Thursday-Saturday 5^th – 7^th July 2012 Darwin (Lee Point)

Comments -  Luke Baker

Today I went to a wave pool in Darwin.  It was hard to catch a wave on a boogy board.  I also went to another fun park and there was a big water slide and there was several lanes plus at the markets I bought a croc skull.  We sat and had some dinner on the sand dunes.

Comments – Dad and Mum

We took Luke to Leanyer Water Park which is free to the public with multiple slides, pools, bbq’s and a water playground like Nickelodeon’s with the tipping bucket. There is also a large undercover playground. Luke quickly made a friend whom helped carry the large tube up to the top of the slide. After a couple of hours we headed home to get ready to go and  watch the sunset at Mindil Beach again. When we got there thousands of people were already assembled on the beach. The conditions were perfect, so we all grabbed some food and met on the dunes. I think we could get used to this! When it was over Luke was itching to get his croc skull so we payed for it and would pick it up at the end of the night so it wouldn’t get damaged. Nic bought some nice dresses, a purse and a toe ring. The didge band was on again and was fun to watch as the local indigenous people were busting a few moves; so hard one guy got arrested. 
Betty and Bruce (Nic’s parents) left today (Friday) to Litchfield Nat Park; We had a lazy day exploring Palmerston (a popular suburb of Darwin) and the new free water park the NT Government installed for the community (absolutely fabulous for families and free of charge!!!); did a bit of shopping and had a very lazy day....(much needed though)

Wednesday 4th July 2012 Darwin (Lee Point)

Comments -  Luke Baker

Today I went to the Millitary Museum.  This taught us about when the Japanese people tried to invade on the 19^th of February 1942.  Did you know that they tried to invade 62 times?  In the military museum we saw heaps of guns, armour, bombs and war trucks; this afternoon I went to a free fund park.  There were three big slides which were red, blue and yellow.  My favourite is the red one because it is pitch black inside.

Comments – Dad and Mum

Happy Birthday 18^th Amber!

Blues to win today! Off to the Darwin Military Museum this morning where it has the best interactive touch screens I have ever seen with oodles of information, displays and films on just how bad the attacks were on Darwin when it started on 19^th Feb 1942. 188 aircraft attacked with 251 killed (2 air raids within 4 hours). Darwin was bombed 64 times in WWii. Apparently there are still 80 one man subs that lie around the harbour today. The first Japanese captured was by an aborigine (Tiwi) who grabbed his firearm and marched him into custody. We went home to get ready for the Blues win and set up the tv on the outside of the van so we could all celebrate together. One bloody point! How disappointing! We had a great night slanging back and forth with other QLD campers, it was a good night except for the result.

Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Darwin (Lee Point)

Comments -  Luke Baker

Today we had a look around Darwin. We went to the Darwin museum and saw heaps of stuffed animals and dinosaurs. Also experienced what cyclone Tracey sounded like in 1974. We had lunch just in town and saw didgeridoos and boomerangs. We also had drinks near the beach where I found heaps of fascinating shells. I also kept the head and claw of one of the crabs that we caught as they will look good on my shelf at home.

Comments – Dad and Mum

We went for a drive into town to have a look around. Government House is right on the point and is a very nice building with a nice view; pretty white picket fence. We wondered why the police were everywhere; turned out Julia Gillard was in town. She may want to catch up and talk about some real issues! We went into the mall for lunch so Nic could finally get some girl issues sorted such as nails and waxing. No more trailer park trash! After lunch we looked at Cullen Bay where the rich people live and boats leave from it was very impressive.  Explored  the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT which was full of great displays from insects and animals through to art and history such as cyclone Tracey (also free of charge!  We love free). You can get lost in there for hours; very interesting. A short walk down to the beach where Luke collected shells; adjacent was the ski club equipped with swimming pool and a beach bar for a beer (perfecto!).  The view was great as well as the temperature shame it’s not like this all year round or I wouldn’t be coming home. When we went back to camp Nic cooked up a beautiful yellow thai crab curry to end a great day.

Monday 2^nd July 2012 Darwin (Lee Point)

Comments -  Luke Baker

Today I went crabbing at Lee Point where a man showed us his secret area fro crabbing. It was very narrow and there was heaps of trees in our way. We also saw heaps of popeyed mullet skimming through the water. We threw out ten crab traps, by the time we chucked the last one out it was time to go back and check the first one. We caught 20 crabs and one cod in our trap.
Comments – Dad and Mum
Today we caught up on chores, well mainly Nic as Luke and I had more pressing things to do such as crabbing. I phoned my nephew Terry, a local resident of 10 years, who was eager to catch up and take us out. It was unbelievable how quick it is up here compared to Coffs to fill the traps. Just shows you how fished out Coffs is. Though up here the aren’t many restrictions and could soon head the same way.  In the NT fish and drive a boat without a licence or any safety gear! Nic’s parents turned up so Bruce helped me clean the crabs....good timing. I cooked them up ready for a nice curry dish the next night. We caught up on travelling experiences and goss over a few ales which was good.

Sunday 1st July 2012 Merl Campground (Kakadu) to Darwin (Lee Point)

Trip Meter Reading Start – 5143            Trip Meter Reading Finish – 5432

Total Km Travelled –  289km

Fuel Costs & Consumption
Fill up at Humpty Doo
Unleaded $154/L  66.93L  $103
Comments -  Luke Baker
On the way to Darwin we went on the Adelaide River cruise, this is where we saw crocs jumping out of the water. They hold a piece of meat out on a rope. The largest was about 6.5m!
We camped at Lee Point in Darwin. At night we watched the fireworks for the celebration of Northern Territory day and went to the markets. We saw crocodile belts, hats, teeth and skulls. We also saw these shirts that beat to the music, they were cool!

Comments – Dad and Mum

Time to leave the mozzie’s behind first stop was the Mamukala bird watching hut situated on the edge of a large wetland full of lotus lilies. The hut has lots of info on the varied wildlife as well as pics. Along the way past the South Alligator River bridge there was a very large croc heading against the tide at a fair rate of knots which was awesome to see. We called into Bark Hut Roadhouse Hotel where we had lunch and Luke beat me in a game of pool. That’s not hard but he is definitely getting better. Off to the Adelaide River for a one o’clock crocodile cruise on the River Queen. The biggest croc was about 6.5m and was good to see up close especially when they jump up for their feed. You can wander up or down stairs depending on the view you like. The crew where very friendly and informative. This is the original family owned and operated business running for 27years. Still not sure if it’s a good idea to teach crocs to jump though. Don’t think i would fish this stretch of water. On the way into Darwin there were fireworks signs everywhere. We found out that it was Northern Territory Day and that fireworks were on in the harbour. This made it hard to find accommodation and all of the caravan parks are a long way out of town. Luckily we were able to get into Lee Point Park, so we booked in for a week. We quickly got set up and went down to the Mindil Beach markets which I have always wanted to visit to try the varied cuisines. Luke wanted a croc skull but due to being so busy I advised that we would come back for the Thursday markets in case it gets damaged. Nic went to get a cross section of foods while Luke and I found a good vantage point on the sand dune to watch the sunset and fireworks. The fireworks were on par with Sydney’s new years eve they were that good. The locals were insane with fireworks being shot out of car windows, loud bungers going off, it was just a free for all everywhere we went. You could look in any one direction and watch them going off, this is definitely not a kill joy state like NSW but safety was a bit concerning. There was good music playing throughout the markets one of which was a drum kit and a multiple didge player cranking out modern versions of this instrument, it sounded excellent finding it hard to leave. We checked out some things we liked and would come back on Thursday to buy up.

Saturday 30 June 2012  Merl Campground / Ubirr (Kakadu)

Comments -  Luke Baker
Today I walked1km around Ubirr this is part of Kakadu and has lots of aboriginal rock art sites. The paintings look like x- rays. Their homes have a very beautiful view over the wetland of Arnhem Land. We went and tried to catch a barramundi off a boat ramp, but we didn’t because we saw a 3-4 metre long crocodile coming towards us. We went back to our caravan park where there were heaps of mosquitoes that could carry you away.
Comments – Dad and Mum
We headed into the Border Store as we had heard that the people running the shop where from Coffs. One was from Sawtell and the other from Coffs
Only a couple of k’s up the road to Ubirr where the aboriginals had the best place to live, which was on a sandstone escarpment with plenty of rock shelters. They overlooked the wetland into Arnhem land and Kakadu which is spectacular. The art work was good with great stories and animal pictures. How they got some of the art work up onto the cliff overhang is mind boggling. There is a painting of a Tasmanian tiger approx 40 thousand years old which indicates that they must have been this far up.
We had a go at trying to catch a Barra at Cahills crossing into Arnhem Land (Oenpelli) but were unsuccessful. When the tide changes to come back in it only takes about 40 mins which is great to see. The crocs wash over the causeway were people fish and cars drive across, insane! We were to find out a couple of days later that a man with his kid watching went down to fish and realised that he was standing in front of a croc. He then tried to get up the bank but the croc grabbed him by the head, removing it, Poor kid!


Looking to Arnhem Land via Cahills Crossing; heaps of crocs cruising around here

Friday 29 June 2012 Gagudju Lodge Cooinda to Merl camp ground
Trip Meter Reading Start – 4976            Trip Meter Reading Finish – 5143
Total Km Travelled –  167 km
Fuel Costs & Consumption
Fill up at Cooinda Unleaded $1.63/ltr 48.28L $78.65
Comments -  Luke Baker
Today I walked1.5km around Nourlangie where we saw aboriginal paintings on the rocks. Some are over 20000 years old. We stopped at Jabiru bakery for some lunch where we ate pies and chips. In the afternoon we fished at a weir in Kakadu, there were heaps of sharks and crocodiles. We also saw a boy with a big barramundi that he had caught.
Comments – Dad and Mum
On our way out of Cooinda we called into the cultural centre where it gave a good insight into the way that the aboriginals lived, tools, methods and were guided by six seasons opposed to our four. They took note of certain insects, animals or weather events to gauge what would be ready to harvest. The best thing was watching live footage of hunting and gathering where Nic almost threw up watching them put file snake heads into their mouths to break the snakes neck, priceless! It was disappointing hearing the personal accounts of aboriginals seeing what effect the missionaries had on the families trying to mould them into white mans way  The centre was well worth a look very informative.
We then headed off to Nourlangie where we were to see the best rock art so far with only a short walk to view them all. There was a dangerous spirit that eats women after striking them on the head with his yam! His name was Nabulwinjbulwinj pronounced Nar-bull-win- bull- win. Photo attached.
The Leichhardts grasshopper(bright blue and red) arrives in early storm season, when the aboriginals see these grasshoppers come into the country they know it’s time to seek shelter from the lightning man whom is beside the women eater in the photo
There were many more paintings telling stories of dancing and hunting situated in protected rock shelters. The colours of the surrounding mountains were spectacular although the fires in the area made it hard to get good photos.
We had a quick walk part of the way around Anbangbang billabong on our way out which is a smaller billabong. We then made our way to Jabiru for some lunch at the local bakery were i struggled to eat my burger but the beer helped wash it down. We were all happy with our food selection. Had a quick look at the shops and topped up supplies again. The town has a large swimming pool and nice green footy ovals for all codes.
On the road again to Merl National Park camp ground where we set up for two nights. I have never seen so many mossies in my life, thank god for repellent! A Ranger put on an informative slide show on crocodiles which we all enjoyed.