Darwin (By Simon)

After leaving Litchfield National Park our next stop was Darwin (the Big Smoke) but on the way we dropped into Berry Springs. I made a point of going there as swimming in Berry Springs is one of my earliest childhood memories.

Berry Springs is a beautiful spot with a natural pool at the spring which feeds an upper and lower pool. We were able to swim all the way through all three pools along with dozens of fish.

We were soon back on the road and heading into Darwin. It was a strange feeling seeing so many cars on the road, a city skyline and traffic lights.

Arriving in Darwin we found that the V8 Super Cars were on at Hidden Valley raceway making finding affordable accommodation quite hard. However, we were blessed finding a caravan site with an attached ensuite (after sharing a bathroom for the last 3 months Liz was wrapped to have her own bathroom).

We spent a couple of days in Darwin stocking up supplies and visiting the attractions. Some of the highlights were:

- The Darwin Waterfront Wave Pool (more like a giant washing machine).

- Buying a bunch of Prawns and Barramundi straight from the boat (cooked up a treat for dinner that night).

- The free YMCA water park (Emma was very proud that she if finally tall enough to ride by herself).

- The Mindil Beach Markets (great food, all sorts of shows and busking and Nath learnt to crack a stock whip).

- Darwin Museum where we learnt all about Cyclone Tracey and "Sweetheart" a infamous and huge saltwater crocodile that attacked and turned over many small fishing boats.

And last but not least at 9pm we drove to the end of the RAAF base runway, sat on the roof rack eating a tub of icecream and watched the FA-18's come into land.

Travel Log:

Litchfield to Darwin: 116 km

Total Trip: 12,882  km