Northern Territory Australia

 

Darwin
N.T. June 2022 

We arrived in Darwin in the afternoon and caught a taxi to the Hilton. The heat was a shock after coming from cold wintery Melbourne. After settling in we went to explore the area walking towards the coast and there were a variety of eateries and recreation area are on the waterfront. We passed the outdoor cinema and checked what movies would be showing. We were rather tired from walking and the heat and returned for a rest. The Duke Hotel was just opposite our accommodation so took the easy option and went there for dinner.

The next morning, we caught the bus to the Museum and Art Gallery. We found it very interesting with a wide range of exhibits and managed to while away quite a bit of time there. We had a drink before catching the bus back to the city centre. The heat tired us out so we had a rest before going out to find a place for dinner.  WE came across a really good restaurant called Moorish which served Spanish style Tapas.

Our third morning we made our way to the Oil Tunnels, these were built in World War 2 to store oil, a hill in the town was excavated, however there was a great deal of difficulty in sealing them well enough for storage, they cost an extraordinary amount of money and were never used. We walked to Stokes Wharf to visit the Flying Doctor Museum, the history of this service was very interesting and well worth a visit. We had a coffee before we wandered back to our hotel.

Mindell Beach Sunset

That evening we visited the Mindel Beach Market, with many stalls selling a variety of cuisines plus ones selling handicrafts. It was very crowded and the highlight was sitting on the beach to watch the sunset. What was magical about it that there were hundreds of people there, some with little children, but it was quiet no-one was running around no shouting just a quiet murmur of voices waiting for the sun to set. It's great to think that even in this day and age of high tech that people can still find awe in the sun setting.

We picked up our car from the airport a brand-new small SUV, learning to start it was ‘fun’. Once that was worked-out we were on our way to Katherine 317kms away. We arrived in the afternoon, and booked into the Katherine Motel, something of time warp from the 50s, very ordinary to say the least, so is Katherine township. We booked a tour for Katherine Gorge for the next morning. We had dinner at a hotel near our accommodation.

Katherine Gorge

The trip down Katherine Gorge was majestic, with many interesting features, including some Indigenous Rock Art. We then booked to go to the Cutta Cutta Caves, these were found by a stockman in1900 and named it Smith’s Cave and in 1967 the area was handed to the Northern Territory Reserves Board and began cave tours shortly after. It is always interesting visiting caves and observing their unique formations of stalactites and stalagmites. There was a fascinating walk around the area of a tropical Savanna while the Karst Walk was only accessible by going on the cave tour.

That night we decided to look for another place to eat and wandered the streets and came across the Paraway Hotel, very interesting place with a unique variety of guests, mainly fly in fly out workers. Dinner was very tasty, BBQ with salads and bread.

We left early the next morning for Kakadu and like the previous morning the only place open was McDonalds and only takeaway. Better than nothing.

We were now on our way to Jabiru Kakadu 305 kms away. We stopped off at Edith Falls a pleasant oasis along the way. Then the long-haul drive to our destination. We booked an afternoon trip on the Yellow River for the following day. As it was afternoon and was very hot, so I had a refreshing swim in the pool.

The next morning, we went to the site of some Aborigin

Crocodile Yellow River

al Rock art, which was amazing. Then had a bit of R&R before our river cruise. The cruise was amazing, we spotted a lot of wildlife, many different birds, buffalo and of course crocodiles. The sunset was stunning.

The following day it was back to Darwin. Wandered around went to the Brush Traders for lunch which was delicious. We looked for the advertised laundromat but turned out to be non-existent.

The Botanical Gardens was well worth the visit. After that we went to Cullen Bay, obviously the wealthy part of Darwin. At the ferry terminal we booked a Tiwi Island tour for the following day. I was interested in visiting Bathurst Island as I had been there when it was still a Catholic Mission. It is amazing how much it has developed, and the people are doing great things. The museum there has many historic photos which interested me. It was well worth a visit.

Bathurst Island Enterprise

The following day we did very little but did go to the outdoor cinema and saw the movie ‘River’. A very pleasant way to watch a movie and spend the evening.

After our restful day we went to Lichfield National Park, the Cathedral Termite mounds were incredible. Then the waterfalls and pools are a delightful oasis. It was a very tiring day, so we just did a takeaway pizza dinner hat evening. The following day was another do nothing much. However, the following day we did a trip to the Corroboree Billabong, more wildlife of show and was great. WE then drove to Fogg Dam and had an interesting walk.

Jabiru - Black necked stork

Another easy day before leaving for Broome.