I joined an tour of 9 days travelling from Darwin (3days) to Alice Springs (3 days) and 3 days of travel between the two cities. This tour is actually a combination of three smaller tour with three days each.
First day of the tour – a big 4 × 4 with ten passengers driven by a young New Zealander who picked us up in front of the Cavenagh backpacker, where we stayed previously. The vehicle then continued to different backpackers to pick up the rest.
Then, the adventure began!
We first headed towards Litchfield National Park. The group was mainly made up of young energetic beings – a German couple, two German schoolgirls on holiday before starting university, three Swiss and New Zealanders girls. Before entering the park we stopped next to a tiny shop in a trailer where our guide advised us very strongly to take a large bottle of water as they are vital in these hot and dry places.
Here, the vegetation is relatively scarce compare to rainforests. The trees are thin and not much greenery. We stopped beside a large waterfall and a little later to Buley Rockhool, a chain of small natural pool. We then had lunch in the shade of a large Banyan tree.
Waterfalls in Litchfield National Park
River crossed when going to the waterfall
Buley Rockhool
The huge banyan tree
In the afternoon we headed towards Kakadu National Park. We made a stop to get into the aboriginal culture. Some aboriginal showed and explained us their music with didgeridoos, how to make clothes and bags…
Australian bush
Then we ended the day with a boat trip on the Mary River to see crocodiles in their natural environment. The camp where we spent the night was full of mosquitoes, I tried for the first time the repellent, but it did not seem very effective.
Mary river
Crocodile on the banks of the Mary River
Tour: http://www.adventuretours.com.au/northern-territory/darwin-to-alice-springs-package-1 or http://www.peterpans.com.au/backpacking-holidays-australia/alice-darwin-or-darwin-alice-9-day-8-night-outback-package