MEMBER TRIP REPORT
We camped outside Darwin near Berry Springs and each did our own thing as we had different friends from Melbourne to visit . Bruce and I had met in Darwin in the 1980 ’ s so it was a lot of reminiscing and visiting places from the past . Yes ! it has changed a lot but is still a vibrant young city despite everything . We also did an iconic boat trip to the Tiwi Islands ( 2 hours ) on the ferry from Darwin in the Arafura sea . We were both interested in Indigenous art and met some very interesting people and saw some great galleries .
Darwin to Cairns
From Darwin we headed over to Kakadu about which we heard a lot of mixed reports and spent 3 nights in Jabiru . This is a very special part of Australia and did two boat cruises : one a wildlife tour on the Mary river and the other an Indigenous cultural tour along the South Alligator river . Both were very different and Crocodiles were involved in each . At the end of the second tour we dropped into Cahill ’ s crossing , seeing the tide change and trying to spot a croc jumping for fish . We didn ’ t see any croc ’ s but almost saw a tourist swept into the churning water – not sure if it is worth fishing there at that price .
The rest of our time at Kakadu was taken up with indigenous art galleries , rock art and several walks which were truly spectacular . I walked away with a deep respect for this ancient land we live in and also the culture and knowledge of our indigenous people . One aspect we did not appreciate were the midges . Unfortunately one member of our party lost a few nights sleep and was very uncomfortable .
From Kakadu we headed to the Savanna Way via the thermal springs at Mataranka and Bitter Springs . Who can resist aqua blue water lined with native palms in the dessert country ? We all had a dip and luxuriated in this paradise .
Heading for the Gulf of Carpentaria we passed some iconic places such as the Roper river and out to the beautiful Limmen National Park . We spent 2 lovely nights at Butterfly falls campsite which was an iconic waterfall and swimming hole . It was hot so all had a swim and just relaxed in this lovely setting . In the morning we travelled to the ‘ Lost City ’ which was a group of weathered rock pillars that were something quite unusual before heading to Lorella Springs station . Lorella has an amazing network of 4WD tracks and we spent a day exploring the billabong , where we went canoeing , as well as visiting several waterfalls and swimming