Rach exploring the Northern Territory

Mmmmm smell that meat Mr Croc... (teasing is so fun)
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Spending 5 days in Darwin has not been long enough but I’m so glad I planned to spend time here! The city itself has been interesting to see, it’s got so much history (wars, extreme weather destruction, aborigine culture and integration). Life is laid back and the people are very warm and friendly, it’s far from a fast passed city life.

Within the first ½ hour of arriving I made friends with a lovely group at my hostel that I ended up spending my days with, on that first night we went straight to the infamous Mindel sunset beach market where we watched a gorgeous sunset, listened to didgeridoo dance music and browsed the stalls.

A real Australian experience!

A jumping croc - look at those jaws and muscles!
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I made it here with perfect timing: the Darwin cup and Darwin Festival were on which made for a great atmosphere. Even better than the coinciding events calendar, it was the dry season (not the flooded and muggy wet) which was ideal for exploring the northern territory and the best weather at that time in the whole of the country.

I’ve been to Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks; the highlight was a camping tour with insight into geology, wildlife, history & life in the Northern Territory.

Rosie and Rachel on our jumping croc tour...quite terrified!
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I swam in 4 stunning waterfall pools and one freezing cold plunge pool surrounded by 150m high cliffs, which were croc inhabited – a little scary (especially when going first – I was the sacrificial lamb as others were too scared!) – but one kind (Saltwater Estuarine crocodiles) don’t attack unless provoked, they just lurk at the bottom, and for the other kind (Freshwater crocodiles) they have rangers who regularly check the area to catch those that move into these waters and return them to the open waters!! I figure I only live once, the fact it was scary made it more fun!

Termite mounds in Litchfield N.P.
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We drove 4WD through the national park, followed beautiful walking tracks, and appreciated the meaning behind the aboriginal wall art we found, saw incredible wildlife, surreal billabongs, had fun around the campfire, and more. It was interesting to see the bushfires still traditionally used to clean the fields before the hot weather comes; it’s a shame people don’t see more of the real Aborigines instead of the drunks in the big cities.

Our tour guide for the Litchfield trip was a comedian (fake snakes, spiders and crocodile heads popping out of the plunge pools as we were swimming which made us jump more than once). For some reason he thought I was the daring one in the group and dared me to eat bushtucker, in this instance termites, yum, just make sure you squeeze the head first so they don’t bite you!

The girls in Kakadu N.P.
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The national parks are truly beautiful, and in my opinion, one of the wonders of this world. Luckily the locals are doing all the right things to make sure it stays that way.