The drive to Darwin was the toughest journey yet taking 27 hours by the Greyhound Bus. Along the way we encountered controlled bush fires alongside the road consuming the dry vegetation all around it. It felt like we were in a slow cooker at times with the intensity of the heat being felt inside the coach. In the middle of the night I was awoken to see a herd of cattle standing in the middle of the highway. The majority managed to get out of the way but despite the drivers best efforts one had particularly slow reactions and was bumped from behind but fortunately at a low speed so it recovered and got back up.
We checked into the Down Under hostel at the northern side of the CBD which was $30 a night per person for a private room with free (reliable) Wi-Fi. Just around the corner was Dominos (travellers dream) and Hungry Jack’s where we had every variety of slushy they had to keep us cool in the 40 degrees heat and humidity.
We booked a day tour with Litchfield Dreams ($149) which took us to the national park and the Adelaide river to see the Salt Water crocodiles. Our tour guide Brad was a great character who looked like the guy out of Crocodile Dundee and was as stereotypical as an Aussie bloke could get. When we arrived at the Jumping Crocodile cruise we had the opportunity to hold a Centurion Python before boarding so I managed to hold a snake for the second time in Australia, what a bonus!
The boat we went on was an ‘old girl’ as the announcer described and we were not to leave our seats once we departed for the risk of tipping the boat and becoming lunch for the thousand of crocodiles only feet away. With my nerves firmly settled after that we headed on up the estuary to look for sightings of the crocs amongst the mangroves and in the main channel. We were told that Salt Water crocs should have been called Estuary Crocodiles instead as they rarely head out to the open sea and can survive in fresh water for prolonged periods of time. The first 15 minutes of the hour cruise was pretty quite due to the fact it was mating season and a few large males may have passed though the area and disrupted the normal behavior of the females on the embankments.
‘We have a cheeky bugger ahead’ the Sheila shouted out over the loud speaker. A 4.5m male seeing an easy snack stealthily approached the boat from the side making only small ripples on the water. The feeder slapped the meat on the surface to grab his attention and raised the pole out of the water as he arched his body to rise vertically propelling himself into the air. The jaws slammed shut, no luck this time. They aim to get the crocs to jump a few times at each side of the boat to let tourists get their photographs before rewarding them with the meat. They have regular contact with 150 crocs on the river and have witnessed first hand the cannibalism of these animals. Once a female was rising for the food when a male croc bit her in half. I don’t think you or I would stand a chance against that kind of power if we were unlucky enough to land in the water. We managed to get prime seats (Thanks for the advice Brad) on the lower deck under the feeding stand where we could open the window fully to get a better view. We were feet away from these deadly predators raising their full body length out of the water and it was incredible to witness.
After a 2-hour drive later we pulled up at Litchfield National Park. We got the chance to look closer at one of the many thousands of Termite mounds that are formed in the NT. The one we looked at was around 9m tall. They roughly grow 1m every 10 years so this particular mound was near the end of its lifecycle. When the Queen dies the whole colony dies with her. Apparently some companies used to cut down the mounds and mix them in concrete because the properties are so strong in the material. They were certainly impressive structures for such small creatures.
We had the opportunity to swim in the Wangi falls which were like jumping into a postcard. The water was so inviting (despite the crocodile warning signs for the wet season) so we ventured in up to the waterfall and rock formations. I climbed up the fall and leapt from around 12 feet into the deeper water below, it was great fun. We took a few shots swimming next to the cliff face under water and had an hour’s worth of exploring. At the next swimming location we came across the weekend crowds enjoying beers and playing music whilst chilling in the several pools leading down the creek. The water was so fresh you could drink it. There was one guy who was eating a full chicken in the midday heat saluting absolutely no one in his semi drunk state with a ‘Go fuck your selfie” vest on. He asked if I could take a photo with him when he saw my action camera in hand so I politely obliged.
Our final stop off was at Florence Falls. Brad made us a fruit salad whilst we trekked to the look out point to see this natural phenomenon. As we arrived back he saw me looking at the Green Ants on the trees curiously and said ‘have you ever licked one?’ Well he was so insistent I felt rude not too. Grabbing the head I licked its bright green back to taste a very bitter citrusy flavor; nature’s very own seasoning. Overall the tour was one of the best days out I have had in Australia and the value for money was superb.
For our remaining couple of days we went to Cullen Bay, which was a 15-minute walk from the hostel at the North end of the cape. The harbor was full of people’s own yachts who live in the water front mansions. We ate at Lola’s Pergola for lunch (definitely a treat and not every day) where I had the Traveller Burger for $25 that was so big I had to eat it with a knife and folk. The place was right on the waterfront and felt like a casual restaurant/ bar. My favorite place in Darwin by far. On the last day we went to the lagoon area in the city center for a walk around the promenade and had a mocha at the Coffee Club. It would have been a nice place to cool down and go for a swim however there was no guarantee the Box jellyfish (wet season) could not get though the nets and give you an unwelcome surprise. Darwin has plenty to do from walking through the parks and looking at the WW2 bunkers to seeing the national parks and wildlife outside the city. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay here and would recommend it to anyone.
