Lunch with the Ralhs

The NT roadservice guy came pretty quickly really this morning, less than an hour’s wait, and basically told us what we suspected, that we needed a new battery. He also reckoned that our jumper leads weren’t worth much and that that was why we couldn’t jump start it. So it was straight into Mataranka to get a new battery from the only place in town, Willie’s Autos, which is a busy place, being on the main highway to Darwin. Its owner is 65 he said, dying to retire but has to find someone to sell it to first. Anyway once we were sorted with a  new battery we headed for Katherine, only to realise halfway that we should have filled up with fuel as well…. Quick stop for a jerry can refuel. It turned out that the Ralhs were heading starting their trip south today and so we organised to meet for lunch in Katherine. It was a shame that we couldn’t overlap for a night together, but the lunch was still a nice catch up for us and the kids. We got tips for Darwin, Kakadu and Litchfield NPs and in return gave them some tips about Alice Springs and Uluru, although Robyn and Vin have already been there pre-kids. I have to admit to feeling a bit relieved that we have all those long driving days behind us for a while (that they’re just starting).

We had planned to stay in Katherine tonight because we needed to get the suspension on our trailer looked at, but when Nick took it there it turned out that the guy didn’t have the parts, so we have to have it done in Darwin. We were going to stay with Megan and Jamal but will have to see them on our way back down, when we’ll also go to Katherine Gorge. For the moment we just want to get up to Darwin and get the trailer done tomorrow (before the weekend). We’ve bush camped tonight in a dusty, noisy roadside stop about halfway, with the idea that we can get there early and get it done in time to get to a caravan park. It might be good to get in early as it turns out that the Darwin Rodeo is also on this Friday and Saturday, so we’re hoping to go and have a look at that as well.