Jumping Crocs: Darwin Here We Come

The kids all became a little obsessed with crocodiles over the duration of our trip and we couldn't drive past Adelaide River without giving them the chance to see some big salties up close. Luke and I have done a croc jumping cruise before and we weren't sure how keen the kids would go when faced with a couple of six metre reptiles up close and personal, so we opted to take a cruise on the Adelaide River Queen 2, a boat with an upstairs that's far away from the water and downstairs that's enclosed in glass. Good choice!

After we boarded the boat and set off down the murky brown river, the crocs started appearing as if from nowhere, and started swimming straight for the boat! Arley and Sage freaked out and jumped on our laps, thinking perhaps, that these giant lizards would jump right into the boat and gobble them up. Bassie on the other hand, was pretty unconcerned and quite amazed to see a croc in the wild.

After much reassuring and actually seeing the first croc "jump" for the bait on the giant fishing rod that the crew used to tempt the crocs out of the water, the kids took a collective breath and relaxed, knowing that we were safe in the boat and we weren't on the menu....!

The guys that run the cruise are professionals and it did seem a little bit like the crocodiles were part of some strange animal show, but after being fed a few times each day for the past 20 years or so, its no wonder they stick around and keep jumping for their tucker. Perhaps not a truly 'authentic' way to see these giant man eaters in the wild, but it does give an up close and personal taste of what a saltie is capable of and just how big they are. "Agro," a six metre male who lives in the river and has been visiting the croc jumping boats for years, was absolutely enormous, with a head that would weigh more than Arley, Sage and Bassie put together, so we were holding tight of hands as we looked over the railing at this reptile!

The Territory is a unique place and the acceptance and respect that the locals show these animals is also unique. They live with crocs in most of their waterways but instead of fearing them, most Territorians have learnt to respect them and for the most part, leave them alone. And after seeing these crocodiles jumping on our cruise, that's what we were going to do as well!

Arley's Video Blog #10 The Last One!

Arley has loved having his own little film crew follow him along to record his amazing holiday these past few months... or that's what he tells Luke and I! I'm sure this kid is now one step closer to scoring his dream job as a host of ABC 3's Bushwacked, but unfortunately until they come knocking on his door to audition, its back to reality and school for this six -year-old. 

Of all the kids, Arley has grown so much on our adventure and embraced every aspect of living outside and on the road - he's loved every minute! 

Here is his final instalment of his video blogs - he hopes you've enjoyed them! 

 

Sage's Video Blog #3

A look at our trip through the eyes of a four year old!

Gold, Waterfalls and Swimming Holes: Pine Creek, Litchfield National Park and Berry Springs

As we traveled closer and closer up the highway towards our Darwin destination, there are tons of beautiful places to stop and amazing things to see. We heard from my Katherine cousin that the little town of Pine Creek was having it's annual Gold Rush Festival on the weekend that we were passing through, and the kids (and Luke) couldn't miss the chance at striking it rich so we decided to stay a few nights. We camped at The Lazy Lizard and it was a great spot with a big pool to cool off in and a token giant croc to sit on out the front... of course!

The Gold Rush Festival kicked off at the local park next to a pretty running creek, just down from the historic Railway Museum. We headed down with a few other travellers and joined the little community of Pine Creek as they celebrated all things gold! It was a great example of a small town celebration and it seemed like all the members of this little town were there to lend a hand or run a stall or make announcements over the loud speaker or help out with the gold panning competitions. It was a lovely day to be apart of!

We all had a go at gold panning and then watched the professionals in action in the Gold Panning National Championships! There is definitely a technique to it but the kids were stoked to find a few golden flecks in their wet rocks... not enough to quit our day jobs and keep this travelling life going but something to float around in our little plastic take home tubes that the organisers gave us as a souvenir.

  

There was also a 'Stake Your Claim' competition, where for $1 you could buy a stake and choose a spot in a little grid, with the chance of finding a gold nugget underneath! Sadly we didn't strike it lucky here either but we all had a lot of fun! 

Another highlight was the terrific Chinese Dragon Dancers who did so well dancing like crazy in the 35 degree heat. With a rich mining history and many Chinese immigrants in Pine Creek, it was a great was to celebrate the colourful past of this Northern Territory town. 

We headed back to the caravan for a rest after our morning of fun - Bassie passing out in the 40 degree heat with both a fan blowing full pelt on his face and the caravan air conditioning on - this constant heat certainly takes it out of you but as the locals keep telling us, "This is nothing!".

That night the Gold Rush celebrations continued, with a bunch of bands playing in the local park on the back of a road train trailer, of course! We were lucky enough to meet up with my cousin Lauren, her husband David and their beautiful little bub Lincoln to enjoy the tunes and the kids danced until waaaaay past their bedtime in the park. A brekkie and goodbyes at the next door Railway Hotel and we were back on the road and onto our next stop at Litchfield National Park.

We stayed at Bachelor, the little town at the entrance to Litchfield National Park, and all the memories of pulling up in our Kombi, some eight years ago, and relishing the green grass and bush around us after camping in the dirt and dust for the last week come flooding back! The kids loved it too and set off on a nature hunt, collecting seed pods and leaves and other treasures to add to their playdough, to make some amazing textured creations.

Litchfield National park is one of our favourites in The Northern Territory and is really accessible from Darwin as a day trip also. There are so many beautiful spots to stop off at along the way, starting with the interesting Termite Mounds.

The kids loved swimming in all the beautiful little freshwater swimming holes and we spent ages at Buley Rockhole, just cooling off in the gentle waterfalls, while Arley and Luke joined the bigger kids and jumped off the rocks into the deep pool below.

Wangi Falls was another favourite spot, with the beautiful cascading waterfalls and the big, deep pool - the only downfall was the cafe closing at 3pm, five minutes before we arrived, so no caffeine fix for us! 

Another must-do for all those heading up this way, is a visit to Berry Springs Nature Park. It's so close to Darwin, just an hours drive, so very easy to visit as a day trip. We dropped by en route to Howard Springs, just up the road. By this point, we'd swam in quite a few natural springs and waterfalls that the kids were a little unenthused as we told them our next stop, but we ended up spending the entire morning, floating in the crystal clear waters of Berry Springs, on the kids' newly purchased noodles (pocket money well spent!). These springs are really kid-friendly, shallow enough near the little waterfall for the kids to stand, but it also has a few big, aqua pools, full of fish, where you could relax and float the day away... or if you're Arley, frantically dip and dive and chase the fish with your snorkel on. 

A trip up the road to Crazy Acres for lunch, a family run mango farm and cafe, and our perfect day was complete! Fresh mango smoothies, yummy salads and toasties and 100% mango frozen ice blocks and we all had big smiles on our faces. What an amazing few days! 

 

There was nothing left to do but set up camp, kick back and do what the rest of the campers at Howard Springs were doing.... enjoying some downtime and happy hour!