Day 2 Darwin To Kakadu National Park Thursday August 31st 2017:

This morning after a goodnight sleep we made our way to the restaurant at 7:30 am for our included breakfast.

At 8 am we boarded the coach and departed Darwin making our way towards Kakadu National Park.

As we made our way towards our first stop of the day our Trip Manager Mark explained our itinerary for the day which included: visiting Litchfield National Park to see the famous termite mounds and Florence Falls, having a lunchstop at Sandpalms Roadhouse,an included Yellow Waters Wetlands Cruise, before making our way towards our accommodation for the next 2 nights in Kakadu National Park.

After driving for an hour we arrived at our first stop of the day Litchfield National Park at 9 am.

Litchfield National Park is home to the world-famous Termite Mounds, which stand at over 6 metres tall!

The most remarkable feat is that the termites build these mounds completely blind!

After exploring the termite mounds we made our way back on the coach and drove for half an hour before arriving at our second stop for the day at Florence Falls in Litchfield National Park.

The view when you first see Florence Falls for the first time is breathtaking! It is quite amazing to think there are such amazing waterfalls in one of the driest and remote areas in Australia!

The moment that took my breath away is when you go out on the lookout to view the falls and hear the noise of the water crashing down onto the falls.

It’s so loud and harmonious at the same time even though you are still quite a distance away from the falls.

It seems as you are standing right in front of the falls hearing the water flowing down the waterfall!

After taking many breathtaking photos and videos of Florence Falls, most of the group went swimming in the falls which you can access by taking the 135 steps down to the falls.

As you walk down the steps towards the waterfalls you can tell you are close when you can hear the water crashing onto the rocks which creates a natural harmonious atmosphere!

After spending an amazing time at Florence Falls we made our way back on the coach at 11:30 am before heading towards our next stop of the day.

After a 2 hour drive we arrived at our next stop of the day Sandpalms Roadhouse where we stopped for lunch.

The most amazing thing about this roadhouse is that at the back there is a crocodile kept in an enclosure!

Which shocked many of the people on tour including the Australians!

As we made our way out to the enclosure the crocodile started moving and snapping its jaws at us which made for some great photos and videos!

I must say seeing a crocodile located at a roadhouse in the outback is the last thing I expected to see in the outback!

After our lunch stop at Sandpalms Roadhouse we had a short drive before making our way into Kakadu National Park.

Our next stop of the day was our included Yellow Waters Wetlands Cruise in Kakadu National Park

As we arrived at the boatramp for our Yellow Waters Wetlands Cruise:

Our tour guide helped us on the boat before making our way down the billabong.

As we made our way down the billabong, our guide pointed out some salt water crocodiles hiding beneath the water which look invisible and it’s easy to see how people going swimming in Kakadu don’t see them until it’s too late!

As we made our way further down the billabong our guide pointed out the birdlife that sits on the banks and hunts fish and small insects.

We saw a Jabiru chase away another bird that had captured a small fish and ate the captured fish!

 Our guide also showed the us the plant life that the animals of the billabong rely on to keep the wetlands a sustainable environment. 

When we arrived back at the boat ramp our wetlands cruise concluded.

We then made our way off the boat and back on the coach heading towards our accommodation for the next 2 nights in Kakadu National Park.

After another 2-hour coach ride we arrived at our accommodation for the next 2 nights at Aurora Kakadu Resort South Alligator in Kakadu National Park at 4 pm.

After checking into our rooms most of the group decided to cool off in the pool after a long day of travelling before our included dinner.

We all met in the restaurant at 6 pm for our included dinner which was set up so we could all sit together and mingle with each other.

After dinner most of the group headed to bed to recover from such a long day.

While a few of the group had a few drinks, played some card games and got to know everyone some more before heading to bed to be rested for a big day of exploring Kakadu tomorrow.

Safe Travels!

Campbell 🙂