Northern Exposure

September 2016

We timed our visit to Darwin so as to join our rally friends Magda and Tim (s/v Belafonte) and explore Kakadu National Park. Darwin caught us by surprise. It was purpose-built for rough men that mine the earth. Our first hotel was a gray building that felt like a scene from Cops Darwin. After we left the Cops Hotel, there was a knifing down the street. On our return to Darwin, I booked a larger room at adifferent hotel and we ended up with a two story 1970’s style suite. Also odd, but at least a bit more Barney Miller than Cops.

Jason enjoyed perusing the small Darwin military museum. The main show was the Defense of Darwin Exhibit, which told the story of the bombing of Darwin in 1942. I enjoyed the 10K coastline walk from the city to the museum.

Kakadu is now a national park covering 20,000 square kilometers with many trails and campsites, but it has been home to Aboriginal peoples for 50,000 years. They were hunter-gatherers and roamed the terrain seeking food and staying in temporary shelters. The people in the Kakadu region recognize six seasons of the year: pre-monsoon, monsoon, stormy, humid, cold, and, hot and dry.  Their activities and food varied with the seasons. I was captivated by the story of their cough medicine. There are tiny green ants, Yangga, that roam the rocks. The people capture the ants and grind them into a paste. Looks like Vicks Night-time to me. The arrival of outsiders changed the lives of the Indigenous People and reduced the population but some of the descendants remain to tell their stories. There are many places to view rock art depicting past endeavors and legends.

On our way to the Nouralangie Rock area, we came across a wonderful Thai roadside stop. Our post-lunch progress slowed, we still managed to hike the plateau and get to the campsite before dark.

We had chosen to rent a simple four wheel drive car while Magda and Tim rented a small camper van.  Jason was fascinated with the pricing scheme.  For an extra fifteen Australian dollars per day they added a picnic table AND WiFi.  They were only available as a package.  He kept asking why chairs did not come with the table but a WiFi router did.

We prepared for a six hour hike after a less than perfect night’s sleep interrupted by a drunk individual banging on our cabin door at midnight. Good thing the doors were locked. Magda carefully calculated the water needs for the heat and I packed some snacks. As it happened, the hike over the hilly terrain took only three and a half hours. I saw many of the green ants along the way but declined to gather them for our medicine cabinet.

Our friends had suggested that we sign up for the six a.m. billabong tour.  A billabong is a water area which is crucial for life in the arid terrain. We were reluctant to wake ourselves in time for the boat tour, but we were rewarded with views of morning bird activity and a peaceful atmosphere.   That is, until the crocodiles started circling. I kept my arms inside the boat. Male crocodiles divide up the river into territories containing several females. Both can leap six feet into the air when seeking prey or my arm.

Once again seeking sustenance on the road back to Darwin, we stopped in the town of Humpty Doo. How could you not? The tavern served me sliders: barramundi, crocodile and buffalo. Back in Darwin, we strolled the streets of the city that doesn’t seem like it ever discovered its spirit after being leveled 75 years ago.

Before leaving Darwin, we went to Tipperary Marina to wave off our rally friends who were exiting the marina lock for the next part of their circumnavigation. S/V Barbara Jean sailed the world on a 38-foot Island Packet with just two people. Meara Nieda from Finland rotated seven people aboard with Pekka always at the helm. Into the Blue is a family adventure. The lock operator even let Jason take the controls for one of the boats. Next time we see everyone will be in Europe.