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Published: October 15th 2009
Fun in the pool
Grady threw the kids in the air turned around to find 10 Aboriginal kids saying, "me, me" and "throw me". Since our kids call him "Dad", the other kids were coming up and saying "throw me Dad". It was a fun morning.We left Katherine quite late in the day, mostly because the kids were having so much fun playing in the pool with the Aboriginal children who had traveled for the event at Katherine Gorge. It had been 30 years since the land was handed back to the local tribes, and the tribes people and their families were staying at the park free of charge to celebrate. The park has a rule that children are not allowed in the pool without adult supervision, so we were impressed with the kindness of the pool cleaners who sat and watched about 20 Aboriginal children who would not have been allowed in otherwise. They were there for about an hour until the lifeguards arrived (hired especially for the event).
Not long after, a four wheel drive towing a trailer arrived as a special treat for the children, some whom had traveled 800kms to be there. Inside the trailer was a variety of activities: play-dough, bubbles, and a slip-and-slide. The best thing however, was that the kids were allowed to paint the car! The leaders had mixed together pastel paint with a bit of dishwashing liquid and laid the pots out with brushes and the orders
to “go for it!” Our children had a great time overcoming their initial shyness of an activity they would normally be in huge trouble for, but with the encouragement of the leaders and following their adventurous new friends, had a wonderful time. If the artists’ work could be given a name, it surely would be “Reconciliation”. At the end, the activities were all packed away in the trailer and the multi-colored fourby drove to the town car wash, unbeknownst to the artists!
We bid the town of Katherine goodbye in order to head to Darwin, a relatively short drive north of around 300kms. The drive was fun, spotting termite mounds and watching the scenery change to the tropics. Adelaide River was a particularly pretty place with friendly locals. Adelaide River has a lot of WW2 points of interest, as it was the major military centre for around 80,000 troops. Its war cemetery is home to 434 brave men from Australia, Britain and Canada. Air strips from that time run alongside the main highway.
Arriving in Darwin and calling the local caravan parks showed the expense we were in for ($65 a night), so we stayed at Lee Point Caravan Park.
Painting the car
The kids had a ball doing this - what a great idea. Lee Point has a couple of small pools and pretty ordinary amenities, but at $45 a night it was the only option for the moment. Lee Point Caravan Park is the old dumping ground for debris from Cyclone Tracy, which was covered over with earth and used for temporary housing for those affected. After the clean up, it was purchased privately and became a caravan park. I wonder what treasures lie beneath the sites! It is also the park closest to Darwin City and even closer to Casaurina shopping centre, the largest shopping centre in the Territory. We lasted there 2 weeks and have moved onto the Free Spirit park, which is much more child-friendly (3 pools, jumping pillow, café/resteraunt), the staff are welcoming, amenities clean and in the off-season, kids are free. We definitely prefer our new surroundings!
Shortly after arriving at Free Spirit, we were surprised with the arrival of a family from Church who were on holiday in Darwin. It was great to see Terry, Sue, Riley and Scott for the few days they were here. Grady had company to watch home-team Geelong beat St Kilda in the AFL Grand Final and Beau had more friends at
Jumping croc
This was only a small croc too! his birthday party!
DARWIN
Our first two weeks of Darwin were filled with sight seeing, and we watched the bank balance dwindle. The Adelaide River cruise was a real highlight, with the crocodiles jumping up the sides of the two storey boat for food. I preferred the bottom storey as you could stay seated and watch the crocodiles through the large windows. The air-conditioning was more comfortable for those who struggled with the humidity and there isn’t the “rush and crush” to the sides like the top. We chose the two storey boat cruise for safety (especially with Cody), but in retrospect, the smaller cruise operators would be much more fun. We aim to go on another cruise before we leave. One of the rules on the boat is that you are only allowed to move between decks when the boat is in motion. This is due quite obviously to the jumping crocs, who are a risk to those in the exposed back areas. Chloe needed to go to the toilet, so I took her but when we opened the toilet door, there was a crocodile only 1.5m from her. I saw its eye quickly flash to her and
pulled her back into the toilet, where we stayed until the boat was in fast motion.
We followed the Jumping Crocodile cruise with a trip to Crocodylus Park, a crocodile farm started by one of the leading crocodile experts in the world. Here, they breed thousands of crocodiles for meat and leather, and we were able to see the breeding and holding pens of the juvenile and adult crocs. It was most informative to listen to the guide and Seth, Beau, Grady and myself were given the opportunity to each feed a large saltwater croc. The snap of their jaws gave us an appreciation for the animal’s power and speed, and the understanding that to them, we are nothing more than a food source. Even when walking on the bridge over the pens, Chloe crouched down to look at a 5.5m croc. It raised its head towards her, which was quite unnerving. It is unfathomable that tourists still continue to swim in crocodile infested waters and even approach the waters to fill containers. It is sheer madness. Just a couple of weeks ago, a tourist swam in the waters of Kakadu, even whilst people were shouting at him to get
out. A crocodile grabbed his arm, but he was freed and escaped with the help of those nearby. There are words for people like this.
Our crocodile experience concluded a few days later with a visit to the Darwin Museum - a fantastic place. Free entry is a luxury these days for a family of 6, and we have visited there twice now. The museum has Aboriginal art and artifacts to appreciate, a Cyclone Tracy exhibit, a cast of “Sweetheart” (a huge croc killed when authorities sought to move him), massive floor space of native Australian animals (stuffed, unfortunately), a huge area of different types of boats from Australia and Asian countries (some at 15m in length) and until November, an upstairs exhibit of crocodile skulls and bones, including a cast of the skull from a 12m crocodile. These figures mean little to the kids until they realize that it is the length of their father’s shed!
We all really enjoyed the Cyclone Tracy information, especially Seth who learned about cyclones in school last year. The conclusion of the exhibit involves passing through a dark room with a recording of the cyclone playing. The kids were fearfully in awe. We
Leanyer water park
A free water park with 3 huge waterslides and a big bucket on top of the park which fills with water and spills over everyone! Top fun. also enjoyed learning about the crocodiles and when viewing the boat exhibit, I was glad to talk to the kids about both sides of the refugee debate. They were also able to appreciate that we live in a country we are not desperate to escape from.
A visit to Darwin would not be complete without going to the Mindil Markets - we love it and so do the kids. Here there are a variety of stalls and food; no backyard people with their secondhand wares. The sounds of bands and a didgeridoo player fill the air and the smells of all kinds of international foods create a temptation not often resisted! Sitting on the grass and watching the sun set on Mindil Beach is a true Darwin experience.
Our enjoyment of Darwin was dampened though, by the search for work. We were nearly out of money and needed work, fast! I was hopeful to get a job in order for Grady to enjoy time with the kids - he won’t get long service leave running his own business and so this trip is the equivalent. We had a couple of hopeful leads, but they ended up fruitless and so
Tan lines
Check out those tans! Looking like locals! we ventured into the job search agencies. This was a new experience for me and I took the boys into Centrelink, which was part of the process. We are fortunate in that a visit to Centrelink is a novelty, and it was great to have the boys there sharing the experience of searching for work.
It wasn’t through any job search agencies that I ended up in employment though; passing through the major shopping centre I noticed a sign in Just Cuts advertising for a part time receptionist. I handed in my resume and pretty much got a job on the spot. I have worked there for a couple of weeks now and I absolutely love it. After 10 years of being home with the kids, it is nice to be useful in another way and its been a real boost to my confidence to know that I am still very much employable. I have also secured a second part time job at a Coles supermarket. It won’t last long, but with kids to feed, we need the money and I hope even this short time at Coles will open the doors to other jobs in the West.
This
security with work allowed us to breathe again, so we were able to spend a day touring Litchfield national park with the Sheltons and the Lynch family who like us, are heading west after Darwin. We swam under waterfalls and in rock holes, saw the large termite mounds, watched a water monitor silently slip into the pool and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of creation. Litchfield is completely safe of crocodiles in the swimming areas, unlike Kakadu whose swimming areas are managed by the use of traps. People are divided as to whether to swim there or not. We were chatting to a man who lived in Jabiru who said never to swim anywhere in Kakadu, however two families who live in Darwin said the swimming areas are safe up until the wet season begins. At this point we aren’t swimming in Kakadu - we don’t want our children to turn into statistics.
A wonderful day touring with good friends was soon to end, and we were treated to fish and chips by the Sheltons. It was to be our “last supper” together as the Sheltons were heading to Kakadu and then to Queensland. It is amazing how on the road
Beau's Birthday
Between the Sheltons, the Morters and us, there were 12 kids for the party and Beau loved his day. you can meet people and very quickly grow to love them, and so our parting was for me, more like a tearing away. I was okay until in the car the ipod played “Time of your life” by
Green Day. That pretty much ended it for me and I could barely drive for tears! We have already vowed to head there after our first week home.
We have entered Darwin in the “build up” to the wet season. The build up is an increase in humidity up to 100% - this happens in November. When the wet season begins, there is an increase in humidity until the afternoon when rain pours down for (we have been told) a few hours. I have noticed a build up in our own caravan as well. This happens over the course of my working day - Grady deals with the kids and his patience is stretched. His anger brews consistently during the day until I get home and BANG! The wet season begins! It’s a reversal in roles and we are appreciating each other in a fresh way. I know how he feels and vice versa. I have to say though, I love
Shelton family
We will miss the Shelton cafe with its cappuccinos! getting home from work and seeing tea already organized. Grades is quite the cook - I hope this talent won’t lay dormant when we get home!
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Candy Burns
non-member comment
Adventures
Its great o read about your adventures and all that you are doing and all the fun you are having. Candy