The farewell to Oz Top End Tour

By the time I landed in Darwin, I was wanting to leave Oz. I've been here two months now and it was starting to take it's toll. Endless anonymous backpacker hostels, bad meals and TV leave you feeling drained. I needed something to engage in again, and then I found it out in the bush. The three national parks of Kakadu, Nitmiluk and Litchfield are the big draws to folk who venture up to the 'Top End' of Australia. There are many tour companies ready to take a hefty wad of dollars out of your wallet to show you around.

Well being a hardy traveller I didn't feel the need to be guided about, I wanted to explore out my own pace. So with three new friends I found from loitering about in the backpackers (Big up Ian, Nina and Kim!), we hired a campervan and set out into the wilderness.

Kakadu is larger than Belgium, and has only two roads accessing it (probably just like Belgium). We cruised down the Arnhem Highway and checked out the huge turmite mounds which stand up to 5 meters tall on the side of the road. They're also magnetic and the little critters always build then North/south so they get the least heat from the sun and so keep themselves cool.

The landscape is awesome out there. Natural Rock escarpments meet wetlands and tropical rainforest. An abundance of wildlife from wallabies, kites, bald headed eagles and crocodiles call this place home. Ahh the crocodiles. There's a reason they shot a lot of 'Crocodile Dundee' here. Saltwater and Freshwater crocs are everywhere. Talking to a Ranger he said they counted 90 crocs in a 4 km stretch of the park. Wanting to see for ourselves we went down to the banks of the East Alligator River and almost immediately saw one on the far side of the bank. Being careful not to stand too close to the edge as tourists have been eaten by Salties in the past we peered into the murky depths. It all got a bit frightening when the croc turned and headed towards us then suddenly dived underwater. Time to go!

The park also contains some great waterfalls. Having only a 2WD we didn't manage to check out Jim Jim Falls but went to Gunlom instead. These falls drop into a large plunge pool from a series of four infinity pools 70 meters above. TRhe water was great to swim in and was croc free!

Onwards to Katherine Gorge. This stretch of the Katherine river 200kms south of Kakadu is famed for it's sheer limestone cliffs and pristine water. We hiked 5 kms from our campsite to through Butterfly gorge to the river. En route we, wait for it, yup saw butterflies as well as a couple of fast moving snakes. Luckily they were moving in the opposite direction as my time here has only fuelled my paranioa of the dastardly creatures.

The gorge opens up onto a spectacular bend in the river after cooling off in water we eat our sandwiches on the bank and wached turtles come up and nearly nibble on our toes. Cool.

Lastly we hit Litchfield park about 15o km's south of Darwin. The park has a series of swimming holes and yet more waterfalls for the perfect spot for a natural shower. Florence and Wangi falls were still pounding water over their edges even two months into the dry season. The pools are big enough that you can still get away from the day trippers and find a quiet(ish) spot.

Over 6 days these three parks showed me that the best parts of Oz are the ones miles away from the towns. Going bush is the way to go.

Onwards to Indonesia!