Around Darwin: The Tropical Top End

The next morning we dropped off our little car and picked up our first relocation camper to Darwin! It was a Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4, called a "bush camper" as it's been outfitted inside with a cooking area, sink, and bed. They really were creative when, whoever designed the thing, managed to turn the inside of it into a living space. We at least got a photo of the outside. 

But yes, now WE had the huge car with Roo bars that would annihilate any little Hyundai Getz, or Kangaroo, that crossed our paths. Luckily we didn't smash into anyone, or anything, while driving ours.

So we picked it up, our wonderful $5/day car (plus $200 of petrol included!) and headed north on the Stewart Highway . . . which looked a lot the other roads we had been driving on. As we made the 9 or 10 hour drive north to our first camping spot at the free rest area on the side of the highway, it really started to dawn on us that the outback really was nothing. Here is the Outback in a nutshell: thousands of miles of long, flat roads (which was nice for the gas mileage), thousands of acres of bush scrub, and a cloudless blue sky. 

The only real sights we were able to find were burned out cars on the side of the road (of which there was an unsettlingly large number), termite mounds decorated with an occasional t-shirt or hat to make termite mound people, dead kangaroos, and the frequent bush fire clouding the road and sky with grey smoke. Oh, and the random camel:

That was pretty much it, for the entire journey from Darwin to Broome and eventually along the west coast, the scenery did not change. The roadhouses that sprinkle the highway every few hundred kilometers or so are the only hints of civilization--and even then--you are still pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. But still we drove the whole darn thing.

We took a quick pit stop at an area that afternoon called The Devil's Marbles. They are precariously stacked rocks covering a large area and they are just neat to look at. They were all originally underground but have slowly eroded away to reveal the nifty formations.

After that our first stop along the Stuart Highway heading to Darwin was Katherine Gorge (or Nitmiluk) National Park. We turned into Katherine town to stop at the grocery store and load up on essentials. It was hot, just as hot as Alice Springs had been, only now you had to add the humidity to that equation--making it sticky hot (and the worst kind). In the checkout area of the only grocery store, the stench of everyone's BO mixing together was quite overwhelming. So we got what we needed and made a quick exit. Our first part of the day was meant to be spent walking a lookout track that started at the Katherine Gorge visitor center. However, after making the 30-kilometer drive there from town we saw a sign as we were walking in that said the track was closed for construction and repairs. All of the other walks were significantly longer, at least 3-4 hours, so we had to nix that and headed to our next destination and campsite for the night at another part of the park called Edith Falls.

I was drawn here because of the advertisement for swimming holes, which would be a wonderful escape from the heat of the day. So we headed in and made the short, 30 minute walk up to the Upper Pool. It was beautiful and perfect, and a wonderful, relieving site to behold. 

We made our way down the rocks to find that we were the only ones there, which was also really nice. The good thing about this swimming hole (besides the cool water) was the fact that it was also crocodile-free, which can be a problem in the tropical top end. So we hopped in and swam around, enjoying the peace and tranquility.

After a while, a group of teenagers joined us as well, but they were a bit more adventurous and decided to go cliff jumping off the rocks. We decided not to join them on this particularly risky activity, as the edge of the plunge pool had many shallow rocks sprinkled around. We still stayed a bit longer though, before heading down back to our camping area for the night and the larger, and less scenic (though larger) lower pool. Apparently it's quite popular during the less sweltering winter months, but luckily we had reached shoulder season and so it was not very crowded. While it wasn't as pretty as the upper pool, we still took a dip in order to stay cool, and had fun with the little fishes that would come have a taste of our feet and toes! They tickled! After that it was time to head back and prepare our one real dinner for the week.

We noticed after putting on our swimsuits that subsisting on our cheap diet of essentially bird food (fruit, granola bar, PB& Js and pasta), combined with walking several kilometers each day meant we had noticeably lost some weight. We could also tell as we both had to up the notch in our belts just to keep our shorts on! So that night our pot of delicious chili was particularly delicious and fattening, although it still didn't do much as it was back to the cheap stuff for the next week.

Although that night chili may have not been the best choice because even as the sun went down, the heat did not decrease the way it had in the desert. We were in the tropics now, and the evenings were still very warm. That night after our pot of chili and cold (well as cold as we could get it since the campground water sits in the sun all day) showers, we made up the bed to our van, keeping the back doors open in hopes it would cool it down. Yeah, it didn't. That night we tossed and turned in the heat, praying for some wind or some release from the warm, humid evening--but it didn't come. Absolutely NO wind. Completely stagnant and hence, for myself, completely unable to fall asleep. We had a small refrigerator in our van that ran on a battery that would charge when the engine was on, thus had been charging all day so we could keep it on at night. Inside we had put a big 10L bag of spring water so we could have cold water on our walks. That night, after laying awake staring at the ceiling, I ended up taking the bag out of the fridge and cuddling with it in an attempt to cool myself down enough to sleep. Kind of like a reverse hot water bottle. It worked pretty well, actually. Though luckily it was the only time I had to revert to such desperation to fall asleep.

The next day, we were up and off again to our next big destination (which would eventually turn out to be a big mistake) at Kakadu National Park. Now, apparently locals in Darwin call the park "Kaka-don't" and I WISH we had listened to them. But all the literature said it was such an awesome place and a must-see in Australia. Yeah, I don't know what punch they were drinking, but it was pretty much the most un-spectacular park I have ever been to. Or maybe they didn't go while they were on a budget during the apparently crappy time of year. It's a big ass park, with the road through it stretching some 200 Km in a semi-circle. Just to enter, though, is $25 per person, which we both paid at the start even though no one hardly checks the park passes. As we drove along the road looking for walks to take (as many of them were on poorly signed unsealed or 4WD roads thus off-limits to us), the scenery was notably boring. Just trees. We finally, after about 70Km, pulled off into the first walk which was supposed to wind around an area called Yellow River, where you could possibly spot saltwater crocs (or "salties"). Turns out it was closed. Though no sign this time saying so, we just saw yellow caution tape over the entrance and had to turn back. Great start. Another 20Km up the road we turned off for another walk that showcased native, and supposedly really old, aboriginal rock art. It was a short walk and some of the art was nice, but not worth the struggle.

See, in the tropical north during the start of wet season, you have to battle a diverse array of elements. First there is the heat, and then the humidity, and then there is the coup de grace--the flies. Swarms of obnoxious flies that follow you wherever you go, buzzing in your ears, flying around your face, landing anywhere on your person that they can manage--following you into your car. It's psychological warfare battling with those freaking flies and in Kakadu they got the better of us. After attempting to walk around a relatively unspectacular billabong, the files just became to much. We didn't purchase those goofy yet utterly necessary hats with the netting over the face (though now we TOTALLY understand why people buy them), we just decided to leave. Pile on that the fact that the place where we were meant to camp that night was in close proximity to another bushfire, covering the area in smoke, and we just chalked Kakadu up as one big disappointment (and waste of gas) and made the 100Km drive to get outta' dodge. 

So yeah, if you ever go to Australia, listen to the locals--DON'T go to Kakdu--go to Litchfield! Which was our next destination and a hundred million times better. 

As a way to improve our sour moods over Kakadu we decided to splurge on a powered site at one of the caravan parks near the entrance to Litchfield. We were able to park in the shade, we had power and water in our camper van, they had real showers, and a pool! Plus, by the time we got there the sun had started to go down meaning the flies went away for the night. And there was a nice breeze throughout the whole evening. It was heaven. 

After a much needed night of rest (and some leftover chili for dinner!) we were ready to go the next morning for Litchfield! Our first stop was to a site famous for it's magnetic termite mounds. These particular termites only exist in this area and construct their mounds so that they face a perfect North-South direction so there is always one side in the sun and one side in the shade so they can regulate their temperature properly. The mounds went for ages!

There was also another mound close by called a cathedral mound built by a different termite that was around 50 years old and about 20 feet high!

So that was kinda cool but the main attraction of Litchfield is the numerous plunge pools and waterholes that are all within driving distance or along a pleasant, shaded walk. The first stop of the day was John's favorite called Buley Rock water hole. It was really a downward sloping river, with a terraced pool formation so you could climb up and down and swim in different little holes. It was really neat, very beautiful, and a great way to beat the heat!

We enjoyed these pools for at least an hour before heading on to the next one via a short walk. This was called Florence Falls and was my favorite spot in the park. It was a larger, though not huge, swimming hole at the base of two waterfalls that were flowing quite nicely. Just like in the morning when the Buley Rock hole was sparsely populated, we arrived at Florence Falls just as a big tour group was heading out. What luck! The water was nice and cool and there were shallow rocks sprinkled throughout so you could stand up in the middle. We also were able to swim to and under the falls which was great fun and SO refreshing!

The next stop, after lunch, was a much smaller waterhole and bit further of a walk up a hill, but it was located right at the top edge of a waterfall and we were the only ones around--so that was really nice. We got some photos of us right on the edge! 

We only stayed there for a short time, before we headed back down to the next, and last waterhole of the day which is also apparently the most popular called Wangi Falls. Like the lower pool in Katherine Gorge, this waterhole was particularly large and while it was nice, was not as scenic as the others we visited. But we still swam across and up to the falls, which weren't particularly large at that time of year.

But Wangi Falls was also the location of our campsite for the evening so we hung around a bit relaxing before making camp (i.e. parking) for the night. There was a short walk into a forrest right next to the waterfalls and as we walked along we came across a GIANT spider called the Golden Orb. It's not particularly dangerous for humans, but it is big and scary!

To my surprise and delight, the campground had proper showers in the bathrooms! Sixth sense I tell you. So after wonderfully refreshing showers, pasta dinner, and our nightly card games, we went to bed much happier and much cooler that evening.

A little video action of what turned out to be a great day!

The next day was our last day of the rental, so we just made the hour or so trip to Darwin, got lost in the CBD a bit, before finally finding the location of our next relocation deal to Broome. To our delight, this camper van was even nicer than the last! Besides the fact that the 4X4 had two 90L tanks for petrol, and hence wasn't the most economical, this van was an auto-transmission and the inside was so nice! It was an Apollo van, which we never rented as they are quite expensive, but now we know why. The insides have a faux wood floor, the sink is run on a battery-operated pump so you just turn it on like a regular sink, the bed was bigger, it had a nice table and kitchen area--all for $1/day with $250 in fuel included! I wish we had been able to use these deals everywhere. Plus, for John it meant that he and I could now share the driving since I can drive auto, so that was a big plus. 

So after turning in our old car, we were back on the road again, heading around the fringe of the Kimberly, through the Great Sandy Desert on our way to Broome!