Having seen all we can in Litchfield we are on our way to Kakadu National Park over in the north-east Top End taking the Stuart Highway south to Pine Creek The van seems to be running smoothly now; no screeching. A further call to Wicked to complain that the van hasn’t been safety checked before it was hired out and that we suspect that it is overdue the service which was due 5000 kilometres ago. Wicked are just not interested; preventative action seems to be an anathema – but they will come out if we breakdown! Great! What a muppet outfit.
Pine Creek is at the junction of the Stuart Highway and the route into Kakadu. It’s small – population 780. The town (it’s not really a town by European standards, more like a small village) consists of an open-sided bar with swimming pool, a general store, a petrol station, three caravan parks (one of which, The Lazy Lizard, is attached to the bar), a shop selling work clothes and ‘exploration’ equipment and a cluster of houses. We are still looking for a lamp, but surprisingly have no luck here. It’s pleasant, but not as pretty as Batchelor. The Lazy Lizard with access to the pool gets our vote and we have a late afternoon dip.