Sunday, March 25: DARWIN, termite mounds, bats, waterfalls

Sunday, March 25, 2012

After three lazy days at sea we are ready to hit the top end of Australia which is the Northern Territory-Outback Country. Our ship docks at the commercial dock which is not in the city. There are no shops nearby. One must board a bus, chartered by Princess, to take one to the City Centre of Darwin.

Joe was already at breakfast when I woke up from a sound sleep at 7AM since we were to meet our tour group in The Cabaret Lounge at 7:55AM. Smartly I had put all the gear we needed to take with us all in one spot before we headed to bed so all I had to do was get dressed.

We had booked an all day tour to Litchfield Park which included a visit to the monstrous termite mounds, Wangi and Florence Waterfalls, Monsoon Forest and an Aussie BBQ lunch in the Outback.

The day started with a brilliant blue cloudless sky which is the first we had in Australia. The top end of Australia is very tropical, hot and humid thus very similar to south Florida. This particular area of Australia has had hard times in the past since it was been hit numerous times by vicious cyclones that flatten the city. The Japanese during WWII hit the area with numerous air raids. Darwin was rebuilt as a new cosmopolitan city in 1974 after Cyclone Tracy. Darwin is home to 75 ethnic groups who live harmoniously. Aboriginal traditions are also interwoven into the culture and are increasingly respected and admired.

Joe and I never made it into the City Centre of Darwin since we were gone all day into bush country. It took 55 minutes for the tour to get to the bus which was an irritation to me since it felt disorganized. The tour bus had very comfortable cushioned seating with big clean windows to view the countryside. Thankfully it had air-conditioning and it was working. As the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter up to 90 degrees with high humidity from all the rainfall as from the lush plant life in the Monsoon Forest where the trees also give off moisture as if the air did not have enough already.

Our destination was to Litchfield National Park which is two hours inland from Darwin. Halfway through the trip, we stopped in a small town of Bachelor to take a restroom break. The exterior of the restroom facilities were colorfully painted with a mural documenting the area. Inside the restrooms there were painted handprints on the wall as well as various autographs. There is a college nearby. What a remote area to have a college! There is nothing to do except hunt and fish and I suppose wrestle crocodiles.

It was another hour before we entered Litchfield National Park where the monstrous termite mounds are a feat of natural engineering. Some of the mounds are 50 years old. The area has tall brown grass where one can understand why they have awful fires here. Along the way to the park we passed miles and miles of savannah vegetation that had the tall brown grass, smaller termite mounds, various types of palm trees, eucalyptus trees (not of the koala bear liking).

The cathedral termite mounds were at least four times taller than Joe and quite wide in circumference. It looks like they are made a mud and they are hard to the touch. There are various crevasses in the mounds that act as air-conditioning for the termites. The mounds are constructed in north-south orientation thus acting as a built in temperature control mechanism. It is a wonder of the animal kingdom. The mounds resemble large tombstones in a graveyard. One does not see the termites at all, just their home. There were also some magnetic termite mounds that were flatter, not as tall but with the top having jagged edges. The magnetic termites’ mounds are located in the flood and grass area.

Our next stop was lunch at the Litchfield Café. The Café was hit by lightning this past October during a bad storm and burned down. The staff created a temporary shelter that had a tin roof that sheltered us from the hot sun. There is such a difference in temperature between the shade and the blaring sun. Lunch was BBQ chicken along with various types of salads. It was okay and the chicken was tender.

After 45 minutes for lunch we realized that there is a half hour time difference between the boat and in the Northwest Territory. When the guide told us to be back at 1:00 PM, it was really 12:30 on all the tourists’ watches. Naturally a few people were late getting back to the bus but it was not too bad. I forgot to mention that there was a speaker on the bus giving us information about Darwin and the areas that we were visiting. His voice had a monotone thus there were a few of us who fell asleep during his narrative.

Our next stop was Wangi Falls which is actually two falls falling into a pond below. The falls were very heavy since all the rain that Australia recently had. The pond was overflowing thus we were not able to take a welcome swim break not only because the falls were falling so hard but because of the salt water crocodiles who inhabit the pond during the rainy season. The pond was surrounded by a chain link fence to prevent anyone having an encounter with the meat eating, huge, vicious, jumping, fast crocs. While we did not see any, they assured us that they were just waiting for their next meal hiding under the waterfall. The saltwater crocs are able to get this far inland because of the rainy season. The huge males are looking for a new hangout and a new harem of 20 to 30 females. They are supposedly very territorial.

The area near the falls is flooded and is heavily vegetated with ferns, bushes, palms, hardwoods and is a forest. The type of forest is called a Monsoon Forest since it gets so much water. The Northern Territory of Australia has no lack of water. Even in the dry season there is plenty of water underground.

There was a boardwalk around the area that was flooded but eventually you came upon a trail that would take you to the top of the falls but we did not have time to do that. I trekked along the path as Joe stayed behind since the heat bothers him even though he was good about keeping in the shade. Even in the shaded forest it was sticky hot and in the areas where there was sun, it was very uncomfortable. I was fascinated with the various types of trees and ferns.

A group of Brits passed me and told me that about another 20 feet up the trail that I could see some fruited trees. What they really said, was that I would see some fruit bats up in the trees. I did and they were huge with them being at least a foot long in body length. They truly looked like Dracula’s bat. Their wingspan was expansive but I only saw a little bit of that. Amazing creatures! Their size was astounding to me and I am sure glad that they were very happy hanging in the trees cleaning themselves and eating stuff. I also saw some very large golden orb female spiders in their large webs. The male are smaller and the females eat the males. They have skinny legs but there main body is very colorful. I have no idea if they are poisonous. I doubt it since I am sure that we would have been warned. There were some colorful butterflies and surprisingly not that many insects bugging us thankfully. I was able to climb to one of the landings where I was able to look over the Monsoon Forest and the valley.

I was the last one to make it to the bus though I was exactly on time before the bus headed to Florence Falls about another 30 minute drive. I loved Florence Falls since there were many levels to the graceful falls making it beautiful. At the bottom of the falls there was a swimming pool with families taking a refreshing swim. Oh, I wish I could have done that. It was like out of a movie.

We did not get back to the ship until about 4:45PM and the ship was supposed to leave at 4:30PM but they waited for our tour to return. I had no time to shop since there was nothing at this pier. Phooey! I missed getting a Darwin t-shirt for my quilt.

Joe and I were so glad to get back to our cabin where we were able to relax for two hours before dinner with our gregarious funny international table.

The next two days are sea days before we get to Bali, Indonesia. You should know what the next two days entails which is eat, sun, eat, lectures, nap, shower, eat, nightcap then sleep!