Yes, that’s correct, we have finally dragged ourselves away from Mitch and Chelsea’s hospitality and are back on the road. We cannot thank them enough and are looking forward to seeing them again in October as we’ve been invited to their wedding which is taking place at Burrawang, about 2 hours west of Sydney.
Anne wanted to see saltwater crocodiles, so what better than a jumping croc trip on the Adelaide River between Darwin and Kakadu National Park?
It was the 1pm cruise for us as we had so much stuff strewn about our room at Mitch and Chelsea’s place that it took a couple of hours to get everything back into the Land Rover and in its proper place. There’s some debate as to how natural it is to get the crocodiles to jump out the water for a pork chop suspended by a couple of meters of string on the end of a long pole, but the crocodiles did willingly swim out to the boat.
They seemed to think it worth the effort for a feed, and seeing them propel themselves a couple of metres vertically out of the water certainly made an impression and will ensure that we show them the utmost respect if we come across them again.
Speaking of respect, Anne thought it best to pull over as a tank trundled towards us on the gravel Old Jim Jim Road which cuts through the army’s Mount Bundy Training Area.
Other than the risk of being squashed by military machinery, the main problem with the scenic route into Kakadu National Park is the dust as the dry conditions mean that you kick up a plume of fine particles in your wake (especially if you are a tank).
The bush camping area at Black Jungle Springs didn’t look that inviting, so we carried on to the South Alligator River where a bumpy 4WD track leads off to the NE and some other camping areas.
Despite being out of the roof tent for almost a week we managed to remember how to put it up and are camping by Alligator Billabong. There are no alligators, but we saw a crocodile slip into the water as we drove along the bank. We’re keeping a close eye on the undergrowth just in case any crocodiles get inquisitive, and we cannot tell you how glad we are that we’ll be sleeping in a roof tent tonight. I wouldn’t fancy being in swag, and we’ve adopted a lighthouse style sweep of the torch as we sit and eat. SPOT
Dinner tonight was courtesy of Mitch and Chelsea who bagged up the left over spaghetti bolognaise from the other night for us to take. Mitch makes the best spagbol (just make sure you like garlic). Anne wondered whether they were missing us, but I think they’re probably just relieved to have their house back!
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