Night 38 - Kakadu

We certainly have itchy feet! We have been in Darwin for 8 days and its really time to move on. Irs been nice not having to pack and unpack each day but we are ready for a change of scenery.

We leave Darwin and drive about 220kms along the Arnhem Hwy stopping quickly to get our Kakadu National Park passes. They cost $25 per person (kids under are 16 free surprisingly) and last for 14 days. We had been told to stay at the Kakadu Aurora Lodge so we headed there after a quick look around Jabiru.

Now this is my kind of camping!! Beautiful shady trees, green grass, beautiful birds and a park manager that says 'just go find your own spot'. We had planned on staying two nights but we have just decided to stay three!





As soon as we got here the plan was just to sit back and relax. We set up the picnic rug and lego for the kids and Craig and I checked out the Kakadu maps and made a plan for the following day.



It was a beautiful starry night with a slight breeze which was really refreshing. When checking in the park manager told me that there were plenty of dingoes around at night. He told me not to feed them but just to shoo them away. Yeah right, I will not be shooing any wild dogs away, Ill be keeping my distance! He told me to take everything inside at night as lately they have even been stealing peoples thongs! At about 9pm a cheeky dingo comes around the corner and almost into our campsite. He got scared when he realised we were out and ran away. Cheeky buggar!! We will try and get photo evidence.......Craig is stalking it!!

Night 37 - Darwin

Last night in Darwin....

We just thought we would have a relaxing day by the pool and catch up on the boys school work. They are doing it by distance education and there is a heap of it!!
Its hard enough to get through our hectic schedule of touring and sightseeing then get on with the boys work (I think I still have a grasp of year 3 maths though!).

I think they should let us make our own more relevant assignments so that the boys can really get a feel for the environment they are travelling through.....such as "Are We There Yet?" my tales about travelling!, "Different Cultures" I thought the drunk people would steal my surfboard! or "How the Different Sites have Inspired Me" MUM, the Nintendo DS has run out of batteries, I'm bored!

Mum and Dad went out and bought some really nice aboriginal artwork this arvo. You will have to go around and see the paintings!!

Finally, this arvo, Lisa's calls have been answered....a lovely tropical downpour. It only lasted about 20 mins and all it did was make everything steamy but it did rain. The locals were saying "unseasonal rain".

In the arvo we headed to the Palmerston Markets where we indulged once again. The markets were a bit quieter than the week before but still had some great food stalls with Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Malaysian and 'aussie roadkill' on the menu....I settled for a Thai salad this time.

The kids had a ball with some dancing clowns revving all of the littlies up with disco songs... Bailey was a classic getting down the front and staying there for the whole time. Kai easily got the most lollies that were tossed onto the dance floor....no mercy was shown thats for sure!!

Had a few farewell drinks with Mum and Dad as they were leaving early the next morning. Its been great having them up here for the last week or so!!

Night 36- Darwin

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRAIG......he got boardies, beer and thongs.....how Australian!!

The day started with our ususal birthday pancakes, yummo!

Pam and Ross went and did some sightseeing so we ventured to Berry Springs Nature Park about 25km's away. This place was magical, I thought it was actually better than Litchfield. The boys went in for a swim in the crystal clear water (I am way too scared of crocs!!).







Why do the boys have to do this in every single photo??



They swum with Archer fish, Sooty Grunter and Long Tom. There was hardly anyone else there, just a few other Britz vans with the usual loud poms!



Here are a few pics of the beautiful trees that surrounded us.





We came home for a quick pit stop and then drove into Darwin for the Mindil Markets, what a fantastic time we had! I wish they had something like this in Sydney. The smells, tastes, sights and sounds were amazing. We had a look around and then sampled the food. Craig decided on an emu stick and a crocodile stick from the 'Road Kill Cafe'. Lovely!





This is Mindil Beach....one of a few beaches in Darwin. They do have the occasional croc show up so its no wonder there is no one swimming.





This didgeridoo player had was absolutely amazing, I got goose bumps watching him play and the kids didnt take their eyes off him. He played with such heart and soul and the whole crowd were right into it. I wish we had seen him play his second set but there was so much else to see and do.



After dinner it was time to watch my first sunset over the ocean. We just happened to be there on the full moon so it was amazingly spectacular to see.







The beach was full of tourists also watching and taking photos.



The sun had set and it was time to watch 'Dan the Fire Man' who was unreal. We took these amazing pics of his show.







We arrived back home at about 8pm and put the kids to bed. It doesnt seem to cool down at night, Im sure its still about 35 degrees. The rain coulds keep building but the rain never falls.....its just hot and humid every day.

Night 35 - Darwin

We all arose nice 'n' early (Kai is our alarm clock each day) in expectation of our day trip to Litchfield.

It was hour or so drive to the national park, through a small town called Batchelor (which has a really great butterfly enclosure...we may get to it next time or never) with our first stop being the magnetic termite mounds.

Here we learnt the difference between the termite mounds with the huge 'cathederal' termite mounds different to the flat 'magnetic' termite mounds. All of the magnetic termite mounds looked like a headstones at a cemetary and was a great site to see.







Next stop was "Buley Rockholes" for our first swim. After passing the obligatory "Beware of the Crocs" sign, on the downhill walk I could see plenty of people swimming and lounging in the rockholes so it was straight off with the tee shirts and in. I thought I'd stay upstream of the backpackers, they can get taken first.







Next stop Florence Falls, we didnt swin here as there were 135 stairs each way which was a bit much for the kids. Great spot though.



Nan and Pop and the grandkids!!



Next stop along Litchfield Road was Tolmer Falls, it would be pretty impressive during the wet season. We couldnt swim here as there were endangered Orange Horseshoe and Ghost bats that were nesting in the caves. We walked 400m along the walkway to the viewing platform, pretty impressive views.



There was a bushfire coming so we headed for the next stop.



Last stop for the day was the wonderful Wangi Falls, this place was awesome. By this stage we needed a swim. We spotted heaps of fish, mostly black bream here!







We drove back into Darwin and went to Stokes Hill Wharf for dinner. The chili crocodile was sensational!!

Night 34 - Darwin

We actually didnt do too much today. The car went to the mechanics for another service so the boys and I got stuck into some school work. We managed to do about 3 hours worth while Ellie was being minded by nan and pop.

You know Craig is in holiday mode when he has time to paint Ellie's finger and toe nails!



Here we are enjoying a few gin and tonic's, yep nothing better than being in holiday mode!



After dinner we watched a didgeridoo performance which was great. The guy told us how to find one, make one and then play one. Really interesting stuff.





Litchfield National Park tomorrow, cant wait.

Night 33 - Darwin

We ventured into Darwin city this afternoon and checked out the wave pool. Its much like the one the boys love at Jamberoo so they were happy. We stayed for hours, pop was having just as much fun as the boys!













We had been told about this great little cafe that sells only local fish and chips so we went there for an early dinner. It was called 'Chip and Fish' and the food was excellent. I just love the main street in Darwin, its a busy bustling street with plenty of shops, backpackers, souvenir shops, restaurants and bars. We actually found a carpark easily right on the main street and it didnt even cost us to stay a few hours. Unbelieveable! I love it, I really could live here if it werent for the heat and humidity.

After dinner the caravan park had some live entertainment so we sat back and relaxed and listened to some music.

Night 32- Darwin

Today was a great day!

After a lazy morning swimming we decided to go on a croc jumping tour half way up the Arnhem Highway. The 'Spectacular Croc Jumping' hour tour cost $80 for the 5 of us and it was worth every cent.

When we first arrived they had the snakes out, Craig was the only one that was game to hold one!



We boarded the boat and within a minute of leaving the wharf a croc swims right over. At first I thought it was a fake just to get us excited but no, it was very real.





The boat sped away as they dont want to attract crocs so close to the wharf. 5 minutes up the river we found our first jumping croc. He was about 7 foot long and after a bit of teasing he jumped pretty high. The look on the kids faces were priceless! A good mixture of excitement and fear!



Not long after we spot this big fella on the banks...camouflaged pretty well.



Next up was a bigger croc who was a bit lazy and didnt want to jump.



Finally came the monster, at least 12 foot and pretty fierce looking. What an amazingly powerful creature.





The hour was over and we travelled back down the Adelaide River to the wharf. About 10 or so whistling kites circled above and the tour guide fed them left overs. Watching them catch the food mid flight was amazing. Luckily my bird-nerd husband could tell us all about them!



After the cruise we went to the Windows Over Wetlands display and information centre. Its a new multi-million dollar centre built on top of a mountain so you get a birds eye view of the wetlands. Its currently the dry season so its not as wet as you would expect but still an amazing view.





We also saw a few water buffalo having a mud bath. Craig and Kai 'mooed' at them but they didnt give much of a response!



After a busy day we went straight home for pizzas and a few 'gin and tonics' with Craigs mum and dad. Ahhhh