Day 77 Lichfield National Park to Kakadu National Park

 Departed Lichfield today for a 350km drive to the camping ground we were staying in, There are a number of options in Kakadu including caravan parks but also a number of camping areas. You have to stop and consider if you wish to have a drink as most of the campgrounds are alcohol free as Kakadu itself is an alcohol free zone. As we had stayed at Lichfield , we went in the southern entrance to the park . The park is 20,000 sq km so it is huge and there can be lots of driving involved to have a look at things. We stayed at Mardugal campground which is the only one that allows alcohol. Good facilities with showers and toilets but no power. The other we choose this one was that it was only a couple of km's from Cooinda Resort where the Yellow River cruises depart. 

Home sweet home

After setting up camp , we headed around to Cooinda which is where our river cruise started the next morning and stopped at the Warradjan Cultural Centre  for some local history then  north to look check out Jabiru and beyond to a place called Ubirr. Ubirr is on the border between Kakadu and Arnhem Land and is also where the infamous Cahills Crossing resides. Cahill's is supposed to be the place where you will see a lot of salt water crocodiles but at the moment they are doing significant upgrades to the viewing area. I think there were more people than anything else so if there was a crocodile around, he would have had a real buffet to choose from. They were fishing and Russ saw a fellow catch a barramundi but the line broke just as he was about to land it.

Cahills Crossing

Ubirr

View from the top

Ubirr is a place of significant rock art for the local people so I hope the pictures do it justice. They range in age from 10-20,000 years old and when you climb to the top of the plateau it gives you a sneak peak of how wet it must be during the wet season. While we were there , I did a spot of politician spotting as Tanya Plibersek walked past us as we left. Wasn't sure but our guide on the river tour mentioned that he had someone on the cruise - "thought her name started with T or something like that."

On the way back saw something a bit unusual - a small sedan was coming the other way and I thought it had some wood on the roof but when it got closer , they had a small dead kangaroo tied on top - not something you see everyday!

The next morning we headed off bright and early for our 6.45am river cruise. It was just coming light as we boarded so it was magnificent to see the wetlands waking up with some many birds including thousands and thousands of ducks, plenty of crocodiles, buffalo, horses, donkeys and the biggest fattest wild pigs we have ever seen - make good croc bait apparently. Our guide was a local indigenous called Travis and he was fantastic and gave you all sorts of insights about life in Kakadu. At one stage , he picked a lotus lily flower for us all to have a look at. At the end of the tour , one of the ladies asked if she could keep it but no its a $1500 fine if they catch you with any native flora or fauna. 

We finished off the morning with a delicious cooked breakfast at Cooinda Lodge - you can add as an option when you book - take the option!!! Yum,

Later that day , took off for Nourlangie Rock - again this was an area where there was a lot of rock art but also showed you the areas where the local clans lived and sheltered against the elements for centuries. It does help if you've been to the cultural centre to understand some of the paintings but there seems to be a lot they don't tell . Still an amazing place to visit. We certainly didn't see everything but Russ did manage to have a fish in the Alligator River. You are only allowed to use lures in the park so it makes it challenging as they like the live stuff better. 

We did see a couple of dingoes - one wandered through the camp area usually either early morning or on dusk . The other we saw on the road out . Kakadu is huge so there was still a lot of the park we didn't cover including Jim Jim Falls as it wasn't open yet. 

We begin to head south tomorrow and the temperature will start to fall - not looking forward to that. 

Day 75 Darwin to Lichfield National Park

 About 100 kms south of Darwin is Litchfield national park. It is a small park being only about 1460 sq km . It's a favourite for visitors and locals alike as it is so accessible to everyone as all the popular roads in the park are bitumen so very easy to get around. You can visit places like Florence Falls which can get very busy as we found out as it is the only easy swimming area to get to. There are others such as the Cascades but they are a bit further to walk to. You used to be able to swim at Wangi Falls but this has been closed due to croc sightings. Given most of the area around it is a sacred site , I really think that it won't open for swimming again. The Termite Mounds face north/south to help with temperature regulation and it almost looks like a moonscape. It was an easy place to drive around and just staying the 2 nights gave us plenty of time. 

Florence Falls

Bluey Rockholes

Wangi falls and swimming area

You can stay in the park but the campgrounds have been booked out for ages so we stayed at the Banyan Tree Resort and Caravan Park with "Johnno" our host. This is one of 4 choices just outside the park itself and it was a fantastic place to stay. great shady sites, good amenities and a terrific bar and restaurant area . We went up for happy hour at 5 for a couple of drinks and ended up staying, had a really nice pizza and was entertained by a Scotsman called Connor. He was very good. 

Also has horses and sheep to keep you company.

The other really interesting thing we had a look at was the Zebra Stone Gallery and Camping Ground. Zebra Stone is a very rare stone that can only be found in the NW corner of Australia. It was formed at the time when Australia was still Gondwanaland and the perfectly symmetrical iron oxide patterns were formed by the influence of the magnetic effects of the pole. Amazing stuff to look at . Russ was keen to buy a stone but the sales lady lacked a few basic skills when dealing with customers so unfortunately we left without one. They make them into jewelry but pretty expensive. A very small rock would cost about $50. Earrings sat around the $100.

This rock is 1.2 billion years old

Next stop - Kakadu!

Day 65 Darwin

 Well we finally made it to Darwin. We spent 10 days here all up exploring the city and having a wonderful time catching up with the Robbo's and the Knights as well as a few nights with Callam. The down side was that we got sick. Despite an number of Covid tests that were all negative, Russ was very unwell for a few days including the chills and fever. I wasn't as bad but it certainly slow us down . Darwin is a very spread out place with a population of about 168,000. The road system is amazing as most major roads are dual highways - I think that is due to the presence of the military and their need to get around quickly if required. Very laid back place. Also a great public transport that makes it really easy to hop on a bus - even better if you have a Seniors Card as its free. You also have the option of scoters or electric bikes closer to the CBD. 

Darwin Waterfront is set up so well to cater for both tourist and local alike with a water park, swimming lagoon and wave park. That is surrounded by lush green lawns and lots of eating places so at times very popular. Attached to that is Stokes wharf with the Ferris wheel and departure point for a lot of the harbour cruises. First tourist visit was the oil tunnels, Built during the WW2 to protect the oil stores from the japanese bombing but by the time they were finished it was all over and it seems they never worked very well anyway. 

Oil Tunnels

During our time here, there was supposed to be 2 major events. The Glenti festival which celebrates the Greek community over the long weekend was cancelled due to lack of supplies and staffing issues. Very disappointed to have missed out on the roast lamb and all that wonderful Greek food.

The second was the V8’s were racing and we sure know about that as the caravan park we were staying in was about 800m from the track. As you can imagine, there were quite a number of racing enthusiasts around the park. Funny to watch it on TV but also hear it in real time . Had a fleeting thought about going but the price of the tickets!!!

While we were in Darwin, we did a Sunset Champagne Cruise with Sail Darwin. This was a 3 hour cruise that included unlimited champagne but you could also bring your own drinks with you as they provided eskies with ice. Apparently the record for the number of bottles of champagne drunk  was 68. I think we managed to use up about 34 altogether. Also included was an 8 course tapas meal with lots and lots of delicious food on offer. Unlike other cruises, you can just sit anywhere you like as they provide cushions and  bean bags so you can move around as much as you  like. Add a great selection of music , a setting sun and the Robbo’s dancing to “Dancing Queen “. And you have a great time. This was recorded for posterity. Highly recommended if you happen to be in Darwin.

There are a number of choices if you want to go and have a look at some crocodiles. We opted for Crocodylus Park which was a combination of tourist and commercial farming . They have quite a number of breeding pairs that you can see being fed along with a boat tour of their man made lagoon. When you’re in the boat, you do feel that very ‘watched “ and you would not want to let anything hang over the side or it would be gone .Held a baby croc , checked out a number of other animals both foreign and native . A good day all round.

Both the military and northern territory museum are worth visiting, The military museum has lots of displays but also has heaps of information about the bombing of Darwin during WW2. There is still a huge 9.5 inch gun as part of their defenses. You can walk down into the bunker below it to see the sheer size involved. It was test fired but never actually used in combat.

The NT museum has a number of areas that cover indigenous history and a specific section dedicated to Cyclone Tracey. You can even walk into a room that plays a recording of the wind that night. Its completely blacked out to give the full effect. Very eerie.

Another area has lots of boats linked to the travel of the islanders in the area but also to the perils of the “boat people” from the time of the Vietnamese through to today. Some of the vessels on display were seized by the border forces and donated to the museum.

One of the must do things that is on the list when you visit is to go to the Mindil Beach Markets and then sit on the beach and watch the sun set. It was very busy but luckily our visitors were staying close by so we could park at their place and walk . Lots and lots of people . We did discover another part of Darwin where you could do the same thing. Cullen Bay  is almost the next suburb along with an awesome grass verge that leads down to the beach. Just behind that is “Seafood on Cullen” an all you can eat seafood buffet, You can sit out on the deck , eat seafood or lots of other things and watch the sun go down. Yes we did eat way to much.

Mindil Beach

Darwin was a great place to visit