Back to Alice

We went back to Alice for two weeks work before heading to the East Coast. This gave us the opportunity to go out to Ross River Station and N'Dhala Gorge, which we missed last time. The gorge has some amazing aboriginal rock carvings and Lola spotted our first wild camels. The kids loved the Desert Park and so we couldn't leave without another visit.

Devil's Marbles

We were heading back to Alice for one last work stint and so camped at the Devil's Marbles overnight. It was great to see the sun set and rise over them, the colours were incredible. The flies were pretty crazy too!

Mataranka

We stayed in the National Park outside of town, there were swimming pontoons and the usual signs about croc controls but it felt dodgy. Because there was no one else around we couldn't do our usual trick of letting other people go in first. It was very hot and in the end we did have a quick dip, but none of us felt comfortable about it and so didn't go in the river again. The springs were lovely though and although a bit warmer than the river, it felt safer!

Litchfield National Park

Tim and I loved Litchfield last time we were in Darwin and were keen to show the kids. We also knew there would be lots of beautiful swimming spots. The kids had a ball exploring Buley Rock Holes and I think that was everyones favourite. We also explored the rock formations of The Lost City and the many termite mounds.

Crazy crocs everywhere

While we were in Darwin we did a croc cruise on the Adelaide River. Before we got started the kids got to hold a large olive python, called Olive of course.  It probably wasn't the most eco-friendly, feeding wild animals, but the kids were very excited being obsessed with the crocs in the Top End. We saw quite a few considering the heat and the birds on the river were just as impressive as the crocs, especially the white breasted sea eagles.

Darwin

By the time we got to Darwin the rain still hadn't started and the humidity was crazy... so we hit the water parks and the wave pool down at the waterfront (thanks to the Bender's for their list of must do things in Darwin, wish you could have joined us). There was plenty of clouds building up but only one fantastic storm while we were there, which did bring a huge amount of rain with it. The tent got a good wash down, inside and out. We found lots of time to eat with some fantastic food at the Parap Markets. We didn't think 10am was too early for laksa or honey chicken, yum! The purchase of a huge tray of mangos on our way out of town sealed the deal on our love for Darwin!

Cahills Crossing

Cahills Crossing is a notorious crossing on the East Alligator River where Kakadu National Park meets Arnhem Land. It is tidal and the water was quite low but we still saw three big crocs near the crossing as well as two fisherman and a few backpackers on the crossing! One of the crocs we saw the kids dubbed "Gorby Head" because of the big thing on his head... we thought maybe a tracking device or something? Apparently it is scar tissue or some kind of growth, gross!