How many days to go?: Day 25 – Monday 11 July 2016 – Elliott

Goodbye Elliott – and may I say I hope to never need the services of this camping ground again – ever. I should have stuck with last night’s plan and had a shower in the van but I thought to save a bit of time I would brave the bug/snake showers. Big mistake – stone cold – which might have been fine if the weather had been the 50 degrees everyone keeps telling us it can get to in Summer – but it wasn’t. It was a very quick wash with thankfully no bug or snake incidents to report.

Kitty on the other hand thought the campsite was wonderful and just wanted to get closer to those big budgies to check them out. She was absolutely fascinated with the peacocks. In contrast Scheppi couldn’t have given a schep about them but was definitely interested in the stray cattle dog that was doing the rounds of the vans last night.

On returning the key for the toilets back to the office this morning, Shane mentioned the cold showers and the manager argued with him that the hot water was fine. Shane threw the guy the "Cleopatra" comment - you know - Queen of D'Nile. Yep – sure. Whatever happened to “the customer is always right”?

I am always amused by Shane’s obsession of trying to find a local radio station which is a daily occurrence when we are on the road. “Why do you persist in searching for stations? You don’t even listen to them when you do find them”. “That’s because they are crap” he responds…….. hmmmmmmm.

It was only 150 kms to Daly Waters so we made it by around 11.30am. Darn it – on the way we saw a tree full of Notbats – but there was a car behind me so I still couldn’t pull over to solve the mystery!!!!!!

There was already a good lineup of vans waiting to be checked into camp when we arrived. They came in droves after lunch and the sites filled quickly. They certainly know how to pack them in and make the most of the ground available but it wasn’t long before the unpowered “overflow” park also started to fill. Luckily we are at the head of a line so can get out when we want but some vans are 4 deep in line so I hope everyone is patient in the mornings here.

Having spotted a lone washing machine I decided to try to get a load of washing done. Someone already had a load going so I took our bag over and kept watch until she returned. She informed me that a grumpy lady had left a bag of washing there to be done as well, but after waiting for well over 5 minutes, no one turned up so I stuck our load through. On returning before the machine had finished its load I was met with said grumpy lady who greeted me with “So you’re the queue jumper” to which I replied that I had waited but no one was around so I put my load through. The very curt reply came back that it was caravan etiquette to put someone else’s washing on if it was their turn. I said “I’m sorry but with respect – I’m not touching ANYONE’s dirty washing”. We took our laundry back to the van to dry and couldn’t help but shake our heads……. Who washes someone else’s laundry – ewwww really – who the hell knows where that stuff has been!

We opted for the site with meal included - that will be a Beef & Reef for two thanks! The Daly Waters Pub is certainly an iconic spot not to be missed, although I don't know of anyone who has done the trip who HAS actually missed it. It does remind me a little of the Ettamogah Pub but DW has it's own spin on good old Aussie Outback. From the masses of collections of shirts, hats, undies, bras, badges, business cards, licences, paper and coin money and thongs, you could spend a significant amount of time figuring out that visitors from all around the world have stopped by and left their mark.

While the outdoor meals area looks a little - well - rustic, but not in an "Elliott" kind of way, at night it is transformed into a very unique bar, bistro and entertainment area. I was actually kicking myself when we returned to the van later in the night that I hadn't taken any photos of it. The entertainment, while very basic, was indeed entertaining and certainly got the crowd going. I can see why so many people crowd into the park each day to enjoy what DW has to offer. It is such a unique stopover from anything we have experienced along the way so far and no doubt a welcome break from spending the evening in your van to avoid the bugs (snakes/cattledogs/peacocks).

In peak season this pub must absolutely rake in the money. At $90 for the two of us for dinner and the site fee - and we conservatively estimated around 150 people passed through during the evening for a meal - there's probably close to $7000 plus drinks per day. Although you would certainly earn your money in the 50 degree heat of summer. The food was really good too!

What a difference 150kms makes. Even the showers were hot and the power worked. There's a lesson in that for some I think.