We are on holiday!

Tuesday 2nd August 2022

This morning Richie and Andrew had a fishing charter booked on the East Alligator River, so they were up and off early, before sunrise again. I was hoping for a sleep-in but Bonnie woke at the same time so we had another early start.

Tegan and I were both feeling tired and exhausted after a poor nights sleep, so we hung out at the campsite for most of the morning. Rufus did some pocket money jobs while the other kids played ‘baby colts’ in the tent, which seemed to involve Bonnie feeding, then tethering Genevieve and Otis repeatedly, but it kept them happy for ages! 🤣

Tegan took Rufus and Genevieve for a swim, and I used the chance to get Bonnie to catch up on her journal, which she had slipped behind on. Again her highlights made me laugh – the day we swam at the ‘secret’ waterfall? “I played with leaves at the campsite.”🤣 These days swimming in a waterfall is just another day I guess!

Richie and Andrew returned from their fishing trip at 11:30. Richie had caught two barramundi, keeping one, Andrew was empty handed. Not quite the ‘fill the freezer’ experience we were hoping for, but it will be great to eat some fresh fish!

Richie took the kids to the pool, giving me a chance to make a few bookings at some campsites and accommodation post Darwin. I don’t want to plan too far ahead in case we change plans along the way, but it is busy so we don’t want to be caught out, particularly where we want to get a nights accommodation to break up a long drive.

We went back to the supermarket to buy things for a picnic dinner, so we could see the sunset at Ubirr. It was also a good excuse to hang out in air conditioning for a while. I don’t think we have ever been so happy to loiter in a supermarket!

We headed off for Ubirr around 5 – possibly a bit late because we had to rush the rock art a bit to get up to the lookout for dinner, but the heat is so stifling at the moment it’s difficult to do anything!

We had a beautiful picnic dinner watching the sunset – a magnificent way to say goodbye to Kakadu (and popular – there were loads of people there)! A thick cloud of smoke hung to the west, which did mean the sun set a little sooner than expected, but it did turn the sky a magnificent red colour. We sat around for a little while, then climbed back down as the light was fading – I wouldn’t want to do that walk in the dark!

The drive back to camp was slow due to reduced visibility from the smoke. Back at camp, we put the kids to bed and started packing – Richie and I decided to book the 11am jumping crocs tour, which means we have to leave here before 9. That will definitely be a new record for us, so fingers crossed we can do it! 😬

The smoke has made it’s way to Jabiru and the moon is a strange orange colour – not much to do to get away from it in a tent. As I write now, I can smell the smoke and feel it in my eyes – a weird reminder of the bushfire summer a couple of years ago. It is a relief to check that it is still cold and wet at home right now!