AGAIN on Stuart H'way
 !
We manage to get her going again and keeping the motor under 60kph stumble into Katherine after being overtaken by every man and his dog,but relieved we made it back.CHeck into hostel in Katherine,an aboriginal settlement with nothing there,and after having a chat with Si decide we cant keep wasting time and money on this road trip as we dont trust the car any more and itd be suicide to try the GIbb River Road as its even more remote than what weve been lucky to get away from.So we tell Flores were catching the greyhound to Broome the next day,not the way we wanted to do it as would have been awesome to stop where we wanted in the desert on the way but we had no choice.Felt a bit sorry for Flores,who was stuck then with a crap car that no one wanted to buy not even the dealers in Katherine would take it in part-ex,and whod have to get a lift all the way back to Darwin again,wait until someone was offering a car share to come all the way back again and losing $6000 on a heap of junk!
Next day up to get together and get some goon for the greyhound ride(to help us sleep!)and after nearly scrapping with the travel agent whod forgot to book a space for Si's surfboard and eventually said theyd send it on the next day,got onto the greyhound bus for the 19hour journey across the border into W.A and Broome.Hit about 6 Roo's in the night which arent a prob for the buses as they just bounce off the bull bar but would give you serious probs if you were driving in a normal car.After getting checked at the border for apples etc stopped in a garage for 30mins where Si got told off for walking into the massive freezers like some kind of trapped caveman,got to broome and into the Roebuck backpackers 8am the next morning!PHEW thankful and relieved to have gotten there and not having to worry about breaking down!
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