Its best if you..............

............dont leave your car on the roadside in the Outback, you could return to find it looking like this. We passed this car on the way and this is what it looked like on the return trip. No windows, no number plates and more than likely....no engine !!

 

We saw this one at Coober Pedy, on its way to the scrap metal merchant's yard, along with a lot of other scraps. Looks like its had a hard life.

 

And while the driver takes a short nap on the edge of the road , this one perched on top of the many other things he carries, to take a safe journey north.

 

Part 2, on the way home, Mataranka

 

We stopped at Mataranka for some lunch and found this little eatery, Stockman Cafe and Gallery. A very pleasant place to visit. While we waited for our sandwiches to be made we looked at all the Aboriginal artwork and carvings. This over large stockman greets you as you enter.

 

When you walk through the entrance to this little cafe the heat of the tropics drops at least 10 degrees, the clever owners have made their own micro climate by planting lots of trees and shrubs to sheild the visitors. Mataranka is well known for the thermal springs where many tourists take time out to have a swim. We didn't.

 

While sitting on the verandah this cheeky bird dropped by to beg for crumbs. We were told it is a Mina bird, not the noisy Indian Mina found around the Adelaide suburbs but a native.
I highly recommend a stop over here to any one contemplating a trip through the Northern Territory.

The reason for our trip.........

......to Darwin was the marriage of our grandson to the beautiful Sarah. A lovely day, warm in the tropics, quite different to the cold winter that we left in the south. Here is a picture with the bride, groom and other members of my family. From left, my daughter Julie-Anne, my son (and father oh the groom) Tony, his wife Jen, bride Sarah and groom Stephen, his brother Ben, myself and Willi (aka for the purposes of this blog, Popeye)

 

Cutting the cake. decorated with 2 small penguins made with beads, one with a veil the other a bow tie.

 

Julie-Anne standing at the viewing platform with the city of Darwin in the background.

 

On the way home

 

The sign marking the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory, if you enlarge the picture by clicking on it, it will be much clearer to read. This was taken at first light of the day so it looks rather gloomy. the other side says welcome to the Northern Territory. We decided to drive non-stop from here (except to re-fuel) until we reached home.

 

One of the other road side signs along the way. This road passes through cattle stations and are almost always un-fenced, so it is not unusual to see cows on the side of the road (mostly live ones but some times dead, hit by a car or road train) They often sleep on the road at night and are hard to see and this is why we decided to travel only dyring daylight hours. Thankfully we did not hit anything except for a small bird that flew into the side of our car.

Top End

 

Halfway through the Northern Territory these gigantic termite mounds begin to appear in the landscape. I tried to take a picture of the hundreds of smaller mounds dotted through the shrubbery but they are hard to see in the picture because we were moving (in the car) at the time. They reminded me of a long forgotten graveyard marking the spot where someones loved ones were laid to rest.

 

Further down south they change shape, giving the appearance of an abstract sculpture of a human. Grouped together in many places, they are like a family, biggest the Dad, next the Mum and acouple of smaller ones, the kids.

 

There are many flat topped hills like this in the Out Back of Australia which once was a vast inland sea. Can you imagine the shore line, the water lapping around these hills with the top being an island?
Maybe you can tell, I didn't do very much of the driving, plenty of time to sit in the car, camera at the *ready* and day dream. LOL !!

Some amusing signs

 

Back now from our long trip to Darwin and return I managed some shots from the car window. Some of them may have reflections from the glass and you might need to click to enlarge them.

 

One of the many road trains that we passed on rhe way

 

This one was taken near the Coober Pedy Opal fields, no words needed.

 

This is a sign outside the entrance to Glendambo Roadhouse.Very funny

Between Lenswood and Woodside

 

The drive between our house and Woodside is about 10km and I've posted some pictures for your perusal. Please click on each picture to get the full effect

 

The vines are somewhat bare now, it wont be long before the pruners move in.

 

I simply love to drive through the hills at this time of year, so colourful.

 

I hope my readers have enjoyed the tour through our neighbourhood. Its such a beautiful place to live.