Darwin Trip: Part II

Wednesday July 1st

In the morning we did a walk through the Yellow River Wetlands and then drove from Cooinda along the Kakadu Highway towards Katherine. On the way we stopped at an old gold mining town called Pine Creek which was supposed to be quite neat. It was not, at all. We didn't stay there long. We got to Katherine around 1pm, found a campsite and then took off to see Edith Falls in Nitmiluk National Park. It's a gorgeous swimming area although there were crocodile warning signs so that was a bit suspect. We kept our eyes out while swimming but didn't see any.

It turns out that July 1st is not only Canada Day, but also Northern Territory Day. The town of Katherine put on a community celebration with fireworks and a sausage sizzle and local kids singing, the whole bit. It was so fun be there for a small town celebration!

Thursday July 2nd

We drove to Nitmiluk National Park this morning (aka Katherine Gorge) early so that we could rent out a kayak. They only rent them at 8am and 1pm for some reason and we had to drive to Litchfield that afternoon so we wanted to go in the morning. We got thereat 8:05am and all of the kayaks had been rented! We settled on renting at 1pm and did some bushwalking instead but around 10 a bunch of kayaks were returned so we ended up getting the boat early. There are a bunch of different gorges but with the kayaks you can only stay in the first one for a half day rental. We had a double and were pretty much race-worthy in my opinion because we paddled our way to the end of the gorge really quickly and passed a whole bunch of people. We are also both competitive so that might have been why but I like to think it was pure skill and strength.

Friday July 3rd

We woke up super early and spent the morning in Litchfield National Park. It was so incredibly beautiful! I can't believe we got to see 3 different national parks over the course of 5 days - and each one was so unique and different. Litchfield was great because it's got a lot of swimming holes and waterfalls. It's a bit disconcerting to see the "Warning, Crocodiles" signs everywhere but only freshwater crocodiles are around during the dry season so it's (apparently) ok to swim with them. It's the saltwater crocodiles that will eat you. I'm not sure I'll get used to swimming anywhere where crocodiles might be. Number one: they are stealthy, you'd never see it coming, and Number two: they are huge and their mouths are far bigger than my head.

Saturday July 4th

I was pretty bummed because it was our last day in Darwin. We decide d to relax all day and spent the morning lying by the pool. I think I got some colour but it's hard to tell. I'm pretty sure that every other backpacker there was at least halfway to black (trust me, when you are pale like a sheet, you notice this because you stick out). But hey, at least I won't be the one getting wrinkles - or at least that's what my mom tells me but it could just be a ruse to make me feel better.

We wandered around in the early afternoon to check out some of the old buildings. There are maybe like 4 left so it didn't take a whole lot of time. Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in WWII which destroyed a lot of the city, and then if that wasn't enough it was hit by Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and was pretty much obliterated. Anyway, bad idea to walk around at that time of day (and poor Cam because I was the one who dragged him out) because I spent the whole time trying to hop from shady spot to shady spot and downed about a litre of water.

We watched some AFL in the bar next door before heading to the Wharf for dinner. We got fish and chips which was good but so incredibly greasy and I think I could do without it for a good year or so now, but it was a fitting end to an amazing trip!