There are so many beautiful oases to be enjoyed in the Northern Territory of Australia. All free. First is Katherine hot springs
My favourite is Bitter Springs in Elsey
Mataranka Thermal Pool
Rainbow Springs Mataranka. You cannot swim in this one
Started the day with an 86km trip to Ubirr to see Aboriginal Rock Art. Advice to everyone. Before leaving your hotel in the Northern Territory, check to see if the places you plan to attend are open. As many of the tourist and heritage sites are owned by the indigenous Aboriginals, they observe mourning of elders and close various sites as a sign of respect. This was the case this morning with Ubirr. It was disappointing but when travelling the unexpected occurs and in this instance it is important to follow and respect the traditions. I went to the next stop on my way to Katherine, Nourlangie (Burrungkuy)
There is a track which is well signposted. The Shelter is a little steep but not too difficult. Just make sure to take lots of water for these walks
I was so excited to see sacred rock art and the stories are thousands of years old.
My favourite piece is this which represents singing and dancing
The walk up to the lookout looks more difficult than it is and worth doing.
It is thanks to South Australia once and twice to Tasmania closing their borders in the past year that I am in the Northern Territory. NT have been much more sensible to Covid19 management, much like NSW who did not close their border to everyone for one case. Today I drove the 2.5 hours from Darwin to Kakadu.
Drove from my hotel Mercure Crocodile Hotel to Cooinda Lodge to get the tour for Yellow Waters. These signs deter you from stopping to look for crocodiles? I expect instead of catching lunch you may become dinner.
Yellow Waters Cruise and I recommend the sunset cruise is a must do in Kakadu. Our tour guide was Lily who is very knowledgeable and humorous. She loves what she does. Every time something caught someone’s eye she would steer the boat back for us to get the best vantage point. This is the proof. Thank you Lily.
Aquascene in Doctor’s Gully is a sanctuary for fish. They come in at high tide. You can feed the fish which include barramundi, catfish, mangrove jack, mud crabs, stingrays and others.You can stand in the water and they swim around your legs. No crocodiles or sharks here. The harbour fisheries remove any sharks and crocodiles which come into the harbour as soon as they are spotted. Around 200 crocodiles are removed each year.
End the day with a Mindil Beach sunset
The first time I realised Darwin, well, anywhere in Australia was bombed during WWII was in Baz Luhurmann’s epic movie “Australia “. I knew Japanese minisubmarines entered Sydney Harbour but I never learned any of this at school!! It’s a disgrace we weren’t taught this important history. The museum shares Darwin WWII stories of people from all walks of life and embarrassingly made me aware of my lack of historical knowledge of my country. Sure I am first generation Australian born of Italian parents but this history should be mandatory in school. This museum is set in pretty grounds with lots of equipment salvaged from the bombing.
More than 270 people perished on 19 February 1942. Luckily the government evacuated women and children following the bombing of Pearl Harbour. But Darwin was taken by surprise.
Here is a statue representing The Digger and all who have served, past and present, to pritect our freedom and Gunner the kelpie who alerted allies when Japanese aircraft were approaching.
On my travels I have also learned about Japanese and German boats and mines along the New South Wales coastline during WWII. These maps from the Fisherman’s Cottage Museum in South West Rocks NSW show the positions of mines and the loss of life and vessels
Oh the weather here is fabulous. Funnily the locals told me it was cold at 25 this morning. Darwin city is so pretty with an area called the Waterfront. Lovely cafes and restaurants and an area to swim which is protected from crocodiles and Box Jellyfish.
The Parliament House looks like it is from a tropical island.
WWII Darwin was bombed by the Japanese for 6 months. Hard to imagine this harbour under attack
Oil storage Tunnels were built but the war ended prior to them being used
Puppet “The Digger” was made from WWII parts.
Some of Darwin
Visited the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory MAGNT as it has a history of Australia’s most devastating Cyclone, Tracy.
Tracy destroyed Darwin on Christmas Day 1974 and left 48000 people homeless. MAGNT also had Year 12 Art student exhibits. Some amazing talent but I felt a lot of sadness from their art works which depicted their fears, loneliness, confusion and anger experienced during this pandemic and how art helped them cope.
For my overseas friends who always wonder how we can live in a country with the most venomous animals in the world, I learned we have cute coral and plants which are deadly also.
But this part of the world is known for crocodiles. Sweetheart had a reputation for attacking boat outboard motors, not humans.
Across the road from MAGNT is Fannie Bay. Don’t be deceived by how pretty it looks. Not a good time to swim here with deadly box Jellyfish in season.
My first plane trip since November 2019. Like many people I have had several trips cancelled because of the pandemic. London, Port Lincoln, Tasmania twice. I am so happy this trip did not get cancelled. Do I remember what to do? It was different. Had to wear a mask for 4 hours but I am travelling again!! This is my first time in the Northern Territory.
Hello Darwin! Oh the weather is divine. I left Sydney this morning 8 degrees Celsius. Darwin is 31!! First stop is the Palm City Resort. Dumped my bags and explored The Esplanade through Bicentennial Park.
The sunsets here in Darwin are spectacular. I couldn’t get to a beach in time but this view isn’t bad.
Had one of the best Italian meals at the Il Piatto at the Mindil Beach Resort Casino. I think I am starting to remember how to do this
March 2019
Living 15 minutes by train to the most beautiful harbour in the world, I am often somewhere nearby. Either on a cruise ship ready to sail out
or at the Opera Bar enjoying a drink with friends
Twilight sailing on Sydney Harbour
27 April 2019
I left Griffith at 9:00am and arrived home at 4:00pm. On Thursday 18 April 2019 I left work at Rozelle and started this road trip to the Outback. I have completed 2,800 kilometres (1,740 miles) in 9 days. I am very pleased with what I have seen on this trip. I was actually more frightened doing this trip than the USA road trip. Here in Australia we have very remote areas which I did not experience in the USA. There are not as many vehicles on the road and I was without GPS and phone reception for 2 days at one stage. Not even the hotel I stayed in at White Cliffs had any internet. Lots of rough roads, water over the roads in areas which had the first rain in 2 years, quirky characters in the remote roadhouses along the way, magnificent colours of landscapes which change from dry red earth of Broken Hill, pinks of the open mine in Cobar, to the lush green of Mildura, the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers and the beautiful grazing land of the Riverina.
The last couple of stops were firstly Barellan, a small country town of 390, the home of Wimbledon Champion Evonne Goolagong, with a giant tennis racquet in her honour.
Of course it is defined by its pub, the Commercial Hotel.
Temora is known as the friendliest town in NSW and famous for their air shows. I didn’t see any air shows but here is one of their pubs and one of their churches.
People think I am crazy doing this on my own, but I am enjoying solo travel so much. It is exciting and addictive, as it gets the adrenaline and endorphins pumping. The more I travel the more I take in and want to explore the smaller towns. I would do so much more in each town if I planned differently, but I didn’t give myself much time to plan as I decided to do this trip a few days before I left.
I have audio books which keep me entertained and awake and thank my local library for providing this free service.
Home now and ready to go back to work until I go off on another odyssey.
Over 50 Aussie female solo traveller USA road trip and beyond 