The Ghan, Darwin and Kakadu

With Elizabeth and Jonathon at Adelaide

The last thing I thought of when we boarded The Ghan in Adelaide was being held up by bushfires! We left Adelaide at midday Wednesday for this iconic trip up through the "red heart" of Australia. On Thursday morning we awoke and found ourselves stopped in the middle of nowhere (actually the far north of South Australia) and with no reasons why from the crew. Eventually we were informed that because of bushfires near the track we needed to await permission to procede. So we continued through burnt-out country, stopping for hours, then moving forward  until the next stop. Apparently, we had to wait until trains ahead of us had completed a "section" before we could then enter it. There was a surprising amount of vegetation in the unburnt areas - not the red centre at all, more like the green! The consequence of all the rain since the breaking of the drought I suppose. In the meantime the staff were helpful and informative and the meals and wine excellent! Arriving at Alice Springs 6 hours late meant that we couldn't do the tours we had booked - we had planned to do a camel trek. Having already been to "The Alice", this was not a problem but for passengers who hadn't seen it, there was disappointment. We made up little time in Alice so, again, couldn't go on the tours arranged for Katherine - this time a canoeing trip up the Katherine Gorge. C'est la vie.

Typical tropical woodland vegetation

Spent the weekend in Darwin with my sister before hiring a 4WD Prado to take us out to Kakadu National Park.October is not the best time for Kakadu - it is beginning to steam up for the wet and the days are very muggy and hot. Of course I was travelling with just my cabin bag and I trialled my tennis tops in the humidity - what better place to test clothes for hot, humid conditions! They did really well, especially the Lululemon Athletica gear - a great fabric which did not get sweaty and felt cool. July is the peak time to visit. We visited most of the main sites - starting with the Mamukala wetlands on our way to our hotel. There is a bird hide where you can watch the birdlife such as magpie geese feeding on the lily roots dug from under the water.We stayed in Jabiru (saw several namesake birds) at the Gaguju Crocodile Holiday Inn - recommended and providing a great range of gluten-free meals!

At Twin Falls

Pool at foot of Jim Jim Falls

The following day we took a day trip to Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls (rental vehicles not allowed because of the sandy track). This tour takes about 10 hours and was quite exhausting. We went to Twin Falls first - walking for a short while on a bush track then a boat trip up the river, spotting barramundi in the clear water, then another walk to the falls. Not as much flow as in the wet but still spectacular. Swimming is not allowed here because of crocodiles. Apparently a huge croc was spotted several years ago and until it is caught, swimming is forbidden.

The "walk" to Jim Jim Falls

Next stop was Jim Jim Falls. Again a walk through bush, then climbing over boulders. We stopped for a delicious lunch prepared by our guide in a shady spot then made the last, hardest, push over the boulders to the falls. It is quite a difficult "walk" but can be done with care - a reasonable level of fitness is handy. The falls don't flow at this time of year but were quite spectacular - like a huge amphitheatre of rock with a beautiful swimming pool at the bottom. It is 150 metres across for the gamer ones but it is lovely lying on the boulders in the water at the edge, watching the black bream swimming around us. When we arrive back at the truck, Steve has frozen orange segments and face washers dipped in icy water to cool us down!

It's not easy to strip pandanus!

The next day we check out all the rock painting sites, firstly at Ubirr (used for the sunset scene in the first Crocodile Dundee film!). Here we also had a lesson in basket making with two aboriginal women - how to strip the pandanus leaves (really hard!), the dying process, then weaving bracelets. A lot of fun and a nice insight into aboriginal culture.

The Kakadu/Arnhem border is here - the East Alligator River - so went to spot crocodiles and were rewarded with sightings of three just lazing around in the water. Headed to Nourlangie to see more rock paintings - some terrific examples. And as all the paintings are on rock it means we have to climb up to them - tough going in the heat!

Art at Nourlangie

The Lost City, Litchfield NP

Our stay at Kakadu done, we drove to Adelaide River on the Stuart Highway before visiting Litchfield National Park. Adelaide River is the sort of town you would normally just drive through but has a couple of things of interest.There is a War Cemetery where servicemen killed in Darwin and surrounds were buried during the Second World War. Not only Australians but British and one lone Canadian. Part of the cemetery has civilian casualties. Anyone who has seen Baz Luhrmann's "Australia" would remember the scene of the bombing of  Darwin Post Office. The staff killed in that attack are buried here at Adelaide River. On a lighter note, in the Adelaide River Hotel bar is the stuffed buffalo "Charlie", hypnotized by Paul Hogan in "Crocodile Dundee"!
Litchfield is a lovely park - not huge so easy to get to all the sites - mainly waterfalls but very pretty. We drove out on a track to the "Lost City" - a area of rocks which did indeed resemble a city lost in the bush - worth the torturous drive. Then back to Darwin to catch our flight home very glad to have seen Kakadu and travelled on The Ghan.

Light travelling!
Marie