17th August

We have been in Darwin now for just over 2 weeks and it has been fairly busy.

Saturday we visited the Museum and Art Gallery; this features displays of the regions art, history and culture. It also includes a great Cyclone Tracy exhibit, showing film of the devastation that occurred on Christmas Eve in 1974. There was a room you could go into and experience what the people would have felt and heard on the night. The noise was so loud and frightening, we were only in there for a few moments it was hard to imagine how people could cope with this noise all night. There was also more information about what went on during the war and how far the enemy came into the top end off Australia. There was a current display of students work, ranging from photography to modelling. There was some very interesting work done by very clever people.

On Sunday we caught up with some friends from home by catching a ferry from Cullen Bay to a spot just across the harbour called Mandora, you can drive to this point, but it would take you around 3 hours. We had some lunch and listened to a local band playing, then back across the bay to finish off with coffee and cake, a nice way to spend a Sunday.

This seemed to be the week for catching up with people, as on Monday we visited Aunty Barbra and Rod where they were house sitting. We talked about caravanning and what we had been doing since we left home. We also chatted about family and what they were up too amongst other things. I really enjoyed catching up with a relative whom I had not seen for a while and also catch up on some family history that I did not know.

In the afternoon we went down to the WW11 Oil Storage Tunnels. These tunnels were constructed to protect the Navy’s supplies from the many bombs that were dropped on Darwin during the war. The five steel lined tunnels extended from the wharf and ran under the city. This was an interesting insight into what Darwin went through during war times.

The next day Tuesday, we took another drive into Darwin to visit the Cenotaph, this is a memorial to all Darwin’s personal, including armed, rescue and civilian, who lost their lives in the service during the time of war. As well as bombing raids the cenotaph has survived 2 major cyclones and earth tremors. This is a poignant place in history as it was the the location of the 14^th Anti Aircraft Battery that fired the first shots against Japanese aircraft attacking Darwin in WW11.

We also to a visit to the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre, there were some impressive displays of aircraft that showed off some of the Territories involvement in aviation both civil and military. There was some great information given on all the displays and it was well set out. There was also a section dedicated to the women aviators throughout history that was interesting to read. Included in the displays are 2 short videos of the bombing of Darwin that show just how bad the destruction of Darwin was during that time. This museum is run by a dedicated group of people and it shows as the displays are great.

We seem to be going into town a lot as again we head into town this time to look at Crocosaurus Cove. This crocodile display is set up right in the middle of town and we had a little trouble finding it, as we were looking for a park like area and the park was behind a building front. Once inside we were surprised on all the different displays there was to look at. There were so many fish varieties on display and we managed to get there right on feeding time as the fish seem to also know as they start swimming to the top of the tanks as soon as the keepers enter the area. These fish were used to being hand feed and interacted well with the handlers.

We also watched as the crocodiles were being fed, they only feed two crocodiles at a showing so as not to over feed them. Here you could also swim with the crocs if you so wish, we did not as they looked too big and scary. There were lots of crocodiles on display big, little and in-between, but my favourite displays were the reptiles that were in another part of the Cove, there were even some delightful green tree frogs. This was a surprising park to find in the centre of the city and a fun way to spend the morning and because we were in town we had a look around the mall and had a bite to eat as well.

During the day on Thursday we did not do a lot as we were going to head into town again to go to the Sunset Market at Mindil Beach, before we went to the Markets we stopped off at a place where you can go down onto a wharf and feed some fish that come in on the high tide waiting for a feed. This happens on most days when there is an extra high tide. You can walk into the water up to your knees and be surrounded by hundreds of fish. This was a different experience all together.

We found the markets without too much hassle thanks to our trusty GPS navigating partner. Strolling through the markets we noticed there were lots of food stalls so it was obvious that we were going to eat there. There were also a variety of other stalls and we managed to pick up a few items to bring home. After choosing our meals for the night we took it across to the beach to eat and watch the sunset. We were amazed at how many people there were to watch the magnificent display of colours as the sunset below the sea. We took another wander through the market to look at some decorative light that I had seen earlier but wanted to see at night, they look really nice so had to have some. Last purchases made, it was back to the caravan park to get ready for our next big adventure.

On Friday we packed up the car and headed into Lichfield Park, we had planned a 2 night stopover in the park, so as we could see as much as we could. We wanted to do the loop of the park which meant some 4 wheel driving. Our first stop was at Florence Falls and Bluey Rockhole. These were truly spectacular and you could swim at both places, we choose to swim at the Rockhole, which was refreshing and so clean. Next stop was Wangi Falls another brilliant spot that you could swim at, we were going to stop over night here but the campground was full so we moved on.

This is where the 4 wheel driving started; the track was very rough with some river crossing thrown in for the fun of it. We made it to Blyth Homestead. This is the site of an old tin mine and looks just as it was when it was abandoned in the early 1960, there was no power even then. Our first stop for the night was Tjaynera Falls, as we were pulling into the camp ground we spotted a wild Dingo in the bushes, one of our rare sightings of wild life. We did not think we would be able to camp here for the night either as the 7 camping areas were full, but as luck happened a couple said they were leaving shortly and we could have their spot. This is a nice quiet camp ground and it was going to be a quiet night. As it was getting late we decided to set up the tent and have tea, then take the 1.7km track into the falls the next morning.

In the morning we left the tent up as there was light dew on it and we thought it would be best if we let that dry before packing it away. Walking into the falls was not hard and was pleasant first thing in the morning, one arriving we again treated to some amazing scenery. Here you could also have a swim if you wanted, but surprisingly it was a little chilly at that hour of the morning, so we took lots more photos and started back to pack up the tent and hit the road again. With more river crossings and rough tracks it was a long 19 km tour next stop, which was Surprise Creek Falls. We pulled into the camp ground here and had some lunch, then made our way to yet another lot of falls. I thought these falls were the best we had come across. There were 3 falls, each cascading into deep waterholes that you could swim in, and we did, ending at the bottom with a huge swimming hole, which was not too cold and not too deep. As we were swimming around we could see the fish swimming around us, just brilliant. We were going to stay here but there had been a fire through there recently and it was still quite early so we kept moving on. It was another 16km before we hit the main road again and still almost 200km before we got back to the caravan park and After stopping at Adelaide River to look at the War Cemetery and the buffalo that had stared in the Crocodile Dundee movie we decided to stop at Berry Springs for the night and explore this area the next day. On Sunday we went to Berry Springs Park, which is like a big garden with a river running through. The river had spring at different spots throughout the park. We choose a nice quiet spot along with another couple and thought this will do us for a few hours. After chatting to the couple for a while the wife suddenly spotted something on the bank of the river. This turned out to be a big water lizard heading straight for the spot we were in, after enquiring if these thing bit we decided we were not going to wait to find out so out we got, dried of and headed back to the caravan park for a few days of rest and relaxation around the safety of the pool there.

For the rest of the time we have been looking around the shops in and around Darwin making a few purchases here and there.

Our stop in Darwin has been very enjoyable and the park has also been quite a good one, with entertainment on three nights of the week that was worth going to look on both weeks, the highlight being on Monday nights when there was a young guy playing his guitar and singing a few songs from the 70’s and 80’s, some dancing was known to have happened on both these nights.

We will now be moving onto WA, this may take a week or so depending on what we see and do on the way.