COVID-19 restrictions leave grey nomads stuck in limbo in Darwin
FOUR couples are riding out the coronavirus pandemic at Robbie Robbins Reserve and are happy to wait out the worst of it in Darwin.
Northern Territory
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FOUR couples are riding out the coronavirus pandemic at Robbie Robbins Reserve and are happy to wait out the worst of it in Darwin.
Roger and Susan Green became stranded in Darwin after making it over the border from Western Australia just before forced hotel quarantine came into effect.
They drove non-stop from the check point to Darwin, where they quarantined at Robbie Robbins Reserve for 14 days.
The Greens had intended to make their way to Gove to visit their daughter, who is expecting a baby.
But instead they are stranded in Darwin, waiting for permission to leave and go to meet their third grandchild.
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Mr Green was resolute in the fact that he wouldn’t make it to Gove for the birth of his new grandchild.
“We’re stuck here now until we can get out to Gove,” he said.
“It’s just the way it is, there’s a lot of people in worse situations than us.
“In hindsight it’s not a bad thing because my other daughter in Darwin has surgery coming up.
“We just roll with the punches, you can’t do anything about it.”
Robbie Robbins Reserve caravan park manager Sonja Allen said the four caravans were at the back end of the reserve because the ground had dried up.
“We just moved them on the weekend from this side to the other side and they are visible to the road now,” she said.
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She said with the borders closed it would be a tough dry season, as the usual droves of grey nomads driving up the Stuart Highway looked unlikely.
“We’ve lost lots of deposits because people can’t come, we were booked from June to August,” she said.
Pete Martin and Karen Towner have been staying at the reserve for the past four weeks and have no plans to leave.
They came from Palm Cove and made it over the border two days before it closed and had been relatively isolated during the journey to Darwin.
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“It’s really lovely here and we want to stick around,” Ms Towner said.
“We can’t do too much at the moment but when the national parks open we will be able to have a look at the parks.”
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