Australia - Darwin

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We arrived in Darwin at 6.30pm on Tuesday 3 July and checked into Melaleuca on Mitchell hostel. After freshening up, we met a few of our group at the hostel bar for a couple of drinks before walking to the Old Victoria Hotel to join the entire group for dinner and drinks. On Wednesday morning, I walked around town and got some breakfast before spending the afternoon on the internet. In the evening, I walked around town some more before having an early night. After a 12 hour sleep I had breakfast on the roof terrace of our hostel and spent an hour writing my blog. In the afternoon, a few of us took a half hour walk to the beach where we sunbathed all afternoon. There was a cool food/culture market just off the beach that began at 4pm so we all got some takeaway dinner and sat on the beach to watch sunset. At 7.30pm, we walked back to the hostel where I hung out until going to bed at 11pm. We woke up at 5.15am on Friday to go on a 2 day trip around Kakadu National Park. We stopped along the way at Fogg Dam where we saw various different birds finding their own particular food in the surrounding waters. Our second stop was the pristine Mary River Wetlands, home to the highest concentration of salt-water crocodiles in the Southern Hemisphere. We went on a 2 hour cruise spotting a number of crocodiles and different birds along with a wild black pig. After lunch, our next stop was the Kakadu National Park where we took a guided walk exploring the Aboriginal heritage of the Park and the Northern Territory. After seeing various Aboriginal arts/paintwork in the sandstones, we walked up to a lookout over floodplains and could see in all directions for miles. Returning to the bus, we then drove to our campsite for the evening where we had buffalo bolognese for dinner and then sat around a campfire chatting and looking at the stars. We woke up early on Saturday and traveled to Jim Jim Falls where we hiked to the base of the falls and then sat and had a snack. After driving through more beautiful wetland areas, we reached Barramundi Gorge where we hiked to some amazing plunge pools and had lunch followed by a relaxing dip. We arrived back in Darwin at 7pm on Saturday and I tried 7 different hostels before finding a bed for the night. After going for a walk to get dinner and to make a few phone calls, I went to sleep at 11.30pm. I checked out at 8am on Sunday and walked around Darwin and the Esplanade for a few hours. In the afternoon, I checked into Melaleuca on Mitchell and spent the rest of the day on the internet, reading and listening to music before having an early night in preparation for a 5.15am start on Monday.

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