DARWIN, AUSTRALIA
February 23, 2007
Visiting Darwin was a great way to underline how large and diverse Australia is. Flat, wet, and hot, “the Top End”, as the locals call this northern port in the Northern Territory, is vastly different in feeling than the other ports of call we visited. Like the rest of this exciting continent, the people are beyond friendly and so glad to have us in their midst.
My morning was spent traveling about an hour on the Stuart Highway known as “The Track” (Alice Springs is some 1500 kilometers away!) to the Adelaide River – one of eight rivers in the Top End which have large flood plains and thus become the home for a vast array of unique animals and plant life. We stopped at the Windows on the Wetlands Visitors’ Center for an overview of the region. Eventually we boarded a double-decked river boat for our “Jumping crocodile Cruise”. For more than an hour we slowly made our way up this fresh water river dangling chucks of raw bony meat off the side of the boat. Slowly, quietly, and eerily these heavily textured many toothed creatures would suddenly leap up out of the water attacking the food. What magnificent creatures! We learned how many of these animals live to be more than 100 years old…how their teeth continue to grow, how they stalk their prey for an exceptional time waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Overall, it was a great way to get up close and personal with nature.
Getting back to the city of Darwin, I enjoyed a lunch of traditional meat pie and spent time roaming the streets of this small and quaint city…most of which was wiped out in a major cyclone in 1974. I returned to the ship just in time to set sail for Bali….feeling so good about finally visiting Australia and looking forward to a longer more extended return trip. Yes, I love Australia and want to see more and more of it!
February 23, 2007
Visiting Darwin was a great way to underline how large and diverse Australia is. Flat, wet, and hot, “the Top End”, as the locals call this northern port in the Northern Territory, is vastly different in feeling than the other ports of call we visited. Like the rest of this exciting continent, the people are beyond friendly and so glad to have us in their midst.
My morning was spent traveling about an hour on the Stuart Highway known as “The Track” (Alice Springs is some 1500 kilometers away!) to the Adelaide River – one of eight rivers in the Top End which have large flood plains and thus become the home for a vast array of unique animals and plant life. We stopped at the Windows on the Wetlands Visitors’ Center for an overview of the region. Eventually we boarded a double-decked river boat for our “Jumping crocodile Cruise”. For more than an hour we slowly made our way up this fresh water river dangling chucks of raw bony meat off the side of the boat. Slowly, quietly, and eerily these heavily textured many toothed creatures would suddenly leap up out of the water attacking the food. What magnificent creatures! We learned how many of these animals live to be more than 100 years old…how their teeth continue to grow, how they stalk their prey for an exceptional time waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Overall, it was a great way to get up close and personal with nature.
Getting back to the city of Darwin, I enjoyed a lunch of traditional meat pie and spent time roaming the streets of this small and quaint city…most of which was wiped out in a major cyclone in 1974. I returned to the ship just in time to set sail for Bali….feeling so good about finally visiting Australia and looking forward to a longer more extended return trip. Yes, I love Australia and want to see more and more of it!
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