The long road to Darwin

The goalposts for Archipaddlo have moved and, as we have just discovered, it is a very big playing field! Over five crazy days and nearly 3000 dusty kilometres we have transported our two kayaks and all our gear to the sweaty and lush topical city of Darwin.

It is a nerve racking experience to overtake a 55m long road-train on a narrow, dusty highway in a cheaply made backpacker van with two huge kayaks on the roof acting somewhat more like a kite than a kayak. I think I can appreciate how the survivors of a cyclone must feel.

The road is overrun with grey nomads, in a thick and constant stream, all towing an enormously oversized behemoth of meticulously white caravan behind their expensively decked out (and equally shiny) 4WDs. Every stopping bay, every track off the highway, every dusty parking area is packed to the gunnels with oldies all escaping their normal lives for this rather strange 'edge of the road' lifestyle.

Plunging into Mataranka hot springs felt a little like stepping into a set in the movie "Cocoon". The warm swimming pool was wall to wall with grey haired wrinklies, all exuding a youthful glow in their shared retirement. The water certainly had a rejuvenating energy that topped up our tanks for the afternoon.

Darwin is a colourful and lively place at this time of year, a heady mixture of backpackers, nomads and pretty much all sorts. Our campervan only stands out from the crowd for the two huge parcels resting on its roof. Our kayaks are wrapped in a protective shell of bubble wrap and cardboard in the hope that they make the long journey to Surabaya in one piece. Tomorrow we'll be down to hand luggage - all our possessions in one tiny backpack - until we are reunited with our boats in a couple of weeks to restart Archipaddlo in reverse.

Tonight we are evading the authorities. We are parked in a dark street under a huge banyan fig in a quiet corner of town. Every carpark, road, lookout, park and jetty that is anywhere near the water has an ominous and thorough sign promising that the council will clamp the wheels or impose a huge fine on travellers who sleep in their van overnight. Heaven forbid that people would commit such a crime!

While we still have plenty of packing and organising to do, Saturday will be our last day in Australia. A dirty dash over the Arafura will see us gnashing on nasi goreng and sipping a chilled Bintang while we escape the madness of Bali to calmly await the arrival of our boats in Java. Until then, we'll make the most of this crazy melting pot of the north and spend the last of our dollars and cents on more packing tape and boxes.

Pictures:
1. I finally made a dint in the fish population of 'The Gulf' - these two grunter were a tasty feed (Is that proof enough for you, Chuck??).
2. I am happy this monster is no longer around - a croc this size was apparently shot near Normanton back in the '60s. I'm sure it wouldn't eat kayaks.
3. The Crampervan - of course we only drove it on sealed roads!
4. Lain getting at ease with another, more ancient predator of the north - this kronosaurus would have eaten the Normanton croc for breakfast!
5. I wonder if they will start including kayaks as a standard feature with these vans.