We have just returned from our first camping trip ever. Our friends Linda, Michael and Amanda arrived from St. Louis and we all headed up to Darwin to see the sights. At first glance, Darwin doesn't have too much to offer. We spent a hot dusty afternoon walking around and saw some unused oil storage tanks from WWII. Not such a great start to our trip, but luckily it was all uphill from there!
We were picked up fro
m our hotel by Alan from Sacred Safaries. He was to be our chauffeur, cook and guide for the next five days. It seems a bit extravagent to hire a guide, but with two families travelling together it seemed to be a good idea. The driving distances in the NT are rather long and sometimes the roads are impassable because of floods. We don't own any camping gear so we would have had to rent two camper vans to fit us all in. It just seemed more relaxing to all go in one car and have a guide. We were all really glad we did have Alan - he knows alot about the area and took us to some wonderful places we wouldn't have found on our own.
On our first day, we went to Lichfield National Park. We visited several waterfall sights and did some swimming. We walked thru monsoon vineforest to the top of Wangi Falls. It was all very exciting as the places were just being opened up for the first time of the season. This is the dry season now. The flooding that occurs in the wet season brings the saltwater crocodiles into many areas around
the Northern Territory; they have even been seen on the Esplanade in Darwin itself! So as the water recededes in the dry season, the saltwater crocs have to be trapped and moved so tourists like us don't meet an untimely end. Over a period of a few weeks, the rangers scout around and round up any stray "salties." I didn't exactly feel reassured...they leave the freshwater crocs around because those are relatively harmless.
On our second day, we went to Katherine Gorge and took out some canoes. It was a little bit cool and a little rainy which is unheard of in the dry season. We were scheduled for 4 hours on the canoe. I was quite worried when our guide left to set up our camp - How was I to survive 4 hours in a canoe? Surely, I would be ready to go in an hour at most! We paddled down the river trying to spot the freshwater crocs without much luck. We stopped at the end of the first gorge and saw some aboriginal rock art. They have no idea how old some of the art is - it is estimated to be between 10,000 and 30,000 years old in some places. By the time we paddled back up the river, we had seen a few small crocs and a little turtle. I was amazed to see we had spent 4 hours on the river.
The next several days were spent in Kakadu National Park. This was an amazing place. It is now owned by Aboriginal people, who lease it back to the government. The park is run with joint management between a council and the government. I don't want to get to much like we did this, then that, then that - but this could be one of the best trips we've ever had. A sunrise cruise on the Yellow River had the most spectacular bird life (and crocs!). A walk up to Barramundi Falls led us to the most amazing rock pool for a swim. Ubirr Rock had impressive Aboriginal rock art and fantasic views. We all really enjoyed the trip and we all agree having Alan to organize us all was the best thing we had done!
For those of you who ever get to Darwin, skip the Oil Tanks and head for the Museum of Darwin. That proved to be a pleasant way to spend the morning. We got to see the now stuffed "Sweetheart" the Saltie that terrorized Darwin for many years. Also, there is a room where you can hear the sounds of Cyclone Tracy that flattened Darwin in 1972. The next part of our trip was going to be the 6 of us on our own. We were headed to Alice Springs to discover the Red Centre! But, this will have to be another blog as I'm running out of steam.
We were picked up fro
m our hotel by Alan from Sacred Safaries. He was to be our chauffeur, cook and guide for the next five days. It seems a bit extravagent to hire a guide, but with two families travelling together it seemed to be a good idea. The driving distances in the NT are rather long and sometimes the roads are impassable because of floods. We don't own any camping gear so we would have had to rent two camper vans to fit us all in. It just seemed more relaxing to all go in one car and have a guide. We were all really glad we did have Alan - he knows alot about the area and took us to some wonderful places we wouldn't have found on our own.On our first day, we went to Lichfield National Park. We visited several waterfall sights and did some swimming. We walked thru monsoon vineforest to the top of Wangi Falls. It was all very exciting as the places were just being opened up for the first time of the season. This is the dry season now. The flooding that occurs in the wet season brings the saltwater crocodiles into many areas around
the Northern Territory; they have even been seen on the Esplanade in Darwin itself! So as the water recededes in the dry season, the saltwater crocs have to be trapped and moved so tourists like us don't meet an untimely end. Over a period of a few weeks, the rangers scout around and round up any stray "salties." I didn't exactly feel reassured...they leave the freshwater crocs around because those are relatively harmless.On our second day, we went to Katherine Gorge and took out some canoes. It was a little bit cool and a little rainy which is unheard of in the dry season. We were scheduled for 4 hours on the canoe. I was quite worried when our guide left to set up our camp - How was I to survive 4 hours in a canoe? Surely, I would be ready to go in an hour at most! We paddled down the river trying to spot the freshwater crocs without much luck. We stopped at the end of the first gorge and saw some aboriginal rock art. They have no idea how old some of the art is - it is estimated to be between 10,000 and 30,000 years old in some places. By the time we paddled back up the river, we had seen a few small crocs and a little turtle. I was amazed to see we had spent 4 hours on the river.
The next several days were spent in Kakadu National Park. This was an amazing place. It is now owned by Aboriginal people, who lease it back to the government. The park is run with joint management between a council and the government. I don't want to get to much like we did this, then that, then that - but this could be one of the best trips we've ever had. A sunrise cruise on the Yellow River had the most spectacular bird life (and crocs!). A walk up to Barramundi Falls led us to the most amazing rock pool for a swim. Ubirr Rock had impressive Aboriginal rock art and fantasic views. We all really enjoyed the trip and we all agree having Alan to organize us all was the best thing we had done!
For those of you who ever get to Darwin, skip the Oil Tanks and head for the Museum of Darwin. That proved to be a pleasant way to spend the morning. We got to see the now stuffed "Sweetheart" the Saltie that terrorized Darwin for many years. Also, there is a room where you can hear the sounds of Cyclone Tracy that flattened Darwin in 1972. The next part of our trip was going to be the 6 of us on our own. We were headed to Alice Springs to discover the Red Centre! But, this will have to be another blog as I'm running out of steam.
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