Our Great Australian Adventure: Edging closer to Darwin

Hello again, we're now in the Nothern Territory, NT or the "Top End", having crossed the border without any fruit and veg checks whatsoever. Made a note of that for next time.

Driving alongside the Victoria River, we spent the night at a roadhouse campsite and continued the next day to Katherine, where we stocked up at the supermarket, before completing the day at Edith Falls. A hot tip from some fellow travellers, it was a simple campsite set in beautiful woodland, only a stone's throw from the falls and a refreshing plunge pool below. Bearing in mind the crocodile disclaimer by the pool, we went for a very short dip huddled closely together behind Ruby.

At this point, we passed the 5,000 km mark and have Darwin in our sights. 2 nights in Litchfield National Park before the 100 km home run tomorrow. Litchfield being within easy day-tripper distance from Darwin, we suddenly found ourselves in a holiday hotspot, jostling for parking spaces and shady spots by the watering holes. But we could see why it's so popular with the locals, the park is easily accessible with a 2wd and is full of interesting viewpoints and wildlife.

And so to the final evening of our road trip, what were the highlights of this 24-day journey? The Pinnacles, the dolphin feeding and catamaran sailing in Monkey Mia, the snorkelling in Coral Bay, "Fingers" Mitchell Cullen and his didgeridoos, camel riding in Broome and especially for Hannah and Ruby, holding a baby kangaroo. But also the whole camping experience has been great. So many interesting chats around the barbie, characterful campsite wardens who clearly love their job, peaceful nights and melodic dawn choruses. The long drives were rarely dull, with the scenery being so different from what we're used to. Hannah and Ruby coped admirably, by reading, drawing or listening to music. Eating out was a bit hit-and-miss but we kept that to a minimum and mostly cooked for ourselves, which was obviously of the highest standard :)

See you in Darwin.