29th August 

A bit more from the Territory Wildlife park before I round off the Darwin leg,as we are on our way to Kakadu on Monday. We finish work on Sunday and hopefully get away early on Monday for a 300km trip. Its starting to get a bit hot here so time to move on.

 Of course you have to have a display of Snakes up this way and this is a Great Eastern brown.

The Birds of Prey was a good display showing off all the local birds and the odd Owl and Eagle as well!
Unfortunately the battery in the Camera decided to go flat at about this time and the spare was in the Car! So the quality of the photos are a bit dodgy.

                Back to Lee point caravan park and this is what it looks like on Google Earth.
 Our site is about 7.00 o'clock on the circle in the middle of the picture by the tree on its own.

There is a nice Beach to the left of the picture but you have to keep your eyes open as the tide comes in pretty quick. Its nice to watch the Sunsets from here and for the odd walk along the sand. We haven't swum there as we don't know if the Stingers are around this time of the year.

We had a night out last night with Warwick and Di at the Deckchair Theatre and saw for the second time, the Marigold Hotel. Just as good the second time,especially under a full Moon and Stars.

                      The seats looked OK for a start but were a bit uncomfortable after a while.

A nice way to go to the pictures. You could buy food there as well and we had Chili Con Carne with Rice, potato bake and Veg's.

                                                 A nice cup of tea before the show starts.

A last look at the Camp with a lot less Caravans than there were a couple of weeks ago. Looking very dry and with leaves off the Mahogany trees every where. One of the Toilet blocks to the left distance.

 These are the dreaded Amenities blocks we had to clean,all 6 of them. 48 toilets, showers and hand basins. Very mind numbing and repetitive.
Well that's it from Darwin. I will update the blog when we get into a good reception area again. I'm not sure what Kakadu has to offer there.
Cheers for Now.
Dave and Helen

26th August

Another place we have been to a few times is Berry Springs,about 40km South of Darwin on the way to Katherine. Its a spot with 3 very large swimming holes with a small Waterfall in one of them. The water is very deep in the middle so a Noodle is great so you can just float around and relax.

Its very popular in the Weekends so we try and get there during the week and we have it nearly to ourselves.

     Floating down the stream that connects the ponds together,a nice gentle ride.

The Waterfall emptying into the top pool. I found out there is a gap behind the water that you can get into and hide.

 In behind the Waterfall with the underwater camera, looking across with the rocks at the back of the falls on the right.

  In behind with my hands out waving to the admiring crowd (Helen)!! It is a funny sensation as the Brain says to hold your breath but if you try you can breath ok and stay there for awhile. Not for the Claustrophobic.

Me looking for lost jewelry that would help pay for the trip!! Actually looking at the Fish life in the pools. Lots of med sized stripped fish of unknown species (to me) but interesting all the same.

A place just down the road from Berry Springs is the Territory Wildlife park and well worth a visit.
We intended doing the Morning there and going for a swim at the Springs in the afternoon,but come 4.30 and we were still there. There is so much to see and its spread over a large area. There is a bus that tours around the park but we didn't seem to be able to match our times for when it came past so we did a lot of walking.

                 A nice Billabong in the middle of the park hosted a lot of Pelicans and-----

A few other species laying around in the Sun,this one a Water Monitor if I remember right plus--

The resident Freshie. It looks bigger here than it was only a bit over a metre and a half long.

 The Aquarium was a great exhibit with a tunnel to walk trough just like Underwater World at Mooloolaba. The photos aren't great through the plastic but the fish are Barramundi and big ones.

This will be familiar to most people. He is a Salty and about 4.5 metres in length. He was watching us as we came in but settled down after we stayed awhile.

 Apparently when small children come in and stand by the glass he will sidle over and size them up for the next meal. He has a large outside area to go too so he is not stuck in this tank all day.

There was a good variety of fish and other things to look at plus it was cool and out of the Sun.

Ever wondered what a Ducks Bum looks like under water? well here you are!!

That's enough for now
Cheers Dave and Helen

24th August

This time we visited the Fannie Bay Jail. This was set up early in Darwin's history and is now a tourist attraction and no longer being used. It is the site of the last hanging in Darwin.

Inside the wall its not really a holiday camp. No breeze and very hot. What would it have been like in the Summer back in the late 1800s.

 Not your typical holiday accommodation,though not unlike the toilet blocks at Lee point Caravan park!!

No Air con in these blocks. Tin roof, no big windows, imagine how hot it would get in there.

The door were very narrow I suppose to stop some one charging out when the door was opened and trying to escape. A suspicious looking person in the background!

On a lighter note I found my kind of place. A shed full of cars and assorted junk,just like my garage at home only bigger. Its the old Qantas hanger in Fannie Bay just around the corner from the Jail.
It still has the Bullet holes and damage from when it was strafed by the Japanese during the war.

My kind of place but as Helen was with me the time was limited. She did enjoy the old cars though as her Dad used to have Vintage cars.

                             A few recognisable ones like this Austin 7

                                                       An Oldsmobile Buckboard

                                                              A brace of Jeeps!!

                          And something a bit heavier like a Traction engine,a Burrel I think.

Thats all this time.
Cheers Helen and David

23rd July

This post will cover the trip to the Jumping Crocodile experience on the Adelaide River. There are 2 of these trips and we decided on the one that was run by two Brothers, as they were recommended by the info centre in Katherine. They were spot on as it was fantastic and great value.

The sides of that boat don't look very high if the Crocs are going to be jumping out of the water.

                                         All ready to go and see these famous Crocs.

                The med size Crocs were quite athletic and got a fair way out of the Water.

       But the little ones really got in on the act and put on an Olympic winning performance.

 And then there was the Old Fellers. They wouldn't jump if you paid them. Its too nice just laying in the sun and relaxing.

There was Brutus as well,70 plus years old and missing his right front leg. Apparently lost in a fight with another Male.

At least he showed a bit of enthusiasm when the meat was offered, though when we arrived the wash from the boat flowed over him and he didn't move.

It wasn't all about the Crocs though, there was Charlie, the tame Kite who swooped down to pluck a piece of meat off a stick.

He hung around for awhile but eventually flew off. They don't like feeding them too much otherwise they start relying on the boats coming along.






On the way Back to Darwin we dropped in to the Fog Dam. This was built to support the Rice growing industry that was being developed back in the 1930s  It wasn't a success as there is too many insects and grubs up this way that got a taste for Rice.

 As there was a Croc in the area there was a sign waring you not to walk along the top of the dam wall. This is what they try and catch the Croc in.

This is the road along the top of the Dam wall. You can see why it wasn't recommended to walk along here if a Croc was hiding in the water.

This is the end of the road and looking out over the Wetlands. There was heaps of Bird life in the area with Ducks Kingfishers Swans etc in abundance.
That's it for now.
Regards Dave and Helen