Darwin and around

Darwin
Litchfield NP
Kakadu NP
Mary River
Adelaide River

Darwin

Closer to Jakarta in Indonesia than any Australian city, Darwin is at the top end and home to an incredible mix of people. Darwin is more of a big country town than a city. It's been rebuilt twice, first after the Japanese raized it to the ground in World War Two, and again after Cyclone Tracy destroyed the city in 1974.

Mitchell Street is the main street with many of the hostels, pubs and restaurants lined along this road. Kitty Ó Sheas, Shennenigans, the Top End Hotel, Rorkes' Drift, and Victoria Hotel in the Smith Street Mall are just some of the good pubs up here.

The best time to come is the dry season (April to September) when it's less humid althought the electrical storms in the wet season are spectacular. there are more electical storms in Darwin than any other city in the world.

To do

Check out the Aboriginal art collection in the Museum and Art Gallery. There's also a Cyclone Tracy Display and Sweetheart is there as well. Sweetheart was a ferocious s saltwater crocodile that used to frequent a river near Darwin. He was notorious for attacking boats, and was responsible for sinking up to 20 boats. He never killed anyone though and it's thought that the noise of the outboard engines used to irritate him. He died when they tried to relocate him and they stuffed him as he was such a legend.

Go down to aquascene to see the fish feeding. Around $8. Near aquascene there is a rock climbing centre which is quite good. Go for a swim at Mindil beach, but beware of stingers. There's a crocodile farm, on the Stuart Highway out of Darwin, which allows you to get up close and personal with the massive animals.

Around Darwin

Litchfield National Park

Litchfield is not as well known as Kakadu but it's definitely worth heading down there, 115km south of Darwin. You will be amazed by the Magnetic termite mounds. Some of these mounds are 7 metres tall. They say that it takes 10 years for every one metre, so some are 70 years old.

Go for a swim in Buley Rockhole and further on, Florence Falls. The water is cool but not cold, really good fun. As you're walking down to Florence Falls on the Shade Creek walk, keep an eye out for rock wallabies and even pythons if you're lucky. Another nice place for a dip would be Wangi Falls.

Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park spans 20,000 sq km. It's joint owned by the Australian government and it's traditional Aboriginal owners. The park is run as it would have been thousands of years ago. You can go on your own and explore the park, or you can go on a tour. With a tour you will get a guide who really knows what they're talking about, and will amaze you with their knowledge of the history of this land. You'll need a minimum of three days to discover the park.

The park is best seen at the end of the wet season or eary in the dry. During the wet the park is flooded and large parts of the park are inaccessible. At the start of the dry there might still be salties in the swimming holes. They don't allow you to swim until they've completed the surveys, which means they go through the pools with massive flashlights and remove all the saltwater crocs. But if you leave it too late into the dry season, the impressive waterfalls will dry up to nothing more than a trickle. Late June and July would be a good time to visit. If you are in the top end in the wet, get a scenic flight over Kakadu and witness the floods and sheer power of the waterfalls in full flight.

Waterfalls

Without a doubt the most famous waterfalls in the park are Jim Jim falls and Twin Falls. You will probably have seen plenty of pictures of the falls before you even head up north. You may not be able to see these falls unless you are on a tour and certainly not without a four wheel drive vehicle. You can't swim at the base of Twin falls anymore due to the increasing number of crocs moving into the area.

The Gumlong Falls are also a great place for swimming above and below the waterfall. There are so many waterfalls in Kakadu and if you're lucky your guide will bring you to some out of the way pool where you can have a quiet swim. Just remember you are swimming at your own risk, however, if the authorities claim it's safe it probably is, a croc attack on a tourist is very damaging for the tourism they heavily depend upon, so they take the clearing of crocs from pools very seriously. You will almost definitely be swimming with freshwater crocs however, as they are fairly harmless and aren't removed from the swimming holes.

Rock Art

Kakadu has some 5000 rock art sites, some going back 50,000 years. These sites are sacred to Aboriginal people, but there are some sites that are open to the public.

Ubirr - there is some great rock art here as well as fantastic views of the park from Narab Lookout. Located in the east Alligator region. Nourlangie also has some good rock art paintings.

Mary River

The Mary River is home to the highest concentration of saltwater crocs in the world. Take a cruise to see some of these crocs but also to witness the sheer diversity of animals that live on the banks of the river. There are so many types of birds, and kangaroos, feral pigs, etc.

Adelaide River

You will probably stop here for fuel and refreshments. The Adelaide River Inn has 'Charlie' standing on the bar in the corner. Charlie is the water buffalo from Crocodile Dundee. After he died they stuffed him. There's also a WWII cemetery here.