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Packing up and leaving the Merl campground seemed a bit of a shame to me personally. We had all enjoyed our stay there and the afternoon sightings of barra and mullet being chased by the local crocs had been a real highlight for all of us, and the girls had especially enjoyed it. Apart from the mozzies giving us a bit of a hurry up it was quite a good place to spend some time. The fact that I had been unable to bag a barra I think was my main reason for feeling a bit of regret at leaving. However given that we were heading into Darwin was almost as exciting as it is a city both Kylz and I have visited before and agreed that it was a place we both liked.
Heading west from Kakadu you pass over a couple of majestic rivers and none more so then the impressive South Alligator River. We pulled into the car-park and boat ramp area, as Kylz had spotted a croc lazing up high on the eastern side as we drove across. The marks on the concrete bridge pillions showed the evidence of the huge near on 10m tides that are a real trade mark of many of these massive northern rivers. The tide was at its lowest and the massive mud flats it had exposed were a sight to see as schools of mullet up to a foot long could be seen in the shallows and hordes of mud skippers were a real cause of wonder for the girls.
Pushing on over the Adelaide River (home of the famous jumping croc cruises) we pulled up in Humpty Doo to try our luck at organising where we would be staying when we reached Darwin. 50km out of town with nothing planned, no better time to start I reckon?! Well after ringing 4 caravan parks and getting the same story "no vacancy". It was about then that our plan not to book anything all year might need to be looked at and possibly amended. Given that the Darwin cup race week was on as well as the show and a couple of other smaller things the town was chockers. Finally Kylz got onto a lady that told her try the Free Spirit park again (flashest one in town and very popular) as she knew they had some spots left but were having trouble with their septic!? WTF. So we rang them and they told us they had a spot but we would have to put up with the stink or we could go onto a spot then move the next day as they were booked solid. With no other option we chose to do the caravan shuffle! Turns out the stink was the fact that they were so busy and the turd muncher was having trouble keeping up? It was also not a problem unless you happened to be in the premium sites which all were downwind. So we set up and it was no real drama for us.
Now with the caravan park being absolutely flat out we did have a few small gripes which is a shame for both them and us as it really is quite a good resort style park and I would stay there again. Kylz by this time reckons she wants to buy a caravan park as she thinks she has got it all sorted as to what would make it a real winner. I dunno but I spose after living in them for a year she is probably entitled to her own fair opinion. We only heard more horror stories from a few of the other parks so we were pretty happy overall.
The area that the place truly excelled at was kids' entertainment. It was a battle some days to get them away from the place! They had a daily schedule of activities lined up and the girls made sure that we knew the times and location for each days little kids club. Chocolate making, arts and craft, jumping pillow games, animal visits and colouring in comps were just some of the stuff we were up against. Chelsea won her first colouring comp and was absolutely stoked! She really does handle victory well?! Don't know where she gets that from? These organised activities were welcomed by all parents and were well run by very friendly and at times very patient staff. Like a lot of things up here in the tropical north it is all based around the dry season. April to October is peak season for the north of the NT and is truly a magic time to be up here. The weather is a non event as every day is the same, somewhere between a minimum of about 10-15 and a max of about 28-33, blue skies, light winds and not a rain cloud in sight! Jealous much?! The summer of 40+ and 100% humidity might sort a few out though I reckon.
Now catching up with ( I'm going to call them my uncle and cousin for the sake of time and space as explaining the family connection is a story in itself, hey Nicole!?) my uncle Gary and cousin Tyson was number one on my to do list in Darwin. Sad to say, but I'm glad 50% was a pass when I went to school as Gary and I managed to miss each other due to timing and phone errors. So a quick g'day and hope you are doing well goes to you and we might catch you up back in Qld. Tyson was found hard at it (believe me Gary he really was!) in his old man's workshop. Not having seen him for a few years we organised to catch up at one of Darwin's most famous places, The Winnellie Greyhound Track. We were lucky that the dishlickers were running in the annual Darwin cup. (Not the horse one obviously) The girls were amazed that we could go and actually watch dogs race! We picked Tyson up and having Kylz as a designated driver left Tyson and I free to enjoy a few beers and a catch up. It was a real good night and Chels and Charli watched every race and helped Kylz pick a few. Seems she should have listened to them as Chels finished with 2 winners, Charli 3 and Kylz 0! Should have listened, hey Kylz?! Now we were not on our own as it was a pretty big crowd and Tyson had never seen so many people there, and yes he has spent some time at the Winnellie track, courtesy of his dads smallish greyhound habit!? Adam and I also spent a night at the same venue quite a few years ago and I think, walked home with a rock in each shoe! The girls were both fast asleep as we dropped Tyson back home (sober too? he had to work Saturday) and we all agreed it had been a fun night out and good to catch up.
Now as everyone who has been to Darwin will tell you, the Mindil markets are a must for visitors and locals alike. It also allowed us to catch up with Tyson again as he this time turned his talents to the grill, turning out succulent Thai satay chicken skewers under the direction of Gary's wife Nei. The extended family run a very popular food stall and as we witnessed were kept busy right up to closing. The markets were a winner with all of us for different reasons I guess. The girls and I were keen on the food and entertainment. We managed to go on both the Sundays we were in Darwin and both nights we ate our dinner while watching the street performer shows. Kylz really does enjoy her markets, and I'm sure these were a real treat for her. I often pay her out for not buying anything when she does go to the markets (silly me right) but it would be nearly impossible to come away empty handed from Mindl beach Markets!
The sunset over the ocean was also a highlight for us all. Now not wanting to rain on anyone's parade we both had a bit of a laugh when a few people started clapping just as the sun slipped out of view seemingly into the Timor Sea. I would be more inclined to clap each morning it comes back up, but as we all often say, each to their own!?
In order to get our crocodile exposure meter reading at MAXX! we hit both major crocodile parks in Darwin. Crocodylus Park was our first stop, it is also a working crocodile farm. On this trip we are starting to believe that we all really do have a twin running around the world somewhere, and have seen the proof more than once! Now if the young lad that ran the show and tour is not Giddy's long lost brother a frozen chook, and I, have got a date at the next woollies we come to!! He was quite a character and made it fun for all. We saw some huge crocs on display and then also saw the thousands of smaller, bred for market, crocs. A huge pile of handbags and leather goods as well as the big sign advertising croc kebabs leaves you in no doubt as to the ultimate end for those little fellas! The girls asked heaps of questions and took great delight in picking the salties from the freshies and telling us what Bindi's dad would do if he was there. Shame he isn't really, as they do listen and remember what he says on those movies. A host of other animals fill the park including two new lions just released that day we were there!
Now both girls had a real exciting day but it has become apparent to Kylz and I that Charli is the one to watch, at the moment anyway. I knelt down to pat the foot of a huge croc that was against the edge of his mesh pen when Charli just walks over and starts doing the same. This went on as we both made our way round poking and patting every animal we could get near, Iguanas, Turtles, emus, lizards. She really has very little fear at the moment. Chels is a bit more cautious and probably has a better chance of getting to 10 with all her fingers and toes!!
Tyson had recommended a trip to Crocosauras Cove right in the middle of Darwin city. It is a very flash setup and if you can only be bothered doing one croc attraction, this is one not to be missed. You will have all seen it on T.V somewhere as it is the one with the "Cage of Death". You can be fitted into a Perspex tube and lowered, dumpling style, into the huge crocs pen. Believe me as Tyson told us, "there are some big geckos in there". "Wendell", the croc not the footy player, is over 5m and weighs 800Kg. We never took on the cage of death, however we all enjoyed the rest of the park as much or more than other similar parks we have been to. Charli once again stepped well up to the plate as she fed small crocs with a baited fishing rod and swam for almost an hour in the croc pool. It is a small deep pool with a Perspex barrier between you and a tank full of small salties! We both had a ball and with goggles on it was a real eye bulger to swim against the tank and see the little crocs moving freely around seemingly beside you! After our lunch we toured the reptile display and then the fish tank area. The reptile display is the best we have seen. We enjoyed a reptile show that had a huge olive python actually eating a rat! The girls could not get enough. The whole park is well run and more then worth the admission. Probably the only down side to these two excellent parks is that we were by then totally and undoubtedly "croced out"!! We have sworn off croc parks until at least Malcolm Douglas' show in Broome.
While in Darwin we were able to catch up with Geoff and Ange, friends we met while in Alice Springs. The girls had been looking forward to catching up with Yvette and Braydon. They had settled down in Darwin and were making the most of the beautiful dry season weather. We met them at their newly settled digs, managing one of the local multi sports stadiums. After a quick catch up we headed over with them to one of Darwin's most popular water parks. The Leanyer water park is run by the PCYC after recently taking it over from the council. It has three huge water slides and water park as well massive pool. Covered picnic areas and free BBQ's are also available to the public and the whole show is free of charge.
Now a cruel blow befell our little trooper Charli on this visit. While almost jumping out of her skin to get a go at the water slides as we waited for them to be started up for the morning, she was struck a mortal blow by the fun police! Being found about an inch too short for entry to the slides her world came crashing down around her, well us anyway. The shattered look on her face almost bought me to tears and it was all I could do not to tell old "Matron Sloan" to stick it up her arse myself! While Chels and I both made the required mark, Chelsea looked as if she would have happily given her spot to Charli, as we reached the point of no return. Not wanting to go down on her own the young lad at the top let me run down with her for the first go, just to get her used to it. To cut it short, when we got to the bottom, I had a smile you would need a wire brush to get rid of and seemingly so did Chelsea. It did not last though as she only made the one run down. Meanwhile Charli sat at the bottom to pissed off to talk to anyone. Mum always tells me that "you will never get two the same", and at the moment there are quite obvious differences between our two. Her eyes brightened up when we headed over into the pool area though. It was here we said good bye to our friends Geoff, Ange, Braydon and Yvette. We do wish them the best with their time in Darwin and for the future.
While in Darwin I also managed to replace the steering arm I so needlessly bent a week or two earlier. It is no wonder we more and more shop on-line, one phone call a credit card and a couple of days later a brand new unit arrives and is delivered in Darwin to Gary's workshop. With this fitted and a wheel alignment sorted we were back in the game. $400 down the drain, but we won't go down that road again, it is still a sore point!
After covering this country from top to bottom and seemingly a few places in between I had stumbled upon one important fact of caravanning life we had been missing.......... a Weber Baby Q BBQ! Yes that's right, I'm pretty sure I was the only travelling person without one. (I might exaggerate a bit, but you take a look around a caravan park for yourself......back me up Tony O)
So anyway off we went to the Darwin BBQ's Galore store to sort the situation out. After research on the net we knew what we wanted. In about five minutes the lady in the store had blown that out of the water. It took about an hour but we left there with possibly the best BBQ on the planet! We still blame Andrew a bit for our new BBQ, but on the quiet we are absolutely rapt in it. After only a few uses on nothing more complicated then steak and snags we are converted. I have been known to snigger and look down my nose at those with Baby Q's before but am now convinced they are well worth the considerable reputation and popularity they enjoy amongst travellers. I recommend them to all those who enjoy a BBQ away from home or own a caravan or camper trailer or a tent or sleep in their car! (Quick update and flash forward, I have now cooked 3 roasts and each one was awesome and so easily done)
A trip to the Darwin Museum was our only other cultural tour while in town and it also was a first rate display. The fact that they had "Sweetheart", a huge rogue outboard chewing croc stuffed and on display had me in the car and buckled up ready to go. Apart from the usual museum fair, the whole "Cyclone Tracey" disaster is detailed and presented in impressive detail. Photos and film as well as letters and written accounts of the events of that fateful Christmas help to give the visitors a small idea of how it must have been for all those souls present that night and what they rose to witness the next day. An entire darkened room has been built in which you just stand and they play sounds from that and other cyclones to give you a taste of what it sounds like to be trapped in one. The present day Darwin owes a lot to the effort put in to rebuild and forge an almost new city from the ruins that were left in the wake of such a terrible storm as "Tracey".
Another fact that was bought to our attention at not only this museum but by a lot of historical sites in and around Darwin, is the amount of action that Darwin was involved in during WWII. There were more bombs dropped on Darwin then were unleashed during Pearl Harbour. Not wanting to play "who's got the blackest crow", but a bit more about our own history included in our school years would be good to see I think. Past and present I think we need to remember all efforts that have been made in defence of our Australian way of life. Not that it should be rammed down anyone's throat either but surely a few facts from closer to home can't hurt, can they?
Well we had met some characters while in Darwin and they included yet again a couple of families on extended travels. We met friends of Andrew and Janine's, Chris and Lisa who were on a 12 week trek from SA north and down home through WA. Their two young boys livened things up around camp and we enjoyed a couple of nights of good laughs before they headed off. We also wish them the best with their travels and might catch them up again in SA. We also said goodbye to Janine and Andrew here as they had some other things planned. We hoped to catch them up but as nothing was planned we said goodbye for now. We had spent by now a couple of weeks around each other and the company had been well appreciated. We had done a few things together and gone our own way here and there and met up to compare notes each arvo around a few drinks and nibbles.
It had been a very enjoyable time in Darwin and we were getting very settled and both kept thinking to ourselves about the prospects of spending more time here in the Northern Capital. However the prospect of settling the great question of which is better, Litchfield or Kakadu, had us packing up and peeling out bound for new horizons.
- comments
The Oracle I dips me lid to you both on the quality of your blogs. While trying not to sound repetitious the quillmanship and photography are top shelf stuff,and are a credit to you both, and when compiled into book form at journeys end, will be something to be proud of and enjoyed by yourselves and little girls for years to come. Keep up the good work.
Chris Reilly bloody webber q dont get owens started ther just a poor mans beef eater