| Submitted by: Gopal VenkatUnited States |
| Submission Date: 15 February 2005 |
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September 1, 2000 (Darwin)
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Having lived and worked in Australia Since October 1999, I had been planning on a trip in and around Australia for a while. I finally chose to visit the Northern Territory of Australia. I decided to visit both the 'Top End' and the 'Red Centre' during my Trip. After some considerable research, I booked a tour with Travel Marvel. (A division of Australian Pacific Tours - http://www.aptours.com.au/) This tour was to Start in Darwin and End in Sydney. I was to fly to Darwin and embark on a Coach tour that finally terminated (after 14 Days) in Sydney.
I departed from Sydney on September 1 on a Qantas flight to Darwin via Alice Springs.
After a brief Stopover in Alice Springs we landed in Darwin around 2 PM local time.
(Darwin is 1-½ hours behind Sydney - in the summer) Northern Territory (along with Queensland) does not observe Daylight Savings. I took a shuttle from the Airport to my Hotel. The Cost was A$7.50. My Hotel (Centra Darwin, 127 The Esplanade. Phone: (08) 8981 5388 Fax: (08) 8981 5701. www.centra.com.au) was a 20-minute ride from the Airport. It was a good room with a Partial View of the Beagle Gulf / Timor Sea. As one gets older, one prefers Nicer Hotels rather than Back Packer Style Accommodation. Since I was joining my tour the next day (September 2) and as the tour was also booked to stay in the same hotel, it made sense to stay here. The cost of the room was A$99, which Included Breakfast.
I booked myself for a Day Tour of the Litchfield National Park with Coo-ee Tours (1800 670 007). I slept for an hour (since I had woken up early to catch my 7:30 AM flight to Darwin). I departed at 5:30 PM for viewing the Sunset at Mindil Beach / Fannie Bay. One can travel anywhere within the CBD for A$2 by taking a Taxi. (Territory Cabs). Most Hotels / restaurants will call a cab for you. The wait time is usually around 5 minutes. After meandering along the Beach for 20 minutes to find a suitable location for taking a picture, I was treated to a great Sunset. After observing the Sunset, I walked to the MGM Grand resort and requested the reception to call a Cab for me. They readily obliged. I decided to go to Schooners for dinner. Being a Vegetarian, I was tempted to try the Indian fare at Schooners. The dinner turned out to be Excellent. The House wine was Horrible (Avoid it) and I decided not to drink it after a couple of Sips. Nevertheless, as I was quite pleased with my dinner, I even decided to Tip the waitress. Tipping is NOT the norm in Australia. Unlike the United States where 10% is de rigueur whatever the service, tipping is not done in Australia. You May tip if you are feeling extremely good about the service. I took another cab to return to my Hotel. The Cabs Operate 24 Hours a day, which is quite convenient.
The weather is quite Hot and Humid in Darwin. Temperatures were around 35 C. More than the Temperature the high humidity is what gets to you. After walking around 10-15 minutes, you just want to get into some air-conditioned area and rest a while! Guess I will get used to it, as we go along.
During the brief Stop over in Alice Springs and at the City of Darwin, I managed to observe a lot of Aborigines. I found myself in a different place. One gets to see a lot of Aboriginal People (the Native People of Australia) in these parts. Uprooted from their Nomadic existence by the arrival of the Europeans, most of the Aborigines have found life difficult. The Concept of 'OWNING' did not exist among the Aborigines. They just walked about wherever they wanted to whenever they wanted to. They hunted whatever they could to feed themselves and their families.
The advent of the Europeans changed all that with large tracts of land being 'owned' by Individuals. Since the aboriginals did not have any written records of land ownership, they were thrown out of their traditional land in many parts of Australia. The European Settlers went further to 'Civilize' the 'Natives'. Many Children were taken away forcibly from their parents and sent to live in 'Schools' that tried to 'Civilize' them. In other words, they were prevented from speaking their traditional languages and observing cultural traditions. When the forcible assimilation practices were abandoned in the 70s / 80s, these people were suspended in nether world.
Not knowing their traditional Culture and unable to live in the 'Civilized' (Read: White Man's) World, these people drifted about and still do today. The result is a rapid descent into drinking, drug use (Mostly confined to Petrol Sniffing), Crime and depression. The level of Suicides among Aborigines is quite high. Growing up among their own people would have enabled the aborigines Elders to impart the traditional values and culture thus providing the younger generation a strong sense of purpose and motivation. (Respect for Elders is quite high among the Aboriginal people and hence this is easy to achieve).
I leave early (6:45 AM) tomorrow for my tour of Litchfield National Park.
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September 2, 2000 (Litchfield National Park)
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I finished breakfast and was ready by 6:30 AM. The Mini-Bus from Coo-ee Tours arrived on time. We picked up more people on the way before heading out of the City. I was treated to a Great Sunrise along the way. We stopped shortly for refueling and picked up another 10 passengers. The Mini-Bus was packed to Capacity now with hardly any room to move or to stretch my legs. This is NOT what I paid $95 for.
The Scenery enroute to Litchfield was nothing Spectacular. We reached Litchfield around 10 AM. We stopped to take in a view of Termite Mounds. These are called 'Magnetic' Termite Mounds due to their North-South Axis. The termites build it this way so that one part of the Termite Mound receives heat while the other remains cool all through the day. These termites are the 'Creators' of Didgeridoos. This wind instrument made famous by Groups like 'Yothu Yindi' and 'Gondwanaland'. The Termites eat away the innards of the Eucalyptus Branch until all that is left is the Outer Shell. This Hollow piece of wood is then used to produce the Sounds and the Music.
After viewing the Termite Mounds we headed for a Cruise on the Billabong. A Billabong refers to an Ox bow river formation. We were entering a private property for the Billabong cruise. The dirt road reminded me of my Travels in Africa. The Cruise lasted for 1 ½ Hours during which we spotted crocodiles and many native birds. It was quite good. We returned to Wangi Falls for Lunch. Lunch was included in the Tour Price. Being a Vegetarian I was provided with a 'GARDEN SALAD' for Lunch! Following Lunch, people were also given time for a swim at Wangi Falls. We departed Wangi Falls and headed to Tolmer Falls. Owls inhabit the area around Tolmer Falls. Since they are a protected species, there is no swimming allowed at Tolmer Falls. We proceeded from Tolmer falls towards Florence Falls. Reaching the foot of Florence falls requires a steep descent of 140 Steps. It was quite pretty and I spent some time chatting with our Guide John. He was our Driver-cum-Guide and was from Zimbabwe. His knowledge and commentary were excellent throughout. We followed our visit to Florence Falls with a visit to Buley Rock hole. This is nothing but a number of small water falls cascading in a series.
We departed from Litchfield and headed back to Darwin. I slept most of the way. I was treated to another Great Sunset. I was dropped back at Hotel Centra around 7:15 PM. I proceeded to the Dining room and introduced myself to our Tour Guide Ron, who was also going to be the Driver. The group had their introductory meeting and was finishing dinner. As usual (in most of the tours I undertake) I was Single handedly bringing the average age of the entire group by 10 years!
I finished dinner by myself and headed back to my room and chatted with my roommate who was from Holland. At least he was just a couple of years older than me! He was planning on attending some Olympic Events and was taking in this tour prior to the Olympics. Our Plans were quite similar.
We depart at 8:30 AM for a tour of the Sights of Darwin.
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September 3, 2000 (Darwin)
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I viewed a good sunrise from my Hotel room before heading for breakfast. At breakfast met up with a few more members of my group. The Average age is around 70. This is going to be an interesting tour for me! Our group consisted of 41 people. We departed the hotel around 8:30 AM and drove around the city. The driver/guide Ron provided a brief history of Darwin. Yes, the City was named after the Great Man: Charles Darwin.
We headed out to the eastern most point in Darwin (appropriately called 'East Point') where we stopped for a 10-minute Photo Opportunity. With all the Senior Citizens in the bus, the disembarking / embarking takes more than 10 minutes!
During our drive, we observed Dolphins playing in the waters. Due to the Incidence of Box Jellyfish in some parts, swimming is prohibited in certain areas. Survival rates from Box Jellyfish Stings are quite LOW.
We proceeded to the Darwin Museum. There is no Photography / Videotaping allowed here. Though the museum has a large section on aboriginal arts, I found the section on local fauna quite Interesting. Australia has a fascinating range of wildlife. After spending around an hour at the Museum, I realized that we still had 45 minutes left before our schedule departure. Since I did not feel like waiting, I spoke to Ron and took a A$2 Cab back to the City Centre. I spent around 1 ½ hours exploring various arts / craft shops. As the heat and humidity were getting quite unbearable, I returned to the hotel to rest and relax for a while.
The rest of the day was free and Since the boredom was killing me I decided to watch a movie at the local cinema. I saw 'Hollow Man' starring Kevin Bacon. Good entertainment, Hollywood style! Since I perceived that the 'Vegetarian' meals on my tour was going to be far from satisfying, I went to a local supermarket and purchased some cookies and miscellaneous snacks. I returned to the Hotel around 7 PM. After freshening up, I walked along Mitchell Street (famous for Nighttime entertainment) and chose a Mexican restaurant (Coyote's Cantina. Phone: (08) 8941 3676) for Dinner. After many moons, I had 'Jalapeno Poppers' (Jalapeno Peppers stuffed with Monterrey Jack Cheese and deep fried). It was excellent. The waitresses were young and quite friendly. It was a nice place and the food was good. Walked back to the hotel and spent some time writing my diary. Watched 'Con Air' on TV for the zillionth time.
We leave Darwin and head for Kakadu National Park at 7:45 AM tomorrow.
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September 4, 2000 (Kakadu National Park)
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| We departed for Kakadu at 7:45 AM. |
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| Copyright © - "Gopal Venkat" |
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