Darwin Take 2

So after dropping off the grandparents at Darwin Airport bound for Sydney it was time to fill in our 11 days with general housekeeping jobs, kids entertainment and preparations for the next leg ahead. After doing the usual clothes washing, stock up on food, swim and relax by the pool we tackled the big job. New tyres for the Landcruiser. This job required an early start for the kids and I as we were told we would be best off to be at the Service Centre at opening time of 7am so to ensure the least amount of waiting around time. Thankfully I was there with kids, breakfast cereals, clothes for Ella and a few cars for Kai before the gates even opened on the yard. While we waited in the reception area having our picnic breakfast the car had four new tyres fitted and looks even more aggressive then before.


We spent the week entertaining ourselves by visiting the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery, the local cinema where we saw Mr Poppin’s Penguins, Leayner Water Park for another mornings fun, the caravan park swimming pool and the Bloomfield Outdoor Kitchen for decorated arrowroot biscuits and experimental afternoon teas.



At the Museum/Art Gallery we spent most of our time in the Kids Discovery Room, which was just a small section of the gallery that had some hands on activities for kids. There were foam blocks to build with, dress up clothes, a microscope to view dishes of butterflies, lava and seeds. There were also jars of snakes, lizards and even a spider. There was also colouring in pencils with paper, clipboards and animal rubbing templates. The kids thought it was great and although it hadn’t impressed me much at first, I did get to have a lie down on the cushions on the floor while they were kept busy. I did manage to convenience the kids to enter the rest of the Art Gallery and steered them towards the Cyclone Tracey display. I would have loved to have a good look around this area but unfortunately the kids weren’t as interested as I was so we quickly departed. I did manage to catch a glimpse of some footage of devastated Darwin on the Christmas morning after Cyclone Tracey had hit. There were aerial photos of different suburbs around Darwin with three photos for each. July before the Cyclone, January after the Cyclone and then July in about 2008 or 2009. It was a great comparison showing Tracey’s destruction and how Darwin has rebuilt itself. We also managed to walk through a pitch black sound booth which had a recording of the noise of the storm that fearful night. It was very scary indeed standing in the pitch black with this thunderous sound of wind and things creaking around you. I tried hard to explain to the girls as much as I could about Cyclone Tracey and told Maddi she should ask my cousins back in Sydney what they remember of that night as they lived through it. The whole display is definitely worth a visit if you get a chance.


We had some resident frogs in our caravan park ensuite, which kept us entertained in the evenings. It was always interesting to see if you could spot the frog when you went out there after dark. One night I got quite a surprise when I found this little fellow on the door handle. Ella almost stepped on a big green/brown one on the bath mat one night. After that a torch was always used so one could check the ground for the few steps that were needed before you reached the light switch. The girls thought it was great fun trying to spot and pat them. I think Kai was always in bed asleep when we found them. He did see them during the day when we would discover them tucked up behind a bucket on the wall trying to hide for the day.


The kids had fun making up different food creations too. One day they were very quiet inside organizing a special afternoon tea for me. Finally they produced skewers with a strawberry or two, a selection of jelly lollies and a marshmellow. The girls were desperate to cook something but it was so hot I wasn’t going to put the oven on so decorated arrowroot biscuits were made a few times. The kids had so much fun doing this that they insisted we make some on the morning of Tig’s return and take them to the airport for him. Kai didn’t care much about giving a biscuit to daddy he was more interested in eating the lollies off the top himself.


Thankfully Saturday rolled around quite quickly and it was again time to head out to the airport to pick up Tig. We had been busy making signs for his arrival and I even managed to convince the girls to do their hair in honour of daddy’s return. Hair is not top of the priority list for Ella and Maddi so I have been using any excuse I can think up in order to have them sit down and let me do it.

Until next time …
Thea

Top End Loop Continued

I left you hanging for the rest of our Top End Loop story at our departure from Kakadu. So here goes.

After leaving Kakadu via the southern gate we continued down the Kakadu Highway to the Stuart Highway. The township of Pine Creek is situated where the two roads meet so we stopped there for lunch. This was the second time I had stopped at Pine Creek and wouldn’t be the last. After Pine Creek we continued south to Katherine where we did a quick food shop at the local Woolworths and then travelled a further 30kms to Nitmiluk National Park (also known as Katherine Gorge). Dad and Sue had booked accommodation in a ‘Chalet’. Nitmiluk doesn’t take bookings for camping so we just had to hope there was room. Thankfully there was plenty of room for camping. The powered site was a bit cramped so I opted for non-powered. The van is all set up for it and the batteries where fully charged so why not. This also meant I could get closer to Dad and Sue and the toilet block which is a necessity when you’re by yourself with young children.



Once Dad had helped me manoeuvre the van into my desired camping spot it was time for a quick dinner and early bed as we had an early start planned for the next day. Agile Wallabies were everywhere from dusk through to the next morning. They were a little cheeky however… one decided to have a nibble on a cardboard box under the van late in the evening. It took me forever to work out what the noise was. The first time I looked he was hiding under the van nibbling the other end of the box, but second time around, he was sprung and his fun was over. I had to keep reminding the kids not to feed the wallabies, unlike other campers nearby.

The next day I was up before sunrise, waking children gently and dressing them in preparation for our morning adventure. Two weeks prior I had decided to book the Breakfast Sunrise Gorge Cruise. My reasoning was that I only had to get the kids up and dressed by myself and not have to worry about feeding them before the event. It would also be the cooler part of the day and the kids would be distracted for some of the two hour tour with food. I was certainly right about the cooler part of the day. The kids and I dressed in long pants and jumpers. We had a great time travelling up the first two gorges by boat and enjoyed a yummy buffet breakfast during the first gorge. Thankfully it wasn’t crowded so that made it even better and our guide/boat driver had a fantastic laid-back manner and he even had a few funny jokes to throw into his presentation. There was even a film crew on board filming for a footy show, I think. I hope they don’t use any of the footage of me as I certainly didn’t have perfectly clean, blow-dried hair, or even brushed, thinking back on it. It was early.








After the cruise Dad, Sue and the kids walked back to the campground via the Nitmiluk Visitor Information Centre where they all looked through the outdoor and indoor displays. Maddi even made a new friend while there, also named Ella. Maddi quickly became attached at the hip to Big Ella and the other two just followed along. Big Ella was 8 year olds and thus why she was called Big Ella, so as not to be confused with our Ella. We did manage to pull Maddi away from her new friend under much protest in order to go and visit Springvale Homestead, on the other side of Katherine after a lazy morning in the campground pool. Springvale was the first station occupied in the Northern Territory.






Also, while at Nitmiluk we managed to conquer the short Baruwei Lookout Loop Walk and laze by the pool a little more. After three nights it was time to pack up and move onto our next destination, Batchelor (near Darwin).





Batchelor is like the gateway town to the Litchfield National Park. Dad and Sue stayed at the hippy-style Butterfly Farm, the kids and I set up at the Big 4 Caravan Park around the corner. Batchelor Big 4 Caravan Park is not your typical Big 4 caravan park. Yes it was clean, but there was definitely no jumping pillow. In fact it was very run down. The original park entrance had been moved down the road to the neighbouring property, the Batchelor Resort. I use the word resort very loosely here. They did have a pool, which was freezing and the sight of it was a little sore on the eyes. They did have Putt Putt Golf if you just wanted some plain concrete slabs with obstacles in them and pay a couple of dollars to hire clubs and balls. Sites where nicely spaced out and easy to get into, even numbered but that didn’t matter as the guy at reception told me to just take anyone I liked. It was all a little strange. They did have nice new-looking large ensuite sites over near some cabins which looked very flashy…. the rest was very sad.

Anyway, we weren’t in Batchelor to spend time at the caravan park but to explore nearby Litchfield National Park, which we did. We spent our valuable 1 and a half days seeing the interesting Magnetic Termite Mounds, swimming at the spectacular Florence Falls, lunching at the very popular Wangi Falls, taking photos at the spectacular Tolmer Falls and back for a swim at the beautiful Buley Rockpools before driving back to Darwin. Litchfield is a lovely National Park, handy to Darwin and even though I had been there twice before, I still feel there is a lot more to see. Next time I think I would like to get onto some of the 4WD tracks and overnight within the park itself.









Back to Darwin we went, back to our previous caravan park, Hidden Valley Tourist Park while Dad and Sue returned to the Novatel for a couple of nights before their flight home. We managed to visit Mindil Beach Markets for some delicious food and street performer entertainment. We also took Grandad and Sue to Leanyer Water Park, which the kids still thought was the best ever. This time, there were three adults to supervise the children, so Maddi got her wish to go on the water slides. She was a little tentative at first, but after one turn she was hooked. Of course, I was the chosen adult to go with her as she had to be escorted/supervised - park rules, not mine. Grandad obviously saw how much fun Maddi and I were having, so he decided to have a go. He conquered the blue slide, which was the gentlest of the three, and then decided to hang up his swimmers as the ride isn’t easy on the back. A rash top is definitely required.





After two weeks of fun with Grandad/Dad and Sue it was time to take them back to the airport for their flight back to cold Sydney. It was quite strange seeing them all dressed up in long pants and with warm jackets over their arms in anticipation of Sydney’s chilly reception. It made me very glad to be staying in the sun, but feeling a little lonely… I had 10 nights to wait until Tig’s return.

Till next time…
Thea

Top End Loop

This is going to be a long one as it covers a jam-packed 10 days while we did a little loop from Darwin to Kakadu to Katherine to Litchfield National Park and back to Darwin. My passengers were, Grandad (Geoff/my dad), Sue (my stepmum), Maddi, Ella and Kai. Also, I have got access to my father’s photos and for those who know him he is quite the happy snapper so I have lots to show you.

Here we go…

We left Darwin after doing my first (without Tig) hook-up of the van. Thankfully everything appeared in order and I pulled the big beast out of the caravan park and onto the main road out of town. Dad, my trusty navigator, van hook-up partner and photographer captured the moment for perpetuity; or maybe to show hubby that I had been listening when he was giving me instructions. Somehow I quickly went from pupil to teacher and was teaching dad what needed to be done and in which order. Dad thankfully was a very obliging pupil and wanted to try his hand at everything to do with the caravan (even helping with toilet emptying… by holding the water hose). He did offer to drive a couple of times but I was happy to keep that role to myself so I could at least say I did it. It’s late… you can tell as I am dribbling on a bit. Anyway, we headed out of Darwin and turned onto the Arnhem Highway. I was secretly hoping we would pass our friends the Chapmans on their way out of Kakadu. I had no idea of their travel plans since leaving them at Bitter Springs other than that they would be at Katherine getting the car fixed and then Kakadu and then Darwin… no timeframes, just places. Just as I was driving along thinking I should have emailed them as per my husband’s suggestion, I notice this very familiar Landcruiser with red jerry can on the roof and caravan on the back coming towards me. Quick check in the side mirror once they passed for the bikes on the back and sure enough it was them. After a brief conversation on the 2-way before we got out of radio signal range, we continued on our merry way with a very unhappy Maddi in the back who couldn’t understand why we weren’t going to stop somewhere with the Chapmans for lunch. Thankfully after a quick explanation that they were heading in the opposite direction to us and the promise of the possibility of seeing them again somewhere, sometime in the future she settled down. Surprisingly enough we did see them again, same situation just north of Pine Creek exactly one week later. To the Chapmans – Dane, keep telling dad to slow down, we will catch up with you eventually.



Our first stop was the Bark Hut which is about half way between Darwin and Jabiru (sort of the main town in Kakadu and our destination). Dad and Sue wondered off with the kids and found all sort of animals near the beer garden where about 20 friendly bikies were enjoying an ale.



On arrival at Jabiru we found our appropriate accommodations at the Lake View Tourist Park. Kids and I in a powered ensuite site and Dad and Sue 150m down the road in their permanent tent. Very classy, but you had to watch your head, the door was a little low. The kids quickly noticed that Grandad and Sue had a bunk bed in their little room as well as a double and at least the girls wanted a sleep over. This however did not happen. The kids would often wander between the two sites with a two-way to communicate with me or Grandad and I had to hold them off in the morning to ensure Sue had a chance to wake up before they arrived.



We spent our 3 full days in Kakadu checking out the different areas of this large National Park. The first day we visited the Bowali Visitor Information Centre. We wandered through the displays and read all the signs, teaching the kids as much as possible so they got the most out of it. I learnt some interesting facts too, like did you know that all Barramundi are born as males and when they are about 7 years old they change into females? Interesting? We also paid our $25 a head, 14 Day Park User Fee for the adults and got some local information on what to do and see. We decided to travel south to Cooinda for our picnic lunch and while we were there got full use of their facilities. The kids and I even used the pool while Grandad and Sue had a quiet ice cream out of kid view. Yes, I did see you too.







On our second day we headed to the northern part of the park and did the little Bardedjilidji Sandstone walk. It was stinking hot and the kids got pretty grumpy but the change in scenery and rock formations were interesting to see. Thankfully there were numbered self-guide information sheets so the kids had something to keep them distracted while they looked for the next number along the track. After our bush walk we headed to the East Alligator River for a lunch spot and a bit of salt water croc spotting. Wow, there were masses of them and they certainly put on a show. All would be quiet as we watched 2 or 3 of them moving around in the current then SNAP. One would have a go at a fish somewhere across the river. Watching the tourists moving around the waters edge with camera in hand was rather entertaining too, if not a little nerve racking at times. One particular gentlemen didn’t seem to think anything could be lurking in the water and as he neared the water’s edge, he would turn his back.






After lunch we headed to nearby Merl campground for a weaving demonstration by some local Aboriginal ladies from Arnhem Land organised by the National Park. It was very interesting learning how to weave baskets and bracelets from the local pandanus plants. One quiet lady named Audrey sat splitting pandanus leaves width-wise while the other more chatty lady, Hannah, ground roots to make different coloured dyes for the leaves. All materials had been gathered that morning prior to the demonstration. Once the leaves were split (which a number of us tried and couldn’t do) and the roots were ground, they were both boiled up in a billy of water until the leaves had taken up the colour. Once this was done the leaves were cooled under cold water and hung in a tree to dry. We all had a go at making a bracelet to take with us using a simple blanket stitch to hold the filler together. I would love to make one of these types of baskets, but apparently it can take them up to 2 months to make one, so I don’t think this will be happening anytime soon.






After our weaving experience we headed to Ubirr rock to cook up dinner, listen to the ranger presentations on the Aboriginal Art Sites and watch the sunset over the vast plains. Watching the sunset from Ubirr is very popular so we watched it with 200+ of our closest friends. The kids don’t quite understand the lead up to the sunset experience so for them it was just playtime on the rocks. The kids and I did however depart just prior to the sun setting to avoid as many mosquitos as possible that come out like vultures once the sun goes down.







After day two I was just exhausted so I spent the morning of our final full day hanging around camp while Dad and Sue took the kids to Jabiru pool. Dad said it was the best pool ever and particularly liked the massive shade cloth that hangs over it. They did all appear quiet relaxed by the time I picked them up at midday.


After lunch we headed 50 minutes down the road to our Yellow Waters Sunset Cruise. As usual the cruise was fabulous and the kids did well with the limited space to move around and the 2 hour duration. Lyle, our guide was fantastic and had obviously had kids on his boat before. When it came time for him to shut off the engine so we could take in the peace and quiet and ambience of Yellow Waters he came strolling down to the front of the boat with chuppa chupps to keep my crew quiet. It worked a treat until one of them dropped theirs on the floor.












Next morning we packed up the van and set off down the Kakadu Highway, left the park via the southern gate and headed to our next stop at Katherine. That however is another story which you will have to wait a little longer for.

Till next time …
Thea