Nele & Andrew Around Oz: Riverview Caravan Park, Katherine, NT

Day 149 – 15^th July 2011

Riverview Caravan Park, Katherine, NT

This morning Nele did the laundry and Andrew started organizing some boxes for our bikes as we are sending them back to Adelaide (sniff sniff). We’ve decided to do this because when we travel on gravel roads we’ve noticed the bikes are flicking up rocks on the back doors leaving small chip marks. We’ve tried to avoid any more damage by clipping a sheet under the bikes (see Umrawarra Campsite photo day 144), which seems to work but still doesn’t solve the other issue that they are getting very dirty. So even if we want to use them we need to wash them first (so a quick ride is out of the question) as otherwise you are covered in red dirt and the dirt is getting stuck everywhere (brakes aren’t working too well anymore). We looked into a bike cover but this would cover up the van’s backlights so we’d need to attach trailer lights on them etc etc We are not sure if we are doing the right thing and we might regret it later but at the moment it seems the right decision. A more positive side will be that Andrew now will be able to reach our water hose a lot easier (not having to swing the bikes away) and we will be able to open the back doors with ease a lot more, increasing the airflow when we are sitting in the van. Yeah!

For the remainder of the day we went to the Katherine Agricultural Show. We saw the dog jumping competition, cross-cut saw challenge, the wheelie bin race, chook auction and cutting. We had a look at the various competitions showcasing the best-decorated boot, scarecrow, vegetable platter, the largest pumpkin, cake, photograph etc. In the evening we watched the rodeo – some crazy cowboys riding some mad bucking horses and bulls.