Cumulative distance: 11517
Left Jabiru at 8.30am after having consumed our last pack of Just Right covered in the peach slices we had forgotten to eat the night before. The weather was clear, sunny and cool. We blasted down the Kakadu highway heading back to Pine Creek. On the way we stopped for a photo opportunity beside the biggest termite mound we had seen so far. It was about 4 metres high and when you tapped it it had a hollow sound.
We refueled at Pine Creek and had some additional sustenance as the Just Right didn't quite make it as a complete breakfast. After Pine Creek we headed back to Katherine where Colin managed to pick up a part to fix his faulty brake light. This was good news as I have nearly run into the back of him a couple of times. A Roadtrain wouldn't stop so quickly so I would have been scraping Colin off the road .... very messy. We arrived at our accommodation at The Mataranka Homestead about 3.30pm. I decided to check the bike out to make sure nothing was about to fall off it when I discovered my back tyre was looking a little worn. I had to try and find a dealer that would have my kind of tyre. The wireless reception was very iffy in our room but the man on the main desk told me that if I took my computer up the hill to the new abolution block I should be able to pick up some reception. He was right and I sat on a fence balancing my notebook on my knee whilst I googled motorbike shops in Mt. Isa. I couldn't find one with a tyre to fit my bike so I called Bob Shaw and he investigated the nearest dealer that was likely to have a suitable tyre. It was in Katherine 100kms away (back from whence we had come). Luckily they had the exact tyre I wanted and I am going there first thing in the morning to get it fitted. Colin will wait here in Mataranka for me to return before we head off to Cape Crawford. After we sorted out the tyre issue we headed to the "hot" springs to soak our aching bodies in the beautiful warm clear water. This evening we ate at the restaurant at our accommodation. Not brillant as they had problem
s with the rice cooker .... it wasn't cooking the rice properly but we managed to survive. The owner of the caravan park had a pet wallaby and one of the kids staying at the park fed it a tomato. 
The two bikers we met in Katherine a couple of days ago were camping in our caravan park. We had a few beers and shot the breeze with them after dinner. There was a country and western singer moaning away in the background. Gosh I wish they'd write happier songs!! Colin and I have started playing Cribbage and I'm not going very well but there's a long way to go.
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