Saturn Antennas – Northern Territory
Ex-Rainbow residents, Mike and Angie Matveyev catch up with Peter Grant in Mount Isa
In all our 20 years of travelling, we have never investigated the Northern Territory. When Peter attended the Darwin 4WD and Camping show four years ago, there was no time to explore. This year, we made a commitment to ourselves to tick that box. We have had an amazing time investigating lots of things the Territory has on offer.
Our exploration started with checking out some of the WWII spots in Darwin. We chose to do this in an old army truck. Even to this day, there are still shrapnel holes in the fence of Burnett House near the harbour.
On leaving Darwin, we took the Kakadu detour. The Sunrise Billabong Cruise with Yellow Water Cruises was outstanding. All the wildlife was waking to start a new day – crocodiles, whistling ducks, magpie geese, the tiny kingfisher and many more birds. It was truly an amazing experience with very knowledgeable tour guides.
For me, the visit to the Elsey Station cemetery was very memorable. As a young teenager, I was very moved by the story of Jeannie Gunn who wrote of her life in the remote Northern Territory at the turn of the century. Mrs Aeneas Gunn, of the book We of the Never Never, enthralled me with the tale of her life on Elsey Station. To see the conditions and the remoteness made the story more meaningful.
After the Northern Territory, we called into Mount Isa and contacted an ex-Rainbow Beach-ite. Angie and Mike Matveyev have settled into Mount Isa and loving it. Mike was an excellent tour guide around Mount Isa and Mary Kathleen. We talked and talked and talked and caught up with news of their kids – Wade worked with us for 12 months.
Of course, we were checking out TV reception along the way as well. One interesting fact we found while at Karumba and Normanton was that the TV reception was being transmitted in the mpeg4 format.
Many of the older TVs could not pick up the commercial channels. All they could get was the ABC and SBS. That problem could only be solved by buying a new TV or a modern set-top box.
Because we were away for six weeks, I have many stories to tell you so they will have to wait till next time. Travel safely.
Peter and Margaret Grant
