Spiky, venomous or trying to eat you....

I know I am a little behind on the blog so will do my best to catch up on Days 9-23 of our trip. The truth is we get the best coverage when we are in towns, which means caravan parks, and that translates into getting chores done. We have been in Darwin for the last 3 nights and each morning has been a flurry of loads of washing, breakfasting, folding and putting laundry away, cleaning out the fridge (spilt milk, broccoli buds and meat juice has been swishing about for weeks), organising and planning for our next little jaunt into National Parks, and then sight-seeing.

Where was I up to? Again, I will not go over all details as Andy has covered a lot in his last few posts, but we do have slightly different perspectives and experiences that I though you might like to read ( the numbers help me to keep track)

 

KINGS CANYON (9&10) – we pulled into the Kings Canyon Discovery Park and were somewhat dismayed to find it looked like another caravan/trailer convention. Kings Canyon Resort has invested umpteen million $ in the resort in the last 18 months as demand continues to increase. Some things don’t change;

nightly visits from dingoes who seem completely unfazed by us humans are a feature I recall from our previous visit. 

A wonderful addition to the resort is the ‘Sunset Club’ – a wooden platform overlooking the incredible Carmichael Crag and the George Gill Range in the Watarrka National Park. Drinks were available for cash from 5-7pm from a caravan and there was with a singer making for a  great atmosphere.

Sunset Club, Kings Canyon Resort     

Sunset Club - yes it was cold

Cuppa with a view - sunrise over George Gill Range, and yes ice on the bannister    

The kids made a fast friend in Natalie who had been travelling with her Dad for several weeks and starved of kid company. James and Jem were only too happy to teach her how to play Monopoly Deal in the comfort of our tent – which they did for hours. They were on their way to Alice Springs for Natalie to take a flight home to Brisbane (I think) while her Dad and other travel buddies took on the Simpson Desert (a dream of Andy’s and mine from our last travels, so we were happy to indulge him while he mused on fuel economy and the various logistics in the planning of such a trek).

After a quick good-bye and exchange of Messenger Kids ID the next morning we got organised for the walk we had come to do, Kings Canyon Rim Walk, a 6km, 3-4hr loop walk up to the top of Kings Canyon and around the rim as the name suggests. The first section is vertical, getting you to the top in short order with views back across the plain, cars in the car park looking like matchbox cars according to the kids. Got our hearts "beeping" as Jem says.

Ascent from carpark up to Kings Canyon rim walk is hard to capture

Selfie with a view

James took a keen interest in various rocks along the walk

I would like to take a moment here to credit the kids. At home my kiddos are generally walk averse, and all walking is accompanied with much whingeing. Perhaps it’s because there is usually a time-pressure in our normal lives, and we are currently walking for the pure pleasure of it, with time to watch the birds and ants etc, that there has been zero complaining. It has made walking with them a pleasurable experience and has forced Andy and I to slow down too.

The Kings Canyon rim walk is an exceptional walk with something different around every corner. As we walked, we noticed helicopters buzzing around doing scenic flights and I wondered aloud if anyone might be interested in going up if we could jag a flight at short notice. Jemma was 100% NOT keen (predictable) but James was. We pulled into the chopper office on return from our walk to ask about availability – they had 2 spots available 3:45pm that afternoon – just enough time for a quick shower and return for our flight. I do love helicopters, and James had never been up in one and as always was up for something new. The flight was incredible, and the pilot provided commentary as we went along. At one point we could see as far as Uluru one way and the West MacDonell Ranges the other.

About to take off

James and I before our flight

 

A very good day. We decided that it was too cold to just hang out in the campground for the evening, so we headed to the pub for a great meal, some red wine and some silly dancing.

 

Redbank Gorge (11, 12 & 13) 

Another frost at Kings Canyon meant ice all over the tent and camping gear, making packing up and getting going take a little longer. Cold hands and faces and general reluctance to get out of bed delays things further.

Glen Helen

Lunch at Glen Helen Resort

Damper - bit burnt but tasted yummy

All trees need to be climbed

Noodles for breakfast - it's a thing

Ormiston Gorge

Proper quiet time attempt 2

Proper quiet time attempt 2

Ochre Pits

Standley Chasm

We acquired a permit to drive the Mereenie Loop road which is a ‘shortcut’ through Aboriginal lands between Kings Canyon and Alice Springs. It is a gravel road and a bit rough in places so slower going than the highway option. We started to see big piles of poo on the side of the road and had seen a sign warning of camels, so we were hopeful of seeing some wild ones. More poo and no camels – where could they be? It turns out the poo belonged to a herd of donkeys; if it was camels, we never saw them. And horses, wild horses running in the bush.

We made a quick 4WD detour to Gosse Bluff – site of meteorite impact hundreds of millions of years old for a leg stretch and lunch.

The Woodland campground at Redbank Gorge in the West MacDonnell Ranges NP was great; drop toilet, firepits provided and good wood collecting opportunities in the creek beds just outside the NP boundary. A highlight of this campground was the birds; especially the flocks of splendid fairy wrens and noisy zebra finches that were present almost all of the time, as well as soaring raptors like Wedge tail eagles and kites.

It was also cold. Really cold. Being able to have a fire prolonged our outside presence by a few hours, and there was ice on the tent every morning we were there. One morning 5cm of water in a saucepan had frozen solid, not just the surface, solid. Little did we know it was to get colder yet.

We have not been cold in our tent at night. We were sleeping in pants, socks (sometimes two pairs), t-shirt, long sleeved jumper, then a fleece over the top of that, and a beanie. Jackets are then needed when you get up as the coldest part of the day is yet to come.

 

Redbank Gorge was a super spot from which to explore Tjoritja NP (West MacDonnell Ranges) (unfortunately no time for the East Macs, we will save that for the next trip) and we visited Redbank Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ochre Pits and Glen Helen Gorge Resort (no fuel), Ormiston Gorge and Standley Chasm. I think Andy would really have liked to take on some of the Larapinta trail treks, but we really aren’t geared up for serious hiking – Jemma does all her walks in light-up shoes! 

 

We had 3 lovely nights at Redbank Gorge, exploring in the mornings, not too early as we needed to wait for the weak sun to do its best to warm the world, and relaxing in the afternoons. The first afternoon of prescribed ‘free time’ did not go very well as it was really the first such opportunity, the kids had hammocks up and were noisy and excited and not really down with the chillax, asking lots of questions and distracting the grown-ups from what we were trying to achieve – peace at last. Day two of free time went much better with the kids all set with hammocks, books and pillows. 

 

We knew the good times at Redbank couldn’t last forever and the time came to pack up, again after an icy morning. Next stop is Alice Springs where we had a few jobs to do…

 

Alice Springs (14 & 15)

After a quick change of heart regarding the Caravan Park I had booked online months ago without doing any research we ended up in the Alice Springs Discovery Park with a powered site right next to camp kitchen and amenities. While this might not sound ideal to all you die-hard bush-campers (us included) it makes for very convenient camping when its freezing cold and Queen of the Toilet is travelling with you.

The park I had booked was dodgy to say the very least and we just did not have a good feeling about it, not least it was out the back of a pub with a drive through regulated by NT coppers.

We arrived in Alice on Friday afternoon and while Andy checked us in, I called a clinic and booked an appointment to have my stitches removed Saturday morning at 9:10am. My hand had improved massively, with no signs of infection and I was using it more and more but was still anxious to see how it was healing and keen to get the stitches out. 

I made a laughable attempt at doing some shopping at Alice Springs Coles at 4pm on a Friday afternoon – laughable as you could barely get in the doors, I don’t think I have ever seen so many trolleys queued in one place before. I didn’t even bother going in – we picked up the essential tin of Milo at a servo instead. The shopping was now scheduled for 7:30am Saturday.

Low on supplies and in a big town for the first time in a few weeks Andy booked a table at the Alice Springs Golf Club which turned out to be a great option – and kept us out of the freezing Alice Springs evening for a few extra hours. This we felt was a cunning strategy we used time and again – go to a club, pub, or restaurant, have a meal and stay for as long as is polite/possible.

 

On Saturday morning I got the shopping done while Andy took the kids off in search of breakfast. Andy and the kids then dropped me at the clinic to have my stitches out. The GP listened to my story of being stitched up in the campground laundry and assured me that it wouldn’t hurt a bit. However, the stitches were now embedded in the wound and required significant poking and tugging and each one hurt more than the last. Overall, this process hurt more than any other, and my hand felt like it had regressed a few days. The GP said it looked fine, gave it a good clean, stuck some steri strips on it and sent me on my way.

Stitches out!

While I was at the doctors Andy managed to have the left head lamp replaced -  a very successful morning!!

 

Later that day we visited the Alice Springs Desert Park which showcases the various arid land habitats and the plants and animals that live there. It also inspired the title for this blog post after one of the kids brushed up against a plant and said ' careful that one is spiky'. I said to be careful of all living things, plants and animals, from now as they will likely be spiky, venomous or trying to eat you. This is my new mantra.

The Desert Park also had aviaries dotted around the park, some of them walk-through, with fantastic information boards. The diversity of bird life in arid Australia is astounding and we were all in our elements spotting the various birds – most of which we would never have seen or noticed in the wilds. Some special highlights were Princess Parrots and a pair of Bourke’s parrots. The nocturnal house had a ‘keeper talk’ happening about Mala, echidnas and bandicoots. My personal favourites in the park were the numbats!

And a free-flight bird show – a willie wagtail tried to steal the show, but the real stars were the kites showing off their speed and agility catching treats and eating them on the fly (one of the few birds that can do this I later learnt on the croc cruise). 

As it was freezing again, and forecast for sub-zero overnight, we decided to spend our second and last evening in Alice at the Alice Springs Brewing Company brewery in the warmth with yummy pizzas and a foosball table for fun. At one time I reckon Jem & James were two of eight kids around the table having a whale of a time until their respective families called them for dinner.

Alice Springs Desert Park

James's wingspan compared with the enormous wedgie's

 

Free flying kites

Brown breasted buzzard - one of the few birds to use tools; they use a stone to smash open emu eggs to get to the good inside

Foosball at the brewery in Alice Springs - second night

Icy windscreen on our last morning in Alice Springs- brrrrr

Tops off, tools down in Darwin

It’s been Chateau Relaxo here in Darwin - a really great and varied stop.  Crocodiles one day, wave pools and museums, dinner by sunset the next.  Could not recommend Darwin more highly for a warm winter getaway.  The weather is far more reliable than Cairns and the prices generally and eating out were really reasonable.

We’d arrived in time for Mindil Beach Sunset markets on Sunday.  We’d enjoyed the markets from our last trip but our timing was fortunate as they only run on Thursday and Sunday and we were heading back out of town on Wednesday.  The market was almost unchanged from when were last here.  There are amazing food truck choices.  This meant we could all get what we wanted, but longish queues as the market was BUSY.  Top pick was Nessa’s yellow fin tuna tacos, but it was all great.  We wrapped up with poffertjes and fruit down on the beach to watch the sunset over the Arafura sea.  This had been our first view of the ocean for three weeks, and we won’t see it again until Port Macquarie in a month.  Which is quite weird when we’re used to seeing it every day.  The sunset received a spontaneous round of applause from the thousands of people on the beach.

We headed out for the jumping croc tour on Monday morning.  Jemma had been more than nervous about this activity from the moment I booked it two months ago.  As Monday approached she asked more and more questions about the size of the boat, whether the crocodiles would be jumping over the boat etc.  Fair to say that safety measures had been upgraded over the last 15 years and it was a fully seated affair.  There are an estimated 10,000 saltwater crocodiles in the Adelaide River alone, which is incredible seeing they’d almost been shot to extinction when I was born.  A great trip and a very informed guide.

On Tuesday we had Darwin Day, starting at the free-entry Museum and Art Gallery which was absolutely brilliant and had exhibitions varying from wildlife, boats, cyclone Tracy, turtles and aboriginal art.

We then moved on to Stokes Hill Wharf for a look around the Royal Flying Doctors Service Exhibition which had been recommended by a fellow camper.  It was $70 for a family entry which nearly put us off but it was an hour so really well spent.  They’ve used technology really well and there are numerous virtual reality exhibitions on the bombing of Darwin and the flying doctors. My favourite was where you could sit alongside a pilot from the flying doctors and then fly over the West McDonnell ranges, the Gosses Bluff meteorite site and Kings Canyon.  The detail was incredible - you could even see the small 4WD track we’d driven into the meteorite crate on and the walking tracks on top of Kings Canyon.  Much cheaper than a helicopter ride.

After a great lunch on the wharf ($25 for a t-bone), the afternoon was spent at the Darwin wave pool - $25 entry for the family.  The kids had a few active hours in the water and the chlorine finally got my feet and legs clean.

Ness had spotted a great place for dinner next to the museum earlier on and we’d made a reservation to align with sunset.  The Darwin Ski Club has absolute water frontage, $6 schooners and great burgers.  No applause this time for the sunset, which seemed unfair as it was an absolute ripper.

Our stay at the Hidden Valley Big 4 has been amazing.  One of my favourite caravan parks in Australia (up there with Coral Bay and Narooma).  The staff have been so friendly and helpful throughout, from the late booking when we were at Edith Falls through to shutting down some noisy NSW punters.  The facilities were great.  The park has been extended and we were fortunate to be in the shady older section. The new section looks like Coober Pedy - not a tree in sight.  

We are off to Kakadu next which I’m excited for, but Darwin has been an excellent stop and I reckon will feature as a future escape from the Adelaide winter cold. 

The kids interview - Darwin edition

The kids have been reluctant bloggers so we had an intervention in Darwin and a quick fire interview,  Here are the results for the trip so far …

Best to thing so far?

James: Crocodile Tour, Helicopter ride, Star gazing – looking for satellites and shooting stars, Playing Foosball at Alice Springs Brewery, making new friends

Jemma: Swimming in the water holes and the pools, seeing all the animals, Sunsets and watching the moon at different times, Making Friends

Worst thing so far?

James: Hurting myself, the cold, falling over 

Jemma: The cold

Coolest place you’ve been to?

James: Redbank Gorge for campfires, seeing emus going into Mambray Creek, Edith Falls swimming hole

Jemma: Mambray Creek playing on the big tree

Favourite animal seen so far?

James: Crocodile

Jemma: Crocodile, Wallabies, Hopping Mice

Favourite bird seen so far?

James: Kites, Curlew (screaming bird)

Jemma: Rainbow Bee Eater

What I’ve missed the most?

James: Dogs, Friends

Jemma: Dogs and House and Toys, Friends

Learned on the trip?

James: Crocodiles have scutes on their tails made of bone, crocodile legs don’t grow back

Favourite thing to do in the car?

James: Playing News, Getting excited about next destination Look out the window

Jemma: Playing News

Worst place we’ve been to?

James: Tennant Creek

Jemma: Tennant Creek

Favourite thing you brought from home?

James: My guys

Jemma: Pandy

Favourite card game?

James: Monopoly Deal

Jemma: 7s and Saboteur

Favourite thing to do around the campsite?

James: Get a ball out and play, looking for animal tracks, bird watching

Jemma: Tennis ball, looking for animal tracks, exploring & making fairy gardens

Something you’ve learned to do or gotten better at?

James: Teaching kids to play monopoly deal

Favourite thing to do to help around the camp site?

James: Open up the chairs, opening the mattresses, opening the tables

Jemma: Unpacking, washing up

Favourite podcast to listen to in the car?

Jemma: But Why podcast (Why are pandas black and white episode)

Favourite book so far?

James: Tom Appleby

Jemma: Babysitter club

Rating out of 10 so far?

James: 50

Jemma: 1000

One you could change to make it better?

Both: shorter car trips, play more family games

Up the guts part 3 - to Darwin

We left Alice on Sunday morning.  We’re pretty good at a calm and productive pack up, even when the gear is covered in ice and the fly is frozen to the main tent.  There was more moisture in the air in Alice compared to our previous camps, resulting in a thick frost.  We all go quietly about our work during pack up, it’s actually quite meditative.  The kids are under instruction that if they can’t do anything helpful, they are not make things any harder.  Somehow this morning James managed to hit his head on the tap while filling up our water jerry cans and has a Harry Potter-esque scar to prove it.  

The Coleman tent isn’t quite the ‘instant’ its branding promises, but I’ve gotten it down to around 15 minutes – which for a 16 square metre (10 person), three room tent with built-in strip lighting is pretty good.  The job I least look forward to is getting the air out of the two double self-inflating mattresses.  I’m getting better at it, but it’s a wrestle to get enough out that they fit back into their bags.  It’s important that there’s room to spare as after a day on the roof copping full sun they expand noticeably and won’t come out of their bags.

The previous night represented the last cold camping night until the Warrumbungles towards the end of August.  The kids have been incredible and have not complained of the cold.  We were all though very excited to finally get to the warmer weather.

Our destination for Sunday night was the Motel El Dorado in Tennant Creek.  Our original itinerary had us camping at Devil’s Marbles, just off the Stuart Highway.  Sadly that would have left a further 10 hours of driving to Edith Falls, north of Katherine where were booked for three nights from the Monday.  With frequent stops 10 hours can quickly become 12, so way too much for one day.  We’d missed this in our planning but the problem was quickly resolved over a couple of beers at the Eldo Hotel in Woomera while we’d had internet coverage.  We booked a motel further up the highway to better (not completely) even the two days driving out, forfeiting the camping fee at Devil’s Marbles.  We did do the right thing and cancel the camping as most places are really busy and someone might need the spot.

The two day drive to Edith Falls was 1,240km, with day 1 to Tennant Creek taking out around 520km, leaving 720km for Monday.  It was still a long second day but do-able after a restful night indoors for the first time for three weeks.  The Stuart Highway driving was easy and the backdrop more interesting and variable than expected, regularly rotating through low scrub desert to river plain with larger trees and the occasional range.  The road is generally narrower than south of Alice Springs which made some of the road train overtakes quite exciting (them overtaking us as they were doing 130kph and we were doing around 100kph).  You really have no idea until it’s over how long they are going to be, some of them just seem to keep on coming.  

Devils Marbles were impressive, but during the short walk around Ness and I noted the large number of flies, largely absent with the cold further south.  We didn’t say anything to the kids.

We rolled in to Tennant Creek around 5pm, excited to be off the road and into what promised from the photos on Wotif at least to be an oasis with an in ground pool and on site Chinese restaurant.  The motel room was clean and the beds were comfortable, but the pool was empty and there was no sign of the restaurant.  There was hot water and some of the power sockets worked.  The manager gave me some security advice adding the colder weather this time of year kept most of the wandering youth off the streets.  Recent reviews of the Motel El Dorado were very harsh.  I suspect most were really reviews of Tennant Creek.  It’s a town with plenty of problems, extreme poverty and drug and alcohol fuelled violence.  The murder rate is 30 times that of the US.  Even a pool full of water and an on site restaurant would have struggled to make up for the general feel of the place.  No easy answers I’m sure but it’s pretty disgusting that in 2022 a town in Australia relies on grandmothers sitting out all night at the BP service station to stop it being vandalised.  

We had a very forgettable counter meal at the Memories Bistro at the RSL.  The hour wait for our food did however provide good people watching opportunities. We slept poorly with one eye open but I gave Eldorado a four star review, noting that if we’re back this way in future it might be worth pushing on to Renner Springs.

At least we were back on the road early, choosing to skip the BP service station and instead fill up at Daly Waters, 400km further up the highway.  We easily had enough to make it to Daly Waters and passed a few road houses on the way, including the extremely busy Dunmarra about 40kms short of Daly Waters.  They were queuing out on to the highway to fill up.  Just why became apparent when we got to Daly Waters – no diesel at the roadhouse or the pub, and no idea when it would be coming.  Gas guzzling four wheel drives pulling caravans were turning around and heading back to Dunmarra as the next station north was 170kms away at Mataranka.  We’d done 900kms since filling up in Alice Springs, so it was touch and go whether we’d make it.  

It had taken us nearly two years of owning our old Troopy before we ran out fuel.  Trouble hit on our honeymoon when we drove out to Lake Eyre.  We were heading from William Creek to Marree on the remote Oodnadatta Track and fell short by around 10kms, cruelled by a stronger than expected headwind, and finally undone by an extended rise. Being a man of action I did what you’re not supposed to do and left Ness jerry can in hand to start the walk through the hot gibber plain to Marree.  The day time maximum was heading to 35 degrees, but fortunately after an hour or so a car appeared from the south and its young Scandinavian occupants offered me a lift the remaining distance to the servo at Marree and then back to the Troopy.  

All ended well but these experiences leave a mark, and Ness and I were really in a bit of quandary.

If we headed back to Dunmarra there was no guarantee they’d still have diesel given the queues we’d seen.  Even if they did we’d be adding a good hour and a half to our already long day.  If we ran out on the way to Mataranka then we’d add a lot more than an hour to our day.

So it was calculators out and we analysed the problem from every angle, using every data point we had from our log.  

We’d done 900kms since our last fill.  At 7.5kms per litre, the 147 litre main tank should give us 1,102 km meaning notionally we had 200kms left in the tank for the 169km journey to Mataranka.  But what if we’d not been getting 7.5kms per litre? We’d had the air conditioning on as it had been hotter (and it’s a big windscreen pointing straight at the sun most of the way to Darwin).  It also felt like we were always going up hill.  We’ve only had the car for a few months so don’t really have a reliable measure for different conditions, but we felt we’d be OK so pushed on.

The next couple of hours were fairly tense, driving at 80kph to maximise economy and hot as we didn’t want to waste precious fuel on air conditioning.  The needle had been on a quarter tank when we left Daly Waters, but that means very little with this car.  We’ve since measured it takes around 156kms to go from beyond full to the full line, and then just 111kms to go from full to three quarters and then 228kms to go from three quarters to a half.  The warning light eventually came on around 30kms short of Mataranka when the needle was on E.  We continued the maths working out how many litres we’d need to make it and how there had to be that many left.  We made town and the fill was 127.32 litres – so there had actually been almost 20 litres left.  Our economy had been 8.3l/100kms.  

We celebrated with pies, ice-creams, some booze from the general store for later and air conditioning on for the remainder of the trip to Edith Falls which we made in time to set up camp before night fell.

We’d decided not visit Katherine Gorge this time as the commercially run campground was a bit of a zoo when we were last there,  The campground at Edith was within the national park and offers grassy shady sites just a short walk from the waterhole.  The walking options are great and there is a plunge pool below the lower falls and multiple options higher up.  The kids made instant friends with most of the campsite rabble and had an absolute ball.  They’ve become so good at making fast friends and then saying goodbye, which has been a huge shift for Jemma.  We had a beautiful three nights, warm at last.  Our walking and general pace slowed to reflect our new climate.  We all did the walk up to the second falls and on day two James and I set off early for the longer walk up to Sweetwater which we basically had to ourselves.  I do love walking with James.  He’s normally fairly engaged on the way there, identifying anything that moves on the ground or air, but on the way back he normally likes some solitude and some time to scuttle.  In between the walking and swimming, Edith Falls gave us some proper reading and hammock time.  And gloriously still no phone coverage other than on the top of the ascent to the second falls.

We were a bit sad when Thursday came around, but the first hot weather pack went well and we were off on our way to Litchfield.  Our destination was Tjaynera / Sandy Creek, away from the well beaten Litchfield track which takes in perhaps just the top quarter of the park.  To reach the rest you need a 4WD, and we were headed down the 4WD Reynolds Track to one of our favourite spots from our last big trip.  On the way we stopped at a few points of interest including the beautiful Tolmer Falls and some giant termite mounds having restocked at Batchelor (where they will sell you as much booze as you can carry according to the cashier).

We turned off the bitumen and into 4WD – a new and exciting light came on the dashboard.  Sadly the first creek crossing was only 60cm deep.  Enough to test the door seals but well below the 1m over the bonnet depth we’d enjoyed 13 years ago.  The campground and day use facilities had been upgraded to cater for the now 30,000 visitors per year Sandy Creek and the falls apparently get.  There are now 13 camping spots, large shady spots that are impenetrable to tent pegs.  Firewood is easily (and allowed to be) collected and we had fires each night and two dampers.  The first day we walked to the falls (coldest water in the park according to everyone who went in – I didn’t).  James had a long swim and went over to the waterfall.  He ignored the peer pressure of some camp mates to climb up the falls to jump in.  Even James said he was cold.  Jemma had a short dip and got stranded on a rock and Ness had to go in to rescue her.

The water at Florence Falls the next day was apparently warmer (I still didn’t go in but everyone else did) and we enjoyed a great walk at Wangi Falls, with the added excitement of hazard reduction fires close to the track and kites hunting the escaping reptiles.

The kids made some great friends (Indigo and Si) as well as the children of the camp hosts.  A really great stop and with the full moon rising a little later the stars were excellent too. 

The decision to retire the Volvo and go 4WD was completely vindicated by the trip to Sandy Creek.  We have some incredible driving ahead and destinations we couldn’t have gotten into.  But before that we are now relaxing in Darwin for sunsets, crocodile tours and a well earned shower (maybe more than one because I genuinely stink).