To view pictures of the our trip:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/DarwinAndTheTopEnd
Our trip to the Top End of Australia turned out to be a great one. We traveled with Sophie, Elizabeth and Richard and it was a wonderful adventure!
We saw amazing things.... like saltwater crocodiles, dingos, magnetic termite mounds, rock paintings, tons of birds, beautiful billabongs and some really rustic countryside. We managed to not be run off the road by road trains, though there were some close calls, and we also managed to not damage the campervan in any way! Wahoo! Here is a run-down of the trip...
Kakadu National Park
After taking the red-eye from Melbourne to Darwin, and arriving at 3am to find our reservations had been ignored by the hostel, we finally fell asleep in let us say, sub par accommodations. The next morning we picked up the campervan and loaded it up with groceries. I think we had 2 or 3 carts and we somehow managed to cram into all the nooks and crannies in the campervan! Then we headed east towards our first destination, Kakadu National Park.
In Kakadu we went on numerous hikes... one to see aboriginal rock wall paintings, a few up to the tops of rocks to gain incredible views, and a few more around small lakes/water ways (billabongs!) We also went on a river tour at dusk and had spectacular views of birds and crocs.
Katherine Gorge
We drove south out of Kakadu and went to Katherine Gorge. On the way we stayed the night in a very secluded cattle station / RV/campervan park, though we were the only campervan. We really felt like we were out in the woop-woop (outback!). Katherine Gorge is really a series of 13 or so gorges separated by waterfalls. We kayaked up the first gorge and turned around at the waterfall. It was really beautiful... though a bit tiring to kayak all that way. They gave us the impression that we could stop anywhere along the way, just not at crocodile nesting areas. It turned out, all the beaches and areas to actually stop kayaking were ALL crocodile nesting areas... so that made it a bit tricky. No sitings, though. I can't say I was upset about not seeing female crocs protecting their eggs.
Litchfield National Park
Litchfield was fantastic because the waterways are crocodile free, and therefore swimming is possible! We swam beneath two fantastic waterfalls... Billy and Richard of course attempted to climb up the waterfalls, and then slide down. No major injuries occurred. It was here that a whistling kite bird attacked me from behind and stole my sandwich right out of my hands! They said not to feed the wildlife, but I assure you it was not voluntary! I hope the peanut butter didn't kill him.
Back to Darwin...
Darwin and Scuba Diving
Richard, Billy and I went scuba diving to explore a wreck sitting at the bottom of the bay outside Darwin. It is a US transport ship from WWII that sank during the bombings (by Japan) in early 1942. The visibility was pretty poor, but I saw a sting ray and some very interesting corals... and we also saw old motorbikes, tires, a stack of ammunition. At most times, it was hard to know what you were looking at. The wreckage is covered in silt and it was hard to identify any structures. I had imagined it would look like a ship, sitting on the ocean floor, but I was very wrong! It was still exciting to see and we really enjoyed getting to cruise on the dive boat in the bay. It was a very different perspective of Darwin than we had seen... from the water it looked like the Caribbean, or Florida... it was really beautiful. You don't get that sense at all when you're in the town center.
And then after 3 great days in Darwin, we boarded the 2am flight back to Melbourne! Luckily we got to sleep a bit in baggage claim before boarding the plane. The airport was packed! Flights only seem to arrive and depart Darwin during the middle of the night!
Anyway, it was a fantastic trip and we're so glad to have spent all that wonderful time with Sophie, Liz & Richard. Campervan life was such an adventure and we had lots of laughs along the way!
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