At the Reptile Park

The Monster Trucks

26th, 27th and 28th June, 2009
Another 3 days have passed and once again we’re preparing to leave. The bearings have been fixed, but it will take a week for the CV joint to arrive from Brisbane. This means we will leave tomorrow morning to head off into the West MacDonnell Ranges for a week, as a lot of it is 2WD suitable or not hard core 4WD, so the Paj will be able to take it. We’ll then return for another couple of days to get the CV replaced, go to the Alice Springs show, and hopefully get a Piranha Power Shower installed under the bonnet (it’s on order too). As we wrote earlier, the Coleman Hot Water On Demand system bumped itself on over some corrugations and the impellor burnt out. A long discussion has followed and we’ve decided this: Boiling water for the washing up has not been a problem, it’s really just the shower we miss. By putting the shower under the bonnet it will save us a lot of space also. So, it’s bye bye Coleman (we’re sending you back home) and hello Piranha! That of course is all dependant on delivery to Alice Springs.

We took the boys to the local Reptile Park which was absolutely fabulous. The exhibits were all based on snakes and lizards of differing types. After a while, they did an informative show (a bit like the Reptile Man that does the birthday parties and stuff) followed by handling the animals. It wasn’t timed or anything, the boys held these animals for as long as they wanted – there was no rush. They were stoked. Even Dan went up and held this snake that curled all over him – never thought I’d see that. Cam of course was in his element. On leaving I said to the owner “Thanks, that was really excellent”, to which Cam corrected “No Mum, that was wicked!” So I guess that was the ultimate seal of approval.

Also, while being here in the NT the boys have taken a liking to AFL. Most of the travelers we meet are from Victoria so there is no hope of them knowing anything about Rugby Union. They sell these AFL collector cards at newsagencies here and the boys are once again obsessed much to our dismay as we have no idea what they’re talking about. Nor do we have the inclination to learn!

It’s time to move on, we’ve spent long enough in one place. I’m getting itchy feet!