A DAY OUT IN KAKADU

On Wednesday, we went for a drive.

Ok, so it was a 730km round trip drive.

A drive, nonetheless.

We've been flat out lately, and at the

moment, Wednesdays (after Dave does his

morning milk run), are his only days off.

So, at 9:30am, we headed north to do a

small jaunt around Kakadu as the girls

have never been there, and Dave and I have only

done a brief loop through there

on the way home from Darwin once.

I know, we've lived here for 4 years

and it's in our backyard, but you know how

it is. Time for work, but none for play.

I have always wanted to see the notorious

Cahill's Crossing, noted for it's saltwater

crocodile population, so we headed off

in search of these magnificent creatures.

I don't think we picked the right time of day

as we only saw 4, but hey, now I have

an excuse to come back again!

There is a viewing platform, for which

we were grateful, so we were able to watch

from a safe distance. We also watched a kite

swoop down and score its lunch!

This fella lay on the bank for the longest

time, then, when he'd had his fill of photos,

he slowly slunk back into the water

and disappeared into its murky depths.

Of course, we had to drive across

Cahill's Crossing, while it was at a safe

level, just to say we'd crossed it.

If you're interested in seeing

idiots trying to cross it when the tide

is coming in, just read our local papers

and you'll get your fill.

As we had limited time, being a

one day getaway (and Dave having to

get up at 3:30am the next morning), we

couldn't explore as long as we would have liked.

So we quickly made our way to the Ubirr

Art Sites and the famous Ubirr lookout.

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Now, we've seen some pretty amazing

and spectacular views in our travels,

but this was breathtaking!

Unfortunately, we only had 10 minutes

or so on top of the rock, before

we really needed to be heading home,

so, yet another place I have to come back to.

The sunsets are super impressive up there,

and of course I want to capture that one day.

Chloe needed to get her selfies with Dad.

(a very rare occurrence)

Interesting rock art that is

NOT as old as they say it is, but

still very interesting.

And a beautiful storm rolling in overhead.

All in all, in our travels that day,

we saw quite a lot of wildlife.

Donkeys, Horses, Buffalo (which headed

bush once we slowed down beside them), a Snake,

4 Crocodiles, Cattle, Jabiru, Brolgas,

Kites, Fish, a Bandicoot, a lot of

different birds, numerous cane

toads (most of which we squished)

and countless insects that are now

splattered across our windscreen

(and we know the last thing that went through

their minds, don't we?)

Surprisingly, no dingoes or pigs ??

Arriving home at just before 9:30pm,

we were weary but happy we

were able to grab a  

small break in the busyness of life.

 

I've put together a short clip below,

of our adventure, but as per

usual, it's not as clear as I'd like,

having to resize it for the blog,

but hopefully, you'll get the general picture.

All in all, there's a lot of Territory

(scuse the pun)

to explore here in our neck of the woods

that we've yet to discover.

Next stop........

Litchfield National Park.

Barunga Revival Meetings

Photo compliments of Jen Bauer

Last week we were blessed to be

able to attend the revival meetings

out at Barunga. This is a small community

80km southeast of Katherine.

Our friends Jen and Patrick Bauer work

with this community and hold services and

Bible studies and Kids Club there.

We were able to take our bus out each

night with a load of Katherineites.

It is always a blessing to be out there

and see the way the Lord is working in this community.

There are some really lovely, faithful Christians

out there who are committed to serving the Lord

and seeing their families saved.

Our girls had a great time with all the kids

there and made some new friends.

Anyone and everyone was invited and

as usual, the local dogs took up the invitation

and were faithful every night.

(there was only one small dog fight after

service, during refreshments, which caused quite a stir)

We were encouraged through good preaching

from Pastor Ken Chapman (Darwin)

Pastor Justin Stanley (Katherine)

and Pastor Patrick Bauer (Barunga).

Much prayer went into these meetings

and we are excited to see what the Lord

can and will do through the preaching of His

word and any decisions made for Him.

Praise God for opportunities to worship Him

with other likeminded Christians in

surrounding areas.

Please be in prayer for the ministries

here in Katherine and in Barunga.

We serve a great God and nothing is

impossible with Him.

Photo compliments of Jen Bauer

In Need of Some Cuteness💕

Yeah, I'm sure you all need

your fix of adorable Miriam!

Random Happenings

Well, life has been a bit crazy for the last

few weeks, so I am going to post some

photos of random happenings at the Holmestead

and around the traps.

First things first. A couple of weeks back, I was privileged

(or stupid enough??) to take a group of 8 teens

all the way over to Queensland for the

Malanda Youth Camp!

All in all, despite sickness upon arriving home,

(which is still ongoing)

we had a great time and I managed to keep my sanity!

(Oh, no, that's right, I lost it years ago).

Well, we flew out from hot and dry Darwin

to experience some Malanda Mizzle for the

first couple of days at camp, but then it cleared up!

The girls were reminded of how life goes on

whether it rains or it doesn't, and games must be played

whether you freeze to death or not!

Yeah, let's throw water in each other's faces while

it's raining and we're all out here freezing and

trying to catch pneumonia???

Some great games with the giant earthballs!

Emilee, of course, surrounded by

her adoring mob!

Of course, bonfire night and time for

testimonies of the Lord's goodness

And some time during the week

for scripture memorization.

Then of course, the epic water slide

for the teenagers!

This year, battling with the beginnings of the flu,

I decided to give it a miss. Sigh.

(that, and, I'm old and it hurts more now)

Some goofing off with the Leaders

and the camp speaker,

Chris Dagan.

And, yes, Dad went totally nuts this

year at camp. A sign of his old age.

(it DID wash out before Sunday)

When it was all said and done,

our teens were talking about next year!

So, you never know, Malanda, you might

see us back again in 2018.

NEXT HAPPENINGS.....

The next thing in random happenings,

is that we had our first rain of the season

on October the 1st after 170 days of no rain!!

Yep, that's it. Dry season over, let the build up begin.

Phew. Gone are our 10% humidity and lovely

warm days, now begins our super humid, 40 degree

weather, clouds building, storms coming, rain falling and

soon, the grass will begin to turn green,

and it will be out with the lawn mower after 6

months in the garden shed.

Ah well, it was great while it lasted!

BUT WAIT............THERE'S MORE....

Today, we were able to hold a

Youth Fun Day with the youth group kids

here in Katherine.

As you know from previous years,

we usually run a Holiday Bible Club each year,

but this year, we were down on helpers and

time and good health and were just plum wore out.

So, we were able to run a half day of fun

and food for the kids!

Amazingly, we didn't have to pull out the first aid

kit at all!! Miracle!!

The kids enjoyed competing for ribbons

and eating to their hearts content!

We also brought out the puppets for an appearance

and they helped Dave with an object lesson,

which involved a very moldy sandwich, a very

oiled and greasy sandwich, and a sandwich that

had been run over by a truck! Literally!

What a great privilege we have to work with

these young lives and to teach them of God's love

and the hope they can have in Him.