We had an easy pack up and only a couple of hours drive to Douglas Daly Tourist Park.  We heard today that there had been a Covid case originate from a mine in a remote part of NT.  Meanwhile we got settled down in a nice unpowered site with lots of space and went off exploring an area called the Arches - which though not a National Park as such is a conservation area.  We had our little fire pit set up again and had a nice night with dinner and a few drinks by the fire.

The next day we took a drive out to Butterfly Gorge and had a nice walk along the riverside.  We didn't attempt the climb up to the lookout as it looked a bit rocky and uneven. On our way back when we got back into service I got messages from both John and Carol and Clive telling us that a snap lockdown for 48 hours had been called in Darwin and surrounding areas.  One of the miners from that mine lived in Palmerston, a suburb of Darwin had tested positive. So we thanked our lucky stars that we had been out of Darwin for some time.  However within the next couple of days borders were closing right left and centre as there were cases in NSW, then Queensland and WA of the Delta variant.  Then the Darwin lock down was extended for another 3 days to Friday this week. 

Meanwhile while our site was beautifully peaceful it was also a bit shaded and we were struggling to get enough solar so we decided to move to a powered site.  Fortunately this was no problem as the park had been having lots of no shows and cancelled bookings from people who couldn't get out of Darwin.  So we moved down to a beautiful powered site close to amenities and close enough to the park main office that we can now get phone reception and therefore internet.  So our friends Janice and Gary and also John and Carol are in lockdown in the Berry Springs, Howard Springs area though Susie, Ken and co were not in a lockdown area and have moved down to Daly River.  

So this morning we decided we needed to revise our plans.  We were due to head back to Darwin on Monday for the car to be serviced, Craig to get his second Covid jab and to pick up some new phones we'd ordered click and collect.  We figured it wasn't a good idea to head into Darwin even if the lockdown ended - one we might get caught up in another lockdown and two the fact that we'd been in Darwin would follow us like a bad smell.  So I rang Katherine Toyota - now out to 29 July before we can get in there.  Then we thought why not just try and find a reputable mechanic (Josh where are you when we need you xx) and get them to do a service.   Then I had to see about booking Craig into Katherine for his jab.  The earliest appointment for that was 14 July so based on that we've worked out a plan going forward for the next two weeks when hopefully the Covid situation becomes a bit clearer.  We like this place and see no point in moving when we've got a good spot so we'll stay here till 10 July then we'll head down to Katherine and back to Manbulloo where we stayed last time - I've called them and been able to book in for 6 nights.  We'll do some further exploring around Katherine Gorge and Nitmiluk National Park then the car can get serviced on 13 July, Craig get his jab on 14 July and we can arrange for the phones to be sent to Katherine Post Office.  So it feels better knowing that we do have a couple of things organised and then if it becomes possible to get into WA we're back in the area we should be. In the meantime we've got chilling out down to a fine art!