Across Australia No 3 Litchfield and Kakadu

It is hard to choose which photos to post. My Sister and I picked up the van which was to be our home for the next 20 days. They gave us an upgrade. The main advantages were a TV which only worked in a few places and a BBQ which was much used.

We headed 100 km south of Darwin to Adelaide River which is now only a very small settlement but was a big army and airforce base in the 2nd World War after Darwin was bombed in 1942. We visited the war cemetery.

Then we went to Litchfield National Park for 2 nights and spent a day driving 200 km through the park first seeing Magnetic Termite mounds which in the natural environment take the place of native grazing animals in these savannah grasslands.So instead of the vast herd of antelope, zebra etc as in Africa you get miles and miles of these.

We took walks  to 3 different waterfalls. First the Florence Falls,

Where I climbed down lots of steps to the bottom and walked along a delightful cool stream.

My sister joined me for a walk a few kilometres over the plateau to the Tolmer Falls.

And finally the most popular, the Wangi Falls where we had lunch, took a walk through the rainforest but decided not to continue in the heat right around to the top of the falls but returned and bought a cool drink.

They must be very impressive in the wet season. I also visited a deserted tin mine.

Then we headed east to Kakadu National Park.
Covering nearly 20,000 square kilometres of exceptional natural beauty and unique biodiversity, Kakadu is one of very few places World Heritage listed for both its cultural and its natural values. Kakadu National Park is managed jointly by its Aboriginal traditional owners and the Director of National Parks.
We stayed at Yellow Water and were on a bus at 6.15am for a short drive to the jetty where we boarded small boats for a sunrise tour of the lagoons.

I could post lots of bird photos but as I did not take notes, many names are forgotten.

The other lagoon inhabitants are less pleasant. we did not trail arms and legs over the side. My photo shows a female "salty" bearing her throat to the large male to indicate she does not want to be dinner but is available for other pleasures. 

 He did not want either so she sulkily came over to check us out.