Last Day in Darwin

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19 Mar - Went up to the mall to make our calls home (cooler and quieter than on the street!!). Got some nice pics of the town of Cairns and the locals. Went for a nice peaceful walk on the waterfront and then a swim and a beer at the hotel pool. Quiet day

20 Mar - Our last day in Cairns. Went to the restaurant that was closed for supper last night and had lunch! Our flight leaves at 16:30 and we get into Darwin at 00:30 tomorrow. It was a good flight and our hotel room is awesome.

21 Mar - Slept in this morning, then got of for breaky (Aussi for breakfast) and a walk along the waterfront. The two exhibitions (Indo Pacofoc Marine and the WW11 Oil Storage Tunnel Tour) we were hoping to see were closed when we got there. They only open in the AM !! Walked along the wharfs and went for some Barramundi (fish). This is the best fish in Australia!! We then had to take a taxi back as it was raining so hard. Since being in Cairns it has rained at least once a day some days a lot more. We now know what they mean by "The Wets" !!

22 Mar - Rented a car today and went to see the "salties". Took the 1 hour "Jumping Crocodile Cruise" What a trip!!! Saw 6 or 7 crocs jumping right beside the boat. One came up and eyed Doug vs the pork chop and before she could decide which she preferred Doug moved back a bit. Doug saw a couple of snakes in the water. The water is very high due to the flooding. If we had been here last week we wouldn't have been able to make these trips today as the roads were closed. The building/coffee shop for the croc cruise was under water to the top of their counter tops !! Very worthwhile cruise.
Due to the flooding, The Kakadu National park was closed at our end so we went on to the Litchfied National Park. There we saw huge termite mounds (10 - 15 feet high) and the most wonder waterfalls. The first stop at Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls was beautiful. When we got to Tolmer Falls it was raining and we almost decided not to walk in. Thank goodness we did! It was breathtaking. This waterfall had a rock arch in the middle !! The last falls (Wangi Falls) was so flooded that we couldn't even get to the lookout. Too bad as they say it was the best !!The road out of the park had many spots with water over the road. A cou[ple of them were very deep about 12 - 15 inches. Thank goodness we had a 4 wheel drive - nice and high!!
Went for supper at the Buff Club - Barramundi meal for $12! It was very good. Got back to the hotel before dark - and that's a good thing......
Later D & J

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