Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Northern Territory


We're just back from a trip to Australia's Northern Territory. Martin's son Nick joined us again for a month or so, and we immediately left him with Tigger and the boat and set off. We flew to Darwin and Australia's northern tip and spent a few days there and around Katherine a few hundred kilometers south.

While there, we rented a car and visited Litchfield National Park, Kakadu National Park and Nitmiluk National Park. We also visited several museums, Aboriginal Cultural displays, and a wildlife park.

Each of the National Parks is on land returned to the traditional owners who manage the park in partnership with the National Parks Service.

We left Katherine on The Ghan - the train service that crosses Australia to Adelaide nearly 3,000 kilometers to the south. The journey takes two days - overnight to Alice Springs and then another overnight to Adelaide. In Alice Springs we had a 4 hour stopover to visit the Desert Wildlife Park.

On board we had a comfy cabin for two, with bathroom, that converted into a double-bunk sleeping cabin and we ate in a very comfortable dining car. The trip was worth doing for the experience, but it was expensive!

We spent a day in Adelaide - it was very cold - and then returned to Bundy via Brisbane.