Blogs from Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 11

Kakadu national park was the most accessible of them all so far, with coach parks, proper paved paths and health and safety signs. We stayed in Nourlangie and visited nearby cave paintings. They reckon they’re thousands of years old but can’t tell for sure because they’ve been touched up regularly ever since. Apparently there’s been people living in that area continually for 20 thousand years. We also had a walk around Anbangbang billabong, a shallow marshy pond which takes its name from a surf clothing brand. Other highlights included sunset up at Ubir: a large rock plateau overlooking green wetlands, a big fat orange sun plopping down behind the horizon and setting the cliff faces red like fire, geese flying in formation overhead, kangaroos grazing, and a view stretching for miles and miles. The setting was ... read more

Kakadu After my splendid day cycling around Darwin, a slightly dodgy Italian meal that had me stuffed to the gills and bloated like a Yorkshire slapper, and a frosty night at Elkes under the radioactive power blasts of the AC unit, it was time to be awoken before the crack of dawn by the Wilderness adventures tour team for the three day, two night camping excursion into Kakadu National park, one of the most famous and desirable parks in all of Australia, by reputation. It is held in almost mystical reverence by Ozzies and even by my brother. I was off to go see why and to check it all out for myself. I get picked up by the tour guide, Ruth, at 6:00am, and we are driven up fashionable Mitchell street to the head office ... read more

Monday 24/5/10 18th May, we finished the painting of Peta’s bathroom & her other odd jobs and headed off from Adelaide towards the Red Centre. The first day was an easy 641KM into the Woomera Prohibited Area for a cool but peaceful sunset camp. Then north towards Alice Springs. A long drive to get to a favourite camp spot at Owen Springs. “Panic Stations” the January floodwaters have washed the track away and the detour has the driver disorientated. Set-up camp in the dark after a days drive of 835KM. Rain overnight followed by a rainy day. Owen Springs is just a paradise after rain. Thousands of breeding budgerigars, cockatiels, galahs and finches. Bad news from Halls Creek in W.A. there has been lots of rain there and the Tanami Track is closed for at least ... read more

SIGHTS OF DARWIN “We are not on a holiday! We are on a lifestyle!” This is what we keep telling ourselves at the Free Spirit Resort (fancy name for a caravan park). Our days have been just like they were at home: work, go home, work, go home, work, and go home… you get the drift. The exception however, is that we are doing it in the Northern Territory and living what we have dreamed about for ten years. Normally at home we would do something on a Saturday - so that’s when we do things now. So my blog entry (and most probably the last for the Darwin region) will outline what we have seen whilst being residents of Darwin. Darwin is the perfect capital city for those who don’t like capital cities. It takes ... read more

So now we are in Darwin. After leaving the otherwise delightful Katherine - disappointed that we couldn’t find anywhere that had wi-fi, we headed off into Kakadu - not knowing quite what to expect. What is obvious from all of the reading is that it presents very differently depending on the time of year - and the season. Our trusty Lonely Planet tells us that this (the end of the dry) is the optimum time for birdlife - and pleasingly, the best time for mosquitoes. Crossing into the park, several things are obvious. 1. It is very dry - with little evidence of any recent rain, and 2. The Aboriginal practice of burning at this time of the year continues unabated - as there are many fires that we pass right by the roadside. They apparently ... read more