Not sure how to start this because we are out of Internet range so I’m not sure where or when we did the last update. 
We are at Corella Dam, about 65 km east of Mt Isa, Qld. Yes I did say Qld. We had intended going west from Darwin to the Kimberley region and especially the Gibb River Road but the fridge problem that we have had for a couple of weeks persisted so we decided to go east and south into cooler Qld instead. 
From Darwin we headed south to Three-Ways then east to Barkly Homestead. It rained heavily for several hours and by the time we got to Barkly Homestead the caravan park was under water. That was not a big problem but it meant that the roads that we were going to take across the Channel Country south of Mt Isa would also be under water so we stayed an extra night at Barkly.

Next stop was a billabong on the Georgina River just out of Camooweal. This was a very nice area, although very slippery on the clay flats and some vans had been bogged trying to find their way in or out of the many camp sites near the billabong. We stayed a couple of days, enjoying brolgas, eagles, kingfishers, ibises and egrets during the day and campfires under a full moon at night.

I left the car ignition on by mistake and flattened the battery which resulted in the backup car fridge blowing a fuse so now we had a suspect caravan fridge and a useless backup. We got a jumper lead start at Camooweal and in Mt Isa we got the car fridge fixed and the caravan fridge is coping better now that we are in a cooler area than a few days ago. This afternoon the car battery went flat again; a battery problem or my mistake? Tomorrow we’ll get a jumper lead start and see what happens. The car batteries are 6 years old so that might be the problem. 

Meanwhile we have enjoyed 3 days at Corella Dam. This dam was built to support the Mary Kathleen uranium mine that operated from 1950 to 1984. The mine closed but the dam remains and is a really good camping area. There are about 50 caravans but it does not feel cramped. The lake is nice and the surrounding rugged countryside is interesting. 

We have left Corella Dam and are heading east toward Longreach on our way to Maroochydore. We have decided to fly to Melbourne from there to see the grandkids during their school holidays. Looking forward to that.

We are now in Internet range, staying overnight at Winton.  It was only 22 degrees today and getting colder each day. Perhaps we should have stayed in the north where it was hot. Never satisfied!

Love to all.
Ted and Jo

We went north from Tennant Creek as planned, stopping at Longreach Lagoon, 11 km along a sandy, corrugated track from Elliott. This permanent water system is great for bird watching, sunsets, swimming, happy hours and camping only 5 metres from the water’s edge.

Next stop was Daly Waters, a dry, dusty caravan park with an interesting bush pub and a few other buildings. A meal, drinks and socialising at the pub was good fun. The temperature was into the 30’s and neither the air conditioner nor the fridge would work. The nearest repair facility was a Darwin so we drove 600 kms and booked into a caravan park. The air conditioner was fixed quickly but the repairer is not sure what is wrong with the fridge so he did a quick temporary repair then went fishing for a 3-day long weekend. Tomorrow he will have another look at it and decide what to do permanently; we could be here for a couple of weeks yet.

Meanwhile we are enjoying 34 deg at a nice caravan park site, with lots of shade and a nice quiet swimming pool nearby. 

We hope you are all safe and well. From Te and Jo

The past week proved to be even more interesting than we expected.

Trephina Gorge in the East MacDonnell Ranges, about 60 km east of Alice Springs, is great – rugged and dry, but also quite beautiful, with really good bush walks. The vegetation all looks healthy after recent rain, with lots of varieties of trees and grasses. During a camp fire session after dark we heard that an 86 year old man had gone for a 30 minute walk at 4 pm and hadn’t returned.  The officials didn’t want untrained people searching so we just provided support to the man’s wife until eventually he was found at noon the next day; after 20 hours he was healthy so it ended well. 

Then the rain started and kept coming down for about 12 hours. After seeking advice from the local park ranger we decided to leave and take a chance on the roads.  The trip to Ross River, then north along the Hale River was slow with water across the road in most of the creek crossings and mud in hollows everywhere. We stayed overnight at Old Amberlindum homestead, still a working cattle station. Luckily the owners were welcoming because we were the only guests there. We took their advice and stayed an extra night because the track to Gemtree, 100 km further north, was still wet. Staying longer was good because we were able to spend several hours helping to drove 140 cattle from the next property, about 7 km through some quite rough terrain. It was good fun. 

The track westward along the Hale River was still wet and at times a little slippery, then we drove north for about 40 km along the rocky, corrugated and frequently wet Pinnacles Track. Many times we were doing only 10 kph so the 100 km trip from Old Amberlindum to Gemtree took 4 hours and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The scenery was quite spectacular.  At Gemtree we heard that there was more rain on the way so we changed plans and headed for the Stuart Highway rather than continue north along Binn’s Track. This proved to be a good decision because soon rain started again and continued for about 12 hours.  By now the Todd River through Alice Springs had stared to flow so the local property owners must be very happy.

Now we are in Tennant Creek where we stopped to do some laundry and shopping. Tomorrow we will head north again then west to Kununurra in WA.

Keep safe and well everyone. Regards from Ted and Jo