Darwin to Melbourne

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When we arrived in Darwin we met up with friends that we had met on the road who were to quickly become our adopted parents on our trip. Mal and Kay were spending 3 weeks in Darwin for the Darwin Cup and had secured us a pitch in the caravan park next to them. Meeting Mal and Kay meant that our Darwin experience was very different from what we expected. Aside from the usual tourist things we did, we also got introduced to the world of horse racing. Mal and Kay follow the horse racing round Australia and we found it very interesting finding out how the races are run, how the horses and jockeys are trained and how to place a bet. On one occasion they took us to breakfast at the racecourse where we saw the horses training. They also took us to the casino for the Darwin Cup draw where we met jockeys and trainers and enjoyed free champagne and nibbles. When not learning about horse racing we visited the museum, Fannie Bay jail and Mindel Beach market.
We spent 5 days instead of 3 in Darwin before heading back south to Kakadu National Park. On the way to the park we stopped at the South Alligator River to take a croc jumping tour. On this tour you are taken out on a boat in search of crocs. When the crocs approach the boat a huge lump of meat is dangled over the side by the guide and the croc jumps out of the water towards the meat. The crocs are trained to jump four times before they are finally given the meat to eat. On the tour we were lucky enough to see ‘Hannabil’- a 100 year old 6 metre croc that is probably the largest croc you can see in the wild. While we didn’t exactly agree with the training of crocs to recognize the sound of the boat motor and to jump to meat, it was very spectacular to watch.
When we arrived in Kakadu we made our way to Ubirr where we spent our first night. Kakadu is famous for its Aboriginal culture and history and at Ubirr we visited several sacred rock art sites. At these sites we met with a park guide who gave us an interpretive talk on the sites and traditions of the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land. At the last site we had a view across the plain and watched a very beautiful sunset. The next day we headed south in the park to Nourlangie. At Nourlangie we took another walk to some more art sites. We also took a walk round a billabong that is flooded in the wet season. The walk was enjoyable apart from the constant warning signs of crocs in the water and the possibility of them even attacking you on the walking path!
On our third day in the park we went to Yellow Water. Here we had planned to do one of the many bushwalks in the area but it was closed due high water levels and a croc risk. Instead we took a cruise along the river at Yellow Water spotting crocs and many species of bird.
We left Kakadu from the south exit the next day and went to Edith Falls which is part of Nitmiluk National Park. From our campsite we went swimming in the pool beneath the falls and walked to the upper falls for amazing views across the land. Our next stop after Edith Falls was Katherine. Katherine Gorge is also part of Nitmiluk where you can swim and canoe down the gorge. The gorge is actually a system made up of 8 gorges and we spent one day canoeing down the first gorge. The gorge had only recently opened up after being closed for the wet season and the croc risk so we were a little apprehensive going down it in a plastic boat. We survived despite the cheap canoe having a mind of its own and enjoyed a swim at the end of the gorge.
The next day we headed back into the park and took a walk to Butterfly Gorge which is the third gorge in the system. Having climbed up the escarpment for the first hour we slowly scrambled our way down to the floor of the gorge and followed the path to where the gorge met the river at the end. On the way back we visited several lookouts that gave us awesome views back up the first and second gorges.
From Katherine it was time for us to make our way back down the middle of Australia towards Alice Springs. Along the way we spent one night at the famous Daly Waters pub. Daly Waters is a town in the middle of nowhere that literally only has a pub in it. Inside the pub the walls are covered in bras, pants, driving licences, stubbie holders and anything else that those travelling through decide to pin to the walls. As well as the walls inside the pub it is also famous for its nightly bbq and entertainment. We enjoyed a few beers while listening to the talented musician on stage.
Heading south we visited the Devil’s Marbles. These rock formations are so called as they are huge round rocks scattered around the landscape and apparently formed by lava millions of years ago. The campsite we stayed at was set among these odd formations and was very atmospheric. We climbed to the top of one of them and watched the rocks change colour as the sun went down.
The next day we finally arrived in Alice Springs. In Alice we had planned to take a cycle ride out to Simpsons Gap in the nearby West McDonnell ranges however the night we arrived there was a bush fire in the park and the cycle path was closed. Instead we spent a few relaxing days seeing the sights of Alice. We visited the School of the Air and watched them broadcast a lesson across the internet to children in the outback. It was quite amusing watching the teacher trying to keep the 8 pre schoolers under control via a web cam. We also visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service which was quite exciting for us as we remember watching the tv show when we were kids.
After Alice we went out to the West McDonnell Ranges and stayed for one night there in a part past where the bush fire had been. We enjoyed a walk up to the top of one of the gorges and down along the floor which is flooded with water during the wet season.
On our way south of Alice we spent a night at a rest stop on the NT/SA border and experienced first -hand the mouse plague they have there at the moment. While the little field mice look very cute during the day they do not look so cute when running across the top of your tent while you are trying to sleep! They were so bad and so noisy that we had to go and spent the night sleeping in the front seats of the car.
Instead of going back through Adelaide on the way back to Melbourne we decided to stop in the Clare Valley and the Barossa for some wine tasting. Clare was lovely with several small family owned wineries and despite the torrential rain and wind we enjoyed sampling some lovely wines. In the Barossa we stayed in Tanunda and happened to be in town for the Gournet Food and Wine Festival and visited some of the bigger well known wineries such as Jacobs Creek and Penfolds.
From Tanunda, 3 months and 18,000kms later, we completed the circle and arrived back in Melbourne.

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