Yes I know for those of you who know us – this is unbelievable. This is not a sexist thing – its just that Mike loves to drive – it is one of his most favourite things to do. Hence we are on a driving holiday! He would love to be a rally or racing car driver. So the fact that I got to be in the driver’s seat on this journey is a big thing.

I was the first to drive on the Tableland Highway from Daly Waters toward Cape Crawford – a one lane highway. (blue line on the map). And when we say one we mean one lane – when a car comes in the other direction – you move off the road so that you both share half the road. When a roadtrain comes you get right off the road, stop and allow the road train to pass so that they can stay on the road.

After staying a night at Cape Crawford (no where near the sea) we travelled south to Anthony Lagoon where I used to live when I was eight or nine. My dad was a police officer and we lived there for a year or so.

In 1971 my family moved to Darwin so that my father could fulfil his dream of becoming a Northern Territory Police Officer. It has been 36 years between visits and Darwin has no doubt morphed from a small country town to a large multicultural city. We have had an amazing time being tourists and taking in the sites and visiting attractions. To make our visit even better we have been staying with our friends, the Tamoatai’s. We have watched the sunset over the Arafua Sea, wandered aimlessly through markets, sailed on rivers with crocodiles, swam in the crystal clear waters at Wangi Falls and Berry Springs, ate from food vans, cycled along the coastline, learnt about Darwin’s involvement in the war, experienced the sounds of a cyclone, walked the corridors of Fannie Bay Gaol and met and made friends with backpackers from Germany and France.

We have also just chilled with our dear friends, laughed together, ate together, watched telly together, solved the problems of the world together and dozed together on hammocks.

While here we have visited places from my memories, we dropped in on one of my old schools and our home in Anula. We also popped into Nightcliffe Swimming Pool where we swam as kids with the nightcliffe dolphins and where I gained my love for Samboy BBQ Chips. As a reward for training each day we were allowed to get something from the kiosk and I always chose Samboy BBQ.

One of our favourite finds in Darwin has been the Nightcliffe Foreshore Cafe – where Mike gave their coffee a 4 out of 5. I would say the whole cafe – atmosphere, service, food and location are a good 4.75 out of 5. Mike also gave the coffee at the Darwin Museum cafe – Cornucopia  4.5 out of 5.
Tomorrow we head off on an outback adventure to visit the Barkly Tablelands and hopefully Anthony Lagoon where dad was a the sole police officer at the Anthony Lagoon Police Station.

Our journey today took us up the centre of the Territory from Barkly Homestead, to Three Ways and onto the iconic Daly Waters Historic Pub. The roads were long and vast and we were able to let Red have a go and show why she has a V-Tec Engine. Without a hiccup she was able to reach 34 km/hr shy of her supposed top speed and then we started to catch up to someone so we slowed down – she was a long way off redline. We did find redline in 4th gear at 171km/h on the way!

The trip north from Three ways to Daly Waters was uneventful. Mike was really surprised by the prolific vegetation everywhere. No desert here but loads of scrub land. We pulled off the main highway heading to Daly Waters Historic Pub. It seemed like it was just a little road and it was just heading bush, until we got to the Pub. On arriving there were hundreds of people, most in caravans and a few staying in cabins around the historic pub. It was amazing and very busy trying to get our key and get settled in.

We went for walk around the historical trail looking at the Stuart Tree and the ‘river’ – it was dry. It was getting fairly hot, after being in the South which was cool. That day the top temp was 32 degrees while down in Alice Springs it was 16 degrees.

For those of you who have seen the Last Cab to Darwin – you will recognise this pub from the movie. In the movie Rex and Tilly stop at the pub and Tilly gets into a comedic exchange with the comedian performing for the diners. Just like the movie the pub is packed in the evening, there is entertainment and great food.

We shared a table with these lovely folk from Port Macquarie in NSW. They we on a slow trip of NT and WA and only traveled about 200 km per day or so. They were delightful to talk to and we had a great time listening to the old time and more recent rock n roll songs. It was fun and one of us got up and had a dance with the many others dancing, especially the Nutbush! Mike photographed.

Our journey through western QLD was met with wonder by Mike. I cannot count how many times he spoke in wonder of how the landscape changed throughout our day.

We traversed land that was so flat that it appeared as though we were always travelling up hill towards the ever reaching horizon, past vegetation that clung to the soil it grew out of with fierce determination, over rolling hills and into areas where the trees began to reach taller with each 100kms.

Cloncurry was another highlight – we stopped there for our obligatory coffee. When travelling with Mike one is always in the search for the next good coffee. “Cuppas on Ramsey” in Cloncurry did not disappoint. Not only was it great coffee and home-made treats but there was a great range of vegan and gluten free delights to be had.

Reaching the border meant that we were now entering a territory that Mike had never visited before and neither had Big Red.

Our first night in the territory was at Barkly Homestead – an oasis in the middle of nowhere. The grounds are green and lush, the bar and eating area clean. They have a pool, camping area and place where you can catch-up on your laundry. That night we were serenaded by Lou Bradley and Phil while we ate marinated olives, pumpkin ravioli and steak sandwich. And then in the morning when we left we grabbed a Merlo coffee to go.

Paradise!!

• Banjo Patterson wrote Waltzing Matilda and it was first performed in Winton
• Winton is the home of Australian dinosaurs – the first place of serious dinosaur fossil finds.
• And it is the home of Vision Splendid – an outback outdoor film festival

Another unknown fact is that in Winton depending on where you live will depend on what type of water system you need – cooling or heating. If you live in the East near the bores where water, rich in minerals including sulphate, is pumped out of the ground at steaming temperatures then you will need a cooling system but if you live on the other side of town you will need a hot water system. We stayed at the Banjo Holiday units on the east side of town – where the water is hot and full of nutrients – a little like Rotorua Michael reflected.

Winton is a flat isolated town in north western QLD. When we told people we were staying there for two nights they questioned why. For us it was simple. Michael was enticed to attend Vision Splendid – to sit out under the stars and watch a movie. Due to my work commitments we could only attend the final night of the festival – so Mike booked us in for the Short Film Competition.

Banjo’s Apartments

Arriving into Winton on Friday afternoon we were greeted by our host, Stewart, at the Banjo Holiday
Apartments. He gave us great advice – if you want good food try the Winton Hotel – “I have never had anyone give me a bad report on their food.” As the town is planned on a simple cross hatch design it was easy to walk to the Winton Hotel for dinner. Stewar
t did not disappoint – the food was rich in flavour, portion size and when they say steak, chips and gravy they didn’t skimp on the gravy. Mike enjoyed fish and veggies – there were carrots, greens and lashings of mashed potato.

Dinosaurs:

Banjo

Winton is famous for the Australian Age of Dinosaur centre – a centre funded by a combination of local govt, sponsorships and some limited funds from state and federal govt. Being creationists you sometimes armour yourself before entering an establishment that you know is going to speak in millions of years and evolutionary terms. But this was not really the case. The tour at the centre is a journey through Australian hard work and perseverance.

The Elliot family, a third generation sheep farming family, were the ones to make the first discovery in the 90’s and it is by their sheer determination and local knowledge that we now have the centre and a local and national community of volunteers who work together to bring to life these magnificent creatures. The tour takes you through the working lab – where you see how the artefacts are found, cared for and prepped by volunteers under the guide of the real palaeontologists.

We met Rose who has completed a 10 day dinosaur prep course so that she can come out from the Gold Coast for 2 – 3 weeks at a time to prep and ready dinosaur bones that can then be put together like a gigantic 3D puzzle to form a dinosaur. Without the dedication of the
volunteers the bones would remain wrapped in their dinosaur jackets of alfoil, newspaper and Plaster of Paris. They wrap the fossils in these jackets to protect them until the can get to them. The volunteers then chip away the rock (usually sandstone) to get to the fossil underneath – a painstaking process.

Vision Splendid:
Task – grab a bunch of film students from three uni’s on the east coast. Put them together in tents in the middle of the outback and tell them they have a week to make a short film – that will be shown to the public at the end of the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival. What did we get – three amazing, diverse but good cracking yarns. When Mike told me we were going to the film festival and we would be sitting on deck chairs out under the stars watching movies – I interpreted that to mean we would be seeing some old classics like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or “Casablanca” – not viewing films made by the up-and-coming film makers in Australia. The night was a hoot – we all waited expectantly at the glass doors of what in the day time is a little café – we were told to rug up – so I had on my thermals, Kathmandu parker, woolly socks and hiking boots – whereas Mike in classic Mike way was wearing a sci-fi t-shirt, jacket and over his arm his Kathmandu parker. Next to us were people who looked more like yetis – scarves, beanies, coats, blankets, pillows.

Some strange people eating popcorn

Doors opened and we scampered in – trying to not push in but wanting to get the best deck chair in the house. We settled down in the second row – Mike bought the obligatory $4 a box popcorn and a packet of Jaffas $2. The night began with a welcome and explanation on how the night would proceed – Greg Dolgopolov, a film teacher from UNSW, gave us the low down. If the film makers were in the house they would come out before their film and introduce it to the audience, we the audience were to watch all the films and then at the end we would vote for the people’s choice award by throwing paper planes at the front and the film that had the most paper planes thrown won. The first film had been made by the Vision Splendid kid’s Club and they had made a 20 second stop motion film about dinosaurs. To add to the drama they gave the film live action narration while it was being shown.

Roy Billings

Other films of the night were; a documentary made about Steph, an 81 year old resident of Winton, who was one of the busiest ladies in town plus liking Judas Priest and Black Sabbath; a winsome film about Ethel a 10 year old girl looking for her mother – recently shown at Cannes. But the highlight was the films made by the intrepid film students who were given the task of a week to make a film. With ingenuity they had resourced cast members, locations and sets from the townsfolk of Winton. The winner of the night was Kim Kimura director of “Warranty” – a heart-warming film which starred Peter Evert a local octogenarian. Kim dedicated the film to his grandpa and family. “Roy”, a film which had been filmed in less than a day and starring Roy Billings the patron of the festival, had everyone in tears of laughter – it took the mickey out of celebrities and stardom as only an Aussie film can do. It also highlighted how gracious Roy was to volunteer and be involved in a small production that was designed to take the mickey out him. Like the Australian Age of Dinosaur centre this festival is run primarily by volunteers and sponsored by the local Winton community.

So next year if you are looking for something to do – you could always set you self the task of going out west to help prep Dinosaur bones or be an extra hand at the Vision Splendid Outback film Festival. I know that it has sparked our interest.

Looking for a great place to have a good breaky in Emerald – look no further than La Porte Rosse. Quaint Italian style cafe with a great menu. After our night on the road it was pleasant to stop – have a coffee, and eat good food. I had creamy mushrooms and turkish bread and Mike consumed eggs Benedict on homemade english muffins. My coffee was silvery smooth and hit the spot.

We also got to catch up with our niece Cassie. It was lovely hearing all about her work, life and love, Matt.

Leaving there mid-morning we drove straight to Winton (600kms West). The only place of note that we stopped was Barcaldine. It was really interesting there as they have an ancient tree that is called the Tree of Knowledge. This was the tree that the Labor Party was formed under. The tree is essentially dead now but they have built this massive structure over it – just amazing.

The big box over the knowledge tree

The Knowledge Tree

Sleep in the red car – I can hear you all now – how do you sleep in the Honda Civic Type R? Uncomfortably I answer. After working all day and then jumping into our car at 5:00pm to head off on our journey – where we were going to sleep was far from our minds. We just wanted to get going and get away. I think our kids thought we would never leave.
We knew we had to be at Winton on Friday afternoon as we had accomodation booked and Mike had organised for us to go to the Vision Splendid Outdoor cinema on Saturday night – so that was our goal. Drive until exhausted sleep and drive some more. We reached Rockhampton just after midnight and decided that once we were on the road to Emerald we would stop off and find a lay-by to sleep in. When we finally stopped Mike had the great idea that instead of trying to sleep in the up right seats we would climb into the back of the Honda – and hunker down and sleep. After 10 or so minutes of Mike rearranging all of the luggage from the back of the car into the front two seats, except for the full size tyre we had brought along in case of emergencies, as the Honda only comes with a space saver spare, he laid out one of the duvets to be our mattress and the other our cover. So we climbed into our own little red tomb and settled down for three hours of sleep in cramped conditions where one has to acknowledge how well babies do sleeping in the foetal position for nine months.

Setting up our beds – night awash with fog	Flash too bright!!!
Our Comfy bed.

Factual: Brisbane to Rockhampton 620kms. Then 50kms to Westwood. Probably got to sleep around 2am and then woke at 5:30am and decided to keep going!

Last year I took myself with a few girlfriends to see the movie “Last Cab to Darwin” – a movie about a terminally ill man searching for a way out of his pain by traversing the outback in the hope of finding a doctor who could relieve him of his pain and life.  The movie was a poignant journey of discovery, hope and love. In the film there is a section where Rex is driving along a highway toward Alice Springs – watching the turns and sweeps of the road I had a visceral reaction to this section of road. I’ve travelled here, I remember these turns, the smell of the dirt, the joy of waiting expectantly to see which turn in the bend would allow us to glimpse Alice – civilisation. As a child I lived with my family at Papunya, an aboriginal settlement 250kms north west of Alice Springs, and our trips to Alice were always an adventure – a long arduous one over corrugations, through dust. But at the end there would be milkshakes, and shops, and people.

I left the movie went home and declared to Mike – we are going on a road trip to Darwin, and Anthony Lagoon, and Alice Springs and Papunya and finally to Uluru (which i have never seen even though we lived in the territory for 8 years).

So here we are on our last trip in our little Red Honda Civic Type R. – Donna

Why the Civic? Well its really a car thing. So if you don’t understand car things you may not get this. But I love sports cars. I love many types of car but there is something about this car that makes it exciting. Yes, its not the best around but the best I’ve ever driven. Yes, for a trip like this the suspension is hard and it is very low to the ground but apart from some rough roads it is surprisingly comfortable. The racing seats are a joy to sit in! It is also a very safe car with responsive engine, racing suspension and 7 airbags! So what more can I say … – Mike

PS: as we are putting this blog together, at the Musical Fence Cafe in Winton, Qld, Roy Billings walks in and has breakfast with us. Being the scared respectful people that we are, we left him alone.