Alarm!

All was quiet last night as Dot was preparing our dinner, Max was watching dinosaurs, Rebecca was in cyberspace, and I was reading a book. Suddenly our fire alarm went off because it didn't like the smell emanating from gently grilling lamb chops. Nor would it stop when we opened doors to let the fumes escape. The only thing that worked was Beck standing on a chair fanning the alarm with a straw hat. That was too good a picture to miss. For the record, the house is still standing.



AS

Return of Max

We last hosted grand-son Max early this month in our rented apartment in Darwin. Now he's back on home territory having flown up from Canberra for two weeks. Dot and I are looking after him while Rebecca attends two residential schools at UNE as part of her Master of Resource Management degree. While she is off to intensive full-time study and I am still working 2/3rds time with a string of prior commitments, Dot is holding the fort for an incredibly lively 4.8 year old.



At least this time around he's being helpful as he does quite a bit of gardening, especially sweeping up all the falling Autumnal leaves. However, he's also terrifying the two cats, catching wild-life (mostly insectiverous), and generally rearranging an ordered household. We'll probably be physical wrecks by the end of the visit!

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Crocodile Man

During our last day in Darwin, we visited Crocodylus Park where I had the pleasure (?) of (a) feeding a full-grown crocodile and (b) holding a baby crocodile. The first animal's table manners were disgusting. I dangled a large piece of chicken at the end of a rope and it leaped out of the water, snatched the food with one bite and sank into the water. It was over so fast that I have no photographic record of my heroic efforts. Alas, all I have to show is me holding the baby.

AS

Kakadu Art

Finally, Kakadu's aboriginal art is rich and inventive. I attach just three of many pictures in my possession showing what I mean. The items may variously demonstrate daily life, serve as a request to the powers that be for good hunting, remind people of important events in their history, or warn of savage spirits who will lay hands on you if you step out of line!

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Kakadu Scenery

Kakadu's scenery is also spectacular as these photos show. One is of Noarlangie rock, which is a defensible site high above the flood-plain and contains caves sheltering aborigines from summer storms. Its walls contain a vast array of art-works dating back thousands of years (see next post). And the view from the top of the rock is excellent, whether of the Arnhem escarpment to the south (pictured) or of the wetlands stretching northward towards the Arafura Sea (also pictured).

The remaining two pictures show part of the immense wetlands associated with the South Alligator River (discovered by someone who couldn't tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile).

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Kakadu Life

Kakadu is one of the world's great national parks: 20,000 sq km of rock and wetland and continuously occupied, according to Archaeologists, for 20,000 years. Some of the art-works date from this time and make Kakadu just as important as Lascaux in France: indeed, perhaps more important, because descendants of the artists are still living in the area. There must be few if any places in the world with that length of occupation. For example, the native peoples of North America only arrived there 10,000 years ago! And, similar historic sites in Britain ... for example, Stonehenge, are only one-third as old. Unsurprisingly, Kakadu is world heritage listed.

It teems with wild-life, as do most wetlands such as France's Camargue or Brazil's Pantanal, and we had the good fortune yesterday to float through Yellow Water at Cooinda. I hasten too add that we floated on a boat: the waters contain lots of crocodiles! The attached pictures show a fish eagle, a barramundi (fish), a jabiru (Australian stork) high above the flood plain atop its nest, an egret and a small crocodile trying to make itself inconspicuous.

Dot and I are looking for an excuse to revisit the area, so pay us a visit and we might arrange something!

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Wonderful Litchfield

And today, as foreshadowed, we spent the day at the nearby Litchfield national park, a sandstone plateau elevated above surrounding swamps inhabited by crocodiles, very few people, and termite mounds. In the 1500 sq km of the park there couldn't have been more than about 50 human residents, if that!

So, we experienced an almost pristine wilderness of rain forest, waterfalls, dry savannah, upland swamps, fast flowing rivers, escarpments, and grasslands, but saw little in the way of fauna (which largely remained hidden). Perhaps that was lucky, because we avoided snakes and crocodiles and other nasties. However, we managed to spot a bat colony, shoals of fish, and lots of very large spiders in huge webs awaiting prey. We also had a refreshing dip in two swimming holes guaranteed free of crocodiles, though swarming with fish.

The attached photos give some idea of the beautiful landscapes we encountered and their names are serially as follows: Florence Falls, Buley Rockhole, Wangi Falls, termite mounds (no specific name because there are thousands of them), View Westwards, Tolmer Falls, and Table Top Swamp. Actually, the photos are presented last-named to first. The falls were at their most magnificent at the end of the wet season.



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Nightcliff Markets

Another favourite pastime for the locals is a visit to the regular weekly Nightcliff markets. We're staying in that suburb and went straight there after feeding the fish.



The markets attracted visitors of many different nationalities including neighbouring countries to the north of Darwin, East Asia, Europe (I heard French and German), and the US. And the stalls saw people flogging off personal items of housewares, tools and clothing; arts and crafts; and new goods from around the world. There were also lots of food stalls and it was possible to sample the tastes of many different nationalities. Much of the stuff had an exotic touch, feel, or aroma, and Max scored an Andean flute for his troubles.

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Feeding the Fish

Another of Darwin's attractions is the daily feeding of the fish at a secluded cove west of the city centre. At high tide, fish swarm into the cove knowing that they're about to be fed on stale bread, and there are many different species including milkfish, mullet, catfish, bream and barramundi. The show is run privately by Aquascene and the paying public are handed baskets of the stuff to toss to the swirling mass of fish or to hand-feed if you don't mind fish nibbling at your thumb.

Last Sunday we took Max along for the experience and he thought it absolutely marvellous being able wade in the water and hand feed the mullet for an hour or so. So did I and Dot! And all the time we had a commentary about fish behaviour and how to handle them.

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Exciting Prospect

I normally report after the event, but this occasion is different. Dot and I and Beck and Max have hired a car for two of the world's great trips: visits to Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks. These environmental gems lie in the Northern Territory's Top end and yesterday, 1 April, marked the start of the dry season. Today promises cloudless skies, warm temperatures (35C), brilliant scenery and lovely waterholes in which to swim free of crocodiles at Litchfield. Tomorrow we will visit 5000 + year old rock art at Kakadu, one of the world's great wetlands teeming with wildlife.

I'll report in depth shortly. Just let me know if you would like to share in these attractions later and we'll help make it possible.

AS