Friday, October 20, 2017

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.












Tuesday, October 17, 2017

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

Friday, October 6, 2017

In Need of Some Cutenessđź’•

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.