Darwin 24.06.2016 – 01.07.2016

We arrived in Darwin on the 24^th of June and settled in to the Howard Spring caravan park.  The temperature in mid-winter was already topping 35 degrees by 10 am yet no one seemed to complain, the caravan park was full to capacity and it would appear that every man and his dog from Victoria had the same idea to visit Darwin at the same time.  One has to feel for these poor buggers who have to endure the cold weather in Victoria, whereas here the weather in winter is amazing, however summer here is a different story altogether, it is known as the wet season and temperatures can reach high 40 degrees with high humidity.

Darwin is closer to Bali than it is to Sydney and is the capital of the NT.  It has a population of 136000 and is the smallest of the capital cities in Australia.  The city was first called Palmerston but was renamed Darwin in 1911.  The city has been rebuilt four times, once as a result of Japanese bombing during WW2 and three times due to cyclones in 1897, 1937 and more recently in 1974.

I found Darwin to be very progressive with a strong emphasis on road building as well improvements to the town ongoing.  Darwin also caters well for tourism which is reduced to only six months of the year.  Tourism is centered around the history of the Second World War, Wild life adventures, fishing as well as being the gateway to some of the best nature reserves on the continent.

Attached is a map of Darwin and CBD

The highlight of this trip would have to be the visit to Litchfield National Park. The first time we went exploring the area was when we were in Adelaide River and it was then that we realised we needed to return to explore Litchfield in more detail.  We realized too that we would have to put the dogs into a kennel for possibly a few days which would then enable us do all the sightseeing without the dogs.  Litchfield National Park is to the left of Darwin when looking at the map. 

 

The first thing that absolutely blew us away was the size of the termite mounds which in some cases reach to a staggering 5.2 meters.

Here are photos of Shirley next to these termite mounds

 

Some information on this enormous termite mound

Below is more  information on these mounds.

 

The area is covered in termite mounds as can be seen in the photo below

And of course the national park would not be what it is, was it not for the abundance of waterfalls, creeks and swimming holes. Here are some that we came across

Below: The Buley Rockholes

Below: Florence Falls

Yet another wonder of the park is an area called the Lost City.  It is an area of sandstone hills that has been eroded over time and resembles a lost city. 

See the pictures below

 

 

Shirley on the throne

George Clooney had decided to grow his beard by then.

On the way to the lost city we stopped off at an old Tin mine.

Below is another little creek we came to called Walker Creek.

We eventually made our way to Wangi Falls and this was absolutely stunning, with 2 water falls, and the water was crystal clear and gorgeous to swim in.

These are but some of the pools and waterfalls that we saw, this place is truly amazing.

After our beautiful day in the Litchfield National Park we went out to dinner with our neighbours Bob & Sheryl, eagerly venturing out to the infamous Humpy Doo Hotel. 

Information on the Humpty Doo Hotel

The Humpty Doo Hotel is well known and features in several bush ballads, including ‘The Man from Humpty Doo’ by Ted Egan and Slim Dusty's ‘Humpty Doo Waltz’. It opened in 1971, survived Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and has since become a local icon. In addition to comfortable visitor accommodation, the hotel features a bar area with open walls, a concrete floor and an iron roof. Local live music acts regularly perform here.

See photos below had a great meal and reckon this tavern must really come alive on the weekends with all the locals.

We also visited a very iconic tourist destination, The Crocodylus crocodile and animal Park

Entrance to the park

See the story below of this poor bugger

While we were there I got the opportunity to feed the crocodile

Job done

We were fortunate to be able to hold some young salt water crocs as well

The rest of the day was spent visiting the rest of the zoo which had a variety of animals

The Emu

The Cassowary, probably the most dangerous bird when they have their chicks around.

Beautiful Macaw

Then a selection of beautiful animals well known from Africa

The inquisitive Meerkat

They even had a tiger, which is a rarity these days

While we were visiting the zoo, a zoo keeper brought a Dingo for us to see. Dingo's are wild dogs in Australia, however to me they are just another species of dog.

These Iguanas would have to be the finest that I have seen

And to end the day we saw more crocodiles

Fresh water crocodile

And lots more salt water crocodiles

A visit to Darwin would not be the same without a visit to the war museum and the aircraft museum.  I took Shirley and our neighbour (Bob) at the caravan park with me on this tour and when we went to the aircraft museum Shirley had decided to stay at the caravan park.  

The history of the bombing of Darwin is most fascinating, we learnt that Darwin had more bombs dropped on it than Pearl Harbour and although the casualty rate was not as great, a sad event happened when a bomb dropped on the post office killing more than ten civilians, the deceased are buried at the Adelaide River cemetery (see previous blog)

An amphibious troop landing vehicle gun emplacement at the entrance to the Darwin harbour

The aeroplane museum was equally as impressive and we spent quite some time there.

The remains of a Mitsubishi Japanese plane shot down during the raid on Darwin.

A mirage from the eighties

On our next sightseeing tour we went to the Aquascene which is situated in Doctors Gully Darwin to feed the fish that come to shore in this marine preservation area only at high tide.  

Below is the entrance to this Marine sanctuary

Some of the statues and carvings that they had on display

 

And the best one yet

After all we did come to feed the fish and we were not disappointed, the gully is teeming with fish, mostly emperor and Baramundi

An eager opportunist came to visit. 

And I could not resist this photo of the three monkeys.

 

The rest of the day was spent exploring the different walks and beaches in the area. Darwin has some magnificent beaches and walkways

 

The war memorial overlooking the entrance to the harbour

Below : A walk to a small jetty not far from the memorial

 

Below: A beach to the right of Darwin

Looking onto Darwin City

Below: A drive through a well-manicured park on the way to the Darwin War museum

The visit to Darwin would not be the same without a visit to the Mindil night markets

 

A group of musicians playing the didgeridoo, techno style

We waited for the sun to set on the beach, the old goose and I

There was quite a good turn out that night, everyone eagerly waiting for the sun to set.

 

And of course, what is a romantic night without a selfie

Or two

The photo below is probably the best photo of Shirley that I have taken for a while

 

And a photo of the George Clooney with a beard

  

What a way to end your day

Next on our list of sightseeing in Darwin, we visited the oil storage tunnels that was dug out of the side of a hill during the Second World War to store their fuel and oil reserves in the event of a Japanese air strike over Darwin.

 

 

Old tunnel that is not in use.

Refurbished tunnel now the museum

We found the tunnel tour very interesting and had to keep reminding ourselves that these tunnels were built in adverse conditions during a very tough time in history.  We ended the day with a good lunch at the boat harbour which is not too far from this site.

 

The restaurant along the quay is a hive of activity on the weekend and at night, however rather quite at this time day, bearing in mind we are here during a working day.

The time spent in Darwin was most enjoyable and because we enjoyed Litchfield so much, we decided to book a few nights at a caravan park called Tumbling Waters which is on the way to Litchfield to visit a site of a bomber which had crashed nearby in the Second World War and to visit Berry Springs close to Tumbling Waters Caravan Park. 

Map of our Trip this time

 

 Until the next time good bye.