Shady Campsite Mary River NP

Blog No. 1 Australia,

Now it's time for a first entry here. The journey was very arduous. The train broke down in the middle of nowhere - but we still made it to the flight more or less on time. First flight on the A380 upper deck - but economy class. The second flight Singapore-Darwin - another good 4 hours and we were dog tired. Upon arrival in Darwin, there was an incredibly long queue at the taxi stand, which prompted us to take the official shuttle to the city center. The bus driver even promised to drop us off at the hotel, which is not on his usual route - but as a typical Aussie - very nice!Darwin itself - well, high-rise buildings but already some Australian flair.... On the first morning, we picked up the car - we're not super satisfied - it's not the newest, but Sören said - I shouldn't show my German side on the first day - so I'm content with it. After shopping and a second night, we set off. We were all still tired but still "persisted". As soon as you leave the city of Darwin - you're already in the Outback. Many very long road trains on the road - that's something for Sven. Our first stop in the Outback was the Mary River Visitor Center on the way - built on a small hill, it offers a wonderful view of the landscape with dry areas and well-watered waterholes - also known as billabongs. Our first billabong was Bird Billabong in Mary River National Park. A small round trip through the landscape - we were completely alone, it was scorching midday heat and we didn't quite make it to the lookout point. But that didn't matter - we still saw the birds.... From pelicans to cockatoos, everything was there - many water birds like geese and stilts. Very nice.The next stop was Mistake Billabong - a viewpoint overlooking a waterhole covered in many water lilies and pond lilies.Then, in search of a campsite, we drove to Shady Camp Site and stayed there. Hellish noise from hundreds of cockatoos - but luckily they eventually go to sleep :-) But the best part was the small dam that separates the Mary River from the saltwater but gets flooded during high tide - this is where nature comes to life - crocodiles in the water as far as the eye can see, fish near the banks (Barramundis). And many black storks, pelicans, and spoonbills on the dam. Everyone is trying to get a piece of the fish feast. Some succeeded, others didn't :-) But the fun came the next morning when we were the first ones at the river before the sun rose over the horizon (even before the anglers :-) - that's when the saltwater crocodile strolls across the dam - clumsy but very impressive! Others, on the other hand, try to catch the jumping fish on the river side - with the storks in the middle - a natural spectacle that we enjoyed very much. But now a few words about the night. The cockatoos went to sleep and it became a bit quieter, although not much - only the type of noise changed. In the tree next to us, there was a (or several) big bats and the bat was flying out of the tree - back into the tree all night with audible wing flapping. The little kangaroos (wallabies) came out in the evening - in the night, they searched for something to eat everywhere. Then suddenly rustling in the leaves next to our heads and suddenly boing-boing it jumped away in the foliage - In short, the night was characterized by interruptions. During breakfast, we decided to stay another night. So today we could calmly observe the crocodiles on the Mary River and relax a bit. Around noon, a heavy sandstorm came up - but Sina and I dared to wash our dirty faces on the dam at low tide - very pleasant. On this campsite, there are toilets but not a drop of water - strange, you could just fetch it from the river. We only have 20 liters of water to use - we have to be economical and go to bed with dirty feet :-). Tomorrow we will continue - let's see where it takes us.