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Day 1: I just finished watching the first Crocodile Dundee movie and listening to “Down Under” for the hundredth time when our plane touched down in Darwin, Australia. Finally, I am in the place I have wanted to be in since I was about 7 years old! I have dreamt about this moment for such a long time. Everything about the country made me want to come here, the animals (especially crocs and snakes), landscapes, and waves all seem perfect. While I am still only in the parking lot of the airport, watching the sunrise, I can already tell, I love this place!
Later that night, we went to see the fireworks for Territory day. It was really cool and we watched the fireworks and giant flying foxes cover the sky.
Day 2: There are so many crocs in Darwin you can’t even swim in the ocean! And, while I absolutely LOVE crocs, I wanted to go for a swim. So Zach, Harrison, and I went to the town’s wave pool. It was really cool even though it had the mushiest waves I had ever seen in my life! After the pool, we walked around the park, taking in the smell of the gum leaves and searching for frogs and snakes in the streams.
3: We head to Litchfield Park, which is about an hour and a half south of Darwin. We camped just outside of the park tonight. It is very beautiful and there are many wallabies (small kangaroos) and cockatoos all around. This is our first night of camping in Australia!
Day 4: Today, we headed into the park. Our first stop is to see the magnetic termite mounds. From there, we drove to the waterfalls and plunge pools. It was amazing to swim around one of the most beautiful natural pools I have eve seen. After we finish swimming, we walk on the trail through the forest to the waterfall. Along the way we see a goanna, a tree snake, and a 10 ft olive python! It is the largest wild snake I had ever seen! Can you get any luckier? After the waterfall we went to pitch camp farther down the road at yet another waterfall. This one was by far the most beautiful! After dinner, we went up to the top of the falls to watch the sunset. As the sun dipped over the horizon, it left the sky and surrounding wild country in a red glow, occasionally broken up by the silhouettes of giant bats.
Day 5: Today we hung out around the falls, swimming, hiking and looking for animals. It was a great day and at night we went to see the sunset. It was so beautiful again and after, we went to swim in the plunge pools under the falls. From the water, we could again see the giant fruit bats that live in the far north of Australia. Finally, we got out of the water and walked into the forest with only the light of the moon. It was getting late and we headed back to our tents to get some sleep.
