After an enjoyable breakfast experience in the outdoor kitchen, we packed up the car, checked out, and then set off for a ‘short’ walk around the nearby billabong. Unfortunately, the signage was really poor, and so we just followed our noses, assuming that the track would wind around in a big loop (as we had noted on the flyer we had been given we arrived). On the way, a snake slithered nearby, giving us quite a fright. We also saw two wallabies and a wild boar. The dusty track kept going and going, never really turning around as we expected. As we hadn’t intended to do a long walk, we hadn’t brought any water with us. We were contemplating turning around when a family came along in a buggy they had rented. They were surprised to see us so far from the campsite (we had probably only walked just over 2kms), and were also unsure where the track led. Nola and I accepted the offer of a drink of water, and then we all turned around and headed back towards the campsite. It was hot, dry and dusty.

We were almost back at the campsite when one of the Mary River Wilderness Retreat staff members drove up and asked whether we needed any water. We gratefully accepted the bottle of cold water she had brought with her. Apparently, the family had reported that there was a group out walking who didn’t have any water with them! We would have been fine, but in retrospect, it would have been sensible to carry some water with us. (The walk was only meant to be short one!) We learned that if we had kept going, we would have eventually reached the boundary of the property — 10kms away. There was no risk that we were going to do that!

By this time, Nola had fallen asleep in the stroller. On this trip, she has been a bit particular about Gretl being the one to push her stroller, getting angry whenever she noticed that Michael or I had taken over. This morning, we made a game of it — laughing when she noticed we’d swapped, and telling her to turn away and guess who would be pushing her the next time she looked. She willingly played the game and didn’t mind us pushing her for extended lengths of time up until the point where she was excessively tired and about to fall asleep. She kept asking for her dummy, but it was covered in dust, and so in the end she nodded off without it.

Back at the campground, we did our best to wash the dust off our legs and feet before getting into the car and commencing the 1hr 40min drive to Darwin. Nola briefly opened her eyes, but was so tired she quickly resettled in the car and slept most of the trip. Gretl also dozed off whilst we were listening to some Ted Talks that I had downloaded on to my iPad.

We are back where we began — at the Adina Waterfront Apartments. After depositing our luggage in our rooms, we drove to the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens where we spent about an hour and a half wandering through the gardens and watching Nola play in the playground. We stopped at Woolworths on the way back to the apartments to buy some fruit and nibbles. I walked back through the mall, hoping to find a book shop to buy a coupe of children’s books, but there were only two clothing shops still open at 4:30pm.

Back at the apartments, Gretl took Nola to the pool for her last swim. She was having a great time until she stepped on a loose cover to one of the filter access points. One leg suddenly dropped into the hole, giving her quite a shock. Some adults who were closer to her at the time pulled her out of the hole and handed her over to Gretl who was by her side in a flash. I reported the issue to the front desk, as it is clearly a hazard and could have ended up causing serious harm. Nola quickly recovered from the shock, and having incurred no injury, went back into the water for a final swim.

We ordered room service and enjoyed dinner in our room. Gretl and Nola headed off to bed a while ago. Michael has been watching TV (the story of Whitney Houston) whilst I have been working on this blog. Our holiday is coming to an end — we fly home at 11:30am tomorrow.