Darwin and The Top End

In May 2004 we headed north to explore parts of the Northern Territory. After flying from Melbourne to Darwin we had one day to acquaint ourselves with central Darwin before heading north to explore Kakadu and surrounding areas.

The coach picked us up from the hotel and, travelling along the Arnhem Highway, the first stop was the Adelaide River where we joined the Jumping Crocodile Cruise on the river.

The guides encourage the crocodiles to jump from the water by dangling pieces of meat in front of them

Watching these large, powerful creatures so close to the boat is an awesome sight.

 

We then continued on our journey into the Kakadu National Park.

 



A great way to have an introduction to the area is by air so we boarded a small aircraft for an overview of the sights in Kakdu.

Airstrip at Kakadu

From the air we saw the Jim Jam Falls 

and the Twin Falls

Being May the dry season was only beginning so we were able to view these waterfalls. During the wet season they would be much more dramatic and several months later there would be little or no water..

 

The ruggedness of the terrain is obvious from the air

 

 

We also flew over part of the Ranger Uranium Mine

Back on terra firma we had lunch and were then ready to further explore the national park.