Still a way to go until Alice – signpost at Mataranka

A short hop from Katherine today, heading for another site with a pub !
With only a bit less than 300km to travel today we had a leisurely start before we hit the road and then stopped for second breakfast at Mataranka at a small gallery and coffee shop. Another proper coffee accompanied by fresh baked scones, jam and cream – we may be in danger of adding back on the weight we’ve both lost on the trip so far !
We stopped off at a couple of historic sites at the edge of Daly Waters.
There is an airstrip which made Daly Waters an important hub in the early years of international and national aviation as well as playing a role in World War 2 as a base for bombers, a hub for refugee flights and air defence during the bombing raids against Darwin and Katherine. The main hangar is still standing and contains an interpretation display although it has seen better days !

The Stuart Tree, Daly Waters

Near the airfield is the “Stuart Tree” which is the remains of an old tree trunk, significant because it has a letter S carved in it that was carved by members of the Stuart expedition that opened up a route between Adelaide and Darwin in the late 19th century. The Stuart highway is named after the same expedition and it’s leader.
Arriving at the Daly Waters Pub, our stop for the night, we were surprised to see it so busy – it turns out that there is an annual rodeo held here on the first weekend of May. It’d be nice to stay and watch part of the Rodeo but it doesn’t seem like anything much will be happening until Saturday Night which would mean staying here for at least 3 nights. Perhaps after a few beers at the pub we may reconsider but realistically I think the timing is impractical.

Easy walking/staggering distance of the pub !

So, tonight we’re camped very close to the pub on a camp site that is rapidly filling up with caravans of all sizes – it reminds me a bit of Billing with people trying to save a spot for “a friend who’s arriving later”, the lone “caravan marshal” has our sympathies 🙂