Top End: Day 1

I had done a great deal of research into which of the multitude of tours of the top end national parks I wanted to go on. It was important to me that I went on one that was geared towards active people and which got as far as possible off the main tourist path, whilst still being affordable. I thought I'd found the perfect one and it seemed even better when the Darwin hostel manager got me a good deal on the price.

There were dozens of people at the meeting point and we were split up into four groups for four different tours. It was with some dismay that I watched the active looking types who were about my age be put in different groups whilst I was left in a group with people who were either a fair bit older or younger. Possibly because it was 6am and I was grumpy, but with the exception of one woman, I didn't immediately warm to anyone in our group. One guy, I couldn't help but note, had murderous eyes. There was also a group of young backpackers, one of whom in particular, looked like trouble and I couldn't imagine having anything in common with him. This was Luke. I turned out that I couldn't have been more wrong in my initial, judgmental impression. He was such a quality guy that within half an hour of speaking him I'd invited him along to come on the Hinchinbrook walk with me. He accepted. But that trip is a whole other story for a whole other blog post.

About an hour into the five day tour, I realised that I'd been booked onto the wrong trip. I had wanted to go with a company called 'Wilderness 4WD (W4WD)' but was instead on a trip by another company run by the same conglomerate, 'Adventure Tours Australia (ATA)'. The two had almost identical itineraries (though in a different order), but W4WD was geared to fit, active youngsters and had great hikes and slept under the stars in swags in remote locations and ATA was not. Needless to say, I was not pleased. In fact, I was angry, and I almost never get angry.

The tour guide, Marcus, could sense my displeasure (maybe something to do with the fact that I was kicking things and swearing not quite under my breath). He was sympathetic to the mix up and assured me that he'd lead as active a tour as he could. His response, plus my general tendency towards positive thinking, soon had me resolved to enjoy myself whatever the case. This was, after all, still five days in an incredibly beautiful part of the world.

Our first stop was Florence Falls in Litchfield National Park, where we spent a good half hour swimming in the plunge pool, which did much to restore my mood (despite having my toe nibbled by an entirely too curious fish). I wasn't kidding about incredibly beautiful part of the world:

Before coming to Australia I had read Bill Bryson's 'Down Under' and absorbed much of his fascination with the country's staggering array of extremely dangerous animals. On the short walk through the forest to the falls, I asked Marcus 'how many creatures are there in this park that could kill me if they wanted to?' 'Heaps,' he replied immediately, then stopped and thought about it some more. 'Heaps'.

Our next stop was Fogg Dam, to admire the wetland birdlife:

A wallaby:

From there towards the Mary River for a wildlife spotting cruise. On the drive there, Marcus was highlighting the dangers of crocs, but also the fact that most accidents happen when alcohol is involved. 'What, crocs are mean when they're drunk?', quipped Rob.From there towards the Mary River for a wildlife spotting cruise. On the drive there, Marcus was highlighting the dangers of crocs, but also the fact that most accidents happen when alcohol is involved. 'What, crocs are mean when they're drunk?', quipped Rob.

(I had a beautiful photo of the river that I'd uploaded to include with the post, but I've just accidentally deleted it. Hopefully, at some point I'll be able to put it in again.)

Many of the croc spotting cruises that get marketed to tourists are terribly gimmicky, with farm-reared crocs trained to jump for the amusement of the crowds. Not so ours, thankfully. The cruise guide, Ol' Ted, was passionate and knowledgeable about crocs, and appropriately scared of them. We saw one that was nearly 5 metres long - that's a big croc. Despite what you see on TV, most of the time crocs just lie on the river banks, but we got a special treat. We got to see this beast eating and I can tell you that those were not jaws I would want to be caught in.

On the drive to the campsite we passed, and I say this with no exaggeration, one of the most spectacularly beautiful and dramatic sights I have ever seen. The forest was on fire. A controlled fire, I hasten to add. Aboriginals have been burning the forest just after the wet season for thousands of years. It clears out the overgrown grasses but the trees retain enough water to survive the fires. This burning significantly decreases the chances of far worse, uncontrolled fires raging through during the dry season. Moreover, the area's ecosystem has evolved around this and now several animals and plants require this burning for their survival.

Anyway, as we drove through the forest, the ground around us was on fire. The bright orange of the flames was matched by the equally bright orange of the sunset. In between, the trees were silhouetted with smoke rising from them. It was stunning. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop for photos, but I did take this one later in the evening, away from the fire.

There was a great atmosphere over dinner. Our group was gelling well and Marcus was proving to be a fab guide. By the end of the day, I was perfectly reconciled to being on this tour.