NORTHERN TERRITORY

Our trip to Darwin didn’t start well. First we nearly didn’t catch our flight. Assuming we have to catch it from the domestic airport we realized quickly it was departing internationally as it carried on to Asia. We quickly made a move over the road. We had 10kg overweight with would have cost us $90. Instead we repacked und just got away with paying. The hostel in Darwin was expensive, awful and packed with travellers. Car hire companies charged a daily rate of $70 for a tiny car, well over our budget. Things weren’t all bad. We were lucky to get a wicket camper for a reasonable rate and a jug of beer was $8.

Before entering Kakadoo NP we made a stop at Foggs Dam, a bird’s paradise for royal spoonbills, egrets and jabirus. We carried on 50kms on gravel road to reach Shady Point. Our camp for the night a good fishing spot for barramundi. There was a salt water crocodile cruising around but we kept an eye on him. The night was hell. We had to make a decision to keep windows open and get eaten alive by mosquitoes or shut everything and die on a heat stroke. Next day we bought a mosquito net.

We saw different points of interest in Kakadoo NP but were very disappointed by the state of the tracks. Many were not cleared or were still completely closed. Aboriginal Art sites at Ubirr and Nourlangie were really worse the visit.

Lichtfield NP is much smaller but has a few waterfalls with swim holes for refreshment. On our way to Berry Springs we saw 3 frilled lizards on the way but as soon we stopped the car to take photos they were gone. We also met some of the strangest people in the local pub, mostly Aboriginals, some of them pretty drunk.

Berry Springs has a hot spring which was wonderful at 7am in the morning. We stayed most of the day in the Territory Wildlife Park where you see most of the animals of the Northern Territory. It’s one of the best wildlife parks we have seen and it gave us the opportunity to see the animals we did not spot in the wild.
We headed back to Darwin to join the reopening of the Mindil Beach night market with fireworks. There was a brilliant band playing with crazy didgeridoo sounds.

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