I should have spent more time on the background of our tour.  We had been intending to do it for some years when Tina became unwell and this year was the first that it seemed practical. The tours were put together and accompanied by Bruce Bishop of Bishops tours. We booked our tour well before Christmas last year, and went through all the usual planning and deposits etc. with occasional help from Lindy Bishop in the office up Nowra way.  It was only a few weeks before departure time that I took a call from Lindy which turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. They have been doing these tours for 25 years and it was time for scaling back their operations  This was the year to turn the show over to another operator. Bruce had spent a lot of time in discussions and it had been agreed that the whole tour would be upgraded. Kimberly Outback Tours is the new operator and obviously wanted to be remembered favourably by all concerned. Colin the owner of the new outfit joined us at Alice along with Bruce. It was nice to see both new and old owners going to extraordinary lengths to ensure we had a memorable time. The result of all this attention was that we only actually camped for 5 days out of the 16 we were away.  This was made easy for us as the tents were all set up for us before we needed them. Brilliant! the rest of the time we were accommodated in well appointed motels or cabins and at Mount Heart we experienced Glamping (glamour Camping) with King size bed and ensuite.

Tina has pointed out that I've dropped into present tense while writing, that's because I'm reliving it as I type. We are of course very much home in cold and wintery Fairhaven. But on with the story from Tennant Creek.  Wish it were otherwise!

An early 7am breakfast so we can be on the road at 8. Everyone is getting to know one another, with Tina the social leader of the Cotton contingent doing her part. Its to be a mainly travelling day, with a brief tea break at Renner Springs Roadhouse then on to lunch at Daly Waters. Daley Waters has a pub, an nice little park, lots of tourists and from our observations not a lot else but history. John McDouall Stuart named the place because of the natural springs in his explorations in 1862/2 and the Overland Telegraph reach it in 1872. Tina and I had quiet drink at the pub and a chat with some local characters. A nice lunch in the park and off we went again.

Our goal this time is Mataranka Thermal Springs in Elsey National Park which is roughly half way from Daly Waters and Katherine and we arrived well into the afternoon.  This is a chance for Tina to try out her new bathers which she put on under her clothes this morning. It was warm and the walk in wasn't far, so cautiously she lowered herself into the water and was soon wearing a smile. The water rushes into the pool from one end at 30.5 million litres per day and at a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius we're told. Very nice!

Now onto Katherine. We were to inspect the "We of the never never" Elsey Homestead, but time had got away from us. We arrived at the Knotts Landing Resort, with its very comfortable Cabins and facilities. We were very pleased to settle in for a hot shower and a change of clothes before sitting down to a welcome meal. Colin joined our table for the meal and and was very good company. In the morning we head out for Kununurra where the real fun starts, we are told.

This post took a bit of extra time as I bit the bullet and upgrade my system to the new Windows 10.  The automatic upgrade went smoothly but configuring it to my liking will take some time. So far, and it is early days, I'm very impressed. No doubt it will draw more comments as I progress with it.

All the best PeterC