Day 22 –Darwin

This morning we headed off early to Crocodylus Park and Zoo, about 10 minutes away. We did a short (included) tour watching them feed the crocs and a pair of beautiful white lions. We also enjoyed the cassowaries, emus, ostriches, wolves, dingoes, buffalo, banteng, turtles, meerkats, timor ponies, tigers, and various types of primates. Lily was particularly taken with the playful baboons.

 

The park has bit of a conflict of interest, as it talks conservation and breeding programs, and is also a working croc farm, selling croc meat products (bbq packs), and croc, stingray, and eel fashion products (handbags, wallets, belts, etc).  Once again Lily enjoyed holding a baby croc, while Sam was nowhere to be seen!

They have one pen full of hundreds of freshwater crocs all milling around in and out of the water, trying to find  a nice sunbathing place to warm up their reptilian skins.

 

Next up was a visit to the main wharf area. You can drive right on the wharf, where there are cafes and restaurants touting their wares of croc, buffalo, snake meals,etc. Beautiful views of Darwin harbour from here.

 

Nearby, we visited Indo Pacific Marine, where we were taken on a small tour of a coral reef display, and a video documentary. The kids enjoyed touching the coral and feeding the snapping barramundi. Must admit though, the display is looking a little tired since our last visit here.

With rumbling tummies we headed for a picnic in the botanic gardens in the shade. Into our third week on the road now we are getting pretty good at packing up a picnic for the day, always with ice bricks as it is still so hot up here. The nights are particularly hot, and we are very grateful for our caravan air conditioner.

We did a walk through the rainforest in the gardens, admiring the foliage, and the beautiful frangipani trees of many colored flowers.

 

 

On the way back out to Howard Springs we called in briefly in the Charles Darwin national park, 42 square kilometres of bushland, boasting beautiful views back over Darwin Harbour.

 

During the war it was the secret hiding place of many bunkers that were filled with ammunition, so we were interested to go into one and read about the different types of ammunition held here, and about the different cultural views of why we go to war.

For the allies, we believe in only going to war to defend our way of life, and to keep casualties to a minimum. We also believe strongly in the Geneva Convention. The Japanese apparently didn’t adhere to either policy, and they also believe it is a noble thing to go out and sacrifice their lives for their emperor (who they believed was their god). Two very different ways of looking at things.

Back to the van park for another swim, a game of squash, and gathering up the very dry washing off the line before we head off again tomorrow morning, retracing our steps south for a little while.

Day 21 –Darwin

Nice to have a bit of a sleep in this morning and not have to rush off. A short 20min drive into Darwin city, and to Doctors Bay - so named during WW2 as this is where a temporary hospital and staging station was set up to recuperate all the POW serviceman coming in off the ships from various Pacific Islands. When they were well enough, they were all sent home down south.

Today (since 1950), the bay is set up as a natural fish feeding sanctuary, where depending on the tides, various species of fish come in from the outer sea, right into shore where they are fed daily (on bread). It was a great experience, wading down in the water (no crocs or stingers here at present), throwing out bread to them. It was a funny feeling having the big fish swim across your feet, ticking you with their fins while they gulped down the bread. The kids had a ball, and it was quite fascinating seeing all the different species.

 

Next stop was the Defence of Darwin Experience at the Darwin Military Museum at East Reserve, quite near the city centre. Wow, what a terrific museum this is. There is an outdoor section where you visit the underground bunkers (which are full of displays), and lots of military equipment (Willies jeep, anti aircraft guns, various trucks and tanks etc). Then inside there is a large gallery with different rooms mainly depicting the defence of Australia in 1942. As the air raid sirens went off we were directed into a cinema where we watched a very clever, and fascinating movie of that  fateful day in February that Darwin was bombed and mostly destroyed. It was very cleverly edited using original old photographs of the day, and using modern technology made them come to life with overlays, special effects and people telling their actual stories of the day. It was so very well done.

 

For lunch we had a picnic in the park nearby, overlooking Darwin Lake (a man made saltwater lake that is filtered (of stingers and fish, etc) then pumped into a scenic lake where the Darwin resident can then swim. It is so strange to see beautiful city beaches, on hot days, with no-one on them (due to crocs and stingers).

 

Our last stop for the day was out in the outlying suburb of Palmerston (only 10 mins from Howard Springs where we are staying). The council run a terrific, free, waterpark, with a big slide, and several play areas for smaller children. Brendan and the kids had a wonderful time on the big slide, trying to race each other down to the bottom lying on their tummies. You can guess who won everytime – Brendan’s weight was an advantage to propel him down blasting past the kids, no matter how much of a head start he gave them. My back is playing up a bit still, so I didn’t want to risk the lumps and bumps, so I was happy to watch and be the official photographer.

 

This afternoon we came home to find we had new caravan neighbours, a couple of very old grey nomads that are here for three months. Unfortunately when they arrived at 11.00am this morning, and plugged their power in, they unplugged ours, which meant our fridge and freezer had been off all day. Very helpful! Not!

Day 20 –Darwin

This morning we left Darwin at 7.00am to head the hour south to the edge of Kakadu via the Arnhem Highway. Then it was an easy 10km drive along the dirt road to the Corroboree Billabong to join the hour long wetland river cruise. As we drove in, we passed many small (deliberately-lit) fires which were nearly always enveloped by circling black kites (raptor birds), waiting for the all the small scurrying rodents fleeing from the slow burning flames. The NT people have a very well managed cycle of burning off the undergrowth regularly, thus regenerating the landscape, and almost removing the threat of bushfires.

Having experienced a similar cruise years ago at the other end of the park, we had high hopes. Before we had parked the car we were surrounded by kangaroos, very small and pale in color.

 

As we joined our cruise boat, and headed off, very soon we spotted birdlife. A whitebellied sea eagle sat patiently on an old tree, before gliding off majestically looking for a fish. We were also able to spot his nest off large branches up in the nearby tree.

 

Looking through the trees we spotted a wild buffalo at the waters edge, with a white egret perched on his back. There are thousands of wild buffalo roaming through the wetlands.

 

My favourite bird of the day was the spectacularly beautiful, although quite small, Azure Kingfisher, aptly named for his bright blue plumage – just stunning in the sun, flitting from lily-pad to lily-pad.

 

We spotted quite a few crocs, both in the water, gliding silently by, and sitting on the muddy banks, sunning themselves, without a care in the world.

After our cruise, we made our way back to Darwin, stopping after a short distance to view the Windows on the Wetlands Information display. It had quite a good display about all the local wildlife and habitat.

 

Back in the outskirts of Darwin, we called in at the Barra Shack, a rural property (in every sense of the word)to look at some locally made items (wallets, handbags, etc) made out of barramundi skin (it was so leathery it looked like croc skin), crocodile skin (farmed), and buffalo horns. Sam was most taken with the croc skin, and bought himself a small key ring.

We called in at the Howard Springs Park Reserve for lunch, and ate our picnic by the bubbling hot springs. This one had a sign not to enter the water due to bacteria, but was a most attractive place for lunch and the kids had fun on the flying fox and play equipment.

 

Tonight we headed off to the famous Mindil Market, held on the parkland adjoining Mindil Beach right in the city of Darwin. The market operates every Thursday evening from 5pm to 10pm and every Sunday afternoon.

We wandered around the stalls, and after careful selection (you know my children and their attraction to food), we settled on some Indonesian and Indian food, while Sam chose a massive lamb kebab. We then wandered the short distance and sat on Mindil Beach watching the firery red sun (“mum, it looks like a big fireball”) set over the beautiful sandy beach. There were a few brave souls paddling out in the water (not for us, as we had been warned about the jellyfish stingers, not to mention the crocs that reside there).

 

We then watched some of the free entertainment on offer – a man juggling firesticks, a country whip master who entertained us with his funny songs, and fast whip cracking, and a fantastic modern didgeridoo player.

 

And, of course Michelle couldn’t pass up the opportunity of buying a little bit of jewellery as  a reminder of this wonderful day.



Day 19 –Darwin

A day around the lovely tropical city of Darwin today. It reminds me a little of Brisbane with its huge tropical flowering frangipani trees in all sorts of colors, and lots of lush palms and green foliage.  Another similarity is the huge free waterfront saltwater lagoon around the wharf. Lots of nice restaurants and cafes.

On the way into the city this morning, located on the Stuart Highway is the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre, home of the B52 bomber, spitfires, and many other aircraft in a huge hanger. We spent a good couple of hours here watching the documentary of the bombing of Darwin in 1942 (62 separate bombing raids), and reading the fascinating display boards and information. Well worth a visit.

 

Next up, we parked down near the main wharf, and visited the WW2 oil tunnels. In 1924, 11 above ground tunnels holding aviation fuel were built around Darwin to store fuel. The 1942 raids of Darwin destroyed 9 of these, so a decision was made to construct hidden oil storage tunnels underneath the city. 400 labourers using pick and shovel built the tunnels in secret, under the main city area.  So today we were able to walk through the tunnels and view a really interesting exhibit in the massive tunnels. Definitely a very different thing to do!

In 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in the US, an evacuation was ordered on Darwin, and 750 women and children were evacuated by boats down south. Just two months later the same fleet that bombed Pearl Harbour, carried out a devastating bombing raid on Darwin, killing over 1000 people.

 

 

Then it was up the glass elevator, and across the elevated footbridge into the centre of Darwin, and a walk down through the main shopping mall. This is mainly full of eating places and tourist shops, but has had quite a nice facelift since last we visited.

 

After lunch we drove around to the NT Museum and Art Gallery, to view the Cyclone Tracey exhibition. We stood in a darkened room and listened to a recreation of what the cyclone sounded like – very frightening. The museum had a good display of various Indonesian fishing and refugee boats, as well as natural science exhibits and a kids room where the kids could explore science facts.

The kids were most impressed by the huge (stuffed) crocodile that was on permanent display, with an accompanying short documentary on how they captured him. ‘Sweetheart’ the croc  was 7m long! Absolutely huge!

 

Then after a drive around East Point Reserve, it was back to the caravan park for a well earned swim, and free bbq tea. This van park is fantastic, lots of free activities, and the surrounds are just superb. Tonight we are parked beside another family (from Wodonga), doing exactly the same trip as us, same timing, and twins in grade 5 (much to Sam’s pleasure). Always nice to see other families on the road (there are heaps of them!).

 

Day 18 –Litchfield National Park to Darwin

Only a short drive today, of about an hour, before we reached the outskirts of Darwin, and we turned off the Stuart Highway to go to Berry Springs to visit the Territory Wildlife Park (run by the NT Government). It is a absolutely huge park, so big you need to keep catching a ‘train’ (open bus) around the park to the different sections.

First up we enjoyed the Birds of Prey show which was a fascinating closeup display of the NT’s raptors and owls. We enjoyed watching the black buzzard break open the emu egg using a stone to crack the outer layer, and the barn owl was my favourite with his beautiful feather markings. The water (fish catching) dive bombing kestrel was also marvellous to see in action. The wedgetail eagle had a damaged wing today, so we didn’t see him fly, but we did get up close for a look at him with the keeper after – a beautiful creature.

 

Another section of the park we enjoyed was the wetland billabong. One of my favourite NT birds, the rainbow bee eater was flying around happily, flitting from tree branch to tree branch.  Such stunning colors on his plumage.

 

We also watched the keeper stand in the river and hand feed the huge 1.5m barramundi, the archer fish (if you hold a piece of food, or even a leaf, above them, they will shoot a jet of water up to try and knock it down towards them to eat), and the native freshwater whip ray which were huge and very interesting to watch float around waiting their turn to be fed.

 

One of the other things we did was have some photos taken of Lily. She badly wanted to hold the crocodile and the snakes. No fear there! She had a ball posing, obeying every instruction from the handler/photographer, and acting scared on cue. So here they are....  Don't you love the middle one? Funny, huh?

We spent many hours at the park, and although it was very hot (35 deg today), it was such a wonderful place to visit. We all greatly enjoyed seeing all the animals and birdlife in such a stunning natural habitat.

Next it was only 2km down the road to visit the huge natural thermal pools of Berry Springs. The water was so warm and clear, and there were lots of fish swimming around. Swimming around in the palm fringes river, was an amazing experience. Incredible how warm the water is in so many of these NT places.

 

After a refreshing swim, we headed the 20 mins further in to Darwin to our Big 4 Caravan park at Howard Springs. This one, although probably the most expensive in town has such great facilities for kids. There are three pools, squash courts, water splash park, lovely shady sites, and all sorts of activities going on. So, while the kids played in the splash park, I did lots of washing!

Tonight at 7pm we attended a didgeridoo making show. A nice guy showed us how he collected a piece of eucalyptus gum which had been hollowed out by termites, then he stripped the bark off, and made a beeswax mouthpiece for it. His aboriginal friends paint them for him with traditional designs. Sam was fascinated by the whole talk, and decided he would like to buy a small one for himself.