Half-lap Day 64: Fitzroy Crossing -> Broome

I am still waking up around 5am most days, which is about 6.30 Northern Territory time, and about an hour and a half before sunrise. I felt like I was the first person awake in the whole caravan park when I went over to the camp kitchen to charge the computer and have a cup of tea. There was no kettle in the kitchen, so I found the cleanest frypan (3 frypans were the only items in the kitchen) and boiled some water – it wasn’t too bad but the 2^nd half of my cuppa did have a bit of a meaty taste…

Our soup sharing neighbour offered me hot water when I got back to camp – he’d boiled more than he needed, so there was enough for a fresh cup of tea, and some for my porridge, and for washing up water. We had a good chat about different ways of travelling and each of our plans for the next part of our trips.

I started packing up and the others emerged from the tent as they woke. We did a pretty quick packup, and the kids played with our neighbours again. They made a banana smoothie and shared it with our kids. Caitlin spent most of the morning talking to a lady they’d met the day before, with a King Charles Spaniel puppy (very cute). In between packing, and then while I was finishing off, I chatted to the mum of the family next door, she gave us lots of tips for things down the west coast, and we discussed the logistics of travelling with kids. Once we were all packed up we kept talking while the kids were happily playing, and probably left almost an hour after we were ready. The kids didn’t want to leave, they really liked these boys.

We stopped in town to get petrol and essential groceries (finally getting some eggs for LiAM) and marveled again at how little water was in the Fitzroy river in town, compared to in the gorge. Then we headed out for the long drive west to Broome – about 400km. The scenery today was the most monotonous we’ve seen for a long time. Mainly flat land, with short dark trees and not a lot of undergrowth. Sometimes the trees were different, there were some black, feathery looking trees with no leaves, not sure what they were. There were lots of boabs, some were really huge, just amazing to look at. Some had green leaves and/or yellow leaves, others were bare. One thing that quite surprised us was that the landscape and vegetation didn’t change much, even as we approached the coast. Within a couple of kilometres of the shoreline, there was no indication that we were in a coastal area.

We crossed several rivers, most of them dry, some with waterholes, occasionally one with a lot of water. Crossing a one-lane bridge over a large waterhole, we saw several freshwater crocodiles sunning themselves in the water. LiAM didn’t see them so we did a U-turn and went back over the bridge, where there was a spot we could pull off the road and get out of the car. We stood up on the top of the bank and watched the crocodiles in the water for a while. We didn’t see any on the banks (and we didn’t go down closer to the low banks, we just stayed up high) but saw 7 or 8 floating in the water. It was our first completely wild sighting of freshies and it was rather exciting. The sun was searing hot and not everyone had grabbed a hat as we got out of the car so it was quite uncomfortable.

3 freshwater crocodiles in a large waterhole

Back in the car we continued westwards. I’d been ringing caravan parks whenever we had signal and we’d decided to stay close to town (it would be cheaper to stay about 35km out of Broome, but we thought we’d enjoy it more if we were nearer all the activities this time, even if it costs us a bit more). We’d been warned that we might not get accommodation because it was school holidays and many grey nomads come to Broome for 1-3 months at this time of year – but we found a few parks who had room for us. We picked one on the outskirts of the town – the slightly cheaper, closer to town one that had a site available also had lots of reviews saying that there was a lot of theft, so we decided to go for more security.

We arrived and set up our tent, and saw cows wandering past on the other side of the fence, and a wallaby a few sites down. We had something to eat then Tony took the kids to the pool, which is pretty spectacular. I had a rest by myself, I was feeling quite overstimulated and just needed some down time. Can happen sometimes when we’ve been in the car for a long time, all my senses get a bit on edge.

It was exciting to be in Broome though, it feels like a halfway point – like it’s the top north-west point we’ll reach before heading back to the South East. It’s not exactly half-way, in terms of either time or distance, but it feels like a midpoint. It was also such a relief to easily find accommodation after all the warnings we’d had. We were all too tired to head into town to check it out tonight, looking forward to actually seeing the town and the beach tomorrow. Weird too to think we are back on the coast, and with beaches we can swim at!

We had a combination of leftovers, instant pasta, soup and eggs for tea. Afterwards Caitlin and LiAM played Euchre, and continued playing as we read Inheritance, then Caitlin got into her tent and we read a bit more before going to sleep.

Half-lap Day 58: Kununurra

Our plan was to leave for our Lake Argyle Cruise at 6.30am – with the sun coming up around 6, that wasn’t a problem. We all had a quick breakfast, and packed swimmers and sunscreen and snacks, and drove out to the lake, about 70km from Kununurra. The road in from the highway wound between tall rocky hills with scrubby brush. As we got closer we caught a glimpse of the Ord River down in a valley, then spots of blue as we saw the lake.

We pulled up at the Resort/Caravan Park and they said to wait outside for the bus. We had a bit of a wander and looked out over the lake – so big and blue! – and at the infinity pool at the resort – the water flows over the edge so it feels like you are actually swimming right up to the mountains and the lake. The kids browsed the gift shop and Millie bought a curly straw with a crocodile on it.

The bus came (with people already on it from Kununurra – that would have cost extra) and took us down to the boat ramp. We had a view of the dam wall as we drove, then the bus went down a steep (13% grade) road to the boat, we all got out of the bus and onto the boat while the driver reversed back up part of the road, turned around, and reversed down again so the bus was ready to go when we got back.

After a quick safety talk and letting us know that there was a toilet, as well as tea, coffee, biscuits and water available at all times on the cruise, we set off and went around the first point to see some wallabies. They were quite small and extremely agile, leaping around on the rocks in huge bounds. The driver threw some food onto the rocks and a couple of them came down close to the boat – the kids were so excited and the wallabies were very cute.

From there we went around closer to the dam wall – a very impressive structure, made of a clay core and then rocks (no concrete). The dam was built in the late 1960s to give a permanent water supply to the farmers in the Ord Irrigation Area – the Ord River before that would dry up a lot in the dry season. Now it is at a constant level year round and provides enough water for everyone in the region. The lake is 21 times the volume of Sydney Harbour – really massive. The islands throught the lake are the tops of more of the hills like the ones we drove through coming in. Some are just little rocks sticking out of the water, some are still massive hills in their own right.

We went to the deepest part of the lake (42m at this point), seeing a freshwater crocodile on the shore along the way, and heard a bit about how they’d decided where to put the dam wall. Then we moved on to some of the islands, where we saw several crocodiles and the boat was able to get quite close to the shore where they were sunning themselves. A couple of times one of the crocodiles slid into the water – so silently and gracefully we wouldn’t have noticed it move if we hadn’t been looking at it. The boat moved around into a little bay where we are able to feed the fish – holding out bread above the water so that the archer fish could shoot it with their little jets of water (lots of fun and something I’d been so keen to do ever since I heard about it) and dropping bread into the water for the archer fish, catfish and black bream. At one point I was standing and taking a photo of a freshwater crocodile and the driver sneaked up behind me and grabbed my leg. I shrieked and fell onto the seat – everyone thought it was pretty funny.

We continued further into the lake, and soon came to places where we couldn’t see any land in a couple of directions. During the tour we covered a quarter of the lake’s distance and we didn’t ever see the ends even on the horizon – it is massive. We cruised past a male jabiru standing on his nest up on top of a little rocky island, and saw lots of pelicans, cormorants, kites and other birds. We saw a wallaroo on one of the islands, much bigger than any wallaby we’ve seen anywhere up in this northern part of Australia. Before the dam was flooded, people came up and removed as many of the animals from the hills as possible, with some of the bigger hills that would become big islands, they left the animals as their island would be big enough to sustain a population.

The lake was so massive we couldn't see the end of it

Cruising to a few more parts of dam we learnt more about the history of the area and the farms that were here before the dam. People made cups of tea as they felt like it, and the kids had several biscuits from the tin. LiAM also had a cup of tea. Millie got her fingers jammed in the toilet door – she had indents in both sides of her fingers and they swelled up quite quickly – luckily I had my first aid kit with me and a bit of arnica and strapping helped them to feel a bit better.

Caitlin had been worried about the idea of a swim as part of the cruise – on the shore of one of the islands would feel risky because of the crocodiles, but swimming out in the deep part of the lake would feel scary because of the unknown nature of all that water below us. This cruise stopped in a deep part – around 22m deep – for us to swim in an area safe from crocodiles –they don’t come out that deep. Tony was the first person in off the back of the boat. Caitlin was still unsure and I suggested she just jump in and climb straight back out. Once she’d done that she felt more comfortable and was able to go back in. They provided pool noodles so we could hang on to them and feel even safer, not having to worry about the depth of the water. About half the boatload went in for a swim (there were only 10-12 other people on the cruise). LiAM went in and loved it and I joined them – the water was beautiful temperature and it was amazing to be swimming in this large lake with all the rocky mountains around. Millie was unsure about whether she wanted to swim or not. She ended up sitting on the top step of the ladder and putting her feet in, and she was happy with that. LiAM was the last one out of the water when it was time to get back in the boat, he really loved the experience.

We heard a bit more history of the area then headed back to the boat ramp and back onto the bus, which took us to the resort again. We all loved the cruise and were happy that we’d chosen this one instead of paying more for the sunset one. The driver was funny and friendly and so knowledgeable about the area (and the owner of the cruise company).

Back at the resort we wandered around and looked at the views a bit more. We enquired about the day use fees – they were $25 for the family, which felt like a bit much to pay just to use the pool, as cool as it would have been. Millie was extremely disappointed when we decided not to swim there – I forgot that she hadn’t swum in the lake and so was really wanting a swim, and it was such an incredible location. I do wish that we’d just spent the money and let at least Millie use the pool.

Looking at the Infinity Pool and Lake Argyle

After we looked at the view and explored the grounds for a while – and saw a helicopter take off on a scenic flight, and dip excitingly down into the valley immediately after takeoff – we drove down and over the dam wall, which was pretty incredible. There was a picnic area alongside the Ord River on the far side of the wall, so we sat in the shade at a table there and had some lunch, then the kids and I went for a wander down to the river where some people were fishing. They soon left and we had the area to ourselves. There was a great view of the base of the dam wall and the outlet pipes, and along the river between the very tall cliffs. We watched the river and the fish in it for ages, then LiAM discovered lots of tiny little frogs jumping around on the edge of the water, which kept us fascinated for a while. Eventually the sun got too much for us and we headed back up to the car. On the way out we drove back down to the river’s edge so Tony could see the view and the frogs – LiAM caught one and as he was showing me it jumped into the car, it took us a little while to get it out.

We drove back into town and went to the op shop, catching it just before it closed. LiAM bought a water bomb set – with a bottle and spray nozzle to fill up the water bombs, and the girls and I found a t-shirt each. Tony checked at the post office but his wine still isn’t there. We went around to Target because LiAM wanted to get more of the cheap Skylanders – he and Millie bought some each, Tony found a t-shirt, I bought more swimmers for myself and LiAM as ours are starting to disintegrate, and we bought more of the cheap bags of lollies, great for in car snacks. We also went to the discount store next door and got some paints (Caitlin wants to do more dot painting), snorkels and masks to replace the 2 of ours that have been broken, and a box of cup-a-noodles at a third of the price we can get them, on special, at Coles.

After our very satisfying shopping trip we went back to the caravan park, and I asked if anyone wanted to head in to the National Park to see if we could get up to the top of the rocks and see the views. Millie wasn’t keen, and I’d been a little way in the day before, so Tony went with Caitlin and LiAM. Millie and I went for a swim, then went back to the tent to play some games. The others were gone until after dark, then went straight to the pool to cool off. They had made it up to the lookout and seen a cool view across Kununurra – the path to the lookout was a long walk through the National Park from our tent, so it had taken them quite a while and they were pretty tired.

 Back at the tent the kids played on the computer for a while. We had pasta, bacon and pesto for dinner, and Caitlin was very keen to get to bed quickly as she was getting up early for a horse ride in the morning. We went to bed and started to read Inheritance, until Caitlin fell asleep in her tent.

Half-lap Day 52: Edith Falls -> Timber Creek

It was a little different sleeping with the windows closed again, and it did cool down quite a lot over night. We actually felt cold when we woke up in the morning (just as I’d packed our warm clothes away) but we were fine still in our summer clothes.

We had breakfast and enjoyed being in nature on a sunny morning, there wasn’t any shade where we were but we weren’t hanging around so it didn’t get too hot before we left. We’d hung washing up the night before and the air was dry enough for it to be dry not long after the sun rose. Everyone managed OK without a toilet – using the bushes and trees and shadows that were available for privacy was fine.

Sunrise at our free camp

We headed off before 10 and drove the short distance (about 30km) to Katherine. The kids really wanted to see if any of the puppies were still at North Bank caravan park so we called in there – we parked out the front and walked in, and didn’t see anyone we knew. It was weird to be back, it felt quite familiar although did remind me a little of how frustrated we felt at the time. We saw Bundy and Pumbaa and the kittens, and the kids had a pat and a play with each of them. None of the other puppies were still there. Satisfied to have seen them again, the kids said goodbye and we drove into town. The kids and I went to Target to look for snorkels (no luck, though we did get a Skylanders figure for only $2), to the Visitors Centre to use the toilets and buy some Top End postcards and a tea-towel, and to Woolworths to get milk and other supplies for the next few days. Tony went to Home Hardware to get our empty gas bottle refilled (it had run out during breakfast this morning),to get petrol and to buy meat for the next few days.

Driving around Katherine also felt familiar and like we were almost locals. It was very exciting to head out on the Victoria Highway, on a road that none of us have ever been on, and to start the next stage (far more unknown) of our holiday. 

This road felt very long and isolated (surprisingly so, having come up the Stuart Highway. I guess this one is not quite as well used, not as many people come this way, and it’s heading to even more remote areas than the Stuart does). We saw lots more cows (Brahmins) and lots of kites. The ground was mainly sparse woodland – not much undergrowth, and the trees spread fairly thinly. After a while we saw our first boab tree of the trip – quite an impressive tree.

We pulled into the Victoria River Roadhouse to get petrol. I got a brief glimpse of the river as we crossed the bridge before the roadhouse, and the kids and I walked through the campground to see if we could get closer to get a better view of the river. There was a path leading down between tall cane grass, which rustled a lot as little animals moved around in there. It was quite spooky, not knowing how far away the river was and knowing that crocodiles lived in the river. Every rustle made us (well, some of us, LiAM seemed quite calm) jump a bit. We reached a sandy area high up on the river bank and could see the water and the bridge through the trees. That was good enough for us and we looked for a while then headed back. The kids also met a couple with a fluffy dog and talked to them for a while before we went on our little walk. It was hot in the sun, not so bad in the shade. We had a cool drink then kept driving west.

The drive from here was along huge craggy escarpments for a while, as we drove through part of Gregory National Park. The rocks were red and high above the road and so amazing to look at. We passed out of that section of the park and the road passed through sparse woodland again. There were many long straight stretches in this bit – it was a lot windier through the national park area. As we approached Timber Creek the escarpments returned. For a while we drove alongside the Victoria River – it was incredibly wide, the largest river we’ve seen so far. Looking at the map we could see we really weren’t that far from the mouth and the Timor Sea (about 100km).

Gregory National Park

Just before we reached our campsite (Big Horse Creek Campground in Gregory National Park) there was a bridge across the river which was signposted as a lookout, so we drove in to have a look. The bridge crossed the (still very wide) river and led to a Defense Force restricted zone. There was on vehicle access allowed on the bridge but pedestrians were able to walk out and look at the river – which we did. It was pretty cool looking along this long, wide river, with very green foliage all the way down to the edge. We looked for crocodiles but didn’t see any.

Victoria River

It was only 500m down the highway then to the campground. We drove around a couple of times and the only spots left were narrow bays in the middle, we looked at each of them for shade potential and flatness and eventually selected one. Tony backed the trailer in perfectly, right against one edge, and we were almost able to pull the tent out without it hitting the bollards on the other side. We were able to work around it though – with the kids’ beds down that end, we don’t use the bottom end of the tent so the little dent in the wall didn’t really matter.

The kids explored the campground while we set up, then LiAM, Caitlin and I went for a walk (bike ride in Caitlin’s case) down to the river. There was a boat ramp at the campground and we stood on it watching the water and the birds and noting how high the water level was so we could see if it was tidal. Caitlin rode back and met some people with a dog and chatted to them. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting and doing puzzles and playing games, and had another walk down to the river to see a ground bird’s nest surrounded by shells and sparkly things. The kids talked to more of the other campers and met lots of people and dogs.

In the late afternoon we drove back to the east a little way to where we’d seen a sign saying Escarpment Lookout. We turned off onto the road indicated and it quickly climbed the escarpment and came to an area marked ‘Sunset Views’. We parked and got out – the sun was setting over the river and the escarpment and it looked amazing. We watched for a while then had a look at a memorial that was up there, commemorating and telling the story of the horse brigades that patrolled this area of Northern Australia in the 2^nd World War. It was fascinating, a piece of Australian history I knew nothing about. Another couple arrived and were looking at the monument too – and the lady said that her dad was one of those soldiers. She was so excited and moved to find all this information about it and to know that more people would learn about these men. From there we drove further along the escarpment and ended up at a lookout over the town of Timber Creek, with a different view of the river. It was quite peaceful up there. We had to drive past some parts of the bush that were being burned off, amazing how much less fierce these fires are than the ones at home.

Back to camp where had hotdogs for dinner (I had soup) and the kids played on the iPad for a while. It was another pleasant evening, temperature-wise, and the forecast was for a coolish night so we did close the windows again. We were slightly concerned about where we’d put our tent – there was dampness around one of the pegs, which was pegged in outside the bollards, so wondered if we’d hit a pipe or something.

Half-lap Day 46: Darwin and LiAM's 10th Birthday

The kids had asked if they could wake everyone up for LiAM’s birthday as soon as anyone woke up – we said that was OK as long as it was light. LiAM and Millie woke when it was still dark, and chatted excitedly to each other until it was light enough for them to be a bit louder and wake Caitlin up.

Once we were all out of bed Tony started cooking the bacon LiAM had requested, and we gave him his presents. Millie gave him a couple of little Minecraft figurines (a rabbit, and Steve in a minecart), Caitlin a watergun that can shot continuously when it’s in a pool or attached to a bottle, and a little plush crocodile, he got a card and money from Grandma and Grandad, and a shirt and an interactive Skylanders colouring book from my sister (there’s an app to download and the coloured pictures move on the iPad when you scan them). I had one more present for him and could not find it anywhere, which upset me a little but I figured that it would turn up when I did a clean out of the car and he could have an extended birthday.

He loved all his presents and spent most of the morning colouring in his Skylanders book. Millie received her presents from my sister as well – a watermelon swimming top and a metallic colouring book. She had so much fun colouring that she didn’t want to stop, ever, when we asked her to get ready for our day out.

After bacon and eggs for breakfast and a couple of hours spent colouring and hanging out at the tent, we drove in to Darwin to Crocosaurus Cove, a crocodile place right in the centre of town. LiAM and I had booked in for VIP Croc Feeding Tour, and Tony and the girls paid for regular entry. We walked through the entrance hallway and came out near some crocodile enclosures with glass (actually acrylic) sides, we were at the base of the enclosures and in one the croc was lying on the roof of a dome we could walk under – he was massive, it was incredible to stand right underneath him and get an idea of how big these big old saltwater crocs can get. We saw a few other crocodiles and some fish then went upstairs where we saw some people getting lowered into the water in the ‘cage of death’ – a glass cage which goes into the water with the crocodiles and they swim around it. LiAM had really wanted to do this but he needed to be 15 so we settled for the VIP Tour. We watched them for a few minutes then popped in to the reptile house where they were feeding the reptiles, it was cool to see lizards chasing insects, and pythons starting to work on eating rats and mice. There was a talk as well, and as usual our kids were up the front and answering lots of the questions.

LiAM and I left to go down and wait for our tour to start. There were 8 people in the group, including 2 other kids. We started by going upstairs and looking at all the saltwater crocodiles and our tour guide told us their histories, which were quite varied. From there we went to a little balcony above the enclosure that housed Burt – the saltwater crocodile who was in Crocodile Dundee. We each had a turn at holding out a stick with a large piece of chicken tied on to it, for him to reach up and snap the chicken off the end of the string. LiAM volunteered to go first – everyone else was a bit nervous. He held his pole out confidently and Burt snapped it 2 or 3 times but the chicken was still on there, then he closed his mouth on it and wouldn’t let go of the string. LiAM and the tour guide held on to the pole and pulled it back, and eventually got it free of his mouth. It was pretty exciting to watch. A few other people had a turn then it was my go. I hadn’t been scared at all until I stepped forward and grabbed the pole and really thought about the fact I was about to lean towards a very large saltwater crocodile (the glass railing we were behind was quite high and it really was quite safe, but even the thought of interacting with him at all got some adrenaline flowing). I held the pole out and he snapped the chicken and again wouldn’t let go – his bite force was strong (not surprisingly) and it took us some time to pull the string free. I wasn’t scared once he started trying to eat it, I was just really excited, it was a great experience. A couple of the poles snapped a bit as people tried to pull them back and the pole got pushed against the railing. The 2 men on the tour were able to pull the string free more easily, I think their extra height meant they could get a better angle. It was amazing to watch him eating even when the others were feeding him, he easily came up out of the water, to snap the food, and he moved so quietly and quickly. He wasn’t jumping up, just lifting his head, then he’d go back to lying in the water on the ledge. Caitlin wandered past just before I fed Burt so she went and got the others and they were able to watch me feed him.

From there we went to feed the juvenile freshwater crocodiles, there were over 100 crocs in there, of varying sizes (all the same approximate age though – the dominant ones get more food and grow faster). Again we held bits of meat over the edge on a pole and string and the crocs jumped or reached up to grab them. Not quite as thrilling as the salty but still quite exciting to watch and to do.

Next we held a baby crocodile – he had his mouth taped shut and everyone got to hold and pat him and take photos. He was surprisingly soft, his scales didn’t feel rough at all. He was pretty cute. Our guide chatted to us during the whole of the tour, sharing lots of information about crocodiles in general and about the ones who lived there in particular. She was impressed with LiAM’s enthusiasm and asked if was going to work with animals when he grew up – she said she’d worked with dolphins, and something else, and now crocodiles, and it was a great job to have.

The tour guide then took us to the reptile house and handed us over to a reptile guide, Nicole. We were given cold bottles of water, Nicole introduced herself to all of us and then asked what kind of reptiles we’d like to hold. She started with a sand goanna called Blaze – it was a beautiful reptile with yellow markings all over it. LiAM went first again, and everyone had a hold then Blaze went back to LiAM. Nicole let him hold on to it and he walked around for the next 20 minutes or so with a goanna climbing all over him – up his arms, around his neck, over his shoulders and sometimes sitting on his head. He loved it. Nicole talked to us about all the different types of reptiles they had there, then we held a frill-necked lizard which was pretty exciting. She put it away after a while, and Blaze as well, and bought out a baby frill-necked lizard. She handed it around, then pulled a Stimson’s Python out of her pocket – very cool to see a snake casually get pulled from a pocket. He was fun to hold, he coiled himself around our hands and was quite comfortable being passed around (he wasn’t very big). Putting them away, she bought out a white (not albino) blue-tongued lizard, and a black-headed python. Most people had a turn of the python, and LiAM and the other 2 girls loved holding him, they shared him around and at one point had the python draped across the shoulders of the 3 of them.

Nicole was great to listen to and again LiAM impressed her with his knowledge and interest. She said that most of the staff at Crocosaurus did work experience there, then got a job while they were at school, then stayed on and have learnt everything just by working there – sounds perfect for the kind of thing LiAM would like to do.

Tony and the girls came in towards the end of the tour and were able to pat the python. LiAM got a bite from the white lizard as he was handing her back – that’s 4 reptile bites he’s had this trip and he was thrilled. Tony went to move the car and the girls stayed with us – eventually the reptiles had to go away and we went outside to have a bit to eat. We sat where we could watch the fish feeding and Tony was back in time to see it too. They had barramundi, whip rays, saratogas and archer fish – watching the rays come up to be feed was really cool, and the other fish where interesting too. The barramundi were huge, I’d only seen smaller ones so far on this trip.

The girls and Tony had had fun while we were on the tour – they’d watched the biggest crocodile being fed, seen a demonstration of the croc’s bite force, fed the freshwater crocs and held the baby crocodile. The difference between the tour and regular entry in that case is that we were able to take our own photos of the baby crocodile, generally they take professional photos which you can choose to buy. LiAM was a bit disappointed that the girls had been able to do so much of what he’d done on the tour, it made it feel a bit less special – but having had Blaze on his head for so long was a bonus that he thought did make the tour worthwhile. For me, feeding the salty was the big deal, but he wasn’t as excited about that.

Tony left again to go and meet up with an old friend – a guy he went to school with in Malaysia, 30 years ago. The kids and I got into our swimmers and went to swim ‘with’ the freshwater crocodiles – there’s a pool right up next to the juvenile freshies, with the nice thick (14.5cm) acrylic wall in between the 2 bodies of water, so when we were swimming we could see the crocodiles seemingly right next to us. The glass was a bit clouded and scratched so it wasn’t super clear, but we could still see them right there, and with goggles on under the water it did feel like they were right next to us and they were much clearer. There were some cracks in the wall on the crocodile side which alarmed Caitlin at first, but the wall was solid on our side so it was fine.

We swam for a while then got out to do another feeding of the juvenile freshwater crocodiles. There was no one else there so we were able to each feed a few crocodiles. The lady was impressed that the kids were happy to bait their own hooks with the meat. LiAM said that he’d done this earlier on the VIP Tour and she said ‘Oh, so it’s your birthday!’ – they’d obviously been talking about him. She said ‘I’m glad you’re here, I have a present for you’ – and gave him a crocodile tooth, which she’d picked up earlier – a fresh tooth from one of the freshies. LiAM was thrilled as he’d been thinking about buying a crocodile tooth. He now felt that being on the tour was completely worth it, as it had indirectly lead him to getting the tooth.

The kids went back in the water once we’d finished and I took some photos of them, then had another quick swim myself, it was quite exciting to be looking at them from in the water and really seeing them move around. We got out and the kids got changed then rushed off to hold the baby crocodile again. They got heaps of photos taken, and I was in a few as well. We looked at them on the computer and most of them were fantastic – but so expensive and everyone was happy just scrolling through them and enjoying the photos, then leaving. We wandered through the display of different types of crocodilians, amazing to see the different jaw and skull shapes of them all. We went to look at all the crocodiles for one last time, including standing up under some little domes where we could look at baby freshwater crocs at ground level, that was pretty cool. Then into the gift shop, where Millie bought a magnet and everyone bought a squeezy tube with pictures of crocodiles on it. I thought about buying some things as well, then decided to save my money til we got to the markets later.

We went across the road to Shenanigans (an Irish Pub) and found Tony and his friend and chatted to them. The guys finished their beers and the friend suggested we leave our car at his place and walk to the markets from there rather than try to find parking at the market. We headed back to the car and then to his place, and realised that sunset was fast approaching and we might miss it. I was a bit disappointed (especially on Tony’s behalf, he’d missed the sunset on Monday night too as he was buying the chips) but everyone else was relaxed – if we see it, we see it, otherwise we’ll just enjoy the markets.

We parked the car, met Tony’s friend’s son, and the 7 of us walked down to Mindil Beach. When we arrived the sun had set, but the sky was still orange and blue and reflecting amazing colours in the water. We hung out on the beach for a little while, watching the sky, and then LiAM talked to my parents for a while for his birthday. The V8 Supercars are on in Darwin this weekend, so there was lots of V8 stuff happening at the markets – we’d missed the drivers signing autographs, but the V8 girls were still around and Caitlin and Tony got their photo taken with them. We wandered along the food corridor – there was SO much choice it was very hard to decide. Tony and Caitlin chose Indian (and Millie shared with them). I had Indonesian – beef rendang, vegetable curry, chili eggplant, chili anchovies, coconut rice and peanut sauce – so delicious! LiAM had a crocodile burger. It was very crowded, hard to keep track of each other as we walked along, it was nice to sit in front of the stage and eat and listen to the music being played. The kids had a bit of a play in the playground in between eating their dinner.

The kids bought some little helicopters that were launched by rubber band and lit up in the air, they were pretty cool. Everyone was hot so we went back to the food aisle to get ice cream or smoothies. LiAM and I had pina coladas (so tasty) and Caitlin and Millie had ice cream – Caitlin’s was home made and magnificent, Millie’s was quite tasty too. Tony shared a bit of everyone’s. We wandered through the market stalls after we’d eaten, and looked at so many amazing things. Lots of clothes and lights and bags and decorations and pictures, people playing music and fire twirling, and so many other things. I finally found some indigenous art that I liked and could afford. I spent ages deciding between a painting of a crocodile or a turtle – I bought the crocodile. I bought it from the artist himself and had a good chat to him about his art and name and country. Tony found a stall selling cream to help with cracked skin – he’s always looking for something to help his hands as they get so dry when he’s working. This stuff starts with a sea salt scrub and then a moisturiser, and he liked the way it worked so he bought some. Millie found a dolphin necklace that she loved – it was at a stall where the lady writes things on grains of rice then puts them in pendants. Millie took a long time to decide exactly what she wanted, and eventually bought the dolphin pendant on a pink chain, with ‘Amelie’ written on the rice. It’s really gorgeous.

We were all pretty tired by now, so Tony went to get the car and bring it closer now that the carpark was emptying out. We kept wandering and LiAM found a duck whistle that he loved and bought, and Caitlin a lovely necklace. LiAM also bought a little amethyst, which is his birthstone. We met Tony in the carpark, where LiAM surprised him with his duck whistle, then headed home.

Millie was nearly asleep when we got back (after 10.30) but woke up enough to have birthday cake. LiAM loved his R2D2 cake, and we all had a piece (it was quite tasty and not stale which I had been worried about – the box was damaged so I got a discount but I didn’t know if the quality of the cake would be reduced) and went to bed to read Brisingr until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.

Half-lap Day 45: Darwin

With all the windows open the tent gets light as soon as the sky does, so we tend to be waking up fairly early. We got up and had breakfast and although we had talked about having a rest day, we decided to head out to Fogg Dam to see if we could see much wildlife. By the time we got ready it was a bit after 9, we were relaxed and ready to go for a bit of an explore.

We’d been told that it’s sometimes possible to see saltwater crocodiles on the banks of the Adelaide River where the Arnhem Highway crosses the river (near where the jumping crocodile cruises happen). So we drove past Fogg Dam and went across the river to see if we could see anything – the water was really high and there really weren’t any banks to be seen, and no crocodiles – cool to see the river though and know that it was a place where big crocs hang out.

We came back across the river and went to Windows on the Wetland – an impressive looking building on the hill above the river, looking across wetlands and floodplains. It had a fantastic interactive and informative display area downstairs, which the kids spent ages exploring. There were live fish and turtles, a place where they could pop their heads through a hole and get a mudskipper’s view of the mangroves, lots of information on termites and snakes and birds and crocodiles, and a quiz where they had to figure out the mystery animal. LiAM and Caitlin both figured out it was a crocodile and got a sticker and bookmark as a prize. Upstairs there were binoculars to view the wetlands, and the ranger came up and gave a fascinating talk about the animals of the wetlands – how they have adapted their behavior to better cope with humans or cane toads, how they work together to mean that the ecosystem flourishes, what kind of numbers of animals are present in the wetlands area. I learnt heaps and was really glad we were there for it. There was a video playing continuously about the wetlands and Millie was keen to see the whole thing, she watched some parts of it several times and loved it all.  We ended up spending about an hour and a half there, and everyone really enjoyed it.

Wetlands

I got a bit excited at the idea of going further towards Kakadu and going on a billabong cruise to see crocs in the wild, but it was quite expensive for the 5 of us and we decided to leave it. We had sandwiches overlooking the wetlands (and some buffalo) and then drove over the river and back one more time - the water level was much lower now but still no crocs to be seen. We

headed back to Fogg Dam – it was quite a bit later in the day than we’d planned to get there (early morning would have been best) but we’d had such a good morning that it didn’t really matter. There was no walking allowed across the dam wall because of recent saltwater crocodile sightings. At first we didn’t realise that we were driving across the dam wall because there was so little water in the dam. There were some wet areas with lilies in them which were quite pretty. We drove to the other side and got out and went up a viewing platform – there wasn’t much water here but there were still a few birds around, including a black-shouldered kite which was swooping around. On the way back out we saw a Jabiru, I’ve not seen many of them in the wild (and none yet on this trip) so I was quite excited.

Fogg Dam

Black-shouldered Kite

From here we went a bit further south to a mango farm called Crazy Acres. It’s a family run farm that sells amazing food. LiAM had a mango and banana smoothie, Tony had mango cheesecake, Caitlin and Millie had ice cream (scoops of mango, passionfruit and vanilla that each came out in their own little bowl) and I had coconut chia pudding with mango on top. All of them were delicious and we all shared everyone’s dessert – a lovely afternoon tea. It was interesting too to read about the history of the farm and how they have built the business up from scratch.

I was keen to visit Berry Springs (just down the road) on our way home. Some of the others were a bit tired and reluctant, we decided to pop in for a quick swim and see how everyone liked it. On the way down to the water Caitlin bought a noodle, we got changed and headed for the main pool. It was very large and quite deep. LiAM and Caitlin and I got in and swam for a bit, the kids weren’t keen to go too far from the edge. Millie wanted a snorkel and we had trouble finding one that would fit her and be comfortable enough – she did try LiAM’s but then LiAM and I decided to swim up the creek to the top of the springs and he needed his mask and snorkel for that, so we tried to adjust one of the others for Millie but nothing worked. Eventually she decided to just use her goggles. Everyone was extra tired and cranky and still rather hot by this stage.

Tony and the girls walked back up to the top of the springs and LiAM and I swam. We saw so many cool fish on the way – archer fish, 2 types of rainbow fish, and some beautiful large flattish black fish with spots (I did learn their name and have forgotten it again…). We reached the others and Caitlin came back down the creek a little way to see the black fish. It was easier to swim here, Millie could stand up and the water was much clearer. We could move around easily and with our masks and goggles we could watch the fish. There was a small waterfall which we sat under and could go in behind, there was a little cave with enough room to pop our heads up. It was loud in there and so cool, looking back out and seeing nothing but a wall of water. Everyone went in a couple of times, the girls didn’t like it much though.

We swam back down the creek, Millie on my back and popping her head under the water when I saw cool fish, it worked quite well. We saw a group of 5 little fish like the big black ones, Caitlin saw a bright yellow fish, and LiAM saw a freshwater longtom – a long, thin fish with a sword like mouth. We all felt much happier now and enjoyed exploring the creek and the rocks and playing near the waterfall. The water was quite warm until we moved up past the area where the waterfall came in from the side, then it was really cold.

Berry Springs

Once we’d had enough we got out and the kids got changed. We headed back to our tent – the first time we’ve been back before dark in a while. Tony cooked pasta and tuna for dinner and the kids had a swim in our hosts’ pool. Millie and I went to Woolworths after tea to get supplies and a cake for LiAM’s birthday. Millie swam briefly once we got back then we all headed for bed and listened to Brisingr.