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Indian Pacific RR
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We had planned a holiday in the Darwin area or, as it is called,
The Top End, for some time. We figured if might be nice in the
middle of winter to get to the tropics, so a while back we booked a
holiday with The Flight Centre for mid-July, dead of winter. We
flew to Melbourne and then on to Alice Springs (where it was colder than
it had been in Hobart when we got on the plane) and finally to Darwin, a
total of 11 hours travel time. We stayed in Darwin the first two nights
getting a feeling for this northernmost Australian city and then were
picked up at our hotel for a tour in Kakadu National Park southeast of
Darwin. We stayed there for three days visiting Aboriginal rock
art sites, swimming in waterfall plunge pools and looking at the
wildlife. It was fantastic. The weather was perfect - dry,
warm and sunny. After a quick overnight back in Darwin with a
laundry run and a late dinner and an early breakfast, we flew to the
Coburg Peninsula at the top of Arnhem Land where we stayed at Seven
Spirit Bay Resort in Garig Ganuk Barlu National Park for four days and
three nights. The resort there is VERY nice and they pampered us at meal
times and whenever else we wanted it plus they took us on nature walks
twice a day. I added almost fifty new birds to my life list
between the resort and Kakadu! Here's a sampling...
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On Sunday in Darwin, we went to the market at Mindil Beach and
then watched the sun set over the Timor Sea.
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Our first stop in Kakadu was at Ubirr where there is a large
collection of Aboriginal rock art. We climbed to the top
of the escarpment there and looked out over this billabong
toward the west. The rocks in the distance are part of
Hawk Dreaming Camp where we stayed for two nights.
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The art on the rocks is an ongoing project as people add their
stories layer upon layer....
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This fellow is a fisherman with his fishing arrows and a bow.
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This is a
depiction of a Thylacine, an animal that was extinct on the
mainland of Australia thousands of years ago.
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At Hawk
Dreaming we got to see art that is not open to the general
public including the one at the top of the page and this one of
a group of fishermen. |
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Not much
is known about these rock carvings. According to the
Aboriginals, "they have always been there," meaning they were
placed there during the creation.
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We slept
in permanent tents at Hawk Dreaming Camp and awoke in the
mornings to the sounds of Barking Owls, Corellas, Kookaburras,
and Dingoes!
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"Rabid Twitcher" or "Geek with Bins" - take your pick! |
This was our mode of transport for our tour in Kakadu - A/C and 4WD,
too!
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billabong near Hawk Dreaming. We sat here and watched the
sun go down and were overcome by the intense silence of the
land. It goes on and out forever.... |
These cliffs hold some of the rock art we visited as well as a
host of small, rock wallabies, sort of a cross between a
kangaroo and a monkey. They have really long tails and
move up and down the rock very quickly.
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Click here to continue the tour of the Top
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