Darwin and Surrounds

Another short drive today of just over 200 km.
After spending the past seven days in Kakadu we joined the Arnhem Highway and soon after stopped at the Mamukala Wetlands.  
The wetlands are at their best late in the season when the water starts to recede causing the birds to congregate together. We were able to take some wonderful photos from the largest bird hide we have ever seen located on the edge of the wetlands.

My parents lived on Myilly Point in Darwin in the late sixties and I attended my final years schooling here. Our house was on a cliff overlooking Mindil Beach.This was before the casino was built.

The accommodation on Myilly Point was set aside for the heads of all the government departments and also included the Army Colonel whose residence was at the very tip. There was one exception to this and that was the private residence of the Paspaleys. That's the Paspaleys who own the largest pearling company in Australia.
Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin in 1974 and the wide spread damage it caused also included demolishing all the houses on Myilly Point.
Apart from the houses that make up the Myilly Point Heritage Precinct as you enter the point the only remaining house on Myilly Point is the rebuilt Paspaleys.  

We had intended to stay at the Free Spirit caravan park but after hearing first hand the conditions there, we opted to camp at a park at Hidden Valley.
We pre booked a site whilst we were still in Kakadu but need not have bothered. Being so late in the season most southerners have left for home to escape the high temperatures and even higher humidity.

We can highly recommend the Hidden Valley Tourist Park.  

We opted for a premium powered large site of which there are six. There are 180 powered sites with the majority having ensuites. On our arrival there would have been lucky if 50 were occupied. We had intended to spend a week here but because there are so few people about we extended for another week.

The Top End just like the remainder of Australia has also been experiencing unseasonal weather. 
Much of Kakadu was closed because of rain and we have been having thunderstorms most afternoons and rain.
As we drove along the Stuart Highway on our second day here heading towards the Mindil Beach markets, the heavens opened up reminding me of what life was like during the wet season.

Each day has been spent heading off in the mornings to a different point of interest then returning after lunch and spending time in the pool and our lovely air conditioned van. 

The Truma Aventa air conditioner now being installed in Bushtracker vans is just fabulous and leaves the one in our previous Bushtracker for dead. With outside temperatures well above 35 degrees and in some cases pushing 40 along with the strength sapping humidity this one has the vans interior on a very comfortable 26 degrees or below each day. 

Some of our outings have included:
Cullen Bay..

The Darwin Military Museum is located at East Point about 8 km east of the city centre. The museum mainly showcases the defence of Darwin during the 2nd WW.
On the 19th February 1942 at 09:58 Darwin was attacked by 188 aircraft from Japanese aircraft carriers.
There was a subsequent attack involving 54 aircraft at 11:45, which killed 235 people.

Also located close by is the East Point Reserve which shows evidence of Darwin's wartime history.

We ventured south from Darwin on one of our days to swim and photograph Litchfield National Park and Berry Springs Nature Park. Litchfield is located 129 km south of Darwin. We were last here in 1996 and boardwalks are a new addition in many places to cater for the larger number of people who now travel. This termite mound is over five metres high and estimated to be over fifty years old.

These magnetic termite mounds are aligned north to south to minimise the exposure to the sun.

Access to Florence Falls was closed when we visited so we took our photos from the lookout.

Wangi Falls is the most popular because of its easy access.

Berry Springs is 58 km south of Darwin and is a wonderful place to cool off.

Today we visited the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre just down the road from where we are staying in Berrimah. 

There are some impressive aircraft on show including a Spitfire, Mirage, F111, several helicopters and the B52 that dwarfs all the other aircraft.

We spent several hours down along the waterfront before stopping for lunch.

On another outing we visited Doctors Gully to view the Aquascene fish feeding that takes place on high tide. This scene has been happening since the 1950's where wild fish come in and are hand fed slices of bread.

We were very disappointed with our visit to the Darwin Botanical Gardens. We were last here twenty years ago and even though it's towards the end of the dry season we thought the whole place was terribly neglected.

On our 2nd last day we visited the Skycity Casino for lunch. The casino overlooks Mindil Beach.

Just as we had finished cooking our dinner on our last evening we experienced a large downpour that lasted for about fifteen minutes. The build up to the wet season as certainly begun.