Darwin

After our one night stay at Howard Springs we moved closer to Darwin, into Freespirit Tourist Resort. This is a huge park with two pools, motel rooms, cabins and powered and unpowered sites. This was to be our home from the 7th till 23rd and We were lucky to get a good well grassed site, the only problem was the smell of sewerage that came from some issue with the sewer system, bearable, just. We spent the rest of the day stocking up on supplies. We also located C and S, who we met at Daly Waters, so the next few nights were pleasant happy hours and BB's. One of the great things about this trip is the friends we have made and are still making, so many people with a common interest and a spirit of adventure. That in itself has made this trip very worthwhile.
A trip to the City of Darwin and Port area provided us with a better understanding of the two major Disasters that have occurred in Darwin. The attack on Darwin during WW2 is well documented by photo's and must have been horrific when it occurred. The cyclone Tracy is also well recorded, the long term residents of Darwin are a pretty resilient lot. It seems apparent that each year during the dry season many come to Darwin to work the tourist season and then leave before the wet season, so there appears to be quite a large floating population.
I visited the Air Museum and spent a very pleasant 4 hours wandering around the exhibits, the feature being the B52 American Bomber that dominates the display. This is a very large plane and standing under it one wonders how on earth it ever got into the air. During our time in Darwin there was a war games exercise taking place with FA18 Hornet and F111 fighter bombers taking off from the airport. Operation "Pitch Black" involving 4 countries was under way and the scream of these wonderful planes passing overhead made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I am so glad that Australia has this sort of hitting power and saddened that F111'S are being replaced.
I made arrangements for the car and van to be serviced for the next part of the trip and found that there was a problem with the exhaust that needed to be fixed, all necessary but expensive.
We visited Cullen Bay Marina and had lunch at the Casino and also visited all the other tourist attractions around Darwin. We also drove to the Adelaide River and went on a jumping crocodile tour. The croc's are very Territorial and we saw some skirmishes between them when feeding. The biggest croc and dominant male of the area is a croc called "Bogart" and he is a massive croc who has had many fights to keep his territory, so he is missing three legs but still manages to dominate and survive. To my grandchildren, imagine having three legs torn off and still surviving, that is one very tough croc and I'm very glad that I am not in the water with him.
After the croc tour we visited Fogg Dam and saw thousands of water birds of all types, quite an experience. Then it was off to "Humpty Doo" (what a classic name for a town)for lunch at the Pub, on the way home we visited an aboriginal art centre and didge factory.
The highlight of our time in Darwin was a tour called "Turtle Tracks". This expensive tour was a trip by a purpose built fast boat called "Snubfin" to an Island called "Bare Sand Island". The journey took about just over 2 hours arriving at the Island just before sunset. We watched the sunset over the beach and were joined by a research scientist and assistant who gave us a insight into the lives of "Flatback" and "Olive Ridley" turtles and in particular their breeding habits and the survival of the young turtles.
It was not long after sunset that we spotted the first Turtle coming out of the surf and making its way up the beach to the sand dunes to lay its eggs. Keeping quiet and out of the way we followed the turtle and watched as it dug a hole in the sand with its back feet. When it could dig no further it started laying its eggs, about 70 in groups of about 10. The eggs had a leathery shell and were about the size of a chook egg. The Turtle then filled in the hole and headed back to the ocean. The eggs hatch in about 45 days and the little turtles have to dig their way out of the sand hole and then find their way to the water. The survival rate is not high because birds and fish feed off the babies. The scientist collects baby turtles that he finds during the day and releases them of a night to give them a better chance of survival, so he let us release some into the water.
A great dinner of prawns and salad followed and then the trip home arriving after midnight. The whole experience was well worth the cost and effort. The little Turtles are just beautiful and their efforts to survive inspirational. One can watch documentaries, but to be there and watch nature happen is a memory of a lifetime. I will never forget this experience.
We met up with fellow campers at Freespirit and in particular D and S who organised a group happy hour with music by fellow campers H and E. Its amazing how long an hour can take and successive nights were spent in great company. We also met up with C and R who came from home to Darwin to visit family and also brought our mail, some of which was welcome (bloody telstra). It was great to see our friends from Albury and catch with their granddaughter.
Sadly all good things must come to an end and after 16 action packed days its time to get on the move again, so its off to Litchfield National Park. Sad to be leaving our new friends D and S, but we will stay in touch.........Robby