Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 29
This morning I picked up my new car, a Toyota Prado. I was hoping it might be another Pagero, because that was a fun SUV, but what can you do?
I set out to find Point Charles (outside Darwin) Lighthouse. This is the lighthouse I saw from the plane. However, the road leading up to it is barricaded with signs saying no access :(. Apparently it’s been like this for a long time. I went to Wagait Beach right down the road from where the lighthouse is and got some great shots of Darwin across the water!
From there, I took the dirt road to Litchfield National Park. There was one water crossing, but it was no big deal.
Then I got to the park. My first stop was Wangi Falls. I guess you can sometimes swim here, but not today as during the wet season, there are salt water (man eating) crocodiles here in addition to the fresh water (fish eating) crocs. But the falls were lovely.
Then it was off to Tomler Falls. Again no swimming here, but I think it's because there's no access to these falls!!! They are so tall!
I then stopped at the Lost City. There is a sign that says only 4WD access. So I stopped, why not?!?! Oh my gosh, the road was so fun! I'm so ok with the Prado now!! We had some good laughs on this 20 minute drive into find the Lost City. It's only a one lane dirt, bumpy, sandy road. This was a proper 4WD road!! They say the Lost City is ruins of some ancient civilization. But I'll have to do more research on that.
Then another 20 minute drive back down the 4WD road to Florence Falls. And here you can swim. I guess there is no way for the crocodiles to get here, so it's ok. And these falls were amazing as well.
But since I didn't bring my swim suit, it's winter after all, I was going to go back to Darwin, with a quick stop at the Magnetic Termite Mounds. They were pretty cool too.
That's me, not a termite!
When I got back to Darwin (86km's - 53.4 miles later), I drove to a beach that is supposed to be the best in Darwin, but there was something going on here, and there was no parking!!! And I drove past the Chinese temple, but it was a bit disappointing after the Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong. So back to the room and then an early night for my big adventure tomorrow!! This is the view from my room!!
I set out to find Point Charles (outside Darwin) Lighthouse. This is the lighthouse I saw from the plane. However, the road leading up to it is barricaded with signs saying no access :(. Apparently it’s been like this for a long time. I went to Wagait Beach right down the road from where the lighthouse is and got some great shots of Darwin across the water!
From there, I took the dirt road to Litchfield National Park. There was one water crossing, but it was no big deal.
Then I got to the park. My first stop was Wangi Falls. I guess you can sometimes swim here, but not today as during the wet season, there are salt water (man eating) crocodiles here in addition to the fresh water (fish eating) crocs. But the falls were lovely.
Then it was off to Tomler Falls. Again no swimming here, but I think it's because there's no access to these falls!!! They are so tall!
I then stopped at the Lost City. There is a sign that says only 4WD access. So I stopped, why not?!?! Oh my gosh, the road was so fun! I'm so ok with the Prado now!! We had some good laughs on this 20 minute drive into find the Lost City. It's only a one lane dirt, bumpy, sandy road. This was a proper 4WD road!! They say the Lost City is ruins of some ancient civilization. But I'll have to do more research on that.
Then another 20 minute drive back down the 4WD road to Florence Falls. And here you can swim. I guess there is no way for the crocodiles to get here, so it's ok. And these falls were amazing as well.
But since I didn't bring my swim suit, it's winter after all, I was going to go back to Darwin, with a quick stop at the Magnetic Termite Mounds. They were pretty cool too.
That's me, not a termite!When I got back to Darwin (86km's - 53.4 miles later), I drove to a beach that is supposed to be the best in Darwin, but there was something going on here, and there was no parking!!! And I drove past the Chinese temple, but it was a bit disappointing after the Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong. So back to the room and then an early night for my big adventure tomorrow!! This is the view from my room!!
Labels:
Monday, June 27, 2011
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 28
Today I turned in the Beast, it was a bit sad, we’d been together for 2 weeks. We had some tears, some laughter, some flat tires and some good times (some in the same day!) But it was time to move on and catch a flight to Darwin. I left the heat of Broome for the sweltering heat in Darwin, Northern Territory!!!
As I was flying in, I saw the lighthouse that I'm going to visit tomorrow! From the air it was about 15 minutes, which means it'll be about 1 hour in the car since it is a dirt road getting to the lighthouse. But I'll pick up another 4WD tomorrow, so yay!! But once I got all settled in the room (Holy Crap this room is awesome!! It reminds me of any of the rooms on the Vegas Strip!) I headed out to see Darwin. My first stop was to the mall for some shorts! And of course while I was there, I also got a skirt because you can never have too many! And then I walked over to the beach area, it was 3PM but there were still so many sunbathers and my poor white legs in the skirt looked so pale compared to the sunbathers. At least my right arm has lost the burn (from the 3 days driving in the Kimberleys) and is now tan, but that is the only part of me that has any color! I walked around looking at the Parliament House and Government House and all those buildings that I like to see. And the ocean here is still 14 shades of blue and green.
Supreme Courthouse
Government House
And as I was eating dinner in my room (room service is awesome!!), there were fireworks going on right outside my window over the water!! (Did I mention that my room looks out at the water?!?!?) I'm sure it was just a "Welcome to Darwin, Laura"!!!! Hee hee!!
As I was flying in, I saw the lighthouse that I'm going to visit tomorrow! From the air it was about 15 minutes, which means it'll be about 1 hour in the car since it is a dirt road getting to the lighthouse. But I'll pick up another 4WD tomorrow, so yay!! But once I got all settled in the room (Holy Crap this room is awesome!! It reminds me of any of the rooms on the Vegas Strip!) I headed out to see Darwin. My first stop was to the mall for some shorts! And of course while I was there, I also got a skirt because you can never have too many! And then I walked over to the beach area, it was 3PM but there were still so many sunbathers and my poor white legs in the skirt looked so pale compared to the sunbathers. At least my right arm has lost the burn (from the 3 days driving in the Kimberleys) and is now tan, but that is the only part of me that has any color! I walked around looking at the Parliament House and Government House and all those buildings that I like to see. And the ocean here is still 14 shades of blue and green.
Supreme Courthouse
Government HouseAnd as I was eating dinner in my room (room service is awesome!!), there were fireworks going on right outside my window over the water!! (Did I mention that my room looks out at the water?!?!?) I'm sure it was just a "Welcome to Darwin, Laura"!!!! Hee hee!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Laura
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- I'm originally from Colorado, but I've been living in Australia for three years. Before that, I lived all over the U.S.: Washington State, Maine, California, Oregon, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and more... No, I'm not a military brat or a military wife; I was a traveling nurse for 5 years so I moved to a new city every 3 months. During my travels, I became intrigued with lighthouses and started making plans to photograph as many as I could in whichever state I was living (including the two in Nebraska!) My blog is about my trips to various lighthouses, as well as other interesting trips. I hope you enjoy reading, and leave a comment or two!