TOD Tour 2.0 Day 61 - Darwin to Mataranka

Plugging on down the Stuart Highway

 First of eleven days to take us 3600kms home.

Early start, which is the intention.

Emerald Springs was the first stop, where despite just being a point on the map road house, we received a spanking good hot chocolate. Very clean, very tidy place and friendly service.

Our second stop was at Katherine to visit a friend who has found herself unwell and confined to a hospital. A really tough time for her. We tried to plug her into some positives or as my father would say, blow a little sunshine. Can't imagine how lonely she feels.

End of the day beers at
Mataranka Homestead

The last leg to Mataranka passed quickly. Because of the quicker nature of our return trip, the van stays connected and we set up less infrastructure so it didn't take long to be as settled as we needed to be. Given the heat, we waited until about 5pm and then retired to the Thermal Pool for an hours or so of floating and relaxing. Met a lovely couple from north of Melbourne who were on their way to Darwin so we swapped some of our most recently acquired info about things to see and places to stay. I must admit, I marveled at their resilience, living in such a fire prone part of Australia and having stared down a fire just a few years ago.

Continuing south again tomorrow.