Jabiru

On Ubirr rock for sunset

Carole and Les

The crowds on the rock for sunset

Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr

Day 143

Went for a walk back at the Ubirr Aboriginal Rock sites early in the morning without the hundreds of people then headed back to the campground and packed up and drove to Jabiru which is about 30km south. We would like to go to Arnhem Land but need a permit and you can only get them at Jabiru. We find the Northern Land Council and after filling out the necessary papers and paying $13.20 per person, we find we are able to go in tomorrow. You can only drive straight to Oenpelli about 17km from the East Alligator River crossing (Cahill’s crossing) and the Art Centre and no stopping anywhere on the way!! We are told it is very good and they take credit cards so perhaps we should leave the husbands behind???!!!! We decide to camp here at Jabiru at the Aurora CP which has the draw card of a swimming pool!! Al, Les and Don go on a tour of the nearby Uranium mine and us girls cool off in the lovely swimming pool. The others are doing a flight over the area this arvo and Al and I catch up on blog etc before meeting them at the Sports Club for dinner.

More Bloodsuckers than in a "Twilight" Movie at Kakadu National Park!!!!

Billabong full of birdlife

This was a spare wheel cover we saw near East Alligator River...Wonder what they catch??

Lots more birds

Day 142
Al and I pack up and head to Kakadu stopping at an Aboriginal Display and also a wetland Billabong walk where there are thousands of birds. Drove on to the Merle Campground at the northern end of the park which had been recommended. It is just near the East Alligator River and a river crossing here takes you to Arnhem Land. There are several crocs swimming here and we have heard it is a very popular Barra fishing spot when the tide is right. Set up camp and then headed out to Ubirr Rock not far away to see the aboriginal rock art and view the sunset from the Rocky outcrop and over the Kakadu wetlands. A couple of hundred other people had the same idea but we did manage to see some of the art sites and the lovely sunset made even more spectacular because of the smoke haze from controlled burning off in this part of the country. The evening at camp brought millions of insects and the mozzies almost carried us away!! We had been warned but even a heavy spray of Bushman’s and several mozzie coils didn’t deter these bloodsuckers!! We may have to rethink our itinerary!!......

Darwin Beer Can regatta

WW2 relics at East Point Military Museum

The Beer Can Regatta in full swing

Al trying to win the golf prize

One of the expertly designed craft

Day 141
Our last day in Darwin and we decide to head to Mindil Beach where the annual beer can regatta will be held. It is a very hot day and finding shade is a bit difficult. There are about 10 boats all lovingly made in various shapes and sizes, most not looking very seaworthy and with controversy at present over whether people should swim in Darwin beaches and surrounding areas, I for one would not be going on one of these boats. The teams seemed to be getting dutch courage drinking their favourite ale so hope they make it!! There is a golf comp on the beach run by the Lions Club where you take a 5 iron and chip the ball about 40 metres and get a prize if your ball lands in a bucket in a tinnie.....Any golfers out there would know that this is near impossible, but Al gave it his best and with much crowd encouragement shy Al actually hit the flag stick on his 3rd shot...his ball last seen shooting off across Mindil Beach Bay!!! Excitement over and Al and I take a walk to the Museum which has a very good display of Cyclone Tracy photos and displays among other historical Darwin memorabilia before getting back to see the regatta. There is a big difference between first and last “boats” but everyone seems to have fun and are making money for charities so that is the main thing. Al and the other guys go to look at the military museum and the girls shop for tomorrow and Kakadu.

Golf and Sunset Cruise on a Pearl Lugger...Can't get a better day...

Day 140

Al and I are playing golf at Darwin Golf Club today in the competition with a couple of locals. The day was warm the golf was up and down and the company pleasant. We enjoyed a swim in the CP pool after to cool off before getting ready to go on our sunset cruise. We got to the wharf at Cullen Bay and boarded the Anniki which is a restored pearling lugger with about 30 other passengers. Before we could set sail and due to the tides we had to motor into a lock so we could get out to the Darwin Harbour. Anniki has another claim to fame besides having us aboard.... it was the boat which was used in the “Australia” film to take the boys to fictitious “Mission Island”. We were half expecting.....hoping anyway, that Hugh Jackman would serve our champagne and nibbles but that was not to be so we enjoyed the champagne anyway and an amazing sunset over the lovely Darwin Harbour arriving back about 8pm and in time for a quick fish and chips dinner back at Stokes Hill Wharf where we had eaten a few nights ago.

Crocodiles??? What Crocodiles..............

Crocodile equivalent of ABC learning centre

Day 139

Went to Crocodylus Park today to check out some decent sized crocs. Many of them are destined to be made into handbags and they are also used for research and it’s hard to get too excited about watching them either lolling about on muddy banks or snapping up dead chickens. All I could think of was...I’m glad they are in a very secure enclosure..... and after being told that there are 75,000 crocodiles in the wild in NT , I started questioning some of the swims I have had in the Northern territory in apparently crystal clear waterholes!!!....but that is in the past and I am still here typing away the blog so I figure 3 things......They weren’t in those waterholes..... or they weren’t hungry....or I am very lucky they didn’t like my brand of deodorant??????

The rest of the arvo was quiet time in the Top End.

Mindil Beach Markets

Mindil Beach Sunset

Les Peter and Carole amongst thousands of other sunset watchers

Carole and Rosemary getting pampered in the Nail shoppe

Day 138

Alan, Les and Don are going on a Bombing of Darwin WW2 Heritage Tour this morning and we girls are getting a pedicure in the city. Carole is not sure if they can do any good with her feet after camping in the bush for a week but the lovely girls at the Nail shop work their magic and we even manage a little retail therapy before the boys are back in town........to meet us for lunch. We find a little cafe and all go for the burgers thinking that will be our light meal for the day!! The boys told us the tour had been fascinating and well worth $68. The guide had many stories to tell about all the different sites they visited and often gave the truer insight into much of the WW2 history of Darwin than that which has been portrayed by officials. We are going to the Mindil Beach Markets, a twice weekly event which we are told to get to early so armed with chairs, beer and wine we get there about 4:30 and get a spot on the grass area between the beach and Market stalls. Carole’s brother Peter is here from Sydney on his way to East Timor and her mum and hubby are also up here for the evening. The smell of all sorts of food being cooked is overwhelming and we are very sorry we had the burgers for lunch and hope we can work up an appetite. Perhaps a few laps of the markets will do it!!!??? Lots of interesting stalls, quite a few selling things you would see in many Asian markets and while there were crowds of people around, many had come to see the sunset over Fannie Bay and sample the food delicacies on offer. We got some fabulous shots of the sunset, the colours beautiful over the water, and we end the evening enjoying the company and food and wine on another balmy Darwin evening.

Stop Press!!!! "Al wins by 1 shot in a nail biting thriller !!

Our new pet "Fang". Should fit nicely into our swimming pool at home!!

Day 137

We decide on a game of golf in the competition at Palmerston and although it is quite warm (30 degrees) there is a little breeze and we are in a motorised cart so hope it’s not too bad. The course is 18holes with a newer nine surrounded by new housing estate and the other nine in an older area. The course needs a bit of money spent on it but I suppose with a fairly small population in Darwin and not a huge number of members they do ok. And they had grass on their greens so we were thrilled. We enjoy the game even though there are several noise interruptions from squadrons of Super Hornet jets flying overhead. Apparently there are bi-annual war games between US/Aussies and NZ taking place just off Darwin and the flights happen a few times a day. The noise didn’t worry Al though, coming out on top this time by one point and which should boost his morale a bit after a few losses on the trip over 4 different states. We drove into the city and managed to find a massage therapist and Al got his back straightened out before heading back to the CP where they had a rep. from Crocodylus Park who had brought along a small 1 metre/18 month old croc for us to hold. They named him “Fang” and I only agreed to get up close and personal due to the fact that his snout was firmly taped shut with gaffer tape!!