Day 4. A Caravan?

If you know us well, you are probably a bit surprised that we are returning from Darwin to Sydney towing a caravan. Yes it is true, and as we have not attempted any form of camping for over three decades there needs to be an explanation.

Last year we spent a couple of days in Kakadu and paid $300 a night for what was in the end, a very ordinary hotel. We then paid $45 each for a dinner, which left us hungry and wishing we could a cook our own meal. As a result we thought we might look for a cheap second hand van so that we could explore the Top End more economically. After a bit of a search we eventually found and adopted Matilda, a 1984 Jayco Finch pop top caravan. Her previous owner, Sharon, was delighted that her much travelled Matilda, now had a new family.  Sadly the Navy cut short our time to continue explore the NT, so instead we are following a great Navy tradition and towing the van home.

Matilda is no ‘looker’, that is, she is not pretty. ‘Retro’ might be a kind description, but ‘weather beaten’ might be closer to the truth. However, she is solid, has a great new fridge and electrics and the interior is surprisingly spacious and comfortable.

Despite Matilda’s previous travel experience we are not prepared to take any unnecessary risks with her, so today we decide to drop her off at the beginning of a 4WD track and make a slight detour to Maguk – a pristine swimming hole close to the Kakadu escarpment. Lunch was a pre-prepared ham and cheese sandwich (served chilled, from Matilda’s fridge) and eaten just down the road at the beautiful Bukbuklok lookout.

Tonight we booked into a powered site at Mataranka Homestead and paid a mere $26 for the night. We enjoyed a meal of fresh salad, savoury rice and lamb cutlets for a total cost of less than $10. We are far from proficient at this grey nomad stuff, but we are sold on another form of low cost, independent travel.