Welcome to Wout of the World, and thanks for joining me again here in Australia. We had a great road trip with destination Darwin, and we’re now in that city, the capital of Northern Territory, and I’ll take you to the centre and the surroundings. Let’s go.
From Broome, we drove the Gibb River Road and saw the Bungle Bungles.
And from Western Australia, we soon crossed the border to Northern Territory.
But we decided to make a little side trip. Island hopping in the Pacific Ocean. From unspoiled Vanuatu, we hop to Fiji. Sailing around many islands. And then back to Darwin.
I almost forgot to mention there’s going to be a little change because we have no more camper van here in North Australia. We sleep in a regular hotel like regular people. But we’ll have a camper van again soon, of course.
With a pool in the middle of the city centre, we are surrounded by many sites and beautiful street art.
Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory, and it’s also the most northern of all the big cities in Australia. Its harbour is five times the size of Sydney’s. And while we visit this city, it’s also the first birthday of my a little girl. So we celebrate Céline’s birthday here. Yay. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Céline.
We make a nice walk through town towards the coast. Darwin is located on a peninsula in the Beagle Gulf, which opens to the Timor Sea. The city of Darwin was originally founded as Palmerston in 1869, and later in 1911, a British captain renamed the city after his friend Charles Darwin. And the irony is that Charles Darwin never even set foot in this place. The city is named after him, though.
From the amazing Bicentennial Park, we stroll along the government buildings to the waterfront. The Skybridge connects the city on the high cliffs with the lower shores. Without a doubt, the highlight of the city of Darwin is the Waterfront Precinct. It’s one of the most beautiful waterfronts in all of Australia. There’s a beach and a lagoon right in the middle of the centre of the city. How awesome is this?
Because the waters around Darwin are full of dangerous animals like saltwater crocs and poisonous jellyfish, this beach is literally a lifesaver. But the beach and the playground are easily outshined by the real star of the show.
The biggest attraction here at the waterfront is the Wave Lagoon. Where we can jump in, cool off in the middle of the centre. And believe me, we need this because it’s the middle of September and it’s burning hot. Let’s go.
This pool is so much fun, and even in the high season, it didn’t feel too crowded at all. We just grab a tube and hit the breaks. Right next door, they have a beer garden. So am I extremely lucky or do they just know me? Cheers, Jens.
Darwin really has that relaxed vibe where the whole city seems to be built for fun. It’s probably the best city for us and the kids in all of Australia.
Now it’s time to leave the city and head into the surrounding nature. For that, we pick up our WA Experts camper van.
A four-wheel drive Hilux with two rooftop tents. Safety first, guys. Safety first. I want them to see us coming.
Let’s go into the wild, and we don’t even have to drive too far. Because 100 kilometres from Darwin, we’ll find Litchfield National Park.
In the Litchfield National Park, there are several sites that you can visit on a big loop that you can drive with your car. Even before the campsite, we find the first one called the Magnetic Termite Mounts. They are among the biggest termite mount that you ever saw in your life. Created over thousands of years by these little creatures. How awesome is that? The size, but also the age of these things makes us feel tiny and young. The fields of termite mounds are endless and they look like graveyards. I’m trying to find the biggest one in the area, and I think I found it. This one is about three times my size. Check this out.
We arrive at a really nice campsite in the middle of all the forest. Time for dinner, guys. Yeah. We really enjoy being one with nature like this. Look at the trees full of bee eaters.
Our first stop in the Litchfield National Park was such a great one. We had a great night because we slept right in the nature. And the best thing is it’s called Florence Falls Campground. And the Florence Falls, they are right next to it. So there’s a little path next to our camping spot, where we can walk down to the first waterfall and have a swim.
But first, I’ll show you where we just spent the night. Oh, and here’s the first cockatoo ever to join the Olympics. A perfect 10 for execution. We are the first people today to walk down the valley to the Florence waterfalls. The nature is spectacular.
How great is this, guys? Swimming in the waterfall all alone. This is indescribable, guys. This waterfall right in the middle of nature, and we were all alone first in the morning, and now more people are coming. So we’re leaving and heading on to the next waterfall.
When we walk back up to the campsite, I suddenly look up and spot something. As you guys know, I’m always looking for animals. Here on the way to the waterfall, I look up in the trees and I see these giant fruit bats. They’re scurrying around the trees, having fights, screaming. It’s really nice. These awesome creatures are locally called flying foxes, and I understand what they mean. These guys are huge.
Let’s enjoy another view from the top. And then we drive on to more sites in the Litchfield National Park, which is easy because we just follow the Park Road known as the Litchey Loop.
The next stop is the Buley Rockhole, and I can tell you that this is a more popular place to swim. Makes sense because it’s hot and this just looks awesome, right?
So we’re going to the Tolmer viewing deck, quite near to the car park, for an amazing view on the waterfall. At the first viewing deck, we didn’t see anything at all, but we walked a little bit further to a lower viewing deck quite close to the waterfall, and this is Tolmer Falls, and it’s quite beautiful. Awesome. On the way back, we see this funny-looking stick bug.
Three waterfalls down, one more to go.
So the last falls that we visit here in the Litchfield National Park are the Wangi Falls. They are incredible, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a little bit crowded and nothing compared to where we were this morning all alone at the Florence Falls, but still, this one is amazing, too.
Also here to remind us that we’re still in the wild Australian nature is this guy, a curious Monitor lizard. Time to jump in. Okay, these waterfalls are stunning, too. Céline enjoys a dip with us as well when the sun is about to set. And Batman and his friends are back too.
Good morning guys. We just woke up in the Litchfield National Park. The sun is just up. It’s very early in the morning. We’ve seen so many beautiful waterfalls that now it’s time to see another highlight of this area, which is a beautiful wildlife park. It’s called the Territory Wildlife Park, and it’s quite near to here. Within an hour’s drive, we’re going to the next highlight. But first, Coffee.
In the early morning, we already spot the first wildlife. There are several wallabies just chilling at the roadside. We actually woke up so early this morning that we are the first to arrive at the Territory Wildlife Park, and the gates are still closed, but we’re excited. And so was Jens, as you probably noticed.
It’s time for a day of Safari, in search of the Northern Territory wildlife. In this gigantic park, it’s the easiest way to travel around by train. It drops you everywhere with all the special Northern Australian animals, and the first one would be the dingo. They’ve been living here for a thousand years since they were brought over by travelers from Asia and Europe, and now they live here in the wild, and they’re actually wild animals now, so the dingo’s first.
These dingos are known to be very shy, but they are very active in the morning. And yes, they look a bit like regular dogs. Next, we visit the Billabong for a Northern Territory water life. We hop on the train again to a very interesting bird show to learn about many local birds.
First, we see Australia’s largest bird of prey, a Wedge-tailed eagle, and this is the Australian bustard. We loved the ghostly-looking Australian barn owl. Of course, the emu. But my favourite was this buzzard who can crack eggs open using a rock. Here’s a Brahminy kite. And this Eastern osprey shows his fishing skills. At last, we got to meet this Goshawk up close. For the kids, the woodland walk is a must, where they can meet and cuddle kangaroos and wallabies.
I’m having a Zen moment here. What I love in this park is that we meet the animals in their natural habitat. We can even walk through the enormous aviaries with all the local birds.
Wow, guys, that was the perfect day out. I like the fact that this zoo, or actually more like a wildlife park, is truly based on the animals that you can find in the Northern Territory. Some animals we already saw traveling through Australia and some new ones. We can learn a lot about all the flora and fauna of this area, all in the natural habitat. So I give them big thumbs up also for the kids. Super.
On the way, we saw the biggest insect ever. This foot long praying mantis should be in a museum.
In about three hours, we drive from Litchfield to Katherine. We just woke up on the campsite of Big4 Breeze in Katherine, and it was chilly last night. It was also raining, and it was very cozy inside with the raindrops on the tent, so we had a wonderful night’s rest together up there in the tent. It’s also a little bit cloudy today, but today, that’s a good thing, especially in Australia, because it’s It’s only quite hot, and today is the day we’re going to the Nitmiluk National Park to visit Hot Springs. The first thing you’re going to see is the Katherine Hot Springs.
Our campsite is next to the Katherine River in the middle of nature paradise. Along that same river, we drive to the next top side in the area, which is totally free. The Katherine Hot Springs are located on the banks of the Katherine River in the town of Katherine. As you can see, it’s right in the middle of nature, and this used to be just an indentation of the Katherine River but now it’s these thermal bots where you can have a swim, you can take a walk around the park, and you can have a nice picnic. But look at this, guys.
Not only is the water here a nice 30 degrees all year round, it’s also a natural, lazy river where you can float around in the jungle and have some fun at the waterfalls. This little river seems to go on for hundreds of metres, so we’re following the stream into the jungle. What really surprises us is that this free hotspot, literally in this case, is not even that crowded.
We’re now at the biggest pool, which is the warmest, because this is the source, I guess, and there are some waterfalls. I do find more life on this side of the river, but this might scare you off a bit. Unless you’re a Spiderman, maybe.
We hang out at the city park for a bit and explore the colourful town of Katherine next. Especially the street art here is remarkable, and the many birds. I’m loving it. We just had to stop at the first McDonald’s in a thousand kilometres, and it turns out that Batman was here too.
At the campsite, we see many more crawling creatures. Some scary, and some super cute.
There’s something quite abnormal today, something I never experienced I’ve been experienced in my lifetime. It’s unique, it’s wonderful. It’s a cloudy day in Northern Australia, the first one in a big trip. You still need the pool, though, because it’s quite hot and pretty humid. So let’s refresh a little bit.
We love this campsite for the nature, but we head on for some more in the National Park. The Nitmiluk National Park is a must visit in the Northern Territory, and it covers approximately 3,000 square kilometres. It has an entrance in the north and in the south, and because we came from the town of Katherine, we visit the south side first. It’s a 30-minute drive and over here we can find the entrance to the Katherine Gorge.
Time to explore the Majestic Gorge. We stay at the campsite at the entrance and walk straight in.
Of course, the true highlight of the Nitmiluk National Park is the Katherine Gorge.
In centuries of time, the river has created a beautiful gorge of 50 kilometres long, and there are, of course, many walks that you can make. The one that we’re doing is called the Baruwei Lookout Walk. It’s a short hike which takes about 2 hours there and back, and on the way, you’re rewarded with beautiful views like this one.
The Aboriginal name, Nitmiluk, comes from the Cicada insects and their sound. So when we get to the top, this is the first platform, and there’s another one over there. But the view, guys, magnificent.
Then, of course, the upper platform. From the two platforms, we get a good impression of the majestic Gorge. And before we head on, we relax on this really cool campsite. Time to leave this campground, guys, and time to see the other side of Nitmiluk.
But of course, I’ve got one important rule. You all know that don’t go anywhere without having coffee.
These red winged parrots are waiting for us at the next stop. We first visited the Southern part of Nitmiluk National Park, and now it’s time for the northern part. Over there we will find Edith Falls, also known to the Aboriginals as Leliyn. There are three pools, and I’m swimming in the lower one, but there’s also a middle one and an upper one where you can make a short hike, but this one is close to the parking lot.
The Edith Falls are located in a particularly rugged landscape. The pools are part of the Edith River, connected by waterfalls between 8 and 15 metres high.
Walking over to the pools, there’s a lot of signs that will say, be crockwise, which means, watch out for crocs. There’s a very low risk here, but what they don’t tell you is there are snakes, and even venom ones. And we saw one. And yes, people, this greater black whip snake is highly venomousnd, and can be deadly. Yikes.
On the road again. I just can’t wait to get on the road again. And we’re on our way to Katherine again. And from there we go to the three-way crossing.
We embark upon the most remote drive in all of Australia, through the outback, where there is absolutely nothing. We drive from sunrise to sundown, but we’re almost halfway.
Oh, wow. We drove for about 12 hours today, and we’re almost exactly halfway at Barkly Homestead, which is between Darwin and Townsville at the Coast. It’s time to go to bed. Tomorrow, another drive. It’s already late. We’re in the rooftop tent. I sleep with Jens, Sue sleeps with Céline. So I say good night.
We drove from Katherine to the south, and we’re now heading east all the way to Queensland.
In two days, we drive over 2,500 kilometres, but everything is easier when you have coffee.
Bye bye, Northern Territory. Hello, Queensland.
Hello, Queensland. Oh, and spoiler alert, you easily spend $1,000 on gas. We’re almost at the town of Cloncurry. Not that that name is very famous, but it’s just where we are. So we had about almost 2,000 kilometres already, and it’s about 500 more to get to Townsville.
We just woke up to the lovely sunshine in Townsville. We made it. And next time, I’ll take you all around Queensland.
Subscribe to Wout of the World because this is just the beginning of another epic trip around Australia.