16 July

Not much to report today. We woke up to find our rear drivers side tyre completely flat so after breakfast the first order of business was to put the spare on. Paul did that while Claire and Thomas helped me pack up the camper trailer. Once the flat was off Michael and I had a look at it - there were a couple of spots that may be punctures but I suspect it is more likely the valve was damaged when we put the tyres down yesterday to drive on the dirt. We had planned to get it looked at when we got to Katherine but all the tyre l places were closed.

When we got to Katherine I had to take Claire to the hospital. She has been complaining of having a blocked ear for a couple of days but this morning she said it was hurting. At first they thought there might have been a bug in there but then decided it probably wasn't a bug but it was inflamed so she has to have antibiotic ear drops 4 times a day.

Driving out of Katherine to Nitmiluk national park we saw our first camel which we were all far more excited about than it probably warranted.

Once we got to the national park I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the camping area was (although very expensive I think for an unpowered national park site ($40 per night). The kids are happy though because it has a pool.