Safari Excursion

A few days ago we went on a four day excursion in what is called the Top End of Australia. It is called the Top End, because it is the northern tip of the Northern Territory (NT for short) of Australia. The NT is very large, but there is a very small population of people living there. The population is so small that the Territory is not an actual state. Our excursion started in Darwin, the capital of the NT, and ended in Darwin. In this excursion we went to Kakadu National Park, Arnhem Land, and Bamurru Plains.

"Jumping" saltwater crocodile

Day 1

The first day of our excursion we went across Fogg Dam. Fogg Dam is a road that goes through a failed rice field. Australia is covered in outside culture. What I mean by that is a lot of people in Australia are not originally from Australia. People have tried to bring a lot of outside ideas, like growing rice. They built Fogg dam to grow rice. The rice project failed because the water levels in the wet season were unbelievably high and the magpie geese were eating the rice. At Fogg Dam we saw a bunch of birds. Fogg Dam is a huge wetland so it is covered with different kinds of grass and a bunch of little patches of shallow water.

Wetland at Fogg dam

After Fogg Dam we went on a jumping croc cruise on the Adelaide River. We saw so many crocodiles and birds. The skipper of our boat put raw meat at the end of a long pole and got a few crocodiles to jump out of the water! They are so big! When the crocodiles want to cool down, they get out of the water and open their mouths.  It looks like they are yawning, very funny. The next stop was at a resort that was near the campsite we were staying. At the resort we got drinks to cool off. Next we went on a sunset cruise on the Yellow River, which was really cool. On the Yellow River cruise we saw crocs birds and a magnificent sunset. In Australia ,the sun sets really fast and it sets at 6:30 pm, so it will 7:00 pm and pitch black. The reason it sets so fast is that Australia is so close to the equator.  

Yellow river

Saltwater crocodile on Yellow river

After the cruise, we went to a campsite that had safari tents. We spent the next two nights there. That night  we had dinner by the fire. For dinner we had salad, steak,  sausage, and pork. It was so good. Dean, our guide called it a meat-fest. That night we slept in the safari tents. The tents were so small you could only fit two beds in there but they were so fun to stay in. that night I stayed with my mom in the tent. In these tents you could hear everything outside which was so creepy.

Cooking dinner (meat fest)

Day 2

Rock art - Injalak hill

The next day we went to Arnhem Land. This is a sacred land  to the Aboriginal people, and we had to have a special permit to enter this region. On our way to  Arnhem Land we crossed a road that went through a river that was infested with crocodiles. In  Arnhem Land there are many little different villages. The village we went to was called Gunbalanya. In this town is a big art center. In the art center they sell  art that the villagers make. The villagers make painting and baskets.  They also do  silk screening. We got to see women weaving baskets and men painting. The men painted animals and plants. They planted with acrylic paint and traditional paint made out of rocks and charcoal.  After we went to the art center we went to a sacred hill that the Aborigines took shelter on during the wet seasons.  During the wet season, the entire valley floods, so indigenous people had to leave the lowlands and go high on rock hills. We hiked the hill with a really nice Aboriginal guide named Gabriella, and when we got to the top we had lunch. Gabriella showed us the three resting spots of her people. We saw a bunch of cave art and Gabriella told us that the paintings were two hundred years old. Gabriella told us the  stories of her people. When we started down I saw a skull sitting there, just sitting there! The skull was pure white and it was sitting in between two rocks. Gabriella told us it was a burial site. That many Europeans have stolen the old bones and taken them to museums all over the world.  After that we made our way down the hill  and got back in the car and went back to the village and got a few pieces of art. Then we went to the resort to swim in the pool. Next we went back to our campsite and had dinner.

Yellow river

End of another great day by the fire

Day 3

The next day we went to Maguk Falls. We swam at the falls for about an hour, the water was warm and there were no crocodiles, so it was safe. After that we got in a car and drove to the Bamurru Plains. In Bamurru we stayed in a cabin. Before dinner we went for a swim and we went on a drive to a billabong to watch the sunset. at the billabong we saw horse, water buffalo, and a lot of birds. We even saw a buffalo skeleton. Then we went to sleep.

Sunset on the billabong

Day 4

The last day went had breakfast and swam. Then we went on an air boat ride which was so cool. I even got to drive it. We saw a lot of water buffalo and birds. After lunch we drove back to Darwin and a few day later we took a plane back to Brisbane.

I want to thank Dean our guide. My mom and dad for taking us on this excursion and Lord's Safari.

http://www.lords-safaris.com