OZ - Week 40 Darwin & Litchfield

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I moved into a tiny windowless room over a bar for 4 nights while the V8 Supercars Championship was on in Darwin, as everywhere was packed. Not only were all the hotel rooms taken but you couldn’t get tables in restaurants or cafes. My room was over the Wisdom Bar (claiming they provide enlightenment through beer) where they sold over 50 types of beers, had loud live music every night and stayed open until after 2am - so attracted many of the petrol-heads who were here for the V8. However you would have been forgiven for thinking that most of the blokes were here for a ZZ-Top convention, judging by the huge amount of facial hair and long beards draped over beer bellies. I did wander down to the bar a couple of times for a delicate glass of wine, but could not keep up with the rate of drinking of most people there, including many of the tourists who were drinking Darwin Stubbies, a rather tongue-in-cheek name for a huge bottle that holds 2 litres.

I took a trip out to the twice weekly Mindil Beach Sunset Market selling a wide range of local and international crafts at over-inflated tourist prices and a lot of repetitive tat. However there were lots of different foods on offer at reasonable prices, so its a great place to eat and to try new tastes. There was indeed a beautiful sunset over the Timor Sea (or the Arafura Sea, depending on which map or guidebook you refer to) and it was lovely sitting on the grass, enjoying a good feed and listening to a didgeridoo player in the distance. Or it may have been a CD playing.

My day trip to the Litchfield National Park was another early start and this time the small bus was nearly full with 12 of us, including 5 new Navy recruits who were just 18 years old. They were a rowdy pain in the butt and got worse as the day wore on, but the rest of the group were a good laugh and we took the piss out of the youngsters without them ever realising it. It was a little bit like being on a school trip with lots of noise, smelly farts and continuous snorty giggles coming from the back of the bus where the recruits sat, continuously asking the most inane questions you have ever heard. God help Australia if this bunch end up being part of the front line.

We headed south west through the town of Batchelor driven by our guide Barry, who was interesting and knowledgeable, giving us loads of great information throughout the trip. He had planned the day to avoid the crowds and we went straight to the Park and headed for the first of 3 waterfall stops. The first was Florence Falls where we took a pretty walk through the forest and down both rock and wooden steps to reach the falls and a large logoon, beneath canyon-like limestone walls that towered above us. The sign at the top had said 135 steps down, but we counted as we puffed our way up on the return trip and there are actually 165, if you include the rock ones. The water was really clear, but chilly when you first entered as it was early in the day and the lagoon was still in the shade. I climbed over several large rocks to get a set of photos before having a brief dip at the edge, but some of the others were more daring and climbed up the side of the falls and jumped off several times. As we were there so early we had the place almost to ourselves at the beginning, but more people started to arrive and Barry said that later in the day it would look like a seal colony with hundred of bodies in the water or basking on the rocks.

After a great but hot bushwalk lasting 45 minutes, we quickly got on the road and headed for the Buley Rockhole where a wonderful series of terraces make a very attractive set of pools down the side of a steep hill. The pools were all different shapes, sizes and depths, with some being only a few inches deep and others being 4-5 metres deep, making it possible to leap in without hitting the bottom. Between the pools were cute mini waterfalls, some of which you had to carefully climb down and some you could slide down. It was great fun as well as being absolutely beautiful. There were rough steps cut into the rock all the way down one side, so you could climb back to redo sections or use them to avoid the more slippery or dangerous falls if you were not up to climbing down them. I managed to grab 10 minutes of total peace and serenity when I climbed back up to the deserted top pool where, after floating about for a while listening to the birds and the lulling sound of the water over the falls, I lay on a big rock in the sun drying off. A magical moment that reminded me of how glad and lucky I am to be doing this huge trip.

This short period of tranquil meditation was fab and cheered me up, as earlier I had endured standing in a pool of sweat covered in flies, with potential 3rd degree burns from the strong sun, probably radioactive from the nearby uranium deposits, bitten to bits with red welts on my legs from the mozzies, scared witless by the lethal spiders, snakes and zillions of flying things that bite, trying to listen to Barry’s interesting talk about the flora and fauna on a bush walk, that was being drowned out by the manic whooping and inane chatter of the bunch of Beavis lookalikes. Whinging Pom ? Yep.

The final waterfall at Wangi Falls was not open for swimming as they had not finished checking the area for the large and dangerous estuarine crocodiles who may have come into the area during the floods in the wet season. It was a shame as the lagoon pool looked very inviting as it had got very hot by the time we arrived in the afternoon heat. Nevertheless it was very beautiful and set in a large area of forest that had some amazing trees. There were crowds of people here, including several large coachloads who looked as if they were from a cruise ship, so we were appreciative of Barry’s itinerary planning. We gathered at a large picnic table for sandwiches and salads and much needed cold water and juices.

Litchfield is another huge Park and is where many of the locals go as it is very pretty and just a bit nearer to Darwin city, although its still nearly a 3 hour drive to reach it. The savanna woodlands are filled with creeks and rivers and the large limestone escarpment acts as a huge sponge during the wet season, storing water that feeds the many waterfalls to give a continuous flow of water throughout the hot dry period. One of the most noticeable things are the huge termite mounds that can be seen everywhere. We stopped in an area where the cathedral type of mounds were particularly huge and took photos by one that was truly massive - there are estimated to be over one billion termites in this particular structure which is thought to be over 80 years old. The intricate rippled mounds stand over huge food caverns that the tiny creatures have excavated and filled with grass food supplies. These termites only eat grass and are not the wood-eating variety that are so feared by owners of wooden houses.

We drove on to where there are extensive areas filled with the magnetic type of termite mounds, sitting in grass fields devoid of trees. These fields strongly resembled military graveyards where you see thousands of tombstones in neat rows. Well the magnetic termite mounds were not lined up in regimented rows, but there were hundreds as far as the eye could see, which made a spectacular image. These mounds differ from the fat, ornate cathedral type of mounds we had visited previously, as the magnetic type are tall, very slim and all face on a north-south alignment. Their construction is a clever way of avoiding the majority of the sun’s rays, keeping the mound cool for its occupants. The lack of trees is due to excretions and soil movement by the termites that stops trees from being able to root effectively in the soft loamy soil, which in turn creates areas where light allows the grasses to flourish. As grass is the termites main food, it means they have very effectively created their own super-farms. Brilliant.

The last part of the tour was a Jumping Crocodile Cruise on the Adelaide River. Barry was the driver for this too (the recruits screamed “Bazza” every time they wanted his attention) and gave us a very strict lecture about safety before we got onto the boat. There was a huge male croc swimming right by the dock, so we had to board the boat in pairs while the rest of the group stayed well back on land at the head of the long gangplank, as apparently we were an easier target in a big group. The boat had metal grills past head height, but with small sections cut out to allow your camera lens to poke through. Apparently some crocs in the past had tried to leap into the boat so we were quite pleased to have this barrier in place.

After chugging a little way down the river we started to see many crocs swimming in the water including the famous one they have named Michael Jackson (white head, black body - yes I know its sick). The males are very territorial and guard a couple of kilometres of river each, while keeping a harem of several females. We checked out a nesting site but there was no sign of the baby crocs. Barry baited several lines in preparation, then started to manoeuvre into position to swing a lump of raw meat out over the water on the end of a long pole when we saw a croc in the water. Once he had attracted the croc’s attention by splashing the meat on the surface of the water, he dangled the bait a few feet over the croc’s head encouraging it to use its huge tail to lift its body out of the water to grab the meat. They don’t actually jump, but give that impression and its damned scary when their massive open jaws are only inches from your face and all their teeth are on display. They have horrible green eyes too. I managed to get a couple of photos but missed many of the shots as the crocs are so quick, although it was great fun to just sit back and watch the spectacle. We managed to entice 4 females of different sizes and one medium sized male to jump, but missed the larger males that are known along this stretch of the river. It was thoroughly entertaining and the 90 minutes on the water gave us a real impression of how strong, dangerous and unpredictable these frightening creatures are. I was glad to get back on the bus.

Who would have thought that I would visit Humpty Doo twice ? We stopped there on the return trip for a refuel and toilet break. When we reached Darwin we went to the scenic promontory of East Point where we bagged a couple of picnic tables overlooking the city and the very pretty little beach. Our final treat was a huge plate of juicy prawns and some chilled “champagne” as we watched the sun setting over the sea. It was a lovely end to an exhausting but fascinating day.

The sunsets were a great feature of my stay in Darwin and were some of the best I have ever seen. The weather was fine and clear for most of my two weeks stay, with the occasional cloud to add interest to the amazing colours that started to build as the huge orb of the sun set each night. The colours got stronger and more diverse after sunset and the sky created a diverse pallette for a further 30 minutes, with the reds and oranges turning to purples and violets at the end. I managed to see quite a few sunsets, usually with a glass of something cold in my hand, and found them breathtaking.

During the rest of the week I explored every part of Darwin city, including checking out the Deckchair Cinema that screens films on a grassy area just off the Esplanade each evening, but I didn’t buy a ticket as they were not showing any films that appealed to me on the dates I could go. I also visited the cool wave pool at the Waterfront area and watched the busy activity in the marina, where all kinds of fishing and leisure cruises were on sale. My last night was spent at an airport motel in preparation for my 5am check in for the short 2.5 hour flight to Cairns in tropical Queensland.

While I was in the Northern Territory I wanted to go to Tipperary which is a few hundred kilometres to the south of Litchfield, but there are no roads, no tours and its a long, long way. Ha, did you see what I did there ?

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