Walking on country - Kakadu - Northern Territory - Half lap - Part 9

I can walk on your country, I can listen and hear your stories, I can learn about plants and see the trees, birds, flowers, animals, I can study your ancient rock art, I can walk along your paths, I can sit under a tree and be still and feel the breeze on me, but I cannot really know your deep connection to your country, your cultural heritage, and what it means to you. But I, as a non-aboriginal "Balanda" can try. 

For aboriginal people "country" is not only the landscape, but the rich interconnection between the land and the people - they are inseparable.

 Hi everyone, and welcome back to my half lap of Australia, part 9. This week we leave Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, and travel via the Arnhem Highway to Kakadu National Park - about 150kms to the entrance of the park from Darwin.  

Getting even CLOSER to the wildlife - Corroboree Billabong, Northern Territory - half lap - Part 8

Hi everyone, I promised last post when we were at the Territory Wildlife Park to get you even closer to the wildlife this week, so here we are, at the three purple circles on the left and centre of the map below, in the Northern Territory of Australia on our mid year half lap of Australia. 

To get even closer to the wildlife, actually in the wild, not in a park, we took a day trip out to Corroboree Billabong for a one and a half hour wetland cruise. 105 kilometres from Darwin (allow about 90 minutes driving time), we left our caravan park in Darwin before 8am to get to the billabong on time for our 10am cruise. This is the closest wetland cruise available to visitors from Darwin and it is well worth the drive and the cost. ($55 for adults August 2019).  I highly recommend this cruise.  Bookings essential.

Head out along the Arnhem Highway south of Darwin towards Kakadu National Park. I recommend you bypass the Jumping Crocodile cruise at Adelaide River. Whilst this is very popular with tourists, and I haven't actually been on this cruise, for me it is orchestrated. I would rather see the crocodiles in their natural environment not jumping up to catch fresh meat hung over the side of the boat.

I think he is smiling at me.....  Do you know the song "Never smile at a crocodile, don't be taken in by his welcome grin...."

Getting close to the wildlife - Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - Half Lap, Part 7

Hi everyone, welcome to Part 7 of my half lap of Australia. Last week you might remember we arrived in Darwin, the capital city of Northern Territory in Australia's north, and explored some of Darwin's war history. 

 Darwin is a big city, but there are plenty of opportunities to see wildlife not far out of Darwin.  Here is a map to show you where we are heading to, the places circled.

 First off, the Territory Wildlife Park. 45 kilometres south of Darwin (the purple circle in the left of the map), this is a fabulous place to get close to wildlife, so I suggest arrive early and plan a full day excursion. (Opening times 9am - 5pm, entry fees, and concession rates, apply).  

Darwin remembers, Northern Territory, Australia - Half lap, Part 6

Hi everyone, and welcome back to my Half Lap of Australia. A couple of weeks ago we took a "quick" side trip to Uluru in central Australia, but now we are back on the road and heading from our last stop, Litchfield National Park, up to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. 

Here is the map to get you orientated. Darwin is up on the north coast, and is the most northern capital of the Australian mainland. 

Darwin is only about 115km from our last stop, Litchfield, so it was an easy drive, and we arrived at the caravan park late morning. 





Today, 11 November, is Remembrance Day in Australia and other Allied Nations, when we remember our fallen - United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Belgium, France, and the Cayman Islands. 

Remembrance Day - The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns on the Western Front in Europe fell silent after more than four years of continuous World War 1 warfare.  In November the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted Allied terms that amounted to unconditional surrender. 

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years. The moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war.  On the first anniversary of the armistice in 1919 two minutes' silence was instituted as part of the main commemorative ceremony at the new Cenotaph in London.

After the end of the Second World War, the Australian and British governments changed the name to Remembrance Day. Australians observe one minute's silence at 11 am on 11 November each year to remember those who died or suffered for Australia's cause in all wars and armed conflicts. 

Australian War Memorial - Remembrance Day 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

   by John McCrae, May 1915

You can learn more about Remembrance Day and the significance of the poppy here -

Remembrance Day & the Red Poppy - Life Images by Jill blog 

Australian War Memorial 

AWM - Red poppies - customs and ceremonies 

To search the Australian War Memorial collections 

Field of Lights, Albany - Life Images by Jill blog 

Thank you for stopping by today. Remembrance Day is commemorated in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Belgium, France, and the Cayman Islands. However, We have all be affected in one way or another by war, either directly, or through family members or friends. 

Do you observe Remembrance Day or similar in your country? Who will you be remembering this Remembrance Day?  

Blueberry pancakes

Sadly no blog post today, just a plate of blueberry pancakes. I hope to be back next week once I have kicked this latest cold-flu. We've had a bad year for colds this year.

Uluru - Australia's Heart

Hi everyone, today I am going to take a little side-trip from my Half Lap of Australia.
and take you to the beating heart of Australia, Uluru in Central Australia. 

Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory - half lap of Australia, Part 5

Hi everyone, this week we continue north from Katherine and Adelaide River which we visited on my last blog post about the Northern Territory leg of our 13,329 kilometre half lap of Australia.  

Our next stop was town of Batchelor and the Litchfield National Park in the top end of the Northern Territory.  It was only a relatively short drive from Katherine, 287 kilometres, and even with our stop at Adelaide River, we arrived around 1pm. 

The town of Batchelor is about 97 kilometres from Darwin and about 20 kilometres from the edge of the Litchfield National Park. We booked into the Litchfield Tourist Park which is located 14 kilometres from Batchelor and only about 4 kilometres from the entrance to the National Park. You can also camp at one of the bush camp sites in Litchfield, however these don't have power and only limited facilities.  We were more than happy to pay a little extra for power, shade, facilities and swimming pool. They also have a restaurant.

Hunting for wild orchids, Western Australia

It seems to be a shame to miss the wild orchid season while I keep you in the Northern Territory on my half lap of Australia so for this week I am going to drag you away from my travels and back to the south west of Western Australia where the wildflowers are blooming. If you missed it, I did share a few local wildflowers back in September.

Katherine & Adelaide River, Northern Territory - Half Lap of Australia, Part 4

Hi everyone, and welcome to Part 4 of my Half Lap of Australia. 
This week we will travel from Western Australia into the Northern Territory, and visit Katherine and Adelaide River on our way to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. 

We had not visited this part of the Northern Territory before, so this is all new territory to us. You can see a rough map of our trip through the Northern Territory on the map below, the main locations showing with a red dot or red print. 


Leaving Lake Argyle and Kununurra (last week's blog post) we crossed the border into the Northern Territory 63 kilometres from Kununurra. From there our trip takes us to Katherine, Adelaide River, Litchfield National Park, Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Mataranka, Daly Waters, Karly Karlu (Devil's Marbles), down to Alice Springs in central Australia, before reaching the Northern Territory/South Australian border. 

We left Lake Argyle at around 6.00am which incidentally is 7.30am Northern Territory time. We had lost and hour and a half crossing the border. The time difference and that we had 510 kilometres to travel today to our next stopping place, Katherine, was the reason for the early start. Also we were travelling over new ground, so there were gong to be places we wanted to stop and look at. My diary records that the sun was already "a burning red ball above the horizon, lighting up the rocks red and shimmery across the long grass."