The Tropical Top End

One of the medium-sized termite mounds.

On top of Ubirr, in Kakadu National Park, with a

360 degree view. Note: no flynets.

I would like to be able to take credit for having planned our trip so that we arrived in the tropics at the right time, but I really can't. We did consciously try to avoid the Wet Season, and managed to do that by arriving in the transition time between Wet and Dry. Had we arrived directly in Darwin, three weeks ago at the start of our trip, we would have seen nothing but water, because the water level was up to 15 metres higher than it is now. Had we arrived three weeks from now, after the official start of the Dry Season (May 1st), we would have seen scenery very similar to what we saw in the Red Centre. As it was, we saw rivers full but not overflowing, saw wild life busy enjoying the lush surroundings, and we able to access almost every area we had hoped to see.

Darwin itself is a "happening" place, especially on Mitchell Street, the main drag. Flanked on either end with Irish pubs, Mitchell Street is filled with backpackers' accommodations, Internet centres (cheapest yet), cafes and patios, souvenir stores, etc. It is 34 degrees in the day and about 28 at night, even at 4 in the morning. It is that warm tropical air that is so soft to the touch. After Alice, Darwin seemed like a metropolis and was the perfect place from which to explore three National Parks.

Kakadu

Kakadu National Park, is a World Heritage site. It was returned to the aboriginal people a few years ago, with an agreement for use by the government for tourism. Ironically, it also houses a uranium mine. Legend has it that the aborigine used to refer to the area in which the mine is found as the "sick place". Makes one wonder. We saw striking rock art. I loved the legends associated with the art. Justice was swift and exact in the legends. I thought of a few former students who might have benefitted from such measures.

The landscape included floodplain, escarpment, swamp, rock, billabong ( water hole). Remember the end of Crocodile Dundee where the bad guys are chasing them? We climbed to the top of that rock (Ubirr) where that was filmed. That was the spot from which we had a 360 degree view. Pretty spectacular. We couldn't get to JimJim or Twin Falls, so we took a ride in a Cessna 207 to see them, and they were worth the trip. ( You can only drive to see the falls in the Dry, and then they don't fall!). We took two cruises, one to see wildlife - estuarine (live in salt and fresh water) crocodiles, freshwater crocs, jabiru, egret, pelican, kingfisher. My favourite was the jacuna bird, called the Jesus bird, because it appears to walk on water. The other cruise was conducted by an Aborigine who gave us much information on culture and customs. We stayed overnight at Kakadu Lodge. Think of KOA Kamping Kabins, but with air conditioning, a fridge, bedding, dingoes howling in the background, and stern warnings not to leave the paths at night because of venomous snakes, and you get the picture.

Litchfield and Nitimluk

We also saw Litchfield and Nitimluk National parks. The waterfalls (Tolmer, Wangi) were impressive, and the swimming in the plunge pools at Florence Falls and Leliyn (Edith Falls) delightful. These were the pools without crocodiles or carnivorous bats! We saw huge termite mounds, bigger than the one in the picture. These are built by the termites to avoid the wet. They are even more impressive when you realize that two thirds of them are underground, just like icebergs. We took a lunch cruise through Katherine Gorge - again, something we couldn't have done three weeks ago.

So today, Anzac Day, (like Remembrance Day, chosen because it is the anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli), we are at the airport at 5:00 a.m. to fly to Cairns, the last planned part of our adventure. We are still learning ( I didn't know that Darwin and environs had suffered so much bombing during WWTwo) , still having fun, and still talking to each other!

Best sign, at Batchelor "We like our lizards frilled, not grilled"

Yes, Helen, ever since we arrived in the north, I have been checking under the toilet seats for spiders!