It wasn't the best start to Australia. Despite getting through the thermal-imaging cameras at the airport, Jim's man-flu was getting worse and the miserable staff at the hostel didn't help. We landed at silly o'clock in the morning and had a private room booked, but had to wait till the afternoon before we could check-in...they seemed to be doing everything they could to make us angry!

Darwin was a strange place - a mix of drunken Aborigines staggering the streets and drunken Aussies with mullets! Darwin has the highest beer consumption in Australia and that was clear to see. They blame the weather for this fact though!

Other than doing 'admin' when we arrived like opening bank accounts etc. we didn't do much until Jim felt better. After carting him off to the doctors we'd had the all-clear from Swine-flu and moved hostels to try and get some sleep. We were suddenly feeling really old & detested hostels & drunken backpackers!! These were usually of the British or Irish variety deciding that it was okay to start singing and jumping in the pool at 4 in the morning, something that would've been fine on our first trip at 21 but not now we're nearing 30! Luckily we found some solitude down the road and could enjoy the rest of our stay.

The plan was to try and find some work in Darwin and stay for a while, but that was also everyone else's plan. It was Darwin's dry season and it's not particularly big, plus we didn't feel that it was the kind of place we wanted to stay for too long, a bit too red-neck, even for someone from Saffron Walden! Before we came away we decided that we'd give Brisbane a try. We knew a few people there and it's the best city to base yourself and be near to some of the best spots in Australia. So we booked a flight for later that week.

We couldn't leave Darwin without visiting one of the National parks that it's famous for. We headed to Litchfield National Park which ended up being a brilliant day out and really worth the money. It started on the Adelaide River where we saw Saltwater crocodiles in their natural environment. We took a boat ride where the 'Croc Dundee' guides put meat on the end of sticks so these wild beasts jump out of the water. It's not until you see what's under the water that you realise how big these monsters are. The biggest we saw was 4.5metres long and must've been 2metres wide.....amazing to see but also quite terrifying!

They got the boat over on to a mud bank and lured the big croc up on to the mud so we could see it's whole body. Ofcourse Jim was hanging precariously over the edge trying to get the best shot and got the fright of his life when the croc head-butted the boat and set everyone off screaming! We were lucky enough to see a female crocodile guarding her nest of baby crocodiles that had just hatched that morning. National Geographic and the experts in the area had been monitoring the progress and it's apparently extremely rare to see newborns as they get eaten pretty much straightaway. They weren't any bigger than 25cm long! We'd never seen such huge smiles from the guys that ran the boat company, it had made their entire year!

Cruising back down the river we were accompanied by 10 or more huge Whistling kites all competing for the meat freebies we were throwing off the side of the boat. Even more impressive was the 6 metre wing span of a sea eagle which came in and fed on a chunk of meat the same size we were feeding the crocs.

After all of the action of the Adelaide River and it's local residents, we visited Wangi Falls which were amazing to see but unfortunately we couldn't swim there as a croc had been sighted there a few days before. As the searing heat and humdity of the park kicked in, luckily we were allowed a dip in the next waterfalls - Florence Falls - equally as impressive. We were quite apprehensive getting in the water after seeing the crocs that morning, but we were assured it was safe to go in. The rangers monitor these billabongs 24 hours a day and constantly chum the waters to look for any bite marks, that was good enough for us! It was a beautfiul cool down in true Aussie outback.

Jim ofcourse managed to fit in a bit of fishing before we left which resulted in the catch of the day, delicious Sea Bream! A perfect Aussie experience of the Northern Territory, now it's over to the East Coast!