Daly Waters to Katherine

Last night at the Daly Waters pub was a really good night. Happy hour got the place going and it was very busy. Food orders were taken from 6pm and the queue was significant. The live music started at 6 also, just one guy and a guitar, lovely baritone voice, played some Aussie and Kiwi classics and a bit of country rock. Our Barra burgers arrived and like many of our other meals was substantial.

We got away early again and the miles just dropped away as we cruised at 130.

Before we knew it we had done 100k’s and pulled into the historic village / pub of Larimah. 

After my excellent bacon and egg sanger and I must say excellent coffee, we wandered over to the museum.

As it happens Larimah was a radio repeater station during WW2 and also a rail head, there was also a couple of runways nearby and a field hospital.

The displays and information is very well done. Some of original radio equipment sits in the same buildings that were built at the time. Outside there were 4 information walls describing aspects of the war and Larimah’s part in it. There was an excellent section on Aboriginal involvement and how they were paid in tobacco and rations. Also how there were no medals for these people at the end of the war and their achievements went unrecognised until the 1990’s.

Another section covered the bombing raids on Darwin. There were over 90 raids over a period of about 19 months.

Up to 6500 troops were stationed in this area, they arrived virtually overnight and went the same way.

All in all a fascinating hour or so wandering about.

We then put in another 200km’s to Katherine. We arrived at our motel, which we had prebooked and paid for through booking.com only to be informed that the motel had been bought by a mining company and was only open to their employees and contractors.

So in the heat of the day we hunted around and found a really nice place, quiet and with very obliging owners.

We spent the rest of the day planning the next few days which will take us into the Kakadu national park, swimming in the lovely pool and then catching up with whanau at home.