We have just spent 5 nights in the best caravan park in the Darwin area. Tumbling Down Waters is only 40 mins drive from Darwin, but light years ahead in hospitality and value for money. The price for a family unpowered site was 30 bucks, compared with the insultingly inflated 50-60 dollars required by parks only 20 kms up the highway. I salute the owners and hope they prosper. We used it as a base to visit Litchfield National Park, home of the most glorious swimming holes and waterfalls, and to visit Darwin itself.
My favourite waterfall was Wangi Wangi in Litchfield. A double cascade of about 50m into a round green glassy pool at least 150 m in diameter. A couple of meters up the far wall under one of the cascades sat a natural spa pool. The water was cool enough to bring on a shiver after 20 minutes or so- incongruous on a 30 degree day.
We spent a very enjoyable day as well swimming at Berry Springs just down the road. The water was pure and clear, changing to a cobalt blue in the magnificently deep main pool. I swam as far down as I could and could not find the bottom. We saw all sorts of fish- little sooty grunters, stripy archer fish, catfish and a sort of mini freshwater swordfish called a long Tom ( we think!).
Darwin had a definite expat tropical feel, with palm trees and deep verandahed houses. The playgrounds were water parks with free slides and all manner of watery play equipment which kept us all cool and amused for the morning. The highlights were the Mindil Beach Markets where we feasted on Asian tucker and watched the sun set as a brass band played on the beach- it had a marvellously refined sort of air about it - lots of people having a jolly nice time and no loutish behaviour allowed! There was a brief moment of brevity as a young buck streaked in to the sea butt naked - pretty funny in front of about 700 people. Having only a population of 120,000, with a good portion of these being employed by the armed services and government, coupled with its remoteness, seems to have enabled Darwin to be the one city I have visited where an atmosphere of the village fete prevailed amidst the mod cons of the city.
We spent an afternoon doing the touristy thing and visited Crocosaurus Cove which was a sort of aquarium come water park inhabited by salt water crocs ranging from babies of 2 ft long, to behemoths of Jurassic proportions. We swam alongside a glass wall that separated us from the teenage reptiles of about 2 m and fished for them with chicken baited hooks! The best bit though was watching the feeding. You could go downstairs and watch underwater through the clear glass of the aquarium, or from above as these 2 tonne crocs leapt at the chicken carcass. It was fascinating and definitely worth the visit.