I arrive at the airport on a Friday night, at Darwin airport this is. My two flights connected surprisingly well, now for the last excitement; customs. I’ve been traveling with a stack of paperwork matching the requirements of my work & travel visa to make sure they let me into the country. We all know the tv programs about Australian border control giving people a hard time. As I walk into customs, this is what happens:
Customs officer: “What is the purpose of your visit?”
Me: “I guess I’ll work and travel, as that’s what my visa allows me to do”
Customs officer: “…well have a good time then”
This is followed by the sound of a stamp and there’s my welcome into Australia. Easy as that, no questions asked, no paperwork needed!
The Northern Territory (NT) has a population of about 240.000, making it the least populated region of the country giving Darwin the feel of a big town rather than the territory’s capital. Known as the gateway to Asia as it’s closer to Bali than Australia’s capital Canberra, Darwin has a tropical climate with only two seasons; the wet and the dry.
The outback, Darwin’s tremendous backyard is teaming with wildlife from beautiful birds and butterflies to colossal crocs. Then there’s that big rock out there, called Uluru. Wildlife is easily found by visiting the famous national parks, Kakadu or Litchfield, or by simply jumping in the ocean where the crocs will find you.
For my first week in Darwin I’m set up through HelpX, a worldwide volunteering platform with the idea of working a few hours a day in exchange for food and accommodation.
It’s been 2 weeks since I got through customs and I’m still volunteering at Bob and Trish’s house, a very nice and easygoing couple, who own two great dogs called Cooper and Jessy.
On Saturday mornings Bob and I start the day with a walk on the beach with their friendly but not to be underestimated ‘red healers’. The beach is huge, with beautiful orange-reddish soil where there’s no living soul around. This might have something to do with the crocs in the water or the deadly box-jellyfish and blue-ringed octopus… After a beautiful beach-walk we drive back home to go and do groceries. The supermarkets here are less exciting than in Asia, and prices remind me of home. After stocking the fridge with lots of fruits and veggies (soooo excited after months of fried rice!), I join Bob for a ride to the tip in their big Land cruiser to dump palm-leaves. On the way back, we go through the drive through (not just any drive through, it’s the bottle shop!) where we get one for the road after all this hard work 🙂
I started off on a long weekend here in Darwin so we got to do lots of things together. Cycling past the beaches and markets, eating burgers in the nearby pub and drinking some more cold beers 😉 I feel its gonna be my kinda place here :p Temperatures are high, dry season just started on the 1st of May and life is happening outside. Lots of this reminds me of life on Curaçao.
During the week Bob and Trish go to work, so I manage the household. The day generally starts with walking the dogs at sunrise on me ‘thongs’ in the big park next to the house followed by ‘brekkie’. Then I do chores like cleaning, washing and gardening and have the afternoon to myself to hang at the pool or head into to town.
Trish decides to take us on a day trip to Litchfield National Park. We first make a stop at the Adelaide River, about 60KM. from Darwin, so I can join a tour. Not just any tour, a jumping crocodiles tour! Before the action starts, our captain and guide clearly explains us that if we want to get back with all limbs attached, we better stay within the railings of the boat. “In case of an emergency, you don’t need to be a fast swimmer, just faster than the person next to you.” Alrighty, I wonder if it’s really that serious out there. As soon as we’re off, we see some ‘Salties’ popping up, attracted to the vibrations of the boat. We head upriver to find the big boys with names like Hollywood, Agro and Stubbie, all with their own particular story and behaviour. Before we find the 6m. males, we get to see the speed and agility of the smaller females. The principle is simple, there’s a pork-chop on a line that is being ‘angled’ up and down in the water until the croc is close enough to jump up and grab it. As their reflexes are 60 times faster than ours, it’s a matter of seconds to get them almost fully emerged from the water, clamping those powerful jaws together around the meat. After seeing it once, I realise why we need to stay within the boat. The brain of a croc is about as big as your thumb, so figure whether they see the difference between your head hanging out or that pork-chop… Soon enough, famous Agro finds us, smoothly moving his dinosaur tail to get closer to his treat. These reptiles invented stealth mode, even being 6m. long, he disappears without stirring the water and comes up right underneath the meat, giving us a close-up on his crooked yellow-brown teeth. Before having a jump at the food he gives us ‘the look’ as if checking who would be best tasting for lunch today. Then he forces his whole body upwards clamping the bait of the line, followed with a smacking sound of his powerful jaws coming back together. There is no doubt, I will never get into any water in the territory unless very sure there are no Agro’s or Hollywoods around.
After the excitement, we continue to Litchfield National Park, passing small towns with funny names like Humpty Doo and Batchelor. We explore the Wangi falls, with signs stating it’s too early in the season to swim, no croc check done, so no swimming. Another explanation is that the Abo’s (Aboriginals) don’t allow people to get in, unless enough money is handed over by the government.
We continue to the Florence falls, a double waterfall plunging into a wide pool that’s swim-approved. The water is as clear as tap-water so I can look straight down to the black fishes and the rocky bottom. The whole park has red soil and rocks, making the colour contrasts picture-perfect. Before lunch, we stop at Buley Rockhole, a long series of cascading plunge pools. This is a perfect spot to spend the day and most people hanging in the pools are doing just that. After taking several plunges to cool down, we open the back of the Land cruiser, with its perfect setup for camping trips and have a proper lunch before headed back home. Keep in mind that Australia is big, so on a day trip like this you do the same distance as crossing all of the Netherlands North to South.
The crocs and the park aren’t the end of the excitement, but only Bob and I know what’s coming next. For mother’s day, he’s arranged for Daniel, their 23 year-old son who recently moved down to Perth to come over for the weekend. It all works out perfect. We have dinner in Daniel’s favourite restaurant next to the airport as he simply walks in, getting Trish astonished by this superb surprise.
Cool bananas, getting all cushie in the big smoke; playing with the dogs, eating from the barbie and having stubbies. I’m applying for ridgy didge jobs out here varying from car washer to personal assistant and keep my fingers crossed to make some big bikkies before continuing my travels down the coast. Cheerio!
Planet Bubbles 
All beautiful pictures 🙂
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