The next day I enjoyed the cold Jacuzzi at the hotel pool, which was really nice in the hot and humid weather. Then we found a Laundromat in Darwin, which was a challenge, since the one we were sent to was closed and the other one was a bit out of town. We did laundry in Darwin because there was nothing else to do but still kicked ourselves when we arrived in Perth and the apartment we were staying in had a washer.
The following day we went sightseeing in Perth. It was a very pretty city, nicer than I thought it would be so I was very impressed with it. We visited the Bell Tower, Fremantle, and went swimming in the sea. In the evening we came across a photography exhibition in the park, “Earth from Above,” which was neat and interesting.
I called the airport the first thing in the morning to see if we could go for a flight, and we went back on the plane. Even though we did a B-line to the falls we were able to get another good look at Kakadu since the falls were at the furthest point of the flight tour. The weather was much better today and we were able to see Jim Jim and Twin Falls in all their beauty. The flight is a definite must in Kakadu during the Australian summer months since there is no access to most sites. The flight was the highlight of Kakadu for all of us.
After the flight we drove down to Cooinda, had lunch, and went on the Yellow Water River Cruise. There are 2 entrances for this cruise one for the summer and one for winter, because of the varying water levels during these two seasons. On the cruise we were really able to see the sheer amount of water. When we went by the second dock only the handrails were peeking through the water. This cruse is very different in the summer and winter. During the winter the main attraction are crocodiles, which we unfortunately did not see. Now the river was too wide and the water was spread out. Since crocs like to be near dry land they go to the edges of the river, and therefore, they can be seen during the winter since the river is much narrower and they have to be near water to survive. The flooded landscape, though, is very beautiful and to see the difference between the seasons (since it was obvious to see where the river was in dry season) was the most fascinating for me.
There were also many different and interesting birds such as king fishers, darters, sea eagles, and jacanas or as most people like to call them, Jesus birds, since they seem to be able to walk on water. We also saw a Jabiru’s nest which was huge, but no Jabiru.
After the cruise we noticed that large green ants had tried to take over our car but luckily it was bigger than they were so we quickly got in hoping they wouldn’t get inside and drove off. We drove south through the park towards the other exit and those ants clung onto anything they could find. Many found refuge from the wind in the side mirrors. We stopped at the Bukbukluk Lookout and after just getting out of the car it started to rain. My dad turned back, but Hendrik and I decided to go to the lookout since it was only a short distance from the car park. Just as we reached the lookout it began to properly pour and we were soaked in no time. The rain felt nice in the humid weather since it was warm and at least we got to physically experience the wet season. Of course, there was nothing to see at the lookout because of the storm. When we came back to the car, it had stopped raining and some of the ants were still there crawling on our car.
All throughout the park were huge termite mounds which were really impressive because of their size and the number of them in Kakadu. Close to the exit of the park I took a picture with one.
Then we drove back to Darwin. It was a very quiet drive on a straight road and we hardly passed another car. That evening we saw the most spectacular sunset in the abandoned wilderness from the road.
We went to Darwin to see the north of Australia. It was a tiny town with absolutely nothing to do or see. It was extremely humid, and there were a ton of mosquitoes in the evening when we went to the city, so much so that I went back to the hotel to get deet. The minute I stepped out of the car I felt little painful nibbles.
When we walked through the small park in front of the Parliament House two birds would start squawking and swooped down like they wanted to attack and may have if we didn’t run away. That was probably the most exciting part of Darwin. At least we did not plan to spend too much time in Darwin and were off to Kakadu Park the next day.