Day 28 Darwin

Another really hot night, and uncomfortable sleep, but I guess that's the price that we have to pay.  I actually opened the windows around our bed last night to get some of the breeze coming through.  Lisa and the kids were up early so I was too, but we had a good breakfast and then drove to Crocodylus Park.

 

There are two really big Croc attractions in Darwin.  Crocasaurus Cove is in the middle of town (Mitchell Street) and is basically a reptile and croc display behind glass.  The big drawcard for this attraction is the cage of death where you can get into the water with 5m Salties and have them crash into the shark cage that you are submerged in.  This kind of stupidity doesn't really sit well with Lisa or myself, so we chose the Crocodylus Park which is more of a wildlife reserve and crocodile farm. 

 

We arrived early and were the first people through the door, and had the run of the place for the first half hour.  We strolled up the breeding pens reading the signage, and took a wander down through the native animal display.  All the time we could hear the Lion roaring from his cage further into the park.  We decided to go and have a look, and the lion and lioness in there were singing a happy morning song which we were able to video. 

 On the way back up for the tour we were stalked by two very large ostriches who stared hungrily at our hats.  I looked at the big female and mentioned what a nice soup she would make, and she puffed her wings out and bolted for the back of the pen. 

The tour was extremely informative and the kids were allowed to feed some of the big male crocs.  The display of jumping for food was pretty lame after the show we got yesterday on the Adelaide River, but none the less it was very interesting to hear about the breeding cycle, and the social activity of these beasts.  After the tour, we were able to hold a baby crocodile (approx 1 -2 years old).  They were very smooth, and cool to the touch.  I must say I was glad for the tape holding its nasty little jaws shut.

We set about having a look at the rest of the animals at Crocodylus and took time to look through the Crocodile museum which was fascinating.  The kids couldn't help but sped some more money at the souvenir kiosk, so their holiday funding is starting to dwindle.

 After Crocodylus we took the kids back to Leanyer water playground for a final time.  None of them expected to go, so it was nice to see the excitement on their faces at going back.  They all took off for the water slides, and spent the next 45 minutes running up the stairs to get as many rides in as possible.   Our designated pool timer (Rowan) turned purple shortly after and we made haste to get back to the park for the Cane Toad Races.

 

We got suckered into sponsoring a toad for each of the children which was a bit rough, but worth every cent when they were told that they had to put their own toad in the bucket.  We have some very good photos.  Lisa sipped a delectable cocktail and I had a pint or three, and we had an afternoon of great fun and hilarity.  We were all brought back to reality when Rowan courageously dived into the deep end of the pool and came just short of drowning himself.  I was in full run around the pool deck prepared to go in fully dressed when a very kind gentleman scooped him up and helped him to the edge.

 

We decided that this meant swimming was done for the day, showered up and went into town for dinner.  Unfortunately Thailicious was closed tonight so we went instead to Outback Jacks where I indulged again in Ass Burner Chicken Wings, and Pork Ribs with Eye Fillet.  I am now back in the caravan, and can't move very well.  I don't think I've ever walked into OBJ's and left hungry.  Lisa had a divine slab of Barra and mash, whilst the kids had their fill and scooted off to play on the X-Box machines that were set up in the games room.

Our last day in Darwin was punctuated with a glorious broiling red sunset, and we will leave here with some sadness as the few days in the capital of the top end have been filled with fun and adventure.  Tomorrow sees us into Kakadu, so it keeps on getting better, but we then move into the really big drives through the red centre into Alice springs and Uluru.  This means that we could be out of contact for a couple of days again.  Keep checking, we will update the blog again when we have internet coverage.  Cheers for all the well wishes and cya for now.