Hey, everyone! What a fun past few days it has been – highlighted by trips to both Litchfield and Kakadu National Park. Both national parks were gorgeous, but Kakadu was a clear winner for me.

Litchfield National Park

I met fellow explorer and travel buddy John online and we decided to go to Litchfield National Park together one day. The trip is a little over an hour outside of Darwin. The park itself is famed for its magnetic termite mounds (some over 50 years old), waterfalls, and swimming holes.

I had seen some of the termite mounds on the drive from Alice to Darwin, but hadn’t yet been up close to one of the towering mounds. They were our first stop of the day. How cool to see them, double the height of me. And termites built them! Wild.

From there, we drove to our first swimming spot of the day – Buley rock hole. I forgot to snap a pic of that first spot, but it was a series of small, terraced, almost “personalized” rock holes for people to swim in. Water cascaded down from one rock hole to the next. I was slightly terrified to swim. Everyone has warned that there are crocodiles everywhere in Darwin (I hadn’t yet seen one). John assured me people wouldn’t be swimming if there were, and that the rangers do routine checks. Still not convinced, I decided to brave it and dipped into the water. It was very refreshing, and nice to swim again after not having been in the water at all since Coral Bay. Swimming in the ocean is very discouraged in Darwin, since there are saltwater crocodiles everywhere – rock holes are the next best bet.

After the first swimming spot, we hopped back into the car and went on a short hike to our second waterfall – Florence Falls. This was my favorite swimming spot of the day. It was really fun to swim around the big pool of water, and to even go behind the waterfall as it cascaded down from the cliff edge above. Two brave guys climbed up some rocks and did a two-story jump into the water. “Right into a croc’s mouth,” I joked to John. Even where there are no saltwater crocs, there may be “freshies” – smaller, shyer freshwater crocodiles that are not likely to attack a human.

After drying off, we went to check out… you guessed it, a THIRD waterfall! This one, Tjaetaba Falls, didn’t have an accessible swimming hole, and John said the water wasn’t flowing as impressively as it does at other points of the year. That said, the view was really lovely. So many trees. Endless trees, leading off to the horizon.

And then, our fourth and final waterfall: Wangi Falls. This one is John’s favorite, but unfortunately the rock hole isn’t swimmable at the moment due to a number of crocs (three, I heard) in the area. They even had a bait trap to try and catch them. Instead, John and I opted for a hike that took us around the waterfalls and up to the top of it. Along the way, we saw some black-headed flying foxes which reminded me of my buddies in Melbourne.

The hike was great – slightly challenging with inclines at times, but overall it was worth it, taking us through different types of flora. After the walk, we hopped back in the car, got some dinner and parted ways after a great day.

Kakadu National Park

Since John and I had gotten on well during our Litchfield National Park day trip, I was invited to join John to Kakadu National Park for a few days where he had rented a room. Kakadu is Australia’s second largest national park, with the Great Barrier Reef being the first.

The drive there was easy… although I wasn’t the one driving haha. We arrived in the late afternoon, allowing us enough time to check in at our accommodation, then go out for one mini adventure to start the trip. We stopped at Cahill’s Crossing, a popular spot for seeing crocodiles. It is literally a road that cuts through a river – often flooded with water during high tide. At low tide, crocodiles can often be found sunbathing in the middle of the road. No such luck, so we continued on to Ubirr Rock.

Ubirr Rock is a lovely spot – perhaps one of my favorites in Kakadu. Along the walk to the rock, we passed a number of spots with Aboriginal rock paintings. The paintings were estimated at over 1,000 years old and were much more intact than those at Uluṟu.

By the time we had summited the rock… wow. The swampland we looked over was phenomenal. I had never seen a terrain quite like it. Green, green grass, rock formations jutting out from the ground, groups of trees, hills along the horizon. It looked stunning. Among many others with the same idea, John and I stayed to watch the sunset. I was already in love with Kakadu and hadn’t even been there three hours at this point.

On the drive back to our accommodation, I also spotted a WILD DOG at the side of the road! Not quite a dingo, these guys are… well, wild. It was grey and had some spots on it. It looked like it was hunting for something.

After having dinner, John and I went for a night walk. I was determined to find a huntsman. After all, Darwin was the spot for them. If I wasn’t going to see a huntsman here, after NINE MONTHS IN AUSTRALIA, would I ever see a huntsman? So off we went, searching along the caravan with my torch, actively looking for these beastly spiders. And then, sure enough… a spider! The largest spider I’d ever seen! It clung to a tree, unfazed by my curiosity. I was able to snap a couple of pictures of it. Please note: it may look large in this picture, but it was probably the circumference of a tea saucer, legs and all.

John said it looked quite small for a huntsman – the one’s he had seen were larger. I plugged the image into GoogleLens and it recognized it as a huntsman. I also sent a picture to some other Aussie friends who confirmed it. “It might be juvenile, or a male. The males are smaller,” Kelsey told me.

Apparently, the tell-tale sign is the legs. Huntsman have crab-like legs, very flat. It helps them squeeze into tight corners… that’s how they get into your bedroom hahaha. They are also known as a “crab-legged spider.” It was the most perfect first huntsman experience I could have had… on my own terms (searching for one), in the wild, and it wasn’t so large I had a heart attack.

Before we returned to our room, we also heard some wild dogs howling. And as a cherry on top – we saw a gecko eating a cockroach! So many geckos around the toilet block.

What a way to end my first day in Kakadu.

Hike, Hike, Hike

The next day was a big walking day. I can’t remember the names of all the places that we went to, but we saw a lot of rock paintings. Some of the walks were flat and easy, allowing us to observe our surroundings easily. Others were rocky, with reasonably steep inclines.

We had to watch our footing and also watch out for snakes. No such luck with snakes – but we did see heaps of little lizards along the way. Never before have I seen as many lizards as I have in the Top End of Australia. They. Are. EVERYWHERE. While the larger lizards are harder to come by… the little ones are all over the place.

It was a slightly humid day. John remarked how it felt much more humid in Kakadu than in Darwin, to which I had to agree. After every hike, we’d drink multiple gulps of water and cool off in his air-conditioned Ute before heading to the next destination.

One of our favorites of the day was a billabong with dozens, if not hundreds of birds hanging at the edge of the water. We spooked them as we approached, and they all flew off.

And then – unbeknownst to me, John had a surprise for me.

Yellow Waters Cruise

Around 4pm, we had stopped in Cooinda. I had seen signs for “Yellow Water,” which I knew was a really popular spot for crocodiles. I wanted to ask about it, but I also figured John had his own itinerary in mind. He had been to Kakadu many times and I wanted to let him show me wherever he thought best.

While in Cooinda stopping for petrol, John told me that we were going on one of the Yellow Water cruises. WHAT?!

We were the first on the boat and I was incredibly excited, sitting right up front. Crocodiles, here we come!

And they were waiting for us.

Occasionally, we would find one in the middle of the river, only the top of its eyes and its snout popping out of the water. As our boat would approach the croc, it would quietly dip below the surface, as if it was never there. The stealth of these reptiles is insane.

We saw heaps of crocs along the cruise, it’s hard to keep track. I had a few favorites, though.

There was one guy who was basking in the sun, his mouth open. Crocodiles are able to regulate their own temperature – by opening their mouths, they’re able to cool down. Similar to a dog panting.

Another favorite was a little guy, hanging amongst the lily pads. He didn’t do anything particularly special, I just thought he was stunning. Crocodile eyes are so evil looking, and we were able to get close enough to this croc that I could see them very clearly.

There was also a crocodile who would splash his tail around, stirring up the fish. He would then spin around and eat them very quickly. They are so fast when they want to be. Other times, they lay calmly, not moving for hours or even days – submerged in the muck. Crocodiles can go months without eating. They will also eat smaller crocodiles, which I found… very interesting.

I also saw that same crocodile eat a fish in the gentlest way possible. It simply ducked down, turned its head very slowly, and seemed to swallow a fish whole.

And then… a croc chomping on what looks to be a snake after zooming in on my camera. The tour operator was going crazy, cheering, “this never happens!” John could attest to this – he’s been on the tour five or six times and said he’s never seen a croc lunge up and eat something.

The most insane croc of the day was… well, the most massive one we saw. Even though he was tucked away behind some mangroves, the size of him was immense and obvious. His head alone… Geez. Insane.

One thing I haven’t mentioned is the birds! There were so many birds along the cruise. Kingfishers, corellas, whistling ducks (John’s favorite), sea eagles, and more. They would chirp, screech, sing along all throughout the cruise. There were also comb-crested jacanas, known as “Jesus birds,” which John and I both enjoyed. I think my favorite was the jabiru – a bird that the town our accommodation was in was named after.

Shortly before the cruise ended, we stalled the boat along the lily pads, watching both the birds as well as the sun as it lowered below the horizon.

Pulling back to the dock, we were lucky enough to see one final crocodile, the lingering effects of sunset looming behind him.

What an incredible experience to see these crocs in their element. It was so, so kind of John to surprise me with that cruise. Truly one of the sweetest, nicest things someone has done for me since being in Australia. I treated John to dinner and dessert as a thank you.

Only a minute or two after beginning our drive back to Jabiru for the evening, we saw probably six wild horses on the side of the road. WHAT?! A total bonus after a wonderful day.

We also saw a controlled burn in action. It’s so bizarre to see the bush on fire!

On our final morning, we went to try and see the crocs again at Cahill’s Crossing but with no luck. We continued on the drive back to Darwin, stopping along the way to visit this interesting rock art done by a Japanese environmentalist. The artist had spent years carving a gigantic rice stalk into the rock. After dying suddenly from a stroke, the carving was completed by his son. The artwork itself is over 80m long.

We also saw a wild pig on the drive back! I’ve never seen that before.

A HUGE thank you to John for inviting me along to Kakadu – what a phenomenal time!

The Ongoing Frill-Necked Lizard Hunt

In-between national parks with John, I have been on the hunt for frill-necked lizards. I have not seen them yet. Haha. What a repeat of my thorny devil mission down in Yulara. The “frillies,” as they’re called locally, are seen mostly in the wet season but I have had reports of people seeing them as recently as a few days ago.

I have traveled to some of the spots where they were recently seen, but I haven’t found them yet.

Instead, I’ve seen heaps of lizards and even a couple of spotted tree goannas. I did see a female swampland lashtail lizard which looked suspiciously like a baby frilly… but it was not. The females have much different patterns than their male counterparts.

Along my search, I have seen some very funny lizard behavior. Never before have I seen the “basking” stance of a lizard. Essentially, the lizard sticks its head up to the sky and its tail is curled up as well, soaking up as much of the sun as possible. I also had gotten too close to a lizard one day and it ran away on its hind legs, something called “bipedal locomotion”.

I have seen lots of birds, too!

There are two places I want to return to that I’m feeling very hopeful about. One is the Mulch Pit Community Garden – where there are allegedly a number of “resident frillies” who hang out and like to pose for pictures. Another is near the suburb of Brinkin – where a few baby frillies were spotted a few days back. We will see what happens! Maybe tomorrow.

Miscellaneous

On some of my calmer days, I have been hanging along the esplanade in the evening – either catching up with people back home, walking around, or just meditating/chilling.

One night, I walked from one side of the esplanade to the other and saw probably a dozen possums. It was crazy! They were in trees, on the ground, climbing down from trees. Never before have I seen that many possums.

There are also bats that hang out at the park at night. One night, I was walking down the footpath and a bat seemed to be flying right at me – very low to the ground. Before it was too late, it swerved upwards and away. How cool to hear the sound of their wings as they flap.

Oh – and I learned about cane toads recently. They are an invasive species that were actually introduced in order to get rid of pest beetles. It didn’t work, and now the cane toads (poisonous) have killed off a bunch of native species. Sad!

There are heaps of cockatoos here. I’ve seen the white ones plenty of times in the past, but have never been able to capture their little “mohawks” lifting up. I also saw red-tailed black cockatoos which was a first for me! The red is very STRIKING, as I’ve been describing things lately.

Lastly… I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but before I left Chicago, my friend Rachel gave me a “Chicago” pin – with a pigeon atop a street sign. I couldn’t help but laugh when she gave it to me because it is such an absurd image. I pinned it to my bag and have been rep’ing Chicago ever since. I can’t believe it hasn’t fallen off my bag yet!

Art of the Week

This is actually a piece from a couple of weeks ago that I drew for Michael. I wanted it to be a surprise for him since I drew it after we parted ways in Alice Springs. Now that I’ve given it to him once we met again in Darwin, it is safe to share! I figured it was a good drawing to give him since he likes art and I was also staying in his caravan when I saw my first red kangaroo.

Reflections

Have I mentioned that people in Australia generally tend to walk on the left side of the footpath? Similar to how they drive. I quickly adhered to this rule, probably within my first month in Australia. It is funny to walk around at hostels, because there are a lot of foreigners who have not yet adhered to that rule. They will still walk on the right side and then we nearly bump into each other.

What else?

I still have a week left in Darwin. Since I’ve visited the national parks I really wanted to go to, I am not in a huge rush to do anything else. I will likely spend the rest of my time here visiting the botanical gardens, Charles Darwin National Park (apparently not as impressive as the others, but pretty near to the city), and Fogg Damm. In-between those visits, I’ll be on the hunt for snakes and frillies.

I don’t know what it is exactly, but I love Darwin. I suppose I just love Northern Territory in general. I think with Darwin, specifically, it reminds me of Perth in a way. It has slight city vibes, but it is very easy to get out into nature. I walk five minutes from my hostel, and I have bats flying at me and possums climbing out of trees. I find myself wanting to stay here longer, but I only have less than three months in Oz at this point, and still so much I want to see before heading home – mostly in Queensland.

Gah. I love Australia!

I suppose that’s all for now! Talk soon. xx