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July 13, 2007
Driving to Darwin
Our first night we camped at Leylin (Edith Falls), north of Katherine. A beautiful little spot, it was actually full when we arrived. The ranger managed to squeeze us into a large lawn that had heaps of room for our swag. The ute stayed out in the parking lot, but that was no drama. Once set up we had an American and a Kiwi invite us over to the firepit they were sharing with a Swiss couple. When we'd checked in, we'd bought a bag of ice to chill our beer - we were instantly popular. A little booze to get the stories flowin, debates started and a great night 'round the fire was had.
A bacon n' egg sanga for brekky and we were off again. The next stop on the way was Hayes Creek for an iced coffee and onwards to a liquid lunch at Adelaide River Inn. The .303 bar is home to Charlie the Buffalo, of Crocodile Dundee fame. It was a nice little pub, but we dared not stay long in case we got recruited again. This trip we vowed to actually make it to Darwin.
Now before leaving Daly Waters, our last caravan park caretaker and mechanic, Russell, looked at the ute and diagnosed a few minor problems and was going to make some suggestions for spare parts to carry in case of emergency. We never got around to that conversation but I'm sure it would have included something like 'always make sure you've got spare radiator hoses and fan belts'.
I had thought about this briefly before leaving and even more briefly when we'd stopped in Katherine for dinner. The conclusion I'd come to was do it in Darwin, lots more shopping options and probably cheaper.
Bad idea.
Four kilometers south of Noonamah, the timing belt light went off as well as the battery light. I started slowing down, thinking to myself 'oh shit'. Twenty seconds later, an explosive spray burst from underneath the bonnet. I pulled over, thinking stupidly that the battery had exploded. It turned out that the fan belts had snapped and the explosion was the radiator hose blowing off of the engine when the pressure had built up due to the water pump not running. It was all logical, but I wasn't thinking very logically at the time.
Luckily, we had phone coverage to call for a tow, and weren't too far from town. An hour later, we'd limped into Darwin on the back of a towtruck. The garage, Offroad Autos, was great, getting the fan belts fixed quickly and topping up my coolant. We were off again.
Heading to the Adventure Tours depot, we dumped off some of the stuff from the back of the ute. Nat sorted out her new roster and we headed to Cullen Bay where we stayed for a night in a beautiful apartment overlooking the harbour - thank you Adventure tours. We met up later on with a friend of Nat's for a beer at the Beachfront Hotel with a view of the sunset over the ocean. I reckon I can handle Darwin for a while.
Posted by Dr.Unk at July 13, 2007 11:00 PM
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