Day 28 King Ash Bay to Daly Waters

When we left King Ash Bay we drove back to Borroloola to see if we could get some salad ingredients and hopefully some Iced Coffee. I was astounded when I went into the Supermarket to see 2X 2 litre containers of milk in the fridge and that was it. There were no salad vegies and definitely nothing GF. The woman was talking to someone about the impossibility of getting staff and problems with supply. I then went into a shop nearby called a Superstore expecting it to be like Harvey Norman or something but it was a much better Supermarket with more fresh fruit and veg. Though still very little in the way of dairy. It did stock more than foodstuffs. All the staff and other customers were aboriginal and I think it might be a special initiative to improve the health of the local people. I hope it succeeds.

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The road from Borroloola to the McArthur River Mine was a two lane sealed highway but after that it was back to largely single lane with short distances of two lane. There were graders in a couple of places. As a big truck hurtled towards us in a section we both obviously couldn’t fit Alex asked the driver for instructions and the driver said, “Pull over on the passenger side”. Alex managed to weave between some cones to pull over and then the driver said, “I meant the other side so you didn’t have to go into the roadworks”. Alex said, “Oh, so YOUR passenger side” and the driver agreed and laughed.

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It was a bum numbing drive and there were very few rest areas so we pulled into a truck parking area for a break. In Qld the rest areas are very few and far between but we’ve come to expect them everywhere else. We stopped at Cape Crawford and our Iced Coffee was one of those little tetra pack ones with the attached straw. Some Brahman cattle were enjoying the life of Riley lying on irrigated lawn, I guess at some stage they wander back to the dry range. An Emu came wandering up near the outdoor tables, maybe it’s used to getting table scraps.

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Our destination today was Daly Waters and judging by the Caravans etc here it’s boom time. It’s a quirky place with chooks wandering about, resident buffaloes and a horse that wanders at will though I didn’t see it and a crocodile that doesn’t wander. There is also a “Junkyard” which has many very expensive collectors’ vehicles ranging from a fifth wheeler motorhome to an autobike.

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We enjoyed a meal of Beef and Barra at the Pub and in the company of a couple from Alice Springs. The man is a golfing enthusiast who belongs to the Alice Springs Club. Fergus behaved himself impeccably until we came back to the camper when he came through the door, leapt up on the bed and expected me to play chasey with him! It’s the first time he’s ever just jumped up on the bed, I think he believed he’d been so restrained and polite for so long he had every right to go nuts!

The live band is still playing at the Pub and their music choice is ideal for this setting, currently, “Ring of Fire” but they’ve been playing Creedence music and Country and Western which had everyone’s feet tapping.