We arrived in Darwin late so stayed in a Mercure & picked up the hire car the following morning. The heat & humidity was like a damp blanket – a bit shocking after the cool plane. The hire car charged 30 cents a mile after 400 km driving which was quite ridiculous. Apparently because classed as a remote area.
We drove down the Stuart Highway for 4 hours to Katherine & Cicada Lodge which is in the Nitmiluk NP just outside Katherine. Roads are eerily deserted & a bit spooky, except for the occasional road trains appearing every now & then. So long with 3-4 trucks being hauled behind.
Cicada Lodge was a beautiful place and a welcome sanctuary out of the heat & flies of the outback. We were very relieved. Beautiful cool rooms & excellent gourmet dining from Tom the Chef & Karen the friendly & efficient manager.
First day Norther Territories – We just did a short walk up to an escarpment about 4 miles. It was as still demanding as the heat at the top could reach 50C!! Then in the afternoon a welcome relax in our lovely accommodation.
Day two NT – The next day we took a two gorge river cruise. We were the only passengers so it was a great opportunity for taking photos. The scenery was stunning but sadly rainy season is not the best time to see birds. At the end of the cruise we stopped off & walked to a waterfall rock pool. I really regretted not bringing my swimming things. It was a heavenly place with such clear water. So we decided to walk back to the rock pool after picking up our swimming things. We were told 40 – 60 mins walk. We had plenty of water with us & I had drunk plenty before I left. However after 40 mins walking the heat was intense on the back of my head & neck. (I was wearing a hatI). I started to feel sick & dizzy & so hot there was no shade. It was cloudy when we set off. I knew I could not turn around, it was too exposed, so we had to go on. I drank but it didn’t help. It was pretty awful. Temp was about 40C or more up there. Eventually after about another 20 mins staggering along we made it to the pool & I threw myself in. What a relief. It was quite a scary experience & shows how quickly things can change. I was soon laughing the pool was absolutely wonderful. We walked home when the sun went down. It was a 3 mile walk each way!!
Day 4 -NT. We drove back slowly to Darwin Airport. Stopping off at Pine Creek to photograph birds & bats!! Then took the scenic Adelaide river drive. It was really peaceful & very pretty, we spotted wallabies and eagles on the way. We have really enjoyed the Northern Territories finding it unspoilt & quiet as it is rainy season. No monsoons for us so we were very lucky.
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