On 3 August we flew from Cairns to Darwin for the final part of our Australian trip and stayed in this pleasant tropical town for three nights. August is in the middle of the dry season so the weather was hot with blue skies and no chance of rain.
As is often the case with us when we visit a new city, we spent time in the parks and gardens, which offer a beautiful and peaceful environment away from the busy centre centre. In Darwin’s parks there were a few birds around even in the middle of a hot day.
After our 2 days in Darwin we went on an organised tour to Kakadu National Park, which is located about 100 km southeast of Darwin. The journey was made by coach and on the first morning we stopped at a number of Aboriginal rock art sites on the way to the park.
Once we entered Kakadu National Park we drove to the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel where we were to stay for the next two nights. After checking in we had lunch and then set off for a boat trip to explore the park and see some of its fauna and flora. This was a very enjoyable excursion to a remarkable wetland environment where there were lots of crocodiles and a good selection of birds.
On our full day in Kakadu National Park (7 August) we had a tour of the remarkable and varied landscape of the area and saw expansive grasslands, stunning rock outcrops and wetland areas.
After a full morning of sightseeing we had our lunch beside a billabong and our tour guides gave us a demonstration of aboriginal activities, including playing the didgerido and spear throwing.
In the afternoon we saw more very impressive geological features and also visited a site of Aboriginal rock art before heading back to the hotel.
The 8th August was our final day of the Kakadu tour and after checking out of our hotel we began our journey back to Darwin, stopping at various locations to hear about the culture of the aborigical people and see features of the landscape, including more geological outcrops, huge termite mounts and the rivers that provide essential water to this otherwise parched land. While we didn’t get a photograph of a kangeroo we did get a shot of an Eastern Short-eared Rock Wallaby.
After a last night in Darwin we flew to Singapore on 9th August, staying a couple of nights to break the long journey back to the UK. The whole trip had been very successful, with a productive work meeting in Hobart followed by a very enjoyable holiday in Cairns, Darwin and Kakadu. We were to return to Australia in 2011 when we were much more focussed on the birds, but this had been a very pleasant introduction to this remarkable country.