An Extra Long Trip into Arnhem Land

Headed to Maningrida for translation checking, we were on the road for just over an hour when we got a flat tyre, well actually the tread came off. So we put the spare on and agreed to buy a new spare in the next town. Except we didn't make it. About 15 minutes after heading off again the tread came off the spare! We came up with a plan of how to get a message to someone in Darwin before I convinced Dave & Kathy (my travelling companions, in the picture below) to check if they had reception, and we were very thankful to find they did! So we called a friend in Darwin and asked them to hire a car trailer and come get us. We got back about 6pm and spent the next day getting new tyres and fixing the car.

The next day we left again, just before 11am, expecting to be there by 6pm. When we got to Cahill's Crossing we found we'd missed low tide, so had to wait for the river to go down.

We were in Kakadu National Park, so I was glad we were forced to stop because it meant I could have a look around. I went for a short walk and was greeted by some absolutely stunning views!

It only took about an hour for the tide to go down, and then we were on our way again. But after another hour or so of bumping along dirt roads we realised that the bookshelf on our roof was coming off! Thankfully it was still balanced, but we had lost some blankets packed underneath. So we tied it back on and turned around in search of some blankets. We eventually found them and headed back in the right direction again.

I promise I helped too!

By then, we'd lost so much time that we ended up having to drive in the dark. It was also foggy making it harder to see, but Dave knew the road well and we continued on. At the last river crossing Dave stopped to lock the hubs and said he'd just take a toilet break. The car was just sitting in the middle of the road and while Dave was gone we saw head lights coming towards us! We quickly put our headlights on so they could see us and I planned to then move the car to the side, but in the process of putting the lights on we knocked the car keys, which had been balanced under the steering wheel, down behind a plastic cover. A sheet that was under the bookshelf had been flapping earlier, so I'd brought it in my window and closed the (electric) window on it. So when I tried to get out to find the keys I found I couldn't open my door. Kathy started looking for her car keys, but then Dave came back saying he'd lost his torch so took hers. So I used the torch on my phone, so Kathy could find the keys, so I could turn the car on, so I could open my window, so I could open my door, so I could find Dave's keys. By this time the coming cars had all passed us, some on each side without any trouble, so moving the car was no longer a priority :p Kathy and I thought it was all rather hilarious, but by now it was 8pm and Dave still had to drive another hour into Maningrida. Still, he did like telling people it took us three days to get there!

I figured I should get used to such adventures, though Dave and Kathy say so many things have never gone wrong before.