it would have done had there not been a sign that said , “ Freshwater crocodiles inhabit this area . They can become aggressive and cause injury if disturbed .” Justin , the only Australian amongst us , chimed-in that they were only freshies , and we ’ d be fine . Another sign immediately below announced , “ Saltwater crocodiles are known to move into this area undetected . Attacks can cause injury or death .” I figured I ’ d detect those saltwater crocodiles pretty damned quickly !
To continue the theme , we stayed at a lovely campground in Lichfield National Park . Seeing some of the sights , we marvelled at the big fruit bats hanging in the trees and the famous Bowerbird building it ’ s cacoon like nest with fastidious detail , adding titbits that align with their chosen colour to attract a mate . I think their disappointment was palatable in attracting only four hairy bikers . The main lure for us was the cooling waterfall and lagoon , perfect to escape the dust and heat . We took a couple of dips during the day and ventured back to the secluded spot at night for astrophotography . We
were pretty happy with life until some arsehole started flashing torch beams across the lagoon willy-nilly . They slowly approached , and we braced ourselves for this one-manlighthouse , only to meet a kind ranger eager to explain that he was searching for crocodiles – they use a torch to catch the eyes reflection at night . Turns out a freshie had attacked a man in the shallows only a few days previously . Crumbs !
Also , in Lichfield , were the incredible magnetic termite mounds – quite the positive attraction ! Sorry . What makes these arrowheadthin tombstone dwellings so special though is that their wafer edges point north-south and broad backs face east-west , regulating the temperature during the day . The termites obviously had a lot of free time on their , erm , legs , building some colossal structures in the outback , some of which in the Northern Territory can grow to eight metres high ! Temperature regulation was becoming an issue for us too , as the days were scorching . We would often stop for petrol and bathe our t-shirts in the bathroom sink before riding again . Within fifteen minutes we were bone-dry .
At long last we pulled into Darwin , headed straight for a hotel on the waterfront and would have slept in the swimming pool if they ’ d have let us . We wallowed a great deal , white dusty hippos the lot of us .
We ’ d arranged for the motorcycles to be kept in storage locally until they could be transported back to Melbourne , whilst we would fly on ahead . Making it all the way to Darwin though was quite an achievement , and we were eager to head out to the beach . Again , signs warned us against that , citing crocodiles would bite our bums – one was even riding the waves ! And if you did make it into the water , the jellyfish weren ’ t too friendly either . It ’ s one of those ironies of life : Australians are a lovely , welcoming bunch , yet the damned country itself is as inhospitable as you can get . And that ’ s not even taking into account any rogue pickled herring !
RR
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