Jim and I went to Darwin for our summer holidays. I was a little worried that it would be unbearably hot but it was actually ok. As long as you didn't move much and made sure you had a swim every day.
We stayed at a number of places while we were there - first the Barramundi Lodge just outside the Darwin CBD. It was an ok place. It seemed to be quite busy despite it being the low season. There were many aboriginal families staying there at the time. I wonder what they thought of the handpainted tiles in the shared bathrooms that featured kitsch paintings of aboriginals sitting by campfires and weaving baskets. We stayed there two nights before trying a different place in the heart of town.
The Value Inn was probably the worst place we stayed. While convenient it was extremely damp in the tiny cramped room. Moisture dripped down the walk and made the carpet sticky underfoot, and the airconditioner spat water over our pillows. All in all quite soggy.
After that we got the loan of a van and travelled down to Katherine for New Year's Eve. We pretty much stayed in our cabin to see in the New Year, as we were quite tired from the long drive, nothing in Katherine seemed to be open and there were heaps of aboriginal people on the street boozing, shouting and banging signage with sticks. It felt quite hostile and menacing and I really didn't want to feel that way. Everyone we spoke to who wasn't racist said that the people you saw on the streets carrying on were a small minority.
We went to Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge) the next day and went for a lovely walk, getting soaked then drying off and frolicking in a waterfall. We went back again the next day and took a boat trip up the first gorge. We saw some great rock art probably the best of the whole trip.
We went to Litchfield National Park and swam in lots of lovely waterfalls.
Our Kakadu tour on the third of January was a little disappointing due to a number of factors. Firstly there was a cyclone in Darwin. This made it rain heaps in Kakadu so many of the sites were cut off by flood waters. The guide we had, although a really interesting man, didn't give out much information about the place. The accomodation for the overnight stay was quite lacking; my bed was soaked from a leak in the roof and I had to top and tail with Jim in a single bed. Very uncomfortable on a hot humid night. I felt sorry for the others who had come especially to see Kakadu, we can at least go back without spending a fortune.
On our return to Darwin we stayed at the YHA which was the best. We hung out with Claudia from Austria and Mika from Japan, driving around in the old van.
In Darwin we saw lots of crocodiles in the wild and in captivity. Such mean looking things. Crocodylus Park in Darwin was better than we anticipated. It was interesting to see so many crocs up close.
We got back on the 13th of January very early in the morning. I'm sad the holidays are over and its back to work.
