Australia Week 4 Darwin,Kakadu,Katherine,Litchfield NP

The final sunset over Darwin Harbour as we get ready to fly on to New Zealand.












Litchfield National Park just south of Darwin. Possibly the nicest of the parks we have visited with a nice range of wildlife, walks and waterfalls. This is Wangi Falls.












This is a Golden Orb spider which is about the size of an adults hand. It is non venomous and only harmful to the much smaller male. The males are red and can just be seen top right of the main body just before he becomes a tasty snack for the female after mating.













The area is also famed for these magnetic turmite mounds which are different from the cathedral turmite mounds seen previously in the blog. The magnetic turmite mounds appear like a graveyard aligned North South in order to provide the minimum face to the sun and provide temperature control. They provide shared homes for snakes, lizards and rats.

Emus are a threatened species but we managed to see this female with her 6 chicks which unfortunately were too quick to get a good photograph of.

Katherine Gorge is part of the Nitmiluk National Park. It comprises 13 seperate gorges along the Katherine River. This is gorge 3 midway round a 12 km bush walk called Butterfly gorge.

Due to the extreme heat at this time of year (today was cool at 33C in the shade) 40C plus in the open and very high humidity 93% bush walking can be extremely hazardous requiring a litre of water per hours walking. On this particular walk, as Katherine is a popular area there were additional water butts on route.

Having not seen many Wallabies and Kangaroos Katherine area has many. This Agile Wallaby was sharing the picnic area with us and the joey was having his own picnic!!

It was so hot the majority were lying under the picnic benches to keep cool.

This is Edith Falls near Katherine. This is a popular bathing and swimming spot for the locals of the area. We think they are very brave as the signs say that the Freshwater Crocodiles that inhabit this pool only feed between 19:00 and 07:00. I hope the crocodiles wear a watch!!
We later found out the reason the local people are not so bothered is that Freshwater crocodiles pull their teeth out when they bite you. Another comforting thought!!

After very heavy rains saltwater crocodiles can also move into freshwater areas.

Up here in the Northern Territory distances are so large for transport that they make road trains like this where a lorry can be 4 trailers long. Only a problem when overtaking is required, but as there is not much traffic you don't have to wait long for the recommended 1 km straight passing place required.

Mr Lockwood taking over the controls of the boat as Robbie our Aboriginal guide bailed the boat out due to a torrential thunderstorm filling it with water. Wouldn't have been a problem apart from we are on the East Alligator River so named because the Englishman who came in the 1800's spotted the reptile below and thought it was an Alligator and so named the river. He never came back to correct the name !!

Robbie taught us a lot about Aboriginal ways of survival using the materials around them and hunting including demonstrating his spear throwing skills.

This is an Estuarine Crocodile (Saltwater). It is one of many where we were on our tour. They grow up to 6metres in length and are very aggressive. People should not walk within 6 feet of the waters edge. Many of the billabongs as well as the rivers have crocodiles in them. Saltwater crocodiles can move into freshwater areas.

This is Aboriginal rock art at Nourlangie in Kakadu National Park. The art varies in age and is often over painted by subsequent generations. It often signifies spiritual ancestors, animals, fish and people. Some of the art can only be seen by senior men or women as it is considered sacred and dangerous. The rock art represents one of the longest historical records of any group of people in the world.

This little chap is a green tree frog and was attached to our room door one morning. Thankfully he is much smaller than the toad below.










This is a Cane Toad which was introduced to Australia to eat insects. It is now a major pest as it is poisonous to all predators. During the evening they come out in their thousands. They are about the size of an adults clenched fist. In one of the local towns they have childrens competitions to collect as many toads as possible in a bucket. Then they get rid of them. The children have great fun but mums don't as the official way to kill them as recommended by the authorities is to put them in a plastic bag and then into your freezer!! Yuck!!!



Kakadu National Park is a world heritage site and is known for its wetland areas and is co-managed by the Aboriginal tribes of the area.
The area has much wildlife and in particular has more than a third of the native bird species of Australia within this area. It covers 20,000 sq m
and provides habitat for 68 mammal species , 120 reptiles and 26 frogs and 300 fish species.





Radjah Shellducks by Anabangbang billabong. We couldn't walk round the billabong as planned due to the path being flooded and the danger of crocodiles. Notice the spiders webs.

Mrs Lockwood walking by Mamakula wetland where there were many birds and Wallabies. There were also many many flies!! Mrs Lockwood couldn't waft her paper fan fast enough!!! It was also 38C and very humid!!!

Finally seen lots of Wallabies and Kangaroos in the Kakadu area bounding around as you imagine them to be. Great big leaps and very fast as they move along.

This Termite mound is over 2 metres high. There are hundreds of mounds by the side of the road. Some a couple of cm and some as big as this.

Arrived in Darwin capital of the Northern Territories only to find President Obama had come to see us. All the streets were lined and cordoned off for his visit which was big news in Australia and in particular this area as quote"Nothing ever happens here". We joined in and stood and watched as he shot past with full escort. Very impressive. He waved at us.

Mrs Lockwood standing by the war memorial outside Government House. Darwin played a big part during the second world war but suffered heavy bombing by the Japanese in 1942.Darwin subsequently was rebuilt but was again destroyed in 1974 by cyclone Tracy. As Darwin is north of the Tropic of Capricorn not only does the sun appear to the North for 6 months of the year but it also appears in the South at midday for the remaining 6 months of the year. Its position also means it has wet and dry seasons. The dry season is in their winter months hence it is very hot now and they are starting to get very heavy thunderstorms each day. The humidity is also very high.

Australia Week 3 Alice Springs and Uluru

In the MacDonnell range there are a number of chasms or gorges . Often in the bottom of these, waterholes exist where wildlife and the local people gather.

They are used for swimming and other recreational activities.

These Rock Wallabies were seen just outside our motel in Alice Springs. Notice the joey in the pouch.

Alice Springs is also famous for the Flying Doctor Service as seen on television. In real life the service started operating in 1928 but came to Alice Springs in 1939. It provides a life saving service to the Outback.

Every community has to provide a runway for the aircraft to land . Only 4 were tarmac the rest may not even have lights. Car lights or lanterns being used if required at night

In the early days the outback radios were powered by pedal power. Mrs Lockwood trying her feet at an early radio in the museum.

The Alice Springs service operates witha radius of 600km reaching patients within 1.5 hours. Nurses and doctors hold clinics, transport patients, attend accidents and offer advice in the outback areas. It offers an invaluable service.

These Melons are by the side of the road on the Lassetter Highway between Alice Springs and Uluru. They look very inviting but are poisonous and not even the wildlife will eat them in this harsh environment.

This is Uluru (Ayers Rock) a famous Australian landmark.
It was handed back to the Aborigines in 1985 as they are the traditional land owners. It is believed that Aborigines have lived in the area for 20,000 years.

Many of the areas around the site are sacred and photography is not allowed within those areas.
The Aborigines manage the area along with the government preserving the culture and nature of the area.

Many of the lower caves have markings and teachings of the Aborigines.





The walk around the base is 10.6km. This allows a close up view of the many rock features that have formed within this very old rock formation.
The rock was part of a sea bed area millions of years ago.
Many of the formations have been weathered in by wind and rain. Black water streaks are left with algae where waterfalls spring to life during storms.

People travel from all over the world to get photographs of this famous landamark at sunset.


Around the base area there are many interesting and colourful birds like this Rainbow Bee Eater.

In Kings Canyon another significant rock formation in Wataka National Park close to Uluru -Perenties (large lizards as photo), Dingo's Camels were all seen.










Camels were brought into Australia by early exlorers from Afganistan to help transport goods in the late 1800's.

There are several camel farms offering tourist rides but there are also ferrel camels wandering around. There were several sets of camel remains by the roadside.

The desert area can be very barren and harsh but also green and lush especially close to water holes or after rain which often falls in there summer months in thunderstorms. Dry river beds can turn to torrents and several areas are marked on the roads as floodways with depth markers up to 2 metres.

Mrs Lockwood walking in the Outback in the MacDonnell Mountain Range. You have to keep a close look out under foot and make lots of noise and stamp your feet hard if you cannot see clearly past the undergrowth as Australia has many deadly snakes. The worlds most venomous snake the Brown Snake inhabits this central area. Mrs Lockwood was worried as one had killed a lady in Brisbane in her garden a couple of days before.

The only thing that crossed our path was this Perentie which is a form of Monitor Lizard. This one was about a metre long but they are non venomous.
.

Keeping your eyes open you may also see Black Legged Rock Wallabies.
They can be seen hiding in the rocks often close to waterholes.








This one was hiding on a ledge out of the sun which can be very hot. It was 38C in the shade.

Wallabies are smaller than the red and grey kangaroos which we haven't seen apart from road kill and on Mr Lockwood's plate one night.

Alice Springs is world famous for School Of The Air. Started in 1951 to meet the needs of children living in remote areas of the Australian Outback it has become a world famous style of education.Many of the children lived on cattle stations, drill rigs, missions and remote national parks.They were so far from any schools they were not educated except by parents or they had to go to boarding schools. Often they had no friends as no other children were at the sites.Basic pedal driven radios were initially used to communicate with children who got their first chance for an hour per day to listen and talk to a teacher.Packs of books were also sent in the post which could take several weeks or even months to arrive.

Advances in technology now enable children to communicate with their teachers and other children within their class via web cams and the internet.Teachers work from a studio using interactive boards and web cams and children can respond directly.Then they still have to work at home with a tutor often a parent for at least 4 hours per day. They still receive packs of work books.

School Of the Air covers an area as shown on the map with each picture showing a child or children. There are currently about 120 children in an area 10 times the size of England and Scotland and Wales together.
Many well known celebrities and government ministers visit the school each year and broadcast to the children. The celebrities traditioanlly sign one of the studio walls since Rolf Harris first drew a picture there.

Australia Week 2 Cairns and Great Barrier Reef

Cairns is in North Queensland It has the oldest rainforest in the world. It is very hot and humid (tropical) with most of the rain falling in their summer months. A lot of house are built on stilts as they are affected by flooding. Its beaches are long sandy and perfect. In some areas the rainforest runs right down to the shoreline. Some of its beaches are inhabitated by crocodiles , box jellyfish and sharks with the warmer waters. All these are highly dangerous. So many beaches are very quiet in the less populated areas and others have protected areas to swim in.

This sign is by the Daintree River Crossing north of Cairns.
It warns of the presence of Crocodiles. A couple of days prior to us travelling on the ferry a large crocodile was seen climbing out of the water with a dog in its mouth. Its thought the croc had killed the dog by drowning it and then storing it for several days under water wedging it in the rocks before bringing it up for a meal.

The Great Barrier Reef runs along the coast of Northern Queensland. It is bery beautiful and popular with tourists. We went snorkelling for the day and had a fantastic time looking for Nemo. The colours of the coralk and fish are out of this world. We also had the opportunity to go out in a submersible to explore the reef.

This is the swimming pool outside are room in one of the resorts we stayed at in the rainforest. It was very beautiful surrounded by trees , lush plants, birds and bats. The only downside was we had to share the room with much of the wildlife including lizards, insects all scuttling up and down the walls.

The engine of this train which runs tourists up to Kuranda, an old Aboriginal rainforest village is decorated with Aboriginal art. The railway runs along a track buolt in 1886 up through dense rainforest crossing many bridges and tunnels past a deep gorge.

These Wallabies live in a field close to the captain Cook highway. So named as he explored much of Australias Eastern coast.

Aborigines are the natives of Australia and own a lot of territory in Northern Queensland which includes much of the rainforest. Some of them earn their living through tourism offering guided walks, tours teaching about their culture and how to live off the land with bush tucker and how to survive and find your way in the rainforest areas. They a unique style of art and play music with digiridoos.

Australia is quite simialr to England in a lot of ways. Tea , pies , sausages, fish and chips are all popular and there are a few pubs. They have shopping centres with the Xmas decs up already, however it is much more expensive than England especially the price of food. Woolworths is alive and well in Australia but as a food supermarket!! Due to the heat school uniforms are much more informal often shorts and t-shirts like Harewood PE kit but all wear a large brimmed hat and flip flops to keep cool.