Darwin and Wetlands (Australia Part 5)

In the morning, our flight from Cairns to Darwin took off. We had our second nice experience with Jetstar (after being denied boarding in Denpasar - see Bali Part 10): At the weigh-in of our hand luggage, we also had to put our jackets on the scale and then pay an additional 30 AUD due to excess weight...

Christ Church

According to various travel guides, Darwin is one of the least rewarding cities to visit in Australia. However, it is a good starting point for a trip to the Top End. So we didn't expect much from Darwin, but gladly followed the suggestion of our enthusiastic shuttle bus driver, who recommended a walking tour of the city followed by a meal at Stokes Hill Wharf. We walked through the city, where there is actually little history to see due to a cyclone in the 1970s. Some old building material was still present at Christ Church, but it was rebuilt in a modern style after the destruction.

At the harbor, we ordered Fish & Chips and watched the sunset.

The next morning, we picked up our rental car and headed towards Kakadu National Park. Our first stop was at Fogg Dam, which was built in the 1950s to enable rice cultivation.

Today, there are several hiking trails there, from which you can observe many different water birds. Many warning signs indicated the danger of crocodiles - but unfortunately we couldn't spot any.

We were in the "Wetlands," the wetlands of the lower Adelaide River. At the visitor center, we then saw an interesting exhibition about the animal inhabitants of this area. From the viewpoint, you could overlook a part of the wetlands - which were not very wet at the time because we were there at the end of the dry season.