Well what an exciting 10 days I have had. Charmaine,Ron, Ang and I flew to Darwin on September 16th. It was quite a late flight and we arrived 2am Sunday morning. The first thing to hit me was the heat and humidity but eventually I got use to it. We stayed in Darwin for 2 days then set off for Kakadu. Our first stop was at Mary River where we stayed in cabins. Our Host Jonno was fantastic and a lot of fun. We went 4 wheel driving over the flood plains that night. The next day we went on a boat along the Mary River looking for crocs. We spied a few on the banks sunning themselves. After Mary River went went to Jabaru where we explored cave paintings, watched the sunset from Ubirr and went flying over Kakadu National Park. Next stop was Cooinda a lovely desert resort and we stayed there a while swimming in their pool and checking out the local scene. We went for a boat ride on the Yellow River where we saw lots of crocodiles. I recommend the Yellow River Boat Cruise to anyone who goes there. After Cooinda was Katherine. We stayed at Katherine for 2 days stopping off at Edith Falls where Ron and Charmaine braved the croc warning signs and had a swim. While we were staying at Katherine we drove down to Mataranka to the hotsprings there and swam out little hearts out. In the afternoon we found a lovely spot on the Power River and had a dip there also. That was great because we were the only ones there and the river was crystal clear and a perfect temperature. We wanted to go th the Jim Jim Falls but we needed a 4 wheel drive for that one and we didn't have one. On the last day at Katherine we went on a breakfast tour of the Katherine Gorge. We got to go through 2 gorges, they were breathtaking and I'm sorry now we didn't sign up for the 8 hour journey where you get to travel through 5 of the 16 gorges.We also stopped of at Pine Creek which although a small town is rich in history. After Katherine we travelled to Litchfield National Park where we stayed in a hotel at Bachelor. Litchfield is known for it's fantastic waterfalls and waterholes. We had a great time over 2 days exploring the various waterholes and hiking. I wasn't too pleased about the hotel there, it needed a big makeover. The air conditioner sounded like a truck was going through your room. Crickets were leaping everywhere and the tap had a continuing drip coming from it. As I said earlier the temperature was extremely hot so we hardly slept. After Litchfield we travelled back to Darwin where we stayed at the ritzy Saville Hotel where we made up for our lack of sleep the previous night. Even though we explored the Darwin sights when we first arrived there was still plenty to see and do. On the last night we went sailing on a pearl ship around Darwin's harbour and watched the sunset while sipping champas. As our flight didn't leave till 2am the next day we headed off to Darwin's casino where there was fab entertainment until it was time to depart for home.
We had a great time in the Northern Territory and I recommend it to everybody.
|
