Soon after leaving the beauty of lake Argyle we crossed the border into the Northern Territory and headed straight to Katherine for a couple of nights to visit the Nitmulik (Katherine Gorge) National Park. The only way to appreciate the gorge is to travel up it by boat so we booked on a 2 hour trip that took us up gorges 1 and 2. Our tour guide, from the Jawoyn Tribe, explained the significance of the gorge and its history and flora and fauna. No crocs spotted yet! Back at the pool and having splashed out buying Holly a noodle she started jumping into the pool and growing in confidence whilst Daisy now only seems to swim under water!
Next stop was Litchfield National Park on the way to Darwin. We stayed a couple of nights and visited the giant termite mounds (5 metres high) and magnetic termite mounds, which align themselves north/south before visiting the impressive Wongi Falls. We walked the 1.2km around the top of the falls seeing flying foxes and rainforest as well as lots of mozzies. Due to the wet season we were unable to swim in the falls as there still may be crocs. Next stop the beautiful Tolmer Falls and then Florence Falls where we walked down the 170 steps to swim in the crystal clear waters amongst the rocks and the fish with the noise of the massive waterfall in the background. The girls were a little apprehensive to start with but soon got in the water and loved it, so much so we stopped at Buley waterhole on the way back for another swim in the cascading waters that formed rockpools. Back at the camp site we enjoyed a local Barra and Buffalo burger for dinner before heading north the next day to Darwin.
A short drive to Darwin (1.5 hours) we parked up and headed into the city (more like a large town) before heading to the museum to look at their great display of shells, fish and reptiles (one of which was ‘ Sweetheart’ a 5m long 780kg saltwater croc which became famous for attacking fishing boats in the top end) as well as a cyclone Tracey exhibition. The cyclone completely destroyed Darwin in December 1974.
Next day in Darwin and we visited Crocosaurus Cove to look at the crocs and other reptiles. The girls had a swim in a pool with a Perspex wall between them and some less frightening juvenile crocs that looked like they were swimming together. afterwards they held a baby saltwater croc and had their photo taken. After lunch we headed down to the waterfront, a redeveloped part of town with a safe beach to swim in and a massive wave pool where the girls had a great time in the chlorinated artificial surf. A long day but a great one!
Good Friday and we hit the road again into the Kakadu national park (same size as Wales) stopping for lunch at Jabiru before heading south to Cooinda on the Yellow Water. Next day we headed for Nourlange to view the collection of rock art and the impressive views of Arnhem Land and the escarpment. We took the 2km walk past Anbangbang shelter, used for 20,000 years as a shelter and canvas on which to paint. The Anbangbang gallery depicts dreaming characters as well as ‘lightening man’ which the girls liked. Finally a walk up to Gunwarddeehwarde and Nawurlandja lookouts for amazing views over the bush and the billabongs. We returned to camp and inspired by the rock art decorated some eggs for Easter in Aborigional colours. We also made wind chimes from sticks, leaves, beads and shells collected over the past few months. The girls made friends with some girls the same age next door and had a lovely time running around and playing with glo-sticks till way past their bedtime. 
Easter Sunday started early as the easter bunny had arrived and deposited eggs inside and out of the caravan. The girls went on a hunting frenzy and seemed to find them all within seconds! Eggs collected we took to the river again for a boat cruise along the yellow billabong and into the river system. Being the end of the wet season the area was abundant with wildlife and some amazing lilly’s. The scenery was breath taking and the highlight was seeing a pair of nesting Jabirus and of course a couple of salt water crocs within a metre of the boat. Fantastic boat trip and one we won’t forget. With Easter behind us we headed south back to Katherine for a night to stock up and collect some post. We now head south into the outback and back towards Queensland hopefully via some famous bush pubs!
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