where the outback meets the tropics

back on the ghan the next day, leaving behind the red centre, and up towards the tropics of darwin in the north. i had two seats to myself this time, and could stretch out across them quite pleasantly. after a night on the train, there was a stop at katherine for 4 hours, which meant a trek into the town centre, a quick walk to look at the katherine river from the old railway bridge, a coffee and back onto the train for the final jaunt.

katherine centre has a rather eerie quality to it,mainly because of the numerous speakers attached to lampposts along the main street, which emit the original versions of such classic songs as ‘blowing in the wind’ and ‘more than words’, to noone in particular all day long. katherine had been described by the commentator as the place ‘where the outback meets the tropics’ and on my 30 minute wander to the bridge, i was dismayed to realise the heat and humidity would only be worse in darwin..

i managed to squeeze one more place of interest in katherin before getting back on the train. springvale homestead is the oldest of its kind, dating back to the 1880′s. i confess i had no idea what to expect of a homestead, and even after visiting one, i;m not sure i know much more, or what to define one as. as a geuss, it seems to simply be a house in the outback, surrounded by its own land, almost a farm like quality but with no animals..?

then back on the train for the rest of the day, arriving in darwin about 5.30 that evening. i suppose the first perplexing thing i noticed about darwin was how far out the train station was from the town centre. if you imagine that i picked up a map of the area, one side depicting the cbd and the other the suburbs included, the train station was shown as an arrow pointing off the map..of the suburbs! luckily, myself and some new friends i had met, two best friends i had eavesdropped on and shared a taxi with in alice, and a french actor i had enjoyed lunch with in katherine, were all staying at the same hostel in darwin, and became my close companions during my time there.

again, i was very glad to have met them. 1) because the hostel in darwin had some of the unfriendliest occupants, and 2) i had a fantastic time with them. we became regulars at the cheapest pub, ‘the vic’, mainly because of free dinner vouchers i had acquired (again, i must look hungry : ). the marketing obviously worked, because each time we went, for a bite to eat and the ‘one drink’, we ended up being caught up with the entertainment and cheesy music and wandering out in the early hours of the morning.

the centre of darwin is swarming with hostels and backpackers, to the point where i was a little disappointed, and still wonder that the party atmosphere doesnt irritate local residents. i did manage to get away from the town a few times, however. the first was on a day trip to see litchfield national park, and a cruise along the adelaide river to witness the bizarre ‘jumping crocs’. i had no idea what to expect of crocodiles jumping, and vaguely wondered if it was in the same league as watching dancing bears. once you are out there though, you realise these saltwater crocodiles are anything but tame, and the jumping is more of a fabricated situation of an action crocodiles already do naturally. it wasnt until later in the day that the ‘cool factor’ of the whole thing hit me!

after a buffet lunch, which included champagne (we splashed out), we headed into the park and stopped at two beautiful spots to swim. the first was wangi falls, and second i will hav to look up the name of (!). this was my first time swimming in natural waters and peaceful pools , and i simply love it!

Also while i was in Darwin there was time to experience mundil beach sunset market before the wet season really kicks in. from almost any cuisine you can imagine, including crocodile,emu and camel (which i had to try for myself!), the market also has an array of completely unexpected stalls selling anything from crocodile whips to puppets or ‘herbal pills’, and on top of this there is the music! with only one drummer and a man playing 4 didgeridoos, they created the most hypnotic and addictive rhythms i have ever heard. all in all, a wonderfully relaxed and vibrant atmosphere to take in, despite the crowds on the beach as the sun set.

My last escapade from central darwin was a recommendation from a beautician i spoke to. as the weather was almost unbearable in its sticky humidity, and the beach out of bounds for swimming in (box jellyfish), the next best option was to find our way to lake alexander, a manmade fresh water lake a 20 minute walk from fannie bay. if the weather had not been quite so draining i would have liked to go further, but took the much lazier option of dozing off at the edge of the lake.

before i knew it my time in darwin was almost over, and my next stage of the west coast about to begin. i am glad to have ventured outside of the city confines and got a taste of the tropical islet i had pictured darwin to be. this is city that has received a fair number of devastations in its aged and recent history, and when you consider the damage caused by cyclone tracy in only 1974, and the evacuation of an entire population, you can only admire this now booming town full of growing opportunities.