'Dwayne' has his night in Darwin.

We certainly timed it right to be in Darwin for Territory Day, a public holiday to celebrate NT becoming self governing (in 1978). It is also the only day in Australia that anyone over the age of 18 can legally buy as many fireworks as they can afford then let them off wherever they want between 6 and 11pm. It was an experience I will never forget, for the fun and the incredible fireworks and for the 'no rules' attitude that prevailed (so different for us from the southern states).
The following quote in the NT News on Territory Day from the director of Dominator Fireworks sums up Territorians on this day; "catering for the Territory is catering for 'Dwayne'. 'Dwayne is the dad who wants to have a bit of fun.....'Dwayne' wants noise and height - he'll probably down seven cans before he lights them (the fireworks) and there are always plenty of 'Dwaynes' out in full force on Territory Day". Well this was correct. 'Dwaynes' were everywhere and they had obviously spent a lot on fireworks. Fireworks went off constantly from just before 6pm and did not taper off until the early hours of the morning, with some still going off on Saturday morning. Both Daniel and I commented that we felt like we were in a war zone (this was at about midnight when we had been woken many time by fireworks blasting into the sky close by).
Prior to our sleepless night we'd had a fantastic evening at the free Territory Day event at Mindil Beach. It began with a walk up and down the market trying to decide what food to buy, followed by dinner from the food stalls of our choice then down to the beach to watch the sunset. After sunset Kasey Chambers played a great set followed by Cat Empire who rocked the crowd. After the concert the reported 16,000 people who had descended on Mindil Beach were treated to an awesome fireworks display. Emilia loved it even though she was busting for the toilet (we refused to take her and miss the fireworks when we had just asked 10min prior to them starting) and Jackson was enthralled. The both crashed afterwards and were nearly sleep walking by the time we got them back to the car! We saw many more fireworks on the drive home but also loads of spotfires due to errant fireworks. It was a wonderful night and the newspaper on Sunday reported that only a few 'Dwaynes' ended up in hospital with 'serious finger injuries and minor burns'. NT Fire had 230 calls for spotfires, bin fires and a couple of shed fires but apparently this is a great result!

The rest of our time in Darwin was spent:

- Enjoying the resort style pool, splash park and jumping pillow at the caravan park.

- wandering through the city centre, listening to buskers and buying souvenirs. 

- cooling off at the new waterfront. The kids made some friends and spent an enjoyable few hours building sandcastles and swimming with their new mates.

- visiting Mindil Markets again on Sunday, enjoying more great food and a lovely sunset. The kids also enjoyed a performance by the 'drumming monkeys' kids entertainers and they danced and sang while we relaxed. We let the kids buy a souvenir of their choice each. Jackson decided on a bird caller which he broke 10 mins into our journey home causing lots of tears. Clearly not designed for 3 year old boys. I think we will be looking for a new souvenir in Kakadu.

Darwin is a really nice city and we have enjoyed our time here, everyone is so laid back and the climate is lovely. A nice place to spend the last weekend of our trip. Off to Kakadu now for 5 days in the bush before hightailing it home. 

Enjoying a sugar-laden treat before the Territory Day festivities.

Down on Mindil beach with the thousands of others with the sun setting over the water

I think I was possibly the only adult with a tattoo on!

Just a few other enjoying the view too!

Enjoying the music (before she was so tired she had to lay on the rug).

Jackson really got into the music and both Daniel and I took him up the front to see Cat Empire up close (he had his glow wrist band waving like a real raver).

Cat Empire playing - it was an awesome atmosphere.

Whereas Milly couldn't must up enough energy to get off the rug!

Jackson and I with our glowing wristbands courtesy of the NT Gov.

The fireworks went for about 20 minutes and were some of the best I have seen for a long time.

A fireworks spectacular.

Honey chicken skewers on Mindil Beach watching the sunset.

Gotta love a sunset picnic.

There were a few fires burning (probably from errant fireworks) that created a smoke haze which made for a lovely sunset.

A bit of sibling love - cuddles in the sunset.

Lazing about in the luxurious waters of Litchfield.

Litchfield NP boasts stunning waterfalls, crystal clear swimming holes, huge termite mounds and monsoonal rainforest. It is extremely popular as it is only an hour from Darwin so we were so lucky to get a campsite in the one remaining camp ground (the others have been closed for upgrades). We stayed for 3 nights at the lovely Wangi Falls, which was only a few minutes from our camp. It is an exceptionally busy place but, as we were staying, we got to enjoy the falls and swimming hole to ourselves first thing in the morning and at dusk. We didn't shower for the time we stayed there preferring to cool off in the silky fresh water after dinner each evening. 

We did a few shorts walks but it was very hot so we preferred to float around in the swimming hole to keep cool. We checked out the other swimming holes at Florence Falls and Buley Rockholes and enjoyed a picnic lunch at a quiet creek but mostly we just went back and forth to Wangi Falls. We found a small rockpool where the water was coming straight from the inside the rocks (where it is stored in the wet season and flows out in the dry) and it was lukewarm and like a spa. We took the kids as close as possible to the waterfall but it was flowing so ferociously the current kept pushing us back. Daniel managed to go under but I could not get close enough. 

We had a lovely shady campground and both kids enjoyed collecting bush items to make their own little gardens. The bats all came out at dusk and the sky was alive with them screeching and gliding from tree to tree whilst kangaroos explored the camp areas once the sun was down. We had a really great three days and soaked up as much sun and warmth as possible in these final weeks of our trip.

The smaller waterfall at Wangi (there was a hole in the rock near the bottom that a small deep pool that was much warmer than the main pool).

One of the many spiders that created webs in the pandanas around the pool.

A walk to the top of the waterfall to see Wangi Creek.

Some of the spring water coming straight from inside the rock, the kids couldn't' resist a drink.

The impressive Wangi Falls, less than a 5 min walk from our campsite - we had an evening swim each night - divine!

Emilia and Daniel admiring the rock glowing in the setting sun (at dusk we often had the place to ourselves)

Jackson's turn for a shoulder ride - he fell in very quickly!

Emilia at Buley rock holes - a series of cascading swimming holes.

Another small swimming hole at Buley, the water was coming down pretty fast so they weren't in the waterfall long.

Florence Falls from above, we all enjoyed a swim with Daniel, Jackson and I going under the raging waterfall.

Our lunch spot near Florence Falls - the kids were enthralled by the fish (so easy to see in the crystal clear water).

Looking up the creek at our picturesque, and cool, lunch stop.

Those plaits were so hard to get out as she did so much swimming they were constantly wet then dry and they seemed to set in place. I took me about 30 minutes to get them out and brush the knots out!

Not even a glimpse of a gorge at Katherine.

Our journey to Katherine consisted of a lot of time in the car and some great sneaky roadside camp spots.

Day 1 - Yulara (Uluru) to about half hour before Devils Marbles. Just under 800km. A stop in Alice Springs for a quick shop (including donuts aka bribes) then just lots of driving! Found a great camp spot hidden from the road right next a lovely old windmill. The kids enjoyed the freedom of a secluded bush camp spot and enjoyed riding their bikes up and down the side road. Emilia showed her bush skills by collecting twigs and sticks to build a kids-only campfire, it was so cute we had to light it for her. Her and Jackson sat around it whilst Daniel and I sat around the main campfire!

Day 2- another huge day of driving but this time with some more interesting stops. Drove about 650km with stops at Devils Marbles, many circular rocks that look like they have been strategically placed throughout the landscape, and Daly Waters Pub, an infamous outback pub where patrons are encouraged to donate belongings. This has resulted in a thong tree, number plate fences, walls of badges and business cards and rows of underwear hanging above the bar. Emilia was very amused and said loudly 'Look at all the booby holders Mum' when we walked in. After a few beers, some icy poles for the kids and the placement of our 4StrayKatz card we headed off to find a camp spot. We were in luck again and found a great spot down a side road. Had a campfire and marvelled at the stars.

Day 3- today began with a stop at Mataranka Hot Springs for a relaxing and refreshing dip before heading to Katherine. Our caravan park was only a few minutes walk from the Katherine Hot Springs so we had a dip there too. After an afternoon spent doing jobs (washing, grocery shopping, cleaning out the car) we were ready for a day at the Katherine Gorge the next day.

Day 4- We had a relaxing morning at a nearby section of the Katherine River that had rapids and rockpools to play in before heading to Katherine Gorge with a plan to hire one kayak so (in addition to our own kayak) all four of us could paddle the gorge together. It was not to be. The first section of the gorge was closed as they had not been able to give the all clear for saltwater crocodiles so the only way to see the gorge was to be ferried to gorge two and kayak from there. Hence the kayaks were completely booked out. The only other way to see the gorge was to do a 12km hike! Not a chance on a 34deg day. Instead we just watched the resident fruit bats for awhile then headed back to camp to use the pool instead. It was disappointing but we consoled ourselves with the fact that we had seen many wonderful gorges in the Kimberley and we still had Litchfield and Kakadu NPs to see so we were bound to encounter more natural wonders before the trip's end.

Jackson rebuilding the cow with the bones he found at our roadside stop.

A very nice view from our free camp.

Emilia and Jackson enjoying the campfire she built for them.

Our little devil at Devil's Marbles.

Nah, can't lift it Mum.

A small crack let water slowly seep in between the rock causing this perfect break.

On the highest one they could find.

Jackson after helping to collect firewood, he managed to find every bit of charcoal wood in the vicinity.

Enjoying the warm water at Mataranka Hot Springs.

Caught in Flight - one of the thousands of bats at Katherine Gorge.

The trees were heaving with them.

It looked like this one was beating his chest.

It is meant to be a colony of bats but I think these ones should be a 'bunch of bats'.

Feeling like a fairy in a Field of Lights.

Our last night at Uluru was spent meandering through the fairyland of coloured lights that made up the unique art installation Field of Light. When visiting Uluru in 1992, the artist, Bruce Munro, came up with the idea of lights coming up from the ground to represent wildflower seedlings growing in the desert. His idea came to fruition on a grand scale. Over 380km of optic fibre is used and the work is made up of 50,000 solar powered lights. The result is just magical. The lights constantly change colour which changes your perspective on the piece depending on the contrasts of the colours. The night we visited was particularly dark (it had been drizzling during the day and the clouds had stayed in the sky) though the darkness made the lights really stand out and appear to continue so far towards the horizon. After several walks around (and lots of oohs and ahhhs at the colours) Daniel and Henry took the kids home on the first bus as they were very tired whilst I stayed another hour to absorb the beauty of the spectacular scene. It was definitely an added bonus to my time at Uluru.