Adventures in Darwin and the Northern Territory

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Darwin
June 10-16, 2006

Saturday, June 10

We arrived in Darwin at 4:30 in the morning. It was pitch black outside and we were practically out on our feet as we passed through a vigorous and detailed customs and immigration check. The passage through customs became more complicated when they found out we were carrying candy. Any food, and they mean chocolate or “lollies” as the lady put it, demands a more thorough search.

Our cab driver into town was a chatty, amiable guy who had the whole world figured out. His years in food service and his nights as a cab driver were all the education he needed to diagnose the world and her people. A stunning mind wasted on two tired and easily irritated travelers. We arrived at the Value Inn in downtown Darwin to find that they were closed. The neighboring hostel, Melaleuca on Mitchell, was open and apparently handled bookings for the Value Inn. The Value Inn was full but we were able to get a double room with a bathroom at the hostel for $100 AUD ($75 American) which was certainly a rude re-awakening to western prices. At that hour, though, we were desperate and so we made our way to our room only to startle an existing guest. The nice lady at the front desk of Melaleuca on Mitchell then offered us a room at the Value Inn (suddenly vacant we guess) which we could crash in until noon when our room at the hostel would be ready. Overcome with fatigue we collapsed until noon when we were kicked out by the cleaning crew of the Value Inn.

With the bustle and hawking of Asia behind us we emerged to find Darwin a cool, relaxed, and visitor friendly town. We looked around the small shops and plazas before taking our stomachs, which had become particularly weary with life in Southeast Asia, for a meal at McDonald’s. The only mistake in this plan was Roger seeking local flavor in the meal and ordering the “McOz” burger which is basically a quarter-pounder plus a thick red slice of beetroot.

From McDonald’s we settled in at a coffee shop to pour over the tour offerings for the area. We knew we wanted to see the famous Kakadu National Park, some 110 kilometers from Darwin, and had to determine the best way to get there and see it. A plethora of tour companies provide this service in a variety of ways, all demanding a good amount of study - air tours, bus tours, overnight camping excursions, deluxe room and tour packages, multi day, single day, by four wheel drive, and the ever-popular “for the physically fit and young at heart” tours that inspire brochures full of drunk looking men and bikini clad women. Despite the diversity of packages what no one in Darwin appeared to offer was anything for less than $100 a day per person (a rate that combined with the sticker shock of coffee and cheeseburgers outside of Southeast Asia - did we mention we had 12 beers for less than two dollars in Hanoi!?!?!? - almost put Amy in intensive care).

To round out our research we called a few campervan rental agencies that we had studied for our planned multi-week swing up the east coast after hopping across the interior by plane. As luck would have it the Darwin office had just accepted a rental return for a two person camper at a rate lower than we’d expected - $34 AUD per day. Suddenly our visit to Kakadu and the Darwin area was to be done under our own power and as campers.

We spent the afternoon strolling around enjoying Darwin. It was hot but lacked the belligerent humidity of Southeast Asia, which made for a very pleasant change of pace. Darwin at once exudes a laid back vibe and a rough frontier edge. It is the largest city in the Northern Territory, and is in fact the largest city in the entire top half of the continent. The collision of prominence and grit makes for an interesting place. Public art and well manicured parks meet tattoos, all-night bars and muddy four-wheel drives.

The city park was hosting a Greek festival complete with food and music. Australia is home to more Greeks than any other nation (the largest single population of Greeks outside of Athens is in Melbourne). Near the park we visited the deck chair cinema, an outdoor theater that takes advantage of a climate that never gets too cold or too wet. As we walked around town we saw a good number of Aboriginals, many of whom were enjoying the Greek festival, though there appears to be a very definitive separation of cultures between Australia’s older natives and the ones descending from Europeans.

After out walk we cleaned up and headed to the Hog’s Breath Café for a very heavy dinner (think Chili’s with Aussie flair) which was hard to digest after three months of tasty, fresh Asian food. Despite the price we also decided to indulge in a movie, The Break Up, and some peanut M&M’s for the low-low price of $38 AUD.

Sunday, June 11

Sunday was all about loading up our camper and heading into the outback (though by Australian terms we were just glancing across the frosting of the outback). Our camper, called “Cheapa Campa”, was a boxy but utilitarian little thing. Behind the captains chairs in the front was our fridge, sink, and pantry, and behind that two comfy benches lined the walls. The benches, which concealed our luggage by day, could be used along with a dining table or collapsed to create our bed. The shock of driving on the left side of the road was not as startling as we expected, though Roger could never get the hang of switching the turn signal on the other side of the steering column (often turns were indicated by a jump starting of the windshield wipers).

Having packed up our camper with our luggage and groceries we sped out of Darwin towards Kakadu. Not far out of the city the landscape flattens. For the most part dense clusters of scrub are the only variations until you get closer to Kakadu and start seeing the termite mounds rise from grassy fields. Despite the very arid appearance of the land each wet season brings tremendous flooding across these wide plains, thus every creek bed or water way you encounter has the potential to lap at or extend well over the road. Some road side signs at crossings indicate the depth of the water marked as high as two meters. Each crossing or nearby body of water is also clearly marked with warnings that crocodiles are common and that dillydallying near the water is a bad idea.

About half way to Kakadu we decided to try and find a spot by the river to eat lunch in our rolling living room. Our first attempt took us down a long and featureless road where we had to turn back before reaching the water because the pavement ended (Australia’s paved roads are perfectly smooth but not as extensive as you might expect and most rental vehicles are prohibited from traveling on the unsealed roads). The detour wasn’t a total loss as we saw our first wildlife, a medium sized kangaroo and an extraordinary lizard called a goanna that was easily as long as the lane of road we were driving. We finally stopped at the edge of the wetlands for pb&j sandwiches (the specialty of the chef).

Aside from a brief stop at Alligator River, where the river is so seriously signed with croc warnings as to intimidate you from even setting foot out of your car, we drove straight to Kakadu. The vast spaces inside the park, which is one of only 24 World Heritage Areas designated for both cultural and natural purposes, are very dynamic and change remarkably from area to area - swamplands, desert flats, the rocky face of the escarpment (where one section of land has raised to tower over the plains), and tangled forests all reside here.

As it is winter in Australia controlled fires were burning and visible all over the park. The controlled brush fires have been used by Aboriginals (and now the park rangers) for thousands of years and remain not only the best way to manage the park but have become essential for the park flora and fauna. Some trees, for example, produce seeds that will only open under the intense heat of the fires, and one kind of hawk has learned that the fires send lizards scrambling up the tree trunks for easy picking (a lesson so well learned that the hawks will fly burning sticks to other areas of the park to flush out its food).

The park is immense and features a couple of campgrounds well within its boundaries. After entering the park we drove more than 100 kilometers to the campground at Jabiru, a plush and attractive camping area near the park’s visitor center. Checking in we were warned that the fires had driven dingoes into the park, an exotic warning if we had ever heard one, and proceeded to our grassy parking space. New to camper life we were bowled over by the amenities so common to this lifestyle. Within meters of our camper which was plugged in and ready to make some dinner, we could do laundry, take a swim, or have drinks and a meal at the bar.

Unlike in Asia the bulk of tourists here were Aussies and we had a very pleasant conversation with a man and his wife as the sun set. As Australia is absolutely crawling with critters that make driving after dark a risky proposition most native tourists appear to set up camp around 3 or 4 in the afternoon and sit back, beer in hand, and savor their evening.

Monday, June 12

We awoke much earlier than most of the other guests at the Jabiru Campground, shifted our camper into road mode, and made for the visitor’s center to plan our Kakadu experience. The visitor’s center featured a few colorful displays of the history of the park, the Aboriginal ownership and stewardship of it, as well as detailed views of the flora and fauna in the vast, diverse region. A very helpful ranger answered our questions and provided some direction for our wandering and we sat to make our plans over coffee. The only other person working at the center that morning, the man behind the coffee counter, was not nearly so helpful. It is worth mentioning, only because the little toad may somehow read this, that any manual on customer service would not include 1) watch TV in the backroom and pretend you don’t know that the people waiting by the counter actually want anything, 2) become surly and hostile immediately when someone orders “coffee with milk,” and 3) push the point with the customer needlessly even after you have taken the order and made it clear that the reason you did not respond thoughtfully is because you are a complete horse’s ass.

Unsatisfying morning coffee experience behind us we were free to return to the peaceful alien landscape that is the Kakadu National Park. We headed south on the Kakadu Highway to Nourlangie Rock, one of the park’s most accessible and stunning examples of Aboriginal rock art. We took a winding hike through Nourlangie and visited several rock overhangs that provided shelter and respite for the Aboriginals for the last 20,000 years. One shelter was so old and so well used, in fact, that the top meter and a half of “soil” under the rock consisted of various archaeological remnants of the people who had passed through - shards of bone tools, the remains of rope or fabric, and other items that would typically degrade quickly in Australia’s tropical climate. The weather was perfect and the cave paintings vivid.

While the Nourlangie shelter has been inhabited off and on for 20,000 years dating the rock art can be very tricky. Aboriginals do not view their art the way westerners do and would make little or no effort to commemorate the paintings of the past for sentimental reasons. The paintings exist as a representation of the stories being told and not necessarily for art’s sake. So while Nourlangie may house some ancient rock art there are also additions between ten and fifty years old, existing side by side or even over the generations of previous paintings. As westerners we could not help but look at the cave walls and lament the loss of ancient works, perhaps a hobgoblin in our thinking. An Aboriginal artist or story teller would not feel so inferior to those that told stories before him as to not touch the walls, rather they might honor the previous generations by telling and adding stories of their own. The end product is simply inconsequential in the scope of the creation and demonstration of stories through rock art.

The trail climbed to an overlook of the escarpment, the sheer cliff and ridge that dominates the Kakadu geology. A small meal in our campervan (it is so nice to travel with a kitchen) later and we were off to the Gunwarddehwarde Lookout. Go ahead and try to pronounce that one.

The Gunwarddehwarde Lookout is less a lookout and more a long, moon-like slope that lifts you out of the thick forest, exposing you to the vast reaches of the escarpment and crisp views of miles and miles of treetops. The rock is easy to scramble over as it is rough and well-weathered and provides great footing. Periodically you can climb up and over islands of rock dotting the hillside. We zig-zagged as far up the slope as we could before encountering a large rift or channel carved by rain and proceeded down, around, and up again (like walking up giant fingers, each time seeing an abyss and each time returning to the palm of the hand to explore another dead end). The stunning view of the escarpment and the curve of the earth behind it with the sheet of rock under our feet was magical. After our hike up the hill we ventured toward a nearby billabong despite the ranger’s indication that it was closed due to high water levels. We caught a glimpse of the lilly-filled waters before turning back. A billabong is an isolated body of water created when the natural flooding of a river recedes, essentially a pond that is regularly infused with fresh water. Billabongs can be very large and host a variety of plant and animal life. As the wet season ends and the waters withdraw the Kakadu officials check the degree of crocodile infestation in each billabong, often declaring that there are no crocs, though the animals tend to have a mind of their own and may move from one to another and so swimming is rarely advised in Kakadu.

We left the overlook and headed further south along the Kakadu Highway to Coolinda and Yellow River, the former our campground site for the night, the latter the location of our two hour billabong sunset cruise. Before checking in we visited Mardugal, a camping and hiking area south of Coolinda, for a two kilometer walk through the forest. The hike, recommended for its scenic example of the kind of forest that covers almost eighty percent of Kakadu, was peaceful if a little dull but for two major highlights. Highlight number one was Amy’s occasional throwing of sticks into the bush in an effort to spook Roger. Such an innocent face has never been seen, even when she was caught red-handed. The second highlight came late in the walk when we looked up to see a kangaroo sitting in the path ahead of us. The kangaroo studied us pretty carefully before darting twenty meters off the path and cautiously peeking above the grass to study us some more. We walked slowly up the path with our eyes essentially locked with the kangaroo’s and we managed a nice long, clear stare at each other before the animal became startled, perhaps by the sound of our camera clicking to life, and bounded away from us. The first leap, a modest jump, facilitated a loud thumping sound that resulted in a majestic bound that took the kangaroo well above the grass and propelled it way beyond view.

We checked in at Coolinda and saddled up for our Yellow Water cruise. The cruise, a two hour passage through the Yellow Water billabong, into the South Alligator River and Jim Jim Creek was intended to maximize wildlife spotting and provide a perfect view of the sunset. On the wildlife front the billabong’s wealth of residents did not disappoint and we were able to get great views of sea eagles, a couple of kinds of kingfishers, snake necks, spoonbills, jabirus and the stars of the show, the crocodiles. The crocs we saw came in two varieties, those that appeared to pay us no mind no matter how closely our boat was steered to them, and those who had other things on their minds, sinking ominously without so much as a ripple into the dark water.

Near the end of the cruise we made our way through a paper bark swamp. Paper bark trees with their stunning white trunks are so named because the Aboriginals were able to peel the bark away and actually use it. The sight of the trees in the still water and the dusk light was surreal.

Evening at camp was a mellow affair. We’ve quickly taken to our campervan lifestyle and converted to sleep mode shortly after drinks and a massive serving of fried potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce (an Australian delicacy and one of those dishes you regret eating even before finishing).

Tuesday, June 13

We intended to spring into action early today but the combination of our comfy campervan bed and the fresh night air kept us slumbering until almost 10 am. We packed up the van, had breakfast, and departed for Ubirr, one of the points in Kakadu furthest from Darwin and the other sights. Ubirr is located amongst a series of sandstone cliffs in various stages of erosion. It sits on the edge of an enormous flood plain and is on the eastern border of the park, separated from Arnhem Land by the East Alligator River. Arnhem is a huge tract of land for the sole use of the Aboriginals and is closed to most visitors.

Ubirr houses a wide variety of ancient Aboriginal rock art. While not all of the art is available for view, a short hike takes you around several large “galleries” tucked away under rock overhangs. Near the rock art is the stunning Nadab Lookout that seems like it is the very edge of the world with flat flood plains and billabongs as far as the eye can see.

On our way out of Kakadu we stopped to visit Mamukala, a large freshwater lake that hosts thousands of birds, and some of the “cathedral” termite mounds we passed on the way into the park. We returned to the Stewart Highway and began heading south to Litchfield National Park. As it was getting dark we were eager to get off the roads. A good number of small kangaroos and birds were already littering the roadsides and everything we have read warns of the likelihood of hitting animals when you drive in dusk and after dark. We eagerly anticipated Acacia, a town not on our maps or in any of our books, but according to the blue signs the location of a campground. We checked in just before the shop closed, paying $15 a night for clean but minimal facilities at a campground that appears to serve mainly long term residents (we were the only single night guests).

Once the shop closed and darkness fell it was spectacularly dark and quiet, so much so that it was a little creepy. The stars were plentiful in ways that they can only be in the middle of nowhere and we were able to view the bright band of the Milky Way before settling into sleep.

Wednesday, June 14

As we have most mornings in the quiet and fresh air of our camper we slept later than we expected, but we were nearing Litchfield National Park by 10am.

Litchfield is due south of Darwin and appears to be situated perfectly for a day trip. Many of the roads in Litchfield are dirt or “unsealed” roads, which are strictly forbidden under the terms of our camper van rental contract. Sticking to sealed roads we were limited to a U shaped road that links a number of walks, waterfall overlooks, and plunge pools. Unlike Kakadu, which offers numerous extensive hikes and trails, Litchfield’s sites sit relatively close to the sealed road and, as one fellow traveler mentioned to us a few days ago, “you can see Litchfield without leaving the car.”

We started at what we believed would be the most distant point of interest in the park, Wangi Falls, believing we would work our way back to one of the campgrounds with powered sites or even to Darwin. Not only are the distances between points in Litchfield less than in Kakadu, but the terrain itself is less likely to lull a driver into the blank stare that comes with mile after mile of the same landscape. Litchfield feels much more intimate with its hills, sharp curving road, and sudden transitions from swamp to brush to forest.

Litchfield is known for its waterfalls and swimming holes and we stopped at Wangi Falls, Tolmer Falls and Buley Rockhole. In New Zealand recently we caught one of the episodes of the most recent Amazing Race and the teams had to choose between swimming Buley Rockhole or navigating the Lost City which is also in Litchfield which we were not able to see because we did not have a 4x4.

Our final stop, the “magnetic termite mounds” pull-off, was very educational. Australia’s termite mounds rival those of Africa, some reaching as high as nine meters. There are several types of mounds, the cathedral with its spires and arches, the flood plain, resembling a sheer concrete wall, and the tree mound, built unsurprisingly up the trunk of a tree. Fields of these mounds, resembling ancient cemeteries in the tall grass with rows of giant headstones, are visible in Litchfield and Kakadu.

The mounds withstand fire, monsoon rains, floods, and predators, thriving in an environment prone to extreme heat and not without periods of great cold. The termite mounds are, inexplicably, built at a perfect angle to the sun to maximize morning exposure to the sun, minimal heat from the high heat of the day when the sun is highest, and again maximum exposure to the sun as it lowers in the afternoon (the termites apparently move from one side to another for the heat before concentrating deep within to weather the cold of the night). The mounds in Litchfield are built at a different angle than those in Kakadu, the location of each mound reflecting the different position of the sun in that area.

Most startling was the fact that the termites themselves, organized in an ant-like caste system in support of the egg laying queens, are the single largest consumer of the straw grass in the plains. The termites actually consume more grass than all of the other natural consumers combined. The voracious appetites and ingenious construction techniques make for some inspiring constructs. The park managers attempt to restrict access to the numerous mounds as foot traffic that compacts the soil and the apparent greed of souvenir seekers are the greatest threats the mounds face. The park makes a few large mounds available and we were able to inspect the towering dwellings at close range. Impressive little bugs, indeed.

The sights of Litchfield behind us we had to determine whether to drive on to Darwin or stop at a nearby camp, opting after much thought for the Litchfield stop, Banyan Campground. The campground appears to be operated by a band of Germans clad in Australia t-shirts. The staff was immediately welcoming and even discouraged us from buying food from their restaurant as they were preparing a “sausage sizzle” for the evening meal, free to all guests. The shady spot for our camper and the promise of free sausages proved almost too much for us. We had eaten Asian food for three months but never got as tired of it as we were of the instant noodles that dominated our four days in the camper van. We took a quick swim in the frigid campground pool before cleaning up for dinner.

Between the pool and dinner we were able to enjoy a sliver of the natural wealth of the area in the field near the campground, admiring three separate and different ant colonies at work, a variety of active tropical birds, and a flying fox (also called a fruit bat) walking the branches of the tree above us to get into position for the night’s hunt. Most enjoyable was the family of black red-tailed cockatoos preening in the nearby trees, their crests in full display. The cockatoos, which were quite large, are among the dozens of birds we have heard since arriving here who have very different voices than those we are accustomed to in the US. The birds here simply chirp differently. We have heard songs radically different than those familiar to us, whistles and cries that sound human, and shrieks that resemble the crying of a child. Australia’s platypus and koala bear may be the poster children for this land where species have evolved separately from the rest of the world for 45 million years, but the birds provide the most obvious and identifiable example of just how isolated Australia’s wildlife has really been.

The sausage sizzle, featuring a few old-timey favorites played on a state-of-the-art keyboard by one of the Germans, was delightful. A few tables were set up under the campground’s namesake banyan tree and a few oversized colorful Christmas lights made the evening a relaxing opportunity to connect with other campers and stuff our faces with sausage and fried onions (if you want a salad, we know a nice place in Melbourne…).

We sat with nice couple from Brisbane (originally from Melbourne) who were camped near us and who had birdwatched with Roger earlier. They offered suggestions for our trip and encouraged us to call them when in Brisbane.

Thursday, June 15

Thursday we drove back to Darwin and paid a visit to Fannie Bay, a trendy marina complete with bars and shops, and had a great fish and chips meal with barramundi (a local fish that has a mild, white fish taste that is very nice) at Bay Seafood Cafe. We didn’t realize at the time that finding a delicious meal of fish and chips was hard to come by and should be appreciated. We walked around the area a little bit before securing a room at the Value Inn and returning the campervan. We had planned to go to the deckchair cinema to see Syriana but since we had purchased it in Vietnam we decided to go to the popular Darwin night market on the beach. The market featured a massive variety of different types of food from all over the world. We sampled emu sausage, grilled crocodile, gyro, Greek dough balls with honey, and a banana and chocolate shake. The market stalls were a mix of aboriginal crafts, new age stuff and gimmicks like bull whips and “Crocodile Dundee” hats (the vendor of such goodies we recently saw again at the finish line on the Amazing Race repeat we caught in New Zealand). We were mostly entranced with the food. The stalls and the heavy crowd didn’t keep our interest, however, so we went back to town to call our families before going out to see The DaVinci Code (this time with subtitles we could understand).

Friday, June 16

Friday we awoke and stumbled around town to try and find breakfast, which was surprisingly hard to do, before heading to the airport. At the airport Roger was subject to the first of several “random” security screenings, thanks, we think, largely to his scruff and dark complexion. While sitting at our gate we were even approached by two officers inquiring how we had gotten to the airport (a car was parked where it should not be and they were looking for suspects). Cleared of any wrongdoing we were free to make our way to Alice Springs.

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Photos

This is Fred
Fred enjoys sleeping all day, eating snakes, birds, and fish, and short walks on the beach. His favorite water is brackish and he loves a good knock-knock joke. If you are an available lady croc looking for love - and over seven feet long - you may contact Fred through this web page.

The Majestic Cheapa Campa Campervan
And behind it the majestic bathrooms, the majestic washing machines, the majestic hedge....

Falls At Litchfield National Park
The perfectly clear water, usually available for swimming, was temporarily closed while rangers cleared out some crocs who slipped in during the wet season.

Comments

[Andrea]

Hee-hee. You said "for art's sake."