12. Darwin to Alice Springs

We spent a few days in Darwin. The intention was to rest, but quite a bit of time was taken again dealing with car and caravan maintenance. I had the car checked over by a 4WD service centre and they found that the front left suspension was broken. For the caravan, we had experienced a persistent noise when walking around the van and so had someone come out and check on that. We picked up Sumy’s cousin Grace who will be with us till Uluru. We did manage some rest in Darwin though - a couple of swims in the pool (another cold pool in a long line of cold pools on the trip), buying some new board games (‘Brass: Lancashire’ and ‘Lost Ruins of Arnak’) and eating some nice burgers.

The drive down to Alice Springs, which is the gateway to Uluru and Kings Canyon, was broken up by stopping at Mataranka, Larrimah, Daly Waters and the Devils’ Marbles (Karlu Karlu).

Mataranka has two famous hot springs - Mataranka and Bitter Springs. This was our second visit to Mataranka on this trip - we had taken a day trip from Katherine and decided to come back for a second time with Grace. Of the two springs, we preferred Bitter Springs. You get into the stream, which is about 32 degrees, and float downstream. When you reach a platform about 10 or so minutes later, you jump out and walk back upstream to repeat. It is one of the most relaxing things you could do.

Larrimah is famous for the disappearance (and presumed murder) of Paddy Moriarty. There were about 12 residents who lived in the town when he disappeared. The documentary ‘Last Stop Larrimah’ showcases these people, their eccentricities and their strained relationships. The police pinpointed a prime suspect but did not have sufficient evidence to charge him. The town is making the most of its notoriety with all sorts of '“Where’s Paddy” souvenirs.

Daly Waters is a famous pub in the middle of no where. It is sort of like the Kim Kardashian of pubs - famous for being famous.

The Devils Marbles is a collection of rocks within the Karlu Karlu National Park, which was a surprisingly pleasant stop over for the night.